I would paint the vanity white to match the medicine cabinet, and brighten it up. You should then purchase your towels, shower curtain etc. and THEN pick your paint color. Picking out a printed shower curtain will really ad nicely to the bathroom. In the kitchen I would paint it Benjamin Moore Bennington Gray (it is NOT gray but a darker tan color) I would then ADD your bold colors, the yellow, green and cobalt blue's. You could even add red to the mix. Get some bold color kitchen towels and curtains, and it will be bright and beautiful. Goo Luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: MyFavoriteBedding

The sink and stove so close together are odd. If at all possible, I'd move the stove and microwave to the 'second' microwave position. That would necessitate a new countertop, but sounds like that's planned anyway.

Below the existing microwave's upper cabinetry, I'd add a shelf at the same level as the other cabinets. It's a fair amount of work, but I'd paint the cabinetry white to blend with appliances and offset your bright accessories. I'd add a wine rack or shelves to complete the upper cabinet above the dishwasher.

Thanks for the good ideas! gwbr54, the placement IS odd, but it'll make it really easy to drain pasta! That's no small advantage with my dogs who are always underfoot when I'm cooking :-) Seriously, though, moving the stove would mean moving the gas and the vent, which is more than I want to undertake, given that a major remodel is in the plans in 3-5 years.

I would install one shelf in the built-in area where a microwave used to be for storing cookbooks, colorful pottery, