Wallpapering Our Mid-Century Kitchen

Mid-Century Kitchen With DIY Peel-And-Stick Retro Patterned Wallpaper

*This post was made possible by the generous support of Fancy Walls and features gifted product. All opinions are my own.

Our kitchen has come a long way in the 14 months that we’ve lived in this house. We’ve peeled off old wallpaper, repaired and repainted the drywall, swapped out light fixtures, replaced the countertops and faucet, removed a bulky cabinet to let more light in, reconnected the crown moulding from where we took the cabinet down, installed open shelves, and last summer we painted the dated wood cabinets a new bright creamy off-white. You can see a little bit of the progression of this project in the photos below.

Before: Mid-Century Ranch Home Renovation

Installing And Styling New Open Kitchen Shelves | dreamgreendiy.com + @UltraShelf (ad/gifted)

Mid-Century Kitchen With DIY Peel-And-Stick Retro Patterned Wallpaper

It’s like an entirely different space, right? It has taken every bit of our energy (and home décor budget) this past year to get to the point where we can say we love the room, but love it we truly do. It feels modern yet still retains the charm of our 1960s ranch, and the small space functions surprisingly well considering its pint-sized square footage. Our kitchen truly is my happy place, and I always look forward to cooking in it. There was just one final design detail that I really wanted to add back in before I could call the room officially “done.”

Mid-Century Kitchen With DIY Peel-And-Stick Retro Patterned WallpaperMid-Century Kitchen With DIY Peel-And-Stick Retro Patterned Wallpaper

Mid-Century Kitchen With DIY Peel-And-Stick Retro Patterned Wallpaper

As much as I loved the new white-on-white aesthetic of our kitchen, I admit that it felt a little plain. Since our kitchen really is super small, there wasn’t much room for decorative accents other than on the open shelves we installed. I needed to find a way to add back just a little bit of color to the space to make it feel more like “us,” and I ultimately decided that wallpaper would be the perfect solution. Reason being that it wouldn’t take up space on the shelves or countertops, and I could pick a custom pattern from my go-to wallpaper resource, Fancy Walls, so that I knew I was getting the perfect print for our home and its color palette/vibe.

If you look at the photo above, you’ll see that we narrowed it down to two peel-and-stick wallpaper patterns: one called “Candice” and another called “Neutral Geometric.” You may recognize the latter print since I used it in my flat panel door makeover from last year. And as for the second sample, we had “Candice” custom color-matched to our favorite “Sea Salt” Sherwin-Williams paint, and I fell pretty hard for that retro-inspired look and subtle hint of color. We ultimately decided to go with the custom version of “Candice” because I thought the blue/green tone would help add timeless style to our kitchen.

Mid-Century Kitchen With DIY Peel-And-Stick Retro Patterned WallpaperMid-Century Kitchen With DIY Peel-And-Stick Retro Patterned Wallpaper

I didn’t get any photos of the installation process, but you can see it in video format here on my TikTok feed. Just like most cases of wallpapering in our household, I did the entire project by myself without any surprises. I genuinely enjoy the challenge of wallpapering a room! It’s so much easier, in my opinion, to wallpaper versus paint because it gives you such an instantaneous transformation. As soon as I stepped back to gaze at the finished product I was absolutely smitten. The new addition of color was the perfect finishing touch in our kitchen, but I’m glad that I opted for a pattern in addition to color. Yes, I could have painted the room “Sea Salt,” but that curvy linear mid-century pattern really drives the point home that we love retro design.

Mid-Century Kitchen With DIY Peel-And-Stick Retro Patterned Wallpaper

Mid-Century Kitchen With DIY Peel-And-Stick Retro Patterned Wallpaper

Mid-Century Kitchen With DIY Peel-And-Stick Retro Patterned Wallpaper

Now, one thing you may have noticed is that we decided to stop the wallpaper just at the edges of the kitchen. Wallpapering this entire space—kitchen and attached open concept seating area nook—would have cost quite a bit more in budget, and it also would have taken many additional hours of labor. I also didn’t feel like the back half of the room really needed to be wallpapered.

I was lucky that the transition into the seating area side of the room was a crisp, clean one over by the refrigerator, as you can see above. The wall took a 90-degree turn there, so I just stopped the wallpaper right at that corner. The other wall, though, that the open shelves are on stretched straight into the kitchen nook (you can get a better sense of the room’s layout in the second photo below). To create a natural transition from wallpapered wall to white painted wall, I hung a set of floor-to-ceiling curtains alongside the window in the room. This gave me an intentional place to stop the wallpaper, and I think the solution worked just perfectly.

