Sharing all the tips & tricks for how to brighten up an eat in kitchen with DIY projects, farmhouse style decorating ideas & pictures for a few hundred dollars.
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5 Ideas for How to Brighten Up an Eat In Kitchen
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We have FINALLY reached the painting stage of our crazy and never ending kitchen renovation.
And… I have a new FAVORITE neutral paint color!
Our eat in kitchen has never been more organized or brighter than it is today.
The best part is that we were able to make it over for just a few hundred dollars!
Farmhouse Eat in Kitchen Before
Just for a little perspective, here is our eat in kitchen after we moved in to our farmhouse 5 years ago.
Idea ONE for How to Brighten Up an Eat in Kitchen – Take Down the Faux Wood Ceiling & Wood Beams to Raise the Ceiling & Paint it White
The first thing we did was take down the faux wood ceiling and wood beams.
Our kitchen does not have the tallest ceilings in the world so the dark rough beams and wood just darkened everything up.
We were lucky to find drywall under the faux wood panels and decided to patch and paint them white.
Taking down the faux wood beam gave us about 3-4 more inches of ceiling height which our tall friends and family will definitely appreciate!
Idea TWO for How to Brighten Up an Eat in Kitchen – Trim Out the Kitchen Doorway with Built in Bookcases & Paint Everything White
We covered the doorway header with white trim so keep our kitchen ceiling bright.
I gave our built in bookcases and desk another coat of white paint.
These built ins (DIY here) give us so much storage and functionality.
It’s hard to believe it has been just 2 years since we added them.
Idea THREE for how to Brighten Up an Eat in Kitchen – Rearrange the Table & Chairs
With the ceiling and beam gone I was able to move our turn our kitchen table and chairs vertically to the door.
This gives us much more room to move around the table while still keeping 6 chairs around the table…
AND blocks less nature light from coming in from the kitchen sliding doors.
Idea FOUR for How to Brighten Up an Eat in Kitchen – Take Down those Empty Kitchen Soffits
We also took down a soffit above our basement door.
You can still see the original wallpaper under the crown molding of our century old farmhouse.
I have no idea why the soffit was ever added.
It was completely empty and it hid the beautiful curved wall under our staircase that was there to begin with.
To give this corner even more character, I added a green glass knob to our pantry.
I have been saving this door knob for a few years now until we found the perfect spot for it.
Some times it’s the littlest details that add so much character!
Idea FIVE for How to Brighten Up an Eat in Kitchen – Paint the Walls a Bright Color, Sherwin Williams Crushed Ice
I also repainted our kitchen walls, a beautiful neutral grey color called crushed ice from Sherwin Williams.
The grey matches our new cararra marble countertops, cabinet hardware and stainless steel appliances beautifully.
Jason and I love the color so much we want to repaint all the rooms in our farmhouse now, Ha!
I even painted our powder room this color.
I added a vintage chalk board next to our DIY cork board to help keep our family organized.
The cork board (DIY here) does an awesome job keeping the kids important papers organized & is a special spot to display their artwork since is where my younger kiddos do their homework.
The chalk board calendar is great for everyone to keep track of their schedules.
I am hoping to add some hooks under the chalk board in the future.
We still need to chalk all of the trim and woodwork we added but for now we are really happy with how it turned out.
Our kitchen is ALMOST done and I can’t wait to share more posts about it with you guys shortly. (see the full Farmhouse Kitchen Reveal HERE)
I hope this inspires you with lots of Ideas for how to brighten up an eat in kitchen!
by Tara Lehman
Don’t forget to pin my 5 ideas for how to brighten up an eat in kitchen on your Favorite kitchen Pinterest Board!
More Kitchen Ideas You Might Enjoy…
Farmhouse Kitchen Renovation – the Plan
Refinishing a Stepback Cupboard / Our New Kitchen Island
DIY Wood Range Hood / DIY Farmhouse Sink & Faucet
DIY Corkboard – What to Do with All Your Kids Artwork
The ceilings look so much taller and the white is perfect.
Thank you so much Marty! We really are thankful with how the kitchen is turning out!
Tara taking those beams out makes a huge difference. Your kitchen looks so much brighter than before and is full of lots of pretty additions.
Thank you so much for stopping by to check out my eat in kitchen Mary! We were nervous about taking down the faux beams especially as so many people are adding them but are very happy with how it turned out 🙂
Tara, I am really enjoying your kitchen posts. The transformation is really incredible! It looks so light and fresh and I absolutely love your new wall paint color!
Thanks Amy! We are really happy with how our eat in kitchen is turning out but are definitely ready to be done, Ha!
What white paint did you use with crushed ice?
Thanks so much for stopping by to see my brightened up kitchen Diana! I used Sherwin Williams ultra white semi gloss (not tinted) available at Lowes
Hi Tara, your progress and creativity is amazing!
I tried to open you latest blog regarding still painting but could not wait. I cannot open it, what am I doing wrong?
Thank you Beverly, I am so sorry you had trouble opening up my latest post! Here is the link, http://lehmanlane.net/farmhouse-kitchen-makeover-reveal/ hopefully you will be able to check it out now.