I read an article in the Metro recently, about someone who was renting a flat and with the permission of her landlord, she decorated her kitchen and painted it so many bright colours. She was even nominated for design awards because of how great it looked.
I’ll admit, this got me thinking about my kitchen. The décor is neutral, but bland and not really me. It’s fine, but just a bit ‘meh’ really. The kitchen itself also doesn’t work and I want to remodel it. I have single-glazed windows throughout my house and would like them upgraded and my boiler was new 15 years ago. It seems fine, but takes up a lot of room and probably isn’t going to last for many more years to come. All of this work (and this doesn’t include the new bathroom or new wardrobes I want) is going to cost quite a bit, and so it’s going to take a while before I get it done.
My bathroom suffered the same way. It was (note the past tense!) a mixture of peach and white and it was very much of its time. Unfortunately, that time was about 15-20 years ago! After a couple of weeks of living with it, I decided an upgrade wouldn’t be too costly, so I bought tile paint, wood paint and new floor tiles. A few weeks later and it was a new room and now, even 6 months on, I smile every time I walk in. For less than £200, my bathroom isn’t an oasis of calm (that will come with a refit) but it is so much more cheerful and looks a billion times better.
I was painting my lounge and I recalled the Metro article. ‘Why am I not painting my kitchen?’ I asked myself and I couldn’t think of a single reason. I know when it’s done permanently, I want it to have coastal bird vibes (I have the fabric for the blinds, tea-towels, nick-nacks…) but in the interim, I knew I wanted more than the beigy-peach it was.
I went onto a DIY website and I went for colour. Before buying my house, I’d rented for 8 years, so I was over familiar with cream, magnolia and white and I was adamant that my new house would not be like that! I’ve gone for muted tones elsewhere – sage green, first dawn blue, a pale green for my dining room, but I thought I’d go all out and go bold for my kitchen. It’s not forever; if I hate it, I can repaint and when I get my kitchen remodelled, it’ll be all change anyway. But why not go for the brightest colours I could find? I took inspiration from Joules and whilst my kitchen isn’t finished yet, the woodwork, walls and cupboard doors are all painted, so I’m getting there…
Why am I talking about paint? All too often we can choose things which are safe, which are nice, but don’t really excite us. It can be easier to just keep doing what we’ve done, even though, deep down, we know it’s not really what we want. I’m not sure I want my long-term kitchen to be an explosion of colour, but for the next couple of years I know I want to embrace it. Be bold. If I hate it, well the DIY store is just down the road and I can get some more paint. And that’s the thing with choices. If we make ones that actually we rethink, we can always make different ones. We’re not stuck, at least most of the time we’re not and even if it seems we are, there are still options.
I ask you, why not paint your cupboard doors? Yes, this is an analogy, so why not step out of your comfort zone, even a tiny bit and try something that’s been calling you? You might just love it. And if you don’t, then you know you tried and you can try something else! I’m a month and a year away from turning 50 and I know that’s on my mind a lot right now (not the age, just that I don’t want to do what I’m doing now for the next 20 years!), so I’ll likely return to this theme, but you have one life. It’s not a dress rehearsal, so think about what makes you happy and do more of it. Paint the cupboard doors! Find ways to add colour to your life. And if you’d like some help with this (not the painting, I don’t think I could face another paint brush!), I’d love to support you.