A Bold Move

Happy Friday Everyone! Today I am completing the new kitchen nook reveal, with a look at our built-in shelves in the room. Here's a little before shot of what we had going on:

We really like the open shelves, and the little arch at the top that mimics the archways throughout the rest of our home. As you can see, in the unpacking process, we placed pretty much anything and everything decorative up there, without too much thought on placement.  I wanted this little area to stand out more, so I decided to paint it a bold color. I chose the color based on the fabric of our new curtains.

I decided to highlight that dark blue accent color and picked a color that was pretty similar in hue.
So, my first step was to remove all the items from the shelves and then take the shelves out as well. The shelves are just resting on L-brackets so they weren't difficult to remove.

Next, I taped off the outside edge of the nook- which proved to be a bit more challenging, especially when I got to the archway. Let's just say, there was a lot of interesting taping at all different angles to completely cover the area.

Than I began to paint. The paint I chose is called Ode to Blue, mixed at Ace. I chose a flat finish, since I didn't really need to worry about scratches or smudges on this low-traffic area. One coat left it looking a little streaky and light in some areas.

Two coats was all the space needed for complete coverage, though. The picture below was taken right after I removed the tape. I usually remove tape pretty quickly after painting, so it doesn't dry and chip off as I'm peeling.

There were a couple minuscule spots where the paint had bled a little through the tape. Luckily, Nick and I had color-matched the wall paint in our house in a paint pod sample when we first moved in. So I was able to quickly touch up these spots with a fine paint brush. I let everything dry for about 8 hours and then put the shelves back into the nook.
This time I was more thoughtful about placement of the various decor items. Rather than loading the shelves up, I surveyed everything I had taken down and chose only things I really wanted to display (at this moment).

I found homes for the rest of my things and I can easily switch things out once I get bored of this arrangement.

What do you think? I'm actually a little surprised at myself for choosing such a dark color, but am quite happy with the way it turned out. It definitely picks up the blue from the curtains and keeps the room's color scheme (of turquoise and pink) from being too girly...

I linked this to Thrifty Decor Chick's before and after party!