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Painting Our Kitchen A Soft Blue Color: Colorado Gray

Can I get a kitchie kitchie ya ya da da? (name that song) Also, we painted the kitchen. SURPRIIIISE!

Fireplace Shot

We’ve mentioned that we’ve been flirting with the idea in our last two Listy McListersons (here and here), and when Nonna came to hang with Clara this past week we jumped at the chance to tear the kitchen apart and get to it. Just to keep it real, we grabbed this shot to demonstrate that when one room is getting love, some nearby room is getting dumped. It’s like saying “kitchen, will you accept this rose?” and meanwhile we’re sending the dining room packing (with a bunch of extra baggage). There’s usually one of these “displacement messes” going on at all times in our house. And of course this particular mess was directly behind the front door on the day that the neighbors stopped by just to chat. It’s always nice when it looks like you run a furniture and accessory agility course from your dining room, no?

Dining Room Messy

As for more about the kitchen color change, although you guys know we love grellow with a passion, it has been notoriously impossible to photograph (remember a hundred different phases of the kitchen project with “ahh, this color looks so much more subtle in person but is reading as lime green/bright yellow/neon slime for some reason”). And although that’s sort of definitely a dumb reason to repaint a room, I can’t tell you how annoying it is to not be able to share what you see in front of your eyes when you’re a home blogger.

But the main reason for the change wasn’t that the color was hard to photograph, it was that over time we realized that the grellow didn’t let the other things in the room shine as much as they might have with a different choice. Take the white cabinets and counters for example. They looked little yellowed thanks to the wall color reflecting on them – and even the cork looked a little orangey-yellow (especially at night) instead of rich and mocha.

Before Painting

So here’s how we reasoned our way to a new color pick in five bullets or less:

  • we worried that other tones of yellow and green would have the same yellowing-ish issue (say that three times fast) since they’d reflect on the counters, cabinets, and cork  – even if they were deeper or lighter, so we nixed those options
  • we wanted something deep enough in tone to provide a little more contrast, so the counters and cabinets would pop more (but nothing too dark since the room is windowless)
  • we have gray backsplash tile and a few adjoining rooms are gray, so we didn’t want to go with more gray on the walls (dark, light, or schmedium) for fear of grayverload

Kitchen Art Hung

  • we wanted an actual color on the walls (since we chose such safe things everywhere else like: brown floors, white cabinets, stainless appliances, white counters, and gray backsplash tile)
  • we wanted a color that would tie the kitchen into the four spaces (yes, four!) that the kitchen opens up to – without getting too matchy-matchy (when a room adjoins so many other rooms, the wall color should work with those rooms since you’ll see them together all the time – it’s sort of like very carefully picking a hallway color that works with all of the rooms off of it)
So after taking a good hard look at each of those adjoining rooms, we decided to draw inspiration from the powdery blues in the background of the dining room curtains (top right) and some of the blue pillows on the living room sofa (bottom left) among a few other things, like the kitchen shade, the subtle blue undertones in the gray backsplash, the two paintings I made for the kitchen, the lanterns in the living room, and some of the art in the nearby hallway o’ frames.

Hits Of Blue

And that’s how we landed on a bold, deep-enough-to-let-the-cabinets-pop blue tone. We went for an eggshell finish (still wipeable but not too shiny, since the backsplash covers the splashy spots) in Benjamin Moore’s Natura line, which we bought at a local paint shop for $52 with a Facebook coupon (we only needed around half a gallon, so we still have a lot leftover). As for the color name, it’s Colorado Gray, which made us laugh because it’s definitely blue and not gray – but it’s right next to Aegean Teal on the swatch, which is a lot truer to the name. So I vote that we rename it Colorado Blue. Or $herdog Blue. Yes, that.

Kitchen Other Side

We definitely loved having a soft blue kitchen in our first house, and we actually don’t have any blue on the walls in this house except for the deep teal in the guest room and on the back of the dining room built-ins, so it’s nice to bring in a mid-tone blue that’s sort of in the middle of the guest room and our first house’s kitchen.

Kitchen Corner

The funniest thing about this whole repainting escapade, which we realized while applying the second coat (we’re always loopy by then) was that in our first house we repainted every single room except for our kitchen and our master bedroom. And in this house we’ve only repainted two rooms: the kitchen and our master bedroom. Hilarious.

