White Oak, Urbane Bronze, Revere Pewter, & More
I know you’ve been waiting SO patiently for this blog post – well, some of you NOT so patiently, and I LOVE you for that because it gets my butt on a burner to get it done!
As you know, our current home is my dream home. This doesn’t mean it’s my FOREVER home, but it’s definitely my FOR NOW home (wink wink.)
Seriously, we used to walk by this house all the time (as it’s in our old neighborhood), and like the creepy house stalker I am who drives by houses at nite so I can see in the windows, I’d say, ‘OH yes, you will be mine, one day you will be mine.’ Seemed like a pipe dream, or a wet dream, but either way, IT’S MINE NOW!
I’ve made a mental note to show you the AFTER PHOTOS OF THE EXTERIOR!
And while it was our dream home, it wasn’t looking much like a dream. It was ‘fine,’ which is a great word to describe hair, but not a place you want to call home. It was time for a lil’ KLC, and there was NO BETTER place to start than the entryway!
THE FOYER BEFORE: Whale I’ll be damned, those were ugly. And seriously, this shows how gloomy and dark the house was…
AFTER: And the heavens shone down! Or maybe it was Jen Wynia Photography’s flash – either way, I’m lovin’ it…
While I want to play around more with my decor (and straighten the lampshade), I love the bones of this space. The cabinet is even more beautiful in real life with its staggered hexagon wood doors, and the new oak floors from Goodfellow hide EVERY sin. I am a bit of a traditionalist regarding flooring and kitchen cabinets and prefer oak to any other wood.
In this next photo, you’ll see some of the dark walls that extended into the living room – I LOVE dark walls, but not here. They sucked the life out of the space and my soul. The dark wood flooring was scratched and worn out by two large dogs, and the overall vibe was in the early 2000s…
AFTER: It’s like my soul breathed a sigh of relief – or I had gas. Hard to say…
This photo is NOT by the uber-talented Jen Wynia, but by the quasi photography-challenged, Kylie.
THE PAINT COLORS IN OUR ENTRYWAY
What do you think of those gray-painted doors?
I went back and forth on that for a while and finally settled on Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter as a nice tie-in to the kitchen. I just couldn’t wrap my head around white doors in this home and wanted something a bit lower maintenance and unexpected – without being weird. However, I didn’t want to paint the doors AND the trim gray, as that’s way too much of a commitment and a pain in the rear to paint when I change my tastes (which I will).
And that’s not any old version of Revere Pewter; whereas I darkened it by 25% for the kitchen cabinets, I went 50% darker on the doors, for a bit more oomph – I LOVE PLAYING WITH COLOR!
The walls are Benjamin Moore Edgecomb Gray, lightened by 75% – again, I love to play. I couldn’t find an off-white greige I loved, so I made one! It has subtle undertones and whispers of colors without committing to anything but being soft, subtle, and neutral. I’m in LOVE with this paint colour!
BEFORE: Just in case you wanted to see those lovely whales a lil’ closer…
AFTER: Nothing finishes off a wall like a Ken Kirkby – one of my favorite Canadian, West Coast artists. It was a TOTAL splurge, but both Tim and I LOVE this piece as it just makes the space with its West Coast vibe.
And yes, the lampshade is crooked; I just want to see if you’re paying attention (clearly, I wasn’t). As for the stairs railings, it would have cost a small fortune to redo them, so I kept the black spindles and painted the dark wood newel posts and handrails in Sherwin Williams Urbane Bronze, a wicked dark greige with a green undertone.
The Best Medium & Dark Green Paint Colors
Oh – there’s more…but you have to WAIT! We’ve done almost the ENTIRE house – everything but the three main bathrooms and the laundry room, so over the next few months, I will share each space with you and the HUGE transformations they’ve undergone.
And for a gal who hits a 4-year expiry date on every home, we’re finally in a home that I can see us staying in for many happy years, watching the girls (and Doug) grow up and making memories to last a lifetime.
READ MORE
Our Open Concept Kitchen & Dining Room
4-PART SERIES: How to Create a Timeless Home
The Best WHOLE HOME Gray & Greige Paint Colors
The Ultimate Guide to Choosing White Paint Colors
NEED HELP?
Chat soon,
ORIGINALLY WRITTEN IN 2019, UPDATED FOR GRAMMAR N’ STUFF IN 2023
What lights(bulbs) do you use in your house to keep the colors true at night?
Author
Welllll, to be honest, I go more for the FEEL of the room rather than keeping the colours true. I usually land around 3000K. It also depends a LOT on the types of colours you’re using as warm/cool are affecting differently by the different bulbs. Which reminds me, I need to put a blog post out on this exact topic!
Looove your new family home! I wish I had found you before building our new home. I think you are very generous with sharing your home, paint colours, suppliers AND EXPERTISE!
I look forward to each new blog and do revisit the current ones MANY times!
Love your stairs. Looking to do something similar. With Urbane Bronze what type of paint did you use (oil/water based, falt, satin, etc)?
Thank you!!!
Author
Hiya! It was this one! https://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/products/proclassic-waterborne-interior-acrylic-enamel Just because it says enamel, doesn’t mean it’s oil with this paint – it just settles like one, which is nice !
I love this look and has inspired me to paint my doors a color (looking at SW Gossamer Veil) and my walls a white (SW Greek Villa). My question is, what sheen did you use on your walls, doors and trim?
Thank you!
Author
Hi Elita, I almost always use a quality MATTE finish. I’m loving Benjamin Moore’s new SCuffX line, which is a washable matte!
Fabulous remodel; love the 75% lighter edgecomb gray paint.
Would you mind sharing the manufacturer, make, model and color of your flooring please?
Author
You betcha! Our flooring is Goodfellow, Engineered Wood. Riverside Heights Collection and the stain color is STONE. We’ve had it 5 years and still love it!