I thought I’d explain that in case you guys are in a similar predicament and needed help figuring out a way to transition from one wall treatment to another. If you have a window in the room, use floor-to-ceiling curtain panels to soften the transition! I had also considered a vertical piece of wall trim, and have seen people do that with success—my in-laws actually did that between their kitchen and dining room, and I think it looks great. I hope one of those two tips works for you.

Mid-Century Kitchen With DIY Peel-And-Stick Retro Patterned Wallpaper

Mid-Century Kitchen With DIY Peel-And-Stick Retro Patterned Wallpaper

Mid-Century Kitchen With DIY Peel-And-Stick Retro Patterned Wallpaper

Honestly, these photos don’t do the wallpaper justice. The color is much more saturated somehow in person, which makes the pattern pop more, too. I wish you could see it in real life! Maybe you can get a better sense of the colors and pattern in the video I put together—see that here over on TikTok, like I said. Anyway, we’re absolutely in love with this latest Fancy Walls peel-and-stick wallpaper transformation, and it has me giddy to jump right into my next wallpapering project of 2024. I can’t wait to show you what I have planned…

Mid-Century Kitchen With DIY Peel-And-Stick Retro Patterned Wallpaper

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All The Paint Colors In Our Home

Retro Boho Paint Colors List

One of the most frequently asked questions that I get on social media and here on the blog is, “What paint color is that?” So, I thought it was time to do a roundup of all the colors we’ve used so far in our new (ish) home. When we first moved into the house in 2022, I had anticipated being able to use a lot of the same colors that we used in our old house. However, I quickly realized that the bright, bright white I loved so much and the gray/beige paint I had also come to love just didn’t work with our newly inherited cream-painted trim (which is very similar to Décor White from Sherwin-Williams, if you’re wondering).

Anyway, I had to rethink all of my paint plans after we moved, but I’ve since narrowed our whole house color palette down to a really great collection of paints. Keep scrolling as I take you room by room to name and describe the colors I’m loving right now, and make sure you scroll to the end of the post for a breakdown of a few of the colors that I can’t wait to try next.

Retro Boho Paint Colors ListRetro Boho Paint Colors List

Sunroom: Pure White, Sherwin-Williams

When perusing the photos in today’s post, you’ll see quite a few white walls. I used a paint called Elegant White from Better Homes & Gardens when we first moved in that has since been discontinued, but it’s a close match to Sherwin-Williams’ Pure White. I love the way it looks against our cream trim, and it really does wonders for brightening spaces in our house. Pretty much any white wall you see in our home is painted this particular shade of white.

Retro Boho Paint Colors List

Dining Room: Homburg Gray, Sherwin-Williams

Our dining room also got a coat of Pure White from top to bottom shortly after we moved in, but I felt like the space ultimately looked a little plain with nothing but white/cream paint in it. So, I decided to punch things up with a rich gray/green/blue on the lower half of the room. I painted Homburg Gray from Sherwin-Williams all along the area below the chair rail, and suddenly the room looked so much moodier and interesting. You’ll see later on that I carried this dark color into the living room as well, which has helped these semi-neighboring spaces look and feel more cohesive together.

Retro Boho Paint Colors List

Guest Bedroom Tour Featuring @thumaforbedtime | (ad/gifted) #thuma #forbedtime

Retro Boho Paint Colors List

Guest Room: Similar To Moderate White, Sherwin-Williams

I’m asked pretty regularly on Instagram to name the paint color in our guest room, but it’s actually a very subtle paisley-like wallpaper. If you look closely, you’ll see a two-tone cream and white print of leaves and petals, but when seen from far away, it definitely does look like a really nice soft neutral paint color. I recently had it matched to Moderate White by Sherwin-Williams in case you want to try to get the look without having to track down a roll or two of similar vintage wallpaper.

Retro Boho Paint Colors List

Retro Hall Bathroom Makeover Reveal

Kitchen Nook And Hall Bathroom: Hazel, Sherwin-Williams

Another now-discontinued Better Homes & Gardens paint color that I used right when we moved in was called Silken Jade. Again, I had it matched, and the closest paint color name I can come up with is Hazel by Sherwin-Williams. It’s a fun poppy blue/green tone that really speaks to me. We used it in our hall bathroom, and also below the chair rail in our kitchen nook seating area. Oh, and by the way, in case you picked up on it…Yes, I’m a big fan of Sherwin-Williams paint! There’s an SW store just around the corner from our house, and it has naturally become my habit to head that direction when I need to source paint.