Blue Side Kitchen

 And if you count the time that we painted the fireplace area a different color for book photoshoots (only to repaint it back to normal a few days later) some parts of this room have seen four different paint jobs.

Fireplace Shot

A few of our favorite things about this color pick are:
  • it’s definitely an actual color (there’s nothing neutral about it)
  • it still feels sophisticated (even though it’s not gray or navy or chocolate or taupe)
  • it allows the white cabinets and counters to really pop (without yellowing them)
  • it’s a great balance to the warm tones in the room (like the cork floors, the wood stools, the rustic cutting boards on the counter, etc).

Office Into Kitch

Plus it ties into all of the rooms around it without being crazy matchy.

Kitchen Wide Main

So Colorado Gray Blue, I ain’t mad atcha. In fact, I want to put a ring on it.

Kitchen Corner

As for the specifics to this paint job: it took two coats and I used a brush to freehand most of the cutting in while John rolled. I actually like a good freestyle cutting in sesh (I live life on the edge, what can I say?). And we paint without a drop cloth (sealed wood or cork floors can be wiped down if there’s a rogue drip, but we mainly try to keep from overloading our brushes and rollers with paint, which eliminates most drips anyway). Oh and we didn’t repaint the laundry room because we actually think the grellow looks nice in there. There’s a big glass door and a window to let in natural light, which the kitchen was severely lacking (the window over the sink is an interior window that just looks into the sunroom) so I think that makes a huge difference when it comes to how paint reads. Plus the yellow accents in the kitchen (like the urn next to the sink and the patterned window treatment) create a nice balance to that glowing grellow doorway over yonder.

Kitchen Main Side2

Not gonna lie though, the star of this room is still that wall full of penny tile. Picture me having an as-soon-as-the-show-ends bachelor breakup with the wall paint to run back to the penny tile with open arms. And it’s not that I don’t love the wall color – I just love the penny tile more than a person should love any inanimate object.

Kitchen Art Hung

Our Favorite Paint Colors

If you’re having trouble picking the right color to paint your room, check out these detailed deep-dive posts about our favorite paints:
  • Sherwin-Williams Extra White

    • Comments

    1. Andrea says

      Uh, guys… That $herdog blue kicks a$$. It’s amazing. I love it. What a great change. The cabinets have never looked sharper. Nice and crisp and WHITE (not off-white)!

      Reply

    3. Alicia says

      Looks great! Have you ever thought about adding a skylight (or 2) to bring in some natural light? I’m semi-new to reading the blog, so I’m not sure if you’ve mentioned it before. I think it would be a great idea, I love the skylights at my house. And it sounds so awesome when it’s raining :)

      Reply

      • YoungHouseLove says

        We’d love that, but there’s an attic over the kitchen so it would need to be one of those solar tubes, which aren’t as fun as a big giant skylight. I’d love that though!

        xo
        s

    5. Sarah says

      Mocha Chocalata ya ya…. gotta love Lady Marmalade!!

      The blue looks wonderful!! I actually just decided to paint my kitchen too, still deciding on a colour to go with our wood cabinets.

      Reply

    8. kate says

      SWOON! I was all for the grellow…but now I’m over the moon with the blue. You guys never cease to amaze me how you can take something from wow to wowsers! And I agree, the penny tile is still the star of the show. Is it weird that I want to rub my face on it? Probably a little.

      Reply

    9. Liz E. says

      I stared at the title of this post wayyy too long, trying to figure it out (PS: I did finally get it ;)) and then stared at the first picture for probably a solid minute with what I can only assume was a stunned look of confusion. Something didn’t look the same…and I couldn’t place it…then BAM! The walls are blue!

      I L-O-V-E the color! You guys have inspired me in 2 consecutive days! We’re redoing our basement (hello renovation!) and are trying desperately to figure out can lights (how many we need, where to place them, etc). AND to top it all off, I want to repaint our kitchen. The color I chose before is gorgeous, but much too dark for our space that lacks much natural light. I’m still trying to whittle my husband down to let me paint the cabinets. We’ll see!

