Over the past couple of years my boyfriend and I have slowly updated our apartment, redecorating each room from the initial rustic / vintage vibe we used to a more modern (more adult!) aesthetic. The dark walls have gone to white, the thrift store and antique market finds have been replaced by nicer modern pieces, the majority of vintage knick knacks have been thrown out or donated, and the rooms have been simplified. It’s really opened up each room and helped accentuate the little light that comes with a 2 bedroom NY apartment. However, there was one room we haven’t touched – the kitchen. Since we plan on moving when our lease is up in February (after 6 years here!), we were thinking there was no point in redecorating another room. But, as I thought about it more, I realized how much I wanted to try out a little change in the room before we left. The dark red walls that complimented our hodgepodge of dishes and grandma-esque style looked really great when the rest of our walls were darker colors, but with every other room now white, the contrast is definitely more intense. And since I shoot a lot of my work in the kitchen, I’m constantly fighting with the light and having to cover up the red walls.

We had briefly discussed painting the kitchen white, so with Chad out of town for a week I decided to surprise him and paint the kitchen while he was gone….plus, I needed something to do to occupy my evenings at home. After buying the paint, it took 2 days to cover up all that red. As soon as it was dry I took a step back and…well, I HATED it. I have always strongly disliked the countertops and the cheap looking cabinets in our kitchen (typical renter woes), and both of those things were now accentuated against the white walls. Also, with all of the color in the open cabinet area and our vintage kitchenware, everything got a bit lost. The red at least tied a lot of the colors together, where as the white just made it look a bit too eclectic.

I thought about what else I could do. I didn’t want to go back to dark because with the white, the difference in light was extreme – it was much brighter in there, which was amazing. I thought about a really pale pink, but then remembered I had a boyfriend! ha! I thought about a light gray, but thought that wouldn’t really go with any of the colors we have in there, and would probably leave me with the same feelings I had about the white.  I kept on going back to the pale pink and thought that if it was light enough, maybeeee he wouldn’t mind. Now, I would’ve text him for his approval normally, but when I say he was out of town, I should also mention that he was in a different country on a rural backpacking trip for the week – no cell phone, no service, no campsites – a kind of “Into the Wild” type of situation. So, I went with my gut and headed back to the paint store to pick up some pink paint. Even the lightest pink shade from the store was not light enough, so I mixed it with white paint until I was happy with the color and then got to work. And now I LOVE it! I just love our pink kitchen! The color compliments our vintage dishware and accessories, and still gives it that grandma-esque charm I love in that room. The light bounces off the walls, which will make it much easier for me to photograph in there. It is such a change and now that it’s been made, I can’t believe it took us that long to switch out the red. When Chad got home, he just kept on saying “a pink kitchen,” but he actually does like it! I moved a few things around, swapped out our dish set, and have spent hours just staring at it. It’s so dreamy! And now I am really looking forward to spending another five months baking in here!