yes,,behr has the little sample pots of paint which are perfect to bring home and try. and they can color match any of those from BenMoore or SW.

craigslist is a wealth of cheap things you can use! tables, lighting , wood (can you build anything like a table or bench ? maybe some built in benches for the nook?)

That oak table I mentioned above? found an oak one on CL for $10 once. redid the top and painted the base in black. it looked fab!

you could get some cheap beadboard paneling and put in in there or even on that wall under the kitchen window. paint it white and do a color above.

you could turn your space into a little farmhouse kitchen with a lot of DIY and less than a few hundred. you can even use the bead board as a backsplash. this one w/the sage green walls, and little green valance, works great w/the oak cabs

see if your landlord would go half with you, since you are making the space more appealing. (it's a write-off for him!)

perfect then. the little benches are easy enough. make them w/hinged tops so you can have storage inside. You can find lots of leftover wood on craigsist, or on your clean-up construction sites!

look at this nook and how they made the bench. (notice the bead board along the walls too!)

this is another great site for tons of plans. even bedroom stuff. I actually used one of the plans on there to build a printer cabinet knock off.

http://www.ana-white.com/plancatalog

Following :)

what colors? I posted a grip of colors. did you try out any of those?

Which colors, Loyalty0171 Mack? Can you post a link or image to show us?

Linen white is a creamy, off white. For your trim, I would pick something a little whiter. BM can get expensive, so feel free to use the plain white from Behr. At least get the Behr bright white ceiling paint. I use the base white straight from the can for all my window/baseboard trim work. No need to have it tinted. If you feel it's too 'white', Ballet white will work, or just do Simply White. That's the perfect neutral white.

As for the alcove area, if you like the Sea Salt, then just carry it in the room. You don't have to do a dark tone (unless you want to. you could have them darken the Sea Salt by 25 or 50%.

Or maybe you'd like to do the bead board on the bottom half of the wall, and do sea salt above it? That would be nice addition and make that room a little more decorative. You could also just run a chair rail as a dividing line, but the bead board or wainscot just looks better. Then you could paint that and the benches in the Linen White. Find one of those round oak table and paint it a soft, matte black with the Linen or the wood, on top.

Maybe you like your set-up - but could microwave go nearer prep, on a cart? and eat farther down under the farthest window?

How many will eat? a cool swagged ceiling light for over a cozy table for 2? :)

Haven · More Info

pray tell, where will it go?

Loyalty,,,i found some other sage green colors you may like.

Sea Salt if over on the top right for comparison.

and the Linen color will look something like this,,,that's why I said to get a brighter white for all your trim work. (But hey,,if the landlord will let you paint those cabinets! This paint from general finishes goes on very easily. (primer first)

To me, what you'll do in an area matters about paint, accent paint.... possible to squeeze under that window? or the other earlier.... paint it a special finish, or wallpaper! stencil.

Calistoga Farm House · More Info

Does Ikea sell wood table tops?

Kitchen Nook · More Info

everdebz,,,thats a cool table. Loyalty,,you could make those benches and the table. put a cleat under the window and rest the table top on that, and do the outside leg for support. bring in the whites/greens and a cool light fixture.

but do the brighter white in there.

and keep looking on Craigslist for those round, oak tables, and spare-leftover wood or building materials.

Congrats on new place.

So nice being young. Here's advice I wish I knew at your age.

Always get it in writing. What you might think is an improvement, a landlord can use against you. I remember a friend in college paid a Pro to hang a ceiling fan. He had verbal permission to do so & paint. When it came time to move out the landlord charged them to repaint & remove the ceiling fan which was an improvement. They did not get there $3500 security deposit back & charged them $3000+ to "take down" ceiling fan & repaint! $6500! That was a shock. The friend lost in court because technically the landlord had that right in contract. The tenant friend had no written proof. It was totally unfair! But some people are just jerks when it comes to $.

Remember that this is someone else's property. This is obvious, but remind yourself before doing anything. If & only if in writing then paint, hang art or mirrors is the only thing a renter should do to the building.

Your $ & your time is valuable. Do not do any type of major improvements for free. So, whatever you do. Make it so you can take it with you.

For example, make a free standing bench & put against a wall instead of a permanent built in bench.

Also, go around whole home & take a lot of before pictures now. Email them to yourself. That way if an unscrupulous landlord tries to make you pay for something you didn't do, you'll have your protection proof.

When move out take photos of how you left it, too.

I have always done this & I have always gotten my full security deposit back. I even won in court, too.

Lighting and mirrors will help brighten up the place. Choose correct light bulbs.

