I've use Whole Wheat and it is a great color. I think it or a yellow will blend too much into your wood if you continue it. Perhaps consider a color with more green such as SW Wheatgrass 6408... nice and fresh for a kitchen I think!Blends very nicely with the Whole Wheat. Have fun!

Some type of sft grey tone looks very clean in a kitchen space. Yellow tones look very "muddy"

Bleuceleste - do you have a color Brand, name/number for the "elf" color you are referring to?

I appreciate everyone's feedback - THANK YOU! I actually picked up a sample can of SW6164 "Svelte Sage" to try (can't wait!)

lucindalane - Thanks for the suggestion about the Restorz-It. Yes, our cabinets are kinda "rough looking," but they are in okay shape. I won't be repainting the cupboards as some people suggested.

Dawn,
I googled it and Behr has "Elf"--they have an interactive website where you can apply it to a kitchen. The coordinating colors include a wheat-like paint.
In my kitchen I had golden cabinets (the type popular in 1960s ranches), installed a pine Pergo floor, and painted the half panel walls a glossy white. The "elf" color
went well with these colors, and looked great with the stainless fridge. The house sold immediately at list price, although the counters were original (and oven!)
(just re your worries about color and resale).
I always thought of the color as a green, but many people, including the realtor, thought it was a shade of blue. It has blue in it. It's not a sage-like green, which would have some yellow.

You're welcome, Dawn. Another idea-and possibly much easier on the budget-is to use some Old English, the kind for lighter woods, on your cabinets, if you would like to freshen them up a bit. You could use a strong detergent, like Tide, dissolved in some really warm water, to clean all the grease and stuff that has probably adhered to the cabinets, and that don't just come off with a regular cleaning . Then, you let the wood dry for a day or so, you could apply the Old English. After you covered your cabinets you could give them a good buffing, and they would probably really look really shiny and bright. ^^)
For my own curiousity, I went and looked at that "elf" color paint. To my eyeballs it looks like a light "steel" blue color, just a few shades darker than your counter. So, it seems it would fit your color scheme.
You know, I think that your kitchen would like very nice painted the "whole wheat" color. Do you like cobalt blue? If you went with that color, then you could accessorize with some bolder colors, like the cobalt blue. I'd even take off the knobs on the cabinets and paint them that color-unless you mean to replace them before you redo the cabinets.

Lucindalane - I actually thought about the Old English, but didn't know about cleaning cupboards with Tide - will have to give that a shot! I've always used "Dawn" dish detergent and/or Murphy's Oil Soap.

I am going to try painting a small section the Svelte Sage that someone recommended. A realtor had advised me to stay away from painting walls blue - I guess not many people like them. (My daughter's room is blue, though!) I am not all that wild about the Whole Wheat - the cabinets look drab.

And I have to laugh at people's suggestions about the cabinet knobs. There weren't any knobs there up until a week ago! My husband and I thought the black knobs would look better with the appliances. Are they dated - is that why people are telling me to replace them?

This afternoon's task has been digging out the caulk (I think the previous owner caulked over old caulk and then painted - the red paint stained the Corian so I was trying to get that off.)

Since I have the Old English and not the Restorz (I saw it's around $50!), I'm going to try that tomorrow. Off to go clean... Thanks for your input!

The black appliances are so dominant that I think they ave to call the shots in chosing the decor for this room. I love the simple handles. I would paint the walls white which would tie in with a minimal colour palette of white/ black/grey/wood. I would add color in objects, art, small appliances etc probably in a couple of colours eg turquoise andyellow or orange for crisp modern look. I would have a blind, basically white but maybe with an element of geometric lines in black or alternatively choose to have one of the highlight colours to feature. I would choose the blind once the room was finished.

honestly that cabinet color is hard to match up w/ a paint color. You either have to go really bold or very light green. have you considered painting your cabinets a different color. if they are true wood you might be able to lighten them up w/ a diff stain. good luck!

Another idea: the cabinets look very nice in the second photo with the desk. What about ""Colonel's Lady" from Pratt & Lambert? It is a saturated blue, along the lines of a Provence blue. I have it on four walls in my home and it looks good at all times of day.

Bleuceleste - do you have a color number? When I went to the Pratt & Lambert site, I couldn't find the Colonel's Lady. I have a sample an of SW Svelte Sage, but just bought some pillows for the family room (adjoins the kitchen) that has some blues and greens...