Retro Boho Paint Colors List

Add Architectural Wall Texture Using TrimAdd Architectural Wall Texture Using Trim

Retro Boho Paint Colors List

DIY Faux Built-In Floating Shelves

Living Room/Entry: Origami White, Likeable Sand, And Homburg Gray, Sherwin-Williams

Our living room is probably the most colorful room in our house sporting three different paint colors. We used a different, more gray tone Sherwin-Williams white paint on the two longest walls called Origami White, and then I chose to use Homburg Gray (the same paint color I used in the dining room) to accent the fireplace wall. Finally, I added pops of Likeable Sand to the entryway and walls directly behind our floating bookshelves. If you’re curious about the wallpaper I used on the walls flanking our entry, it’s from Fancy Walls and is called Neutral Retro Geometric.

Mid-Century Kitchen With DIY Peel-And-Stick Retro Patterned WallpaperMid-Century Kitchen With DIY Peel-And-Stick Retro Patterned Wallpaper

Kitchen Cabinets: No Filter, Clare Paint

The best thing we have done thus far to our new home is paint the old wood kitchen cabinets. You can read that whole story here if you missed it, but we decided to use No Filter from Clare Paint as our new cabinet color. That neutral cream-colored paint added so much brightness and freshness to the room, I could hardly believe it when I first stepped back after putting the paint brush down (and it still makes me so excited to gaze at, even now months later). I’ll never get over the immense paint of paint to transform a room—without spending a ton of money, too!

Retro Boho Paint Colors ListRetro Boho Paint Colors List

Home Office And Entryway: Likeable Sand, Sherwin-Williams

After using Likeable Sand in our front living room and entryway, I decided to carry the color down into the bedroom wing of our house to help add some cohesion to that part of our floor plan. I used it in a 3/4-wall treatment in my home office, and love how much warmth it gives the space. I should mention for all you astute copyeditors out there that I know “likable” isn’t usually spelled “likeable,” but that’s how Sherwin-Williams spelled the paint color name in their database, so I’m sticking to it!

Retro Boho Paint Colors ListRetro Boho Paint Colors List

Primary Bathroom: Sea Salt, Sherwin-Williams

The wall color in our primary bathroom may be a little hard to see in those photos above, but I used Sea Salt from Sherwin-Williams in the space when I made it over last summer. I wanted something neutral with just a hint of color, and this light blue/green works perfectly. I love the way it subtly pops against the existing vintage white wall tile and the gold accents that we chose for the lighting, mirror, and plumbing. If you’re on the hunt for the perfect spa-inspired blue/green paint, I can’t help but think that Sea Salt is your answer.

Retro Boho Paint Colors List

Primary Bedroom: Celadon Limewash, James Alexander

The upper section of our primary bedroom walls is actually in the midst of a major transformation right now (say goodbye to the vintage wallpaper!), but the lower half is all done in Celadon Limewash from James Alexander. I worked on this project last year, and adore how it came out. Limewash is definitely more high maintenance than regular painted walls, but there’s something so unique about this textured wall treatment. The light blue/green tone of the limewash also works really wall with the Sea Salt in our attached primary bath.

Retro Boho Paint Colors List

There you have it—every paint color name in our new house! If you have any questions about the colors we used or the paint brands we opt for, please leave a comment. I make sure to answer each and every note left here on the blog, so you can be confident that I’ll get back to you with all the details I might have accidentally left out.

As for paint colors I’d love to try here in our retro ranch, I’ve got my eye on Evergreen Fog from Sherwin-Williams, Desert Twilight from Benjamin Moore, Coastal Plain by Sherwin-Williams, and Rosemary, which is (you guessed it!) also from Sherwin-Williams. As you can see if you clicked those links, moody dark greens are really inspiring me right now. What paint colors are you loving?

Retro Boho Paint Colors List

Your DIY Guide To Home Decorating eBook

*I earn a small percentage from purchases made using the affiliate links above. Affiliate links are not sponsored. Rest assured that I never recommend products we wouldn’t use or don’t already love ourselves.

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