Fix lighting 1st then choose paint colors.

loyalty,,sounds like you know your stuff. use Behr paint if you want. BM can be almost $60 a can (unless your landlord is paying for it!), so there's no need to use the top shelf stuff. Behr can match colors from other companies if you don't like the comparison one in their line. It may not be exact, but it will still work.

Use the white base straight from the can and see how you like it. if it seems too bright for you, take it back and they'll add tint to it for no extra charge.

I used it here on my ceiling and the white baseboard. straight from the can, no tint. It's a perfect white.

Goodness, I'm away for a few hours and the thread blows up!

Loyalty0717 Mack I'm so glad to have been of help to you! It's awesome that you have a plan now and feel like you're on solid ground.

I *slightly* disagree with Beth H. above about one thing, and that is using cheap paint--but there's a caveat. I personally have found that it's worth paying for the high-end paint, because it requires fewer coats, covers better, goes on smoother, and stays nicer longer. BUT, if the area is small enough that you can do it with one can--since you're painting over white/very light already you don't need to worry about the paint being high-hiding or using a primer or anything, and this is a temporary residence, so Beth is right that you'll be fine with the Behr/cheaper brand. Just keep in mind for the future, not all paint is the same, really.

(Another tip: when I was getting ready to redecorate a room, I used to make daily or almost-daily visits to my local Home Depot & Lowes stores, to look at their "reject" paints--paints other people had mixed and then either did not pick up or decided weren't right. They sell these paints at as much as 70-80% off sometimes, and if you're careful and check often, you can get a real bargain. I paid $11 once for a full gallon of the most gorgeous, high-end suede-finish paint in a warm rich brown, which looked amazing in our bedroom with some blue and cream accessories. $11! For a can of paint that would have been over $40 full price. So it's worth checking there and seeing what you can find, especially if you have several potential color schemes in mind or are searching for inspiration. I never would have picked brown for that room but it ended up working beautifully.)

Oh, and one more thing--look into tall floor lamps, if the area needs more light. You can get some nice silver ones at places like WalMart for really, really cheap; we had two in our living room for a while that cost $15 each, and they were actually really nice. I'd suggest ceiling lights but you can't do that kind of work in an apt. But lighting can make a huge difference in a room, so if there are any corners or space that just don't seem to get any real light (that alcove seems really dark, but it might just be the time of day or the way the photo came out), fix that! :-)

Another place to check is the dump. In my hometown when people bring in paint to recycle, if there is a lot left the workers put it aside and people can pick it up for free. My mom has painted two bedrooms that way, because someone didn't like the colour enough to finish their project.

Sidgirl,,,I know he is renting, that's why i said go w/a cheaper paint. (I also said if the landlord is buying the paint, then get whatever) Why should he pay 60 bucks for BM when Behr is perfectly fine? I use Behr in my own home and have never had an issue with it. Behr is not a cheap paint. It's just cheaper than BM. It's not like I said, 'use Walmart paint'!lol

Loyalty,,,yes. if you r using Behr, just tell them you want the trim/baseboard paint and you want to use the Base White w/no tint. Just have them shake it for you. Then for the wall paint, you can do the primer/paint in one, or just go for the straight, no frills wall paint. (they have a few diff kinds now. they even have a PPG brand). Behr also has a ready to Ceiling paint in a flat white. you can use that if you're painting the ceilings. Just make sure to get the paint meant for trim and baseboards. you don't want to use a latex drywall paint on trim. make sure you get a good trim brush too.

As for the Sea Star blue color,,,it would be fine for the bedroom or bathroom.

another suggestion. take down those mini blinds on the windows. they're horrid. see if landlord will let you get something else. If he says yes, let me know how much credit he will give you and i'll find you something decent. If he says no, measure the inside of the window and go to Lowes. they have cheap bamboo or roman shades in set sizes. maybe you'll luck out and they'll have something in your size. they run about 30 bucks or so, depending on what you get.

Beth H...Uh, yeah, I know you know, and I agreed with you? I was just making a general comment. I mentioned why I agree with you in this instance but might disagree elsewhere/another time, and said that when it's a place he plans to stay in future, he should go for the better paint (which is advice I wish someone had given me years ago, and which I always pass on to anyone asking about painting). I've been extremely complimentary toward you here and elsewhere--not that you ever bothered to acknowledge it in any way--and have no idea why you're jumping down my throat for agreeing with you but with one minor caveat.

I've never had luck with Behr, frankly. It's never worked like high-quality paint for me, and I don't buy it myself or recommend it to others because of those experiences. Instead of saying that, though, I thought, "Well, Beth has more recent experience with it than I do, so I'll trust her; I'll just make a general comment that there is a difference in paints. And so nobody thinks I'm contradicting her outright--because I'm not--I'll give the reasons why I agree she's right to recommend it here."