Do you have a photo of a room from your house with this color (ideally, the kitchen?)

http://www.myperfectcolor.com/en/color/61008_Pratt--Lambert-1212-Colonels-Lady
It looks very bright on the internet. My living room and entry are this color. I have a photo, but I cant' get it from my camera, temporarily. The reason I thought of this color is because your cabinets look walnut-y in the second photo and this is a color of flooring I am considering. It's a daring color, but gets lots of compliments!

Dawn, I think the sage you have the sample of will work great. Plus you could carry it into the family room if you want since you have pillow with those colors as well. You could do some of the brighter blue accessories in your kitchen. I'd steer clear of the blue walls too.

I read that a strong detergent is needed to clean off the grease, and Tide is a very strong one, IMO. My mother has used Old English for years on the dining table. It's a Duncan Fyffe that she bought in the early 1960's, when I was a kid(eons ago)and its still in good shape, and when you give it a good shine with the Old English, it really looks nice. I had no idea that Old English made anything but the darker stuff, and you really have to be careful with it-the dark kind, although I bet that the one for the lighter wood would still leave a greasy spot-because if it gets on something, its there forever. I hope that it helps your cabinets.
I had no idea that the Restorz-it was that high, though I'm not surprised. My mother does have some "eighties" oak cabinets in her kitchen that she bought back when she was still working. I am going to figure out whether or not they have some water damage on the doors on the sink cabinet, or whether its mildew. What I am going to do is take some bleach and see if the dark part disappears. If it does I am going to go on the assumption that its mildew. I am thinking about trying the Restorz-it on them. I am a person who likes the color of oak-I seem to be in the minority out here. However, I have always been disappointed in those cabinets, because my mom actually paid over a thousand dollars for them back then-and the front is "real" wood, but the shelves are just made of particle board, or MDF, or whatever you want to call the stuff, and they just have a woodgrain vinyl that they applied to the edge so its would "look" like wood, and its starting to come off now. Also, the sides are that way, too, with only a vinyl covering. I have wondered for years how they could be re-done, and I was happy to be reading out here on the site, and someone posted a link where this young lady has the same kind of cabinet, but she refinished her cabinets and replaced the vinyl on the side and the shelving with beadboard. I like country style stuff, so I would have no problem adding that.
I've seen that Svelte Sage color on the website. I hope it looks good on your experimental section of wall.
That's interesting about what the realtor said. Everyone has watched all these home improvement shows so much that-in about five or ten years, when people are buying houses, they are probably going to say, "Why in the heck are all these houses beige, or sage green?" the way people now roll their eyes when they see some bright orange formica in a seventies era house, or a peach colored room in an eighties era house. I pretty much live with my mom now-she just turned 90!-but I do have my own little house(which I probably will be selling)that I built around 1994. Back then everything was hunter green or burgundy. My son's room still has the hunter green carpet-my son adores green to this day. However, whoever buys my little house will just get the hunter green carpet. I am afraid that I am not someone who is in the position, sadly, to change stuff out right now.
I do think that blue/gray would look nice on your walls, though-with perhaps more emphasis on the "gray" with the realtor's admonition in mind.

Bamamom - Actually the pillows don't have any green - LOL! I am still going to do the sample wall in the Svelte Sage, but am looking at blues (I flip-flop, what can I say?) I love the blue/brown combination. The adjoining family rm (it's actually one big room to the kitchen) has brown leather furniture and the area rug is mostly brown/beige, but there is a steel-gray-blue running through it. I bought some solid blue pillows as well as some with blue/brown/beige and it brightened up the FR considerably. Now I am looking at samples of blues for the kitchen. Oh, the decisions!

lucindalane - My cabinets are similar to what you described - it appears the doors are wood, but not the sides (my hubby pointed that out to me yesterday). This kitchen is definitely not what I would have chosen! I LOVE dark cabinets and beige/brown countertops and lighter floors. Everything is backwards - honey oak cabinets, "Gray Sand Corian" (just found that out) and very dark floors - complete opposite of what I've ever had, which has me in a quandry!

Like you, I went through the phase of hunter gree and burgundy (still love those colors - especially the burgundy!) but tastes have changed over the years and now I love the beige/brown/earth tone colors. I agree with you: no matter what I do, it will be dated in a few years - sigh! We figure the brown leather furniture will be "classic" (I hope) and we'll be able to do anything with it.

Regarding the Restorz - how did you even find out about it? I did some reading and there are LOTS of great reviews about it. I am definitely considering it, because on closer inspection of the cabinets the other day, I notice that they do look kinda worn (previous owners were hard on the house in so many ways.) I appreciate your postings!

