I think your valance is really beautiful! What if you changed the knobs out to colored glass or ceramic - something real artsy and then decorated with color above the cabinets - think drip pottery or interesting art glass. I like the color of the walls. The sky's the limit for accessories!

I would paint the walls but I would advise against painting the cabinets. You will never get a finish as durable as what is on there now. When you upgrade the countertops and backsplash, there are a lot of things that will work great with white.

Can you paint the wall in front of the barstools? Would you consider painting the white part of that table a different color - I noticed you have a red teapot. I think it would be great to find a way to incorporate that color. Do you have a kitchen table in that area?

I think I agree with you that red will make it look more dramatic. Not necessarily modern but not the softness you were talking about either. I think Davenport Tan might be just enough color to add more umph without taking over the space and would go with that pretty valance too. Like sameboat says, then use accessories to add more color.

I also saw this photo when I was googling and thought a pretty green would be nice. Maybe too much green though with your dining room being Moss??

We just changed out the hardware in the kitchen from brass. I wish I hadn't listened to my friends who suggested brushed nickel. My cabinets are already painted wood. I figure they need to be re-done in the next 3-5 years.

I am trying to work off of the valance and bring in those colors. I saw photos of someone's room with Aura Pomegranate who had a lot of white wainscoting and it looked great.

Pretty kitchen! I vote for Davenport Tan!

Jan

You should check out the Finished Kitchens Blog. There are MANY inspiration pictures here. Makes me want to try everything lol.

Here is a link that might be useful: Finished Kitchens Blog

I actually love the kitchen the way it is and love the wall color.

i think your idea of working off of the valence for your design is absolutely wonderful, bring home handsfuls of paint chips that appeal to you and lay them up against the valance..see what might appeal.

I think a red, green, gold or shade of brown would be beautiful, they are all condusive to kitchen colors, avoid the blue in the kitchen as it isn't a good kitchen color in general, anhy of those colors of your valance would go nicely with the white cabinets..i think that your kitchen is absolutely lovely as it is..but you do have a color slightly OFF of your valance right now and I can see how you might be disappointed in it although it is lovely..i even like the countertops...a chocolate brown with red accents would bring out the white of the cabinets and be gorgeous, if you decide later that the cabinets need paint maybe go a vanilla, but the white is nice with your appliances..i like it, it is clean, and white and chocolate brown are fantastic together..a deeper gold more toward the gold of the valence would also be pretty, and also would a med dark sage green, but that wouldn't be my first choice..the right red on the walls would be great but pick it carefully, esp if you are keeping the valance and the teapot as they don't look like they are a matching red..being far apart it doesn't matter, but close up to a wall red would be iffy if they don't coordinate well..you can mix your reds if you use the choc green or gold wall color but if you go red on the wall, you will need to coordinate with it as it will be a large amount of red...not a bad thing..but red is very difficult to coordinate with..if you go red, take your valence and match the red well with it before buying paint.

You should be very proud of the kitchen you have ..and not think that it isn't fine the way it is..if it is drab to you, add some more red and gold in the decor..

as far as not wanting to go modern, choose a finish that isn't modern, like venitian plaster or faux suede? and then choose non modern decor, maybe some wicker baskets in a golden tone, with red apples in on the counter..definately NOT modern

Omg, Mocha, if this is a boring kitchen, I don't know what mine is! I love your kitchen, I think it's adorable. I see nothing wrong whatsoever w/painted wood cabinets either! I think they are charming! Just some more feedback for ya!

I see nothing boring about your kitchen that a few accessories wouldn't fix. Some greenery or urns above the cabinets and maybe some colorful canisters on the counter.
What is the color of the bar stool seats? If they're a solid beige, can you paint or recover them?
Add some collectibles to the bottom shelf of the island and hang a cute dishtowel from the handle on the end.

Your kitchen is lovely.....and I would definately not paint those cabinets. I would however, paint the walls red.....it would not make it look "modern"....red has been in kitchens for decades....and a personal favorite of mine. Put in some accents and greenery....and you will have a spiced up look. Also you might paint the bar stools red if they are wood....if not cover the seats with some fabric that has red in it. Good luck.

Why not paint the wall below your bar one of the colors from your valance? If it remains white it'll get all scuffed anyway from barstool sitters' feet.

Also, why not put in a window seat with storage below your window? You could make the cabinets supporting the window seat one of the colors in your valance, and pick up the colors for the seat cushions.

However, I think your kitchen is nice the way it is. All you need are some artwork and accessories in your favorite colors to make it pop.

I agree with those who like your kitchen as it is. Really nice wall color already. Just start adding more red accessories.

The only thing I'd change is the white wall below the bar, which would look nice painted the kitchen color or something that coordinates with it.

It's a really nice kitchen already. I wouldn't paint the cabinets too much of a creamy color since you have white appliances. I like the wall color but thought of a couple of ideas. Paint the stools and the white table a fun color, red, green or even black. Another thought is to add beadboard around the wall below the bar. Since you mentioned casual or cottage. This could be white or a color. Maybe add some nice moldings to it or corbels.

madtown just painted her kitchen a really nice red.

Laurie

Here is a link that might be useful: madtown's kitchen

Your kitchen is very similiar to mine. My monitor is reading your kitchen walls as a soft yellow which is exactly the color I chose for mine. You have nice hardwood floors though! I have tile. I also like your kitchen the way that it is. I am very pleased with my wall color because it's not boring old white or tan. It has some color but goes with so much. I too have red accents. The laundry room next to my kitchen is red and that is enough for me. I would make my bar stools pop with red cushions and I love the idea of the window seat. You could coordinate the fabrics and that would be fantastic. You could make that area so cozy and even use red on those walls if you wanted. You could do a deep window seat with nice fabric top, nice low table and really comfy chairs on the ends. I wouldn't worry about the backsplash either. I don't have one and I love hanging things on my blacksplash. You could frame an old recipe, hang a plate, find a nice framed print, and Hobby Lobby has neat framed red tin that would really pop for your kitchen. I would definitely not paint your cabinets. Cream would not look good against your appliances and your cabinets look great as they are. They will stand the test of time. Work with what you have. Good luck.

I understand about the white cabinetry feeling a bit blah,but you have other great things going on that can take the focus away from the cabinet's lack of color. One thing you could do easily would be to change out the hardware to something with more interest and texture. Perhaps a warmer metal like bronze,with a vine pattern that picks up on the design of the pretty valance.

Another thought (and less expensive than redoing all the cabinets) would be to add under-cabinet lighting so that you don't have to use the overhead lights. They tend to wash out color and add glare, where the undercabinet lighting would reflect the warmer tones of the countertops and not create so much glare off the bright white cabinetry.

As for a wall color, I would love to see something in the teal family that seems to be represented in the valance. Red, tho a favorite of mine, might only serve to highten the contrast and make the cabinets pop even more. A pretty teal would be a softer look, and less expected. And, red accent items would be great with the teal walls.

One other thought - if you change out your cabinet hardware, also change the knobs on the little island by the window to make it feel like it was created just for your space.