Truth: I repainted the mudroom…or dining room…or laundry room. Whatever you want to call it. Here it is back before we moved in just as HH was finishing up the tile…

We painted it Benjamin Moore’s Camouflage although I wouldn’t use my picture as a good inspiration image of the paint color. We had the BM swatch color-matched at Home Depot in Behr’s primer + paint. Most times, I don’t have any problems with getting paint color-matched and switching from one brand to another. But this color was a rare exception. The color-matched version is browner/khaki-er than the true BM color. I even went as far as to get a BM sample mixed for comparison and there was a noticeable difference. The real Camouflage is a bit greener and grayer and less brown. I’m not sure if the mix up was a brand-to-brand problem or a user error in Home Depot’s paint department. There were times of the day when I thought I liked the color but then, other times, it would take on the safari khaki color and I couldn’t even look at it.

When I told HH I wasn’t happy with the color, you can imagine his reaction. “So, take the Behr paint back and put in a complaint for a redo/refund.” But I’m not one for confrontation. That was nearly a year ago. I should note here that this is also the same color we originally painted the nursery {before we knew if we were having a boy or a girl} and I ended up repainting that room too.

I finally came to terms with the color this past weekend and decided to stop fretting over it and just repaint. Here’s the untouched and unedited {and quite unfinished and messy!} laundry nook before in BM Camouflage…{ugh, it clashed with the tile!}

And here’s the repainted {but still untouched and unedited so you get a good look at the true paint color} nook in BM Halo…

Ahhh. SO MUCH BETTER. In case you’re wondering, I had the color mixed in BM paint. No color-matching. I think I’m scared. I decided I’d rather spend the extra money and know I’m getting the true color.

Here are a few more unedited pics of the freshly repainted room {still need to paint the french doors just like I need to in the kitchen! And please don’t pay much attention to the furnishings or lack there of. Other than finishes + paint + wardrobes + cabinets, this room hasn’t been touched.}…

It took me an entire day and one coat of ~½ gallon of BM Aura paint with lots of breaks thrown in to feed/entertain/take care of the kids. There really wasn’t that much wall space, that’s just how slow I am. Ideally, I would have taken down the cabinets in the laundry nook and detached/pulled out the wardrobes to paint behind them but HH is away and I AM ONLY ONE PERSON. My solution was to paint the little spaces as bet I could with a trim brush and small foam roller. It was tedious but turned out just fine. You would never know the walls were painted after the cabinets and wardrobes were installed. I also skipped the painter’s tape and cut everything in by hand. I think I’m better at it that way.

All of this to get to today’s topic: repainting. Why do we have such a hard time coming to terms with this home improvement project? In the scheme of things, it’s really not that difficult or expensive to repaint a room if we’re not satisfied with the color. And it certainly doesn’t take very long to do. Maybe our ego doesn’t like us to admit it when we’ve chosen a ‘wrong’ color. Maybe we don’t want to waste all that time/money/paint we put in the first go around that we think we should live with it. But if we don’t like it or it’s not working, should we live with it? I don’t think so.

Paint is one the easiest and least expensive ways to transform a room. So, you don’t like your {insert name of room here}’s wall color? Then accept the fact that it isn’t working, look for another color and repaint. Don’t worry about it. I think living with a color that isn’t working/you hate takes way more energy than actually repainting. And it can make all the difference between having a room you dislike and having a room you love.

We’re human. We’re allowed to mess up. We’re supposed to mess up. It’s how we learn. How we deal with mistakes in life and in home improvement makes us who we are. So, call out your mistakes – or whatever else isn’t working! – and address them instead of living with them and letting them eat away at your conscience. My mind is a lot lighter today.

So what d’ya say? Is there a room or, god forbid!, roomS in your house that just isn’t/aren’t working for you in the paint department, if ya know what I mean? The first step is admitting it.

Hi, I’m Dana. I didn’t like the paint color in my mudroom so I repainted it. Now I love it! Next up? My bedroom.

Really. There are worse things.

images: Dana Miller for House*Tweaking

You already saw our kitchen go from this…

…to this…

Yeah. That was a complete gut job. Since then, we’ve been doing what we do best. Tweaking.

We originally installed four open shelves near the range. They were totally functional and got me on the open-shelving-in-the-kitchen bandwagon but left a lot to be desired. The white MDF boards got lost against the light-colored wall and looked a little meh. A reader with a keen eye also noted that the shelves seemed too low and would look better if they were in line with the hood.

We lived with them that way for a few months. I really liked having our everyday serving ware {plates, bowls, glasses, etc.} out in the open for quick access but felt that something was off. I went back through my kitchen inspiration photos and noted that many incorporated wood shelving. And after I looked further, I noticed that {as the wise reader above had suggested} the open shelving was in line with either: 1) a range hood 2) wall cabinets or 3) both. Aha!

I mentioned to HH that I thought the shelves would look better if they were raised so that the top shelves were in line with the hood and the bottom shelves were in line with the bottom of our wall cabinets {on the perpendicular walls}. He just looked at me.