@Dawn McCloskey , thank you Dawn, I am in a new home of 5 years old now, and repainting the whole house slowly...lol... and new year hoping to resell, due to we are going to build one more time and STAY..LOL..So I am putting neutral colors in that will go with any decor...hopefully...I did the 2 bathroom in Nomadic desert Sherwin W. paint it looks really good, Now I am concentrating on my Master bedroom and bathroom, the builder DID A CHEAP PAINTING JOB...LOL...everyone in neighbor hood had some complaints of the walls that was painted...I only clean my walls with murphy oil...it is the best.. If you have any cabinets that need some paint off, consider murphy oil on it and it does work....again look forward in ideas from you and any help....brainogram.org is what I do now.

Dawn....I understand the quandry. Have been doing that myself for the past year. Look at Benjamin Moore's Carolina Gull...since you mentioned gray/blue. This color has a gray/green coloring, at night a hint of cool blue. I ended up using that in our family room with brown leather furniture and new traditional oak colored hardwood. Really toned down the yellow/orange being given off from the floor and furniture along with a 70's orangish/terra-cotta floor to ceiling fireplace. Good luck.
PS...I love chocolate brown, blue and aqua colors now. Have done those colors throughout most of the house. Husband does not understand why my tastes seem to change every 5-10 years. LOL!

Love the lime green too, beware of grey blue with your cabinet wood !

BM Hancock Gray. It's actually green.....then paint your cabinets Swiss Coffee...My common areas are SW Whole Wheat and Kitchen is the Hancock Gray..Looks great.

Well, I guess I'm really behind in what colors are hot. I like the color of your kitchen as it is now. Was thinking of doing mine that color...but am reconsidering.

Dawn, the key here is you are putting the house on the market. No yellow, no green, no blue. You are decorating to reduce "buyer's objections", not for your own taste. I agree, the Whole Wheat is drabbing your cabinets, but if those walls are in good shape, you don't have to repaint. Look at SW6123 Baguette, 2 shades deeps on the same strip. It would work perfectly with the Whole Wheat, and the combination of the two might even be better than one shade throughout the kitchen.

To remove paint. I use a product called "Awesome" full strength. Undiluted. Let it sit for a while, like half an hour. Buy it at WM or a dollar store. It's an excellent heavy degreaser. Only buy the old style formula with the dilution ratios printed on the bottle.

Well I think sage green would bring warmth to your kitchen, and the wood accents (cabinets) would work beautifully

I started looking up the old furniture refinisher I remember was "the" go to one back at the start of the DIY revolution-which was Homer Formby. I found the Restorz-it info, and thought it sounded like something worth trying. They still make Homer Formby, too.
I still like hunter green and burgundy. I have always gravitated, though, to ivory and off white, for some reason. My favorite color is yellow, but I have only had one room painted that color, and that was my bedroom in my late teens-and it was a soft, creamy yellow.

Crazylife - actually, we are NOT putting the house on the market; we just BOUGHT the house a few months ago. Our house has "weird lighting" so we really didn't want a similar shade of color on the walls. I painted some sample colors and we didn't like them - yellow tones didn't look right.

I was telling the HD sales clerk about the paint removal (there was paint on the wooden bannisters) and she recommended a spray (too lazy to go look at it now!) which worked perfectly.

I appreciate your input! If I hadn't found the spray at HD, I'd be running to WM or the Dollar Store!

EVERYONE who responded with greens - we actually tried a few samples of differing sage greens - they looked gray on the walls and clashed with the countertops. We've been living with a sample of SW6242 - Bracing - and think we are going that route. (It's a blue/gray.) For whatever reason, it makes the countertops look like there is blue in them and seems to look okay. Unfortunately, changing out the countertops (hope to do in the future) and/or painting the cupboards wasn't an option. But I truly appreciated everyone's feedback - thanks!

It will be gorgeous. Nice choice.

Yea on the blue/gray color. I was hoping you would go that route. Post when your finished painting. Good luck!

Someone asked about the paint remove that was recommended by the HD sales person. It's called "Motsenbocker's Lift Off" - it's labeled as "Latex based paint removal; cleans all surfaces; biodegradable; water-based; removes fresh and old paint." It worked on the wooden stair railing and and ballusters. (The previous home owners were VERY sloppy painters - with RED paint!)

Thank you for posting it, Dawn. They make a graffiti remover also that takes ALL the paint off a surface, even the paint you weren't intending to remove. Careful with that.

I think blue/gray is a great choice with your cabinets and the counter. I hope that you are able to find a product that works for you to spiff the cabinets up.

Mustard yellow are another subtle mustard color OR Tan. You cna't go wrong with one of these colors. The red or orange is too cold and stark for your kitchen. These colors work well with black appliances.