So much for that. Thanks, I'll know better next time.

@Loyalty0717 Mack, you've been given great advice here, and I hope it continues to be helpful. I'll let the "experts" take it from here. I wish you the very best of luck! I bet your new place will be wonderful, and I bet your girlfriend will love it.

Sidgirl,,I hardly jumped down your throat. Don't really know why your feathers are ruffled. I know what you were saying. I was reiterating both yours and mine. I wasn't being the least bit nasty with you, hence the lol at the end of my sentence. sorry if it came off that way. Sometimes comments on here come off sounding a bit more harsh then they actually are. I'm not pushing Behr, or any other paint. I merely said spending X amount of money on walls that aren't yours shouldn't happen. Of course expensive paint goes on better. I realize what your caveat meant. To me, it's moot. Perhaps you could have left my name out of it and just stated, "just so you know, when you get your own place, you'll want to use a better paint because,,,,,,,"

I don't consider Behr horrible. I only said I used it and have been happy with it. you don't like it. OK. Never thought for a min you were contradicting me. I hate Valspar and would never use that paint. Others like it. whatever. Please, retract your claws and lets start again. And I'll try and acknowledge you in the future if it helps. I've only seen a few of your comments recently, so I really don't know why that's an issue w/you. What few comments I"ve seen, you've always been very helpful and offer sound advice.

Loyalty, before spending that much on the whole can, do you want to try a sample? If you don't like it, see if they have an exchange you can do. Doesn't hurt to ask. Oh, and do the sheen one step up from flat.

don't forget on the trim paint (make sure it's paint for wood trim) you'll want a semi gloss or gloss. and a good brush.

Sheen? You don't want gloss for your walls.

With white appliances and window/door trim, you can take your pick of colors for the wall but do remember ...

If your apartment is small, lighter colors of paint are probably a better idea since darker colors can visually shrink a room. That said, an accent wall in your bright bold favorite color could be a good thing.

As you decide what color(s) you're going to paint your rooms, think about how well the color(s) in one room will blend with the colors in the adjacent space. (To state the obvious, beach colors and goth will not blend well.)

If you and your girlfriend are on a tight budget, you might want to experience the adventure of checking out nearby Habitat for Humanity Restore Stores. One HfHRS near me frequently has cans of paint in different brands-- some actually full and others nearly full -- where someone bought more than they needed and donated what was left of it. Spring and summer are the seasons for building and rennovating so you're likely to find construction items through fall. The larger stores will have more room and more stuff. If you don't find anything of interest on the first visit or two, do a walkthrough occasionally.

[ Just before the holidays, it seems you can find a lot more interesting furnishings (perhaps its people wanting to upgrade before their relatives visit?). You might also try the larger GoodWill stores and nearby charity thrift stores. When you walk through, do so with a critical eye -- think of it as visiting an urban museum -- and don't get in the habit of buying things you don't actually need.]

A bit of unsolicited advise -- stuff to consider:

When furnishing a small space, remember to buy furnishings that are of a smaller scale. A round table with a pedestal and chairs with legs that are mostly vertical -- as oppesed to splayed -- are less likely to be knee knockers, groin jabbers and/or toe stubbers. Small lightweight items and/or items with wheels are much easier to move about, including for cleaning. Taller storage pieces (tall chest of drawers vs. low dresser w/mirror above) will get you more room for the amount of floor space used.

Getting the most use out of what items you do choose to furnish your place is another good idea -- his/her lockable wood two drawer filing cabinets as bed side tables and/or living room end tables can help secure items when y'all have nosy visitors: it has been said that every party has that one guest that opens the medicine cabinet and a few unlocked doors. Tables with shelves below can provide storage but take more dusting.

A used hutch w/glass doors (top part of a china cabinet) can be used as a china cabinet and/or double as a tv stand and/or a bookcase and/or a curio cabinet w/less dusting than displaying collectibles on open shelves. Less time cleaning means more time for enjoying other things.

Let us know how your project turns out; good luck to the both of you.

Loyalty: now I see that it's a doorway to pantry beyond the counter.... so you might build for the wall under the nearer window, I gather.... good for you. Paint, yes, but I'm more curious about that little nook! what's that to be? :)

yes eggshell is fine. flat is just very difficult to clean.

following

Sorry, Beth, I guess I did read your comment as a lot snippier than you meant it to be, then. Bygones? :-)

How's it going now, Loyalty? Did you get the paint? Or are you building the storage benches first? (Those are going to be great--I've always wanted some in my own kitchen. Sadly I don't have the room in this kitchen, but I'm planning to build one in our bedroom for linens.)