I am thrilled to reveal our newly wallpapered kitchen alcove on the blog today!
I didn’t know what to call this room, so I’m using the term kitchen alcove because it sounded like something a home that is almost 250 years old would have. However, this not-quite-a-hallway, not-quite-a-room is the ultimate flex space that we use for a variety of purposes.
Its functions as a microwave station, a food pantry, a butler’s pantry, shoe storage, a junk drawer, a pool towel holder, a sunscreen station, the place where the lightbulbs go, a hallway to the bathroom, and more.
PHEW! That’s a lot of hats for 30 square feet of space to wear.
All the moms out there are saying, “I can relate.”
The kitchen alcove started out looking like this in 2019. Oh, look. I called it a hallway before it evolved into so much more.
Then we removed the wallpaper, painted the cabinets, and added shelves.
The kitchen alcove was 100 times better as a clean, blank slate.
Plus, it functioned well for our family.
However, something was missing. The pizazz.
In a move that surprised even me, I decided the pizazz the kitchen alcove needed was wallpaper.
Why did I surprise myself with this decision?
Because after you’ve removed 9 rooms of wallpaper in one house, you have what I call wallpaper trauma. You’re very reluctant to put up what you just spent an obnoxious amount of time removing.
It’s not just wallpaper removal, it’s also repairing wall damage and prepping the wall for paint.
To put it lightly, it’s a lot of work.
As far as I can tell, people who hang wallpaper in every single room of their house very rarely remove it themselves.
They move.
Then schmucks like me are stuck removing it.
Apparently, I’d recovered enough from my wallpaper trauma to consider installing new wallpaper in the kitchen alcove.
Go me.
Am I planning on moving soon? No.
Am I prepared to remove this wallpaper at some point in the future? Not yet.
It’s tricky to find wallpaper that works with all the surrounding spaces but this one does just that. Let’s just hope I like this wallpaper for a good long while so that I don’t even have to think about removing it.
There are a couple of other things we did to add additional pizzazz to the kitchen alcove.
We painted the drywall around the shelves to match the cabinets. The color unified the cabinets with the shelves and made the entire wall look totally built-in even though it isn’t. “Fake it til you make it” is my motto.
We also added base trim along the floor to match the tall, gorgeous trim in the rest of the house. Parts of the wall only had quarter-round molding, so it definitely needed a trim upgrade.
We also painted the ceiling to match the cabinets. This was a bit of a controversial choice mainly because the paint has a glossy sheen.
I don’t promise I won’t change my mind and paint it back to white, but right now, since there’s no light in this room, the extra reflection from the paint is actually a win.
Plus, the ceiling is really short in the alcove – a little over 6 feet – so the darker paint just makes the whole space feel nice and cozy while you’re standing there at the microwave station reheating your coffee for the umpteenth time that day.
In many houses, not just old ones like ours, you have to get creative with the space to fit the needs of your family.
Our kitchen has some layout challenges and we don’t have a mudroom, so the kitchen alcove ends up being a hard-working space where we reheat our coffee, take off our shoes, and keep our extra lightbulbs.
It’s a little bit odd and, yet, it functions well for us.
It makes me happy that we invested a little bit of time and money into this kitchen alcove. I smile every time I’m in this space.
How do you feel about wallpaper? What about alcoves? Are you a fan? I’d love to know. You can always comment below, email me here, or reach out via Instagram or Facebook.
Products Used In The Kitchen Alcove:
Wrought Iron and Chamois Wallpaper by NextWall (It’s peel and stick.)
Ceramic Crocks (Gifted to me by my neighbor! I know, she’s the best!)
Baskets (Thrifted)
Art (Thrifted and Handcrafted)
Turkish Hand Towel (Comes in multiple colors! We have beige and dark blue versions.)
NuLoom Indoor Outdoor Rug (Two years with this rug and it looks brand new.)
Cabinet and Ceiling Color: Behr Khaki Shade
*affiliate links in this blog post*
Thanks for reading today’s blog post. I hope you came away with an idea or two. Here are some other blog posts you might enjoy.
A Snarky But Helpful Wallpaper Removal Guide
The Most Satisfying Staircase Makeover You’ve Seen Today
Books My Kids Are Reading Part 7