All these yellows are going to make your cupboards look like they're decades old and yellowed varnish... paint the walls a pewter grey/blue.... or charcoal grey... very modern... add stainless IKEA wall dish holders, or paper towel wall holder...to make it younger.
Good luck! (dont do yellow... it's been out for about 5 yrs already.)

PlumAubergine---MAKE SURE IT'S NOT TOO DARK---AND SHOULD LEAN MORE TOWARD THE RED/PURPLE, NOT BLUE/PURPLE... ... http://www.ukhomeideas.co.uk/ideas/bedroom/wardrobes/betta-living-reports-hot-new-trend-in-uk-kitchens/
Wall Color: (right side of photo) http://www.next.co.uk/shop/category-kettles-category-kitchenappliances-category-toasters/colour-purple

The kitchen is done! I had to use Kilz paint first, then painted over that with SW6242 - Bracing. My family loves the calming feel of the room, which coordinates well with the adjoining family room. Thank you, everyone, who responded to my question almost two months ago. Stay tuned for a kitchen "revamp" in the next year or so - LOL! My husband and I are in agreement that we aren't wild about the color of the cabinets or countertops, and the appliances definitely need to be replaced because the stove top was ruined by the previous owner and the oven doesn't work at higher temperatures, and the refrigerator builds up ice under the freezer and the ice needs to be chopped every couple of weeks. Oh, the joys of buying a resale...

Very nice! Enjoy the fruits of your hard labor and thanks for the update. I wish Houzz had a section where people could post their successes!

They do! There's a new Before and After section, which I love!

Feeny - where would I find the before/after section? I've poked around and cannot find it. (I have other photos if there is such a section!)

I cant quite tell what colr your counter is from the photo. If it is gray you could go with a darker gray like charcoal, which would go with your appliances and be a nice contrast to the wood. You could also do yellow or sage green. I would steer away from beiges and neutrals that will look too much like the color of the cabinet.

You can find before and afters here. https://www.houzz.com/discussions/before-and-after-dsbr0-bd~t_28562

On the discussion page, you can also see that filter on the left side of the page. Hope that helps!

WOW! Great job! I love how everything flows together. Where did you find the area rug for the family room?
I hope you enjoy your new space for many years to come. Go and relax!

PS When you get the new appliances, countertops and change up the cabinets...please give us an update!

Bamamom - unfortunately (for you), I cannot tell you the name/style of the rug. I bought it at Outrageous Interiors, in Georgia - around two years ago. We originally bought it for our dining room, in GA, but when we moved, decided to move it to the family room and buy a bigger rug for the dining room. (Here, the dining room is a LARGE dining/living room combo. We have never had a formal living room, so we put the leaves in the dining table, got a bigger chandelier and rug, and have turned the entire room into a dining room. It's still a "work in progress" because I haven't found the perfect material for drapes. Someday I might post photos, but not yet - LOL!)

Ultra...thanks for responding. The rug is very pretty, the whole space is beautiful. Aw, I'm jealous, a formal living room turned dining room...I had thought about that but we must walk through our current dining room to the formal living room, and there is a framed out opening between the two...that would need to be removed.

Good luck with the drapes! One project at a time, which is hard to do somtimes. I have a tendancy to want to do everything at once.

Will look forward to pics of your next project!

I have had a client use restore-a-finish found at many antique stores on their oak cabinets it is easy and they look brand new. Try Divine Olive for paint it makes wood look warm and beautiful and you will never tire of the color. Much luck to you.

If you are going to leave the counters blue for a while I think you would do well to choose a shade or two deeper of the blue. If you desire many people have had great success sponging their counters with browns, blacks, and greys to look like granite...they put a clear coat over it once it cures to keep it looking great...I agree yellow is always a good color, but if you have a wheat color, yellow might be too close in color to use as an accent and a darker yellow may be too much with the blue counters... Cupboards are lovely...use the product advise to restore them...and failing can be replaced or covered...

good job! i actually read an article that stated the SS appliances are going away and that the new color will be white. not the typical white though. a white that appears behind glass so i am thinking it will look lighter/softer. you may be ok waiting for new appliances bc by then you can get those and it would look good w/ your paint color and possible new cabinet color by then!

I great tool for testing colors on your room is Sherwin-Williams Color Visualizer App! I use this to help me brain storm sometimes.
http://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/color/try-on-colors/color-visualizer/

Here are a few wall color ideas as well... I would go more neutral and gray to tie in the countertops.

I am championing from yellow walls and white cabinets to wood stain cabinets and want to keep it bright