      Reply

    10. Jessica says

      Woah! Color me surprised (see what a did there?) when I saw your first picture! I think it looks amazing. I love how each portion of the room has a different feel to it, yet it all blends together seamlessly. The basket shade pendant gives the fireplace nook a beachy vibe while the opposite end looks very casual modern. Love it!

      Reply

    13. Roxanne M says

      I love it! It looks great. We have a VERY similar color in our living room, Sherwin William’s Breezy or Rain (I forget which). We love the color and it looks great with our many photographs of Oceans. We love traveling!
      The color also contrasts with our bright white baseboard as well. We have silver curtains and a dark laminate floor, similar to the color of your cork floor. We’re thinking of moving and I’m already planning on just recreating the look in our next home. It just works!

      Reply

    14. Melanie says

      It’s so soothing! I like it a lot. And also love that you left the laundry room grellow.

      Is your curtain over the sink the same fabric that your headboard is made out of?

      Reply

    15. Aly says

      That’s the same exact color we painted our kitchen! And we have white cabinets and dark mocha floors too! Unfortunately we still have the ugly salmon pink boomerang patterned counters that came with the house. Bleh. Maybe if I show your kitchen to my husband hell see how pretty any other countrrtop in existence would be in our house compare to salmon pink. :-) also I’m glad you kept the laundry room grellow. I’m loving me some brightly colored tiny rooms.

      Reply

    16. Anessa says

      I HEART it so much!!!!! Love how everything really pops now in there. So PRETTY! Like that you kept the grellow in the laundry room though. Nice to change up the colors a bit and it adds another pop of color from the kitchen. Also love how each rooms color looks nice together but is not matchy matchy.

      Reply

    17. Anne says

      KaPOW…that’s big change! Looks good! It’s funny, I kinda miss the grellow. Never thought I’d feel that way about someone else’s kitchen.

      Reply

    19. Nicki says

      I love it! I actually had Aegean Teal in my kitchen before the remodel. It looked great with wood tone cabinets. I went with white cabinets in the new kitchen and went a little lighter than Aegean Teal, which for my room and light was BM Buxton Blue. I call it blue/gray/green :) my hallway is moody gray and my laundry room a yellow-green so I am feeling you on your choices on the house overall! :D

      Reply

    23. Cathryn says

      I love that color! I’m getting the itch to paint again but I’m waiting on a diy bathroom project to be finished (total gut, already hit the 1-year mark) but thats almost exact color I want the bathroom to be in the end! I realized my top colors are blues and yellows and need to start branching out. Lots of inspiration from you all!

      Reply

    25. Julia @ This Idiot's Guide says

      WOW I love it!! What a perfect choice! The blue really does brighten up the space and makes the white cabinets and gray penny tile really shine! Plus I love how all of the accent colors in the kitchen play off of the blue – they pop in a much more noticeable and fun way! (I particularly love the little red stool thingy next to the chair in the “nook”… my kitchen right now is a slightly richer shade of blue, and the main accent color is bright red.. sounds quirky, but I love it, and love to see that color combo in your kitchen too!) Good work, it’s a fabulous transformation!

      Reply

    26. Donna Jean says

      Okay, so I seriously have that exact color in a little sample jar (along with providence blue and new born’s eyes) waiting to go up on the kitchen wall so we can decide which color to use when we paint the kitchen over my husband’s spring break. It’s also the one that I’ve been leaning towards since we picked up a million swatches a couple weeks ago. I can’t wait to get those samples up on the wall tonight! We’re planning on painting our fugly cabinets over the summer (they are currently a nasty looking dark brown and we are planning on painting them white). Now if only I could figure out what to do with the hideous bi-fold doors that hide the washer and dryer…

      Reply

    27. Theresa says

      I’ve been wanting to repaint my kitchen for sometime. When we first moved in, the floors were a beautiful light oak, the cabinets were blonde and the walls painted a soft butter yellow. With abundant sunlight coming in from the sunroom the place just radiated cozy. Well, 8 years later and the golden… The clear finishes on the cabinets and floors have yellowed. I am in yellow overload. I’ll be painting the cabinets later in the year(white cabs will be great with the black granite) and picking a new wall color. But I do have one question. How do you cut inaround the refridgerator? I’m 5’3″ and struggle to reach. (our ceilings are 9′ with a 6″ crown. I can never reach over the cabinets high enough!