He didn’t say a word but I’m pretty sure he was thinking, “What?! I just hung those shelves. They’re not going anywhere.”

Then I added, “And wouldn’t it be nice if we could find some reclaimed wood to replace the MDF?”

Still, the look and no words. This is what HH has to put up with on a daily basis. Have pity on him.

But I had planted a seed. And eventually it sprouted some roots because a few weeks later HH told me we had a few fence boards leftover from our DIY ‘love’ headboard. On top of that, they were 1″ thick – exactly what we needed. He thought we had enough to replace the MDF shelf boards. He also said something about installing a backsplash while he was at it.

I love that man.

I’ll have full-on ‘how we did it’ posts next week but feast your eyes on this…

How you like dem apples?

First, let’s discuss the most obvious tweak. The backsplash.

We chose 2″x12″ white subway tile and a contrasting warm gray grout.

We decided to tile up to the hood but not to the ceiling because we really didn’t want the hood to be an ‘in your face’ focal point from the adjoining family room.

Likewise, we chose to only go three tiles high with the rest of the backsplash. Don’t get me wrong. I do enjoy an entire wall of tile now and again but when it’s visible from a not-so-utilitarian space {like our wide open adjoining family room} then it feels a little cold to me. Not to mention, keeping our backsplash minimal saved us time and money. Unless your kids are doing the cooking in your house {in which case TELL ME YOUR SECRET}, you really don’t need a backsplash that extends to the ceiling.

It’s hard to tell from this shot but the low backsplash wraps around under the microwave.

No backsplash along the desk area. I’m reserving the under-cabinet space for an inspiration board, memos, reminders, etc.

Now for the less obvious tweak. The reclaimed wood shelves…

Seriously. They might be my favorite thing in the entire kitchen. Besides the skylights. The wood is old fence boards from HH’s family farm back in Pennsylvania. Like I mentioned, it was from the same lot that we used to DIY our previous headboard. {Don’t worry. HH sealed it so there’s no risk of contaminating our dishes with nasty chemicals or harmful dust.}

This shot shows how the raised shelves follow the lines of the kitchen better. I liken their new, higher position to a good {not Joan Rivers} facelift. It’s like that’s where they were supposed to be all along. Oh, and I have no problem reaching stuff on the shelves at their current height. At 5’4″, that was a slight concern for me but, turns out, it’s just like reaching up into a wall cabinet for something on the bottom or middle shelves.

The wood isn’t perfect. It’s bowed and warped which did pose somewhat of a challenge to hang. It has an aged patina that can’t be bought and only comes with time. We purposefully left some of the old paint on the boards.

Each shelf is actually made up of two boards placed side by side. Since we reused the IKEA brackets, HH had to cut the boards length and width wise to fit. Even though there are two boards and they aren’t perfectly smooth, it’s not enough to make our dishes wobble precariously above us.

I love the function of the open shelving so much that I bought two more brackets and we added a low shelf over near the fridge for easy water drinking. {See how the backsplash continues along this wall?} The height of the shelf is in line with the backsplash and still allows us to utilize the electrical outlets properly. This corner needs work. I want to hang the paper towel roll and I’ll probably remove the coffee maker since we rarely use it.

HH was worried the area under the shelf would be wasted but it’s perfect for storing cutting boards.

Some more shots because I can’t enough of the reclaimed wood and it’s Friday!

The mix of the shiny white tile, glass globe pendants, stainless steel brackets & appliances, weathered wood shelves, warm walnut island top, dark lower cabinetry and aluminum stools are so us. We love the contrast of light + dark, old + modern, shiny + matte.

I still have a short list of things to add to the kitchen, mostly final touches and accessories: window treatment, rug, maybe some hooks under the lower shelves near the range for towels/kitchen tools, wall art to the left of the window, etc.

Last week, one reader guessed another addition to the kitchen…

Cabinet lighting. {I’ve yet to paint those damn french doors. Why?! It’s not that hard!}

HH installed it himself. I have no idea how. I’m clueless when it comes to electrical work. I do know our electrician-in-law {who did the rest of the electrical work on the house} ran supply wire and hooked it up to switches so the cabinet lighting turns on/off with the flip of a switch. Presto! If you have any questions about it, feel free to ask in the comments section and maybe HH can answer them. I’m sorry. I have no desire to be an electrician.

But I do love what lighting can do for a space. I wish I could capture the ambience of the cabinet lighting at night. It’s the only lighting we use in the great room in the evenings after the kids are tucked in bed, lunches are packed for the next day and the kitchen is cleaned up. Cabinet lighting – that’s about as romantic as we get, people.

One last thing before I go…THANK YOU for voting for Mabrey’s room in the Room for Color contest over on Apartment Therapy. We won the dark division! I couldn’t have done it without you.

Have a happy weekend! I’ll be attempting a weekend warrior project that involves paint. Fingers crossed the kids cooperate.

Click here to see who won this week’s Bona giveaway.

images: Dana Miller for House*Tweaking