Contemporary Coastal Kitchen Update: Adding a new paint color and flooring too!

We’re in week 2 of the One Room Challenge. Follow along this contemporary coastal kitchen update as we update the wall color and add new flooring!

Hello Friends! Welcome back to the One Room Challenge! I am back for week 2. Last week, the challenge began. I shared the story of this special home, along with my plan for updating the kitchen, using a contemporary coastal style. This week I am back to share the progress.

This week, the walls received a new paint color. Paint is such an easy and inexpensive update to any space. The walls in the kitchen have a chair rail that my grandparents had installed. My grandmother used to have wallpaper on top and a coordinated paint color on the bottom. When the house became my mom’s, she had the wallpaper removed and painted the walls a light green called Healing Aloe. Lisa and I knew that we wanted to keep the chair rail and the character it adds to the space, but update the color for a more contemporary, neutral look.

After sharing a few different colors, ordering peel and stick samples from Benjamin Moore, we decided on Stonington Gray. Stonington Gray is a soft, cool gray, with blue undertones. This color is the perfect backdrop for this coastal contemporary kitchen update. Lisa and I actually used it in two different shades. Above the chair rail, we chose to lighten this color by 50%, which means that only 50% of the pigment is added to the base color. Below the chair rail, we chose to use the original color of Stonington Gray. I love how clean and fresh the walls look.

The chair rail and trim received a coat of White Dove by Benjamin Moore. This soft, classic, creamy white complements the Stonington Gray well. It is also the color that we plan on painting the upper cabinets.

Along with painting the walls, another update also happened this week. We said goodbye to the old linoleum flooring. The flooring was installed back in the 80’s and really dated the space. In its place we chose to use this luxury vinyl flooring from Lifeproof in the color Sterling Oak. I had originally seen this flooring this summer. My friend, Sue, has it in her home and it is absolutely beautiful. This scratch and stain-resistant flooring is easy to maintain and immediately updates the room. Lisa had a contractor install it right over the existing linoleum. What a difference it makes!

We plan on emptying and painting the cabinets. We would like to do something interesting in the little alcove above the sink. Right now we colored copied some peel and stick tiles and set it there to see how we like it. What do you think?

As a reminder, here is what the room looked like when we began.

Please check back next week to see more progress, and don’t forget to check out all the other guest participants of the One Room Challenge to see what everyone else is up to!