Painting the walls and cupboard doors in pastel colours has made a world of difference to Heather Craig’s kitchen and saved her splurging on a brand-new design. Here, she tells us all about her home makeover experience...
Heather's kitchen makeover
We didn’t have the budget to replace the kitchen that was already here when we moved in, nor did we really want to. It’s great quality and it wouldn’t have been very eco-friendly to just get rid of it.
However, I love colour and thought the beige walls, oak cupboards and black worktops looked very plain, so we decided to refresh what we had.
I was desperate to add colour and loved the way Instagrammers @thehousethatcolourbuilt and @therachelhendersonstudio fully commit to colour in their projects.
I got Love Restored, a local company, who upcycle furniture with Annie Sloan paint, to paint the cupboards a pale pink, as I’ve loved pink since I was young.
Welcome to my home...
I’m Heather Craig @heatherrosieolivehome and I’m an assistant in early years learning. I live in a four-bedroom 1940s house in Dunfermline with my husband, Brian, an oil rig operations manager, and our children, Rosie, six, and Olive, four.
My problem kitchen The oak cupboards and granite work surfaces were good quality, but they were a safe choice and in an older style that made the room look drab. I love colour, so I really wanted the kitchen to reflect that.
We felt like the big room was crying out for an island too, so we bought one made from oak, which gave us extra worktop space.
Unfortunately, the wood kept splitting and after having the island replaced a couple of times, we decided to buy one from IKEA instead. After recently renovating our bathroom, we had some pink striped tiles left over, which Brian used to cover the back of the island and I painted the walls pastel blue.
A bit more about my home...
How I made it work Painting the walls pastel blue and the cupboards a pale pink has really brightened the room. The colour scheme also complements the worktop and floor really well – I quite like the black now! We added more work surface space with a free-standing island and styled the room with colourful chairs, artwork, a patterned blind and tablecloth.
My favourite part I’m really pleased with the IKEA shelves in the dining area, which I painted to look like built-in furniture. It was previously crammed with clutter, so it looks much better now it’s been styled.
From a practical perspective, the integrated washing machine and fridge-freezer were really small for a family of four, so we replaced them with bigger models.
I finished the room with a set of colourful chairs and a striped blind and floral tablecloth from Cath Kidston, which pick out all the colours in the room. Before I held back with colour, but I’m glad I went for it in this space – I will very happily live with this kitchen for years.
Heather's style advice
Refresh old appliances with paint
Heather thought the silver fridge-freezer jarred next to the pink cupboards. She considered wrapping the doors in pink vinyl but was put off as it tends to wrinkle, so she painted them instead.
‘I used sugar soap to clean the doors and then painted them in Rust-Oleum’s universal all-surface paint in Satin Rose, a paint and primer in one. I sanded between the three coats to remove bubbles,’ she says. ‘It was definitely worth doing and at £19.99 a tin, it was such a cheap revamp.’
Make your own wall art
Having previously stuck the children’s artwork to the walls, Heather wanted a tidier solution. She found MDF pegboards from eBay and painted the sheets white for a fresh, modern look. To make it more of a stand-out feature, Heather framed the board with a border of scalloped wall stickers from Dekornik.
‘I love the look of the stickers and I might use them to create a frame for some artwork without the pegboard.’ She finished the look with pegs from Peg and Board to display a collection of favourite pieces including her children’s drawings, Polaroid pictures and postcards.
Add open shelving
Having a shelf beside the cooker is a great way to add interest to a bare wall. For a co-ordinated style, Heather has painted her shelf in the same colour as the cupboards and has fun changing up the art and trinkets she puts out on display, putting personality into this practical space.
Heather has filled her collection of vintage glass bottles, from local shop Kitty at Home, with flowers from the garden. She bought the T in the Park festival artwork from illustrator @bertiebryans. ‘The image of the big wheel and tents is iconic,’ says Heather. ‘It’s a nostalgic throwback for Brian and I because we’d go every year.’
Feature Jane Crittenden. Photos Douglas Gibb Styling Alison Gibb.
This is a digital version of a feature that originally appeared in Home Style magazine. For more inspirational home ideas, why not subscribe today?