      Reply

    29. ramona says

      Just had to tell you that just as I was reading “So Colorado Blue, I ain’t mad atcha.”, Pandora was kind enough to pull up 2Pac’s “I Ain’t Mad At Cha”. Always love the little throw back shout outs!

      Reply

    30. Christina P(NS) says

      “Mocha Chocolata YA-YA”

      Kitchen looks awesome! We have the swatches for our possible living room choices taped to the wall as we speak and guess who’s in the running – Moonshine!!!
      We have so many plans it’s hard to start, we plan to replace the carpet w hardwood but don’t want to do that until we redo the bathroom (which involves hauling the tub out and downstairs) so why paint until all that is done…..leaves us in the planning w/o too much tackling stage right now :(

      Reply

    31. Plein Jane says

      Speaking of the kitchen, did you know you guys got a big shout-out in the April issue of Real Simple magazine? The write-up especially mentioned the kitchen renovation as a favorite project. But, oddly, there was no mention of the book!

      Oh, and I love the new color!

      Reply

    32. Kim S says

      I loooove it!! That’s pretty much my all time favorite color, and in fact, I was just looking at the Benjamin Moore web site the other day and this particular one jumped out at me. I remember thinking “Colorado Gray…funny, I love it but it looks more blue.” Glad to know it’s that way in person too! Definitely at the top of my list next time I have a room to repaint.

      Reply

    36. Katie M says

      I’m getting a nautical vibe with the blue which pulls in the swimming painting and the wooden stools in a way the grellow didn’t. I really like it and think you could even play it up with other nautical details, if you wanted to. Great example of how the color really makes the room.

      Reply

    37. Laura (Blogging Over Thyme) says

      It looks great! I have to say, I was never a big fan of the yellow (but trusted that it looked better in person), but I think this really ties everything together much nicely and makes the cabinets really pop.

      Well done! :)

      Reply

    38. Courtney says

      That looks amazing! There was always something about the kitchen shots that looked off to me, and now that I can see the pop in the white cabinets, that was it, the yellow just gave everything a 60’s feel, the blue-gray color looks wonderful! Very fresh.

      Reply

    39. Shannon says

      Love it! I liked the grellow too, but its funny I never noticed what you said aobut the cabinets looking more yellowish until you changed it. A nice soothing color and makes whole house seem to flow room to room. You guys are wicked smaaaht. (said in my best Boston accent)…

      Reply

    40. Stacey @ Likes to Smile says

      This is really gorgeous! Everything pops.

      I love watching how you are willing to just make a change when you think something isn’t working great. It’s great inspiration for the rest of us who aren’t home bloggers!

      Reply

    42. Noel M says

      Love the Moulin Rouge song reference! Silly clever $herdog ;) hehe
      …And the new kitchen color, although I always loved the grellow too, I can see how much the white counters/cabinets pop now!

      Reply

    43. Sarah says

      omg it looks AMAZING. SOOO glad you guys did this. It makes all the difference in the world and it looks like a totally different room now. All the pops of color actually do pop now, instead of being too much to take in at once. (that’s not coming out right, but hopefully you know what I mean.) Gorgeous!

      Reply

    45. Maggie says

      I loved the “grellow” but this blue looks great also! It’s amazing what a difference the new color makes in the kitchen.

      I just bought my house in August, so I’m currently paiting for the first time. So far I’ve managed to paint one wall in my bedroom. I’m trying to choose a grey for the other 3 walls, I had no idea how many different colors of grey there are!

      Reply

    47. Gabriella @ OLinA says

      I have to be honest – I love both colours…I really haven’t found a colour that you’ve used that I didn’t like. LOL

      That being said, the blue in the kitchen is absolutely stunning. :-D

      Reply

    49. Amanda says

      Oh my. I haven’t commented on your posts in so long; miss me?! HA!

      I’m loving this colour; I loved the first photo you showed and I was like “what? It’s always looked that beautiful! Oh oops, it used to be yellow” Which either means two things; it’s like it was meant to be or my memory sucks. We’ll go with both, because it DEFINITELY looks like it was supposed to be that colour the whole time!

      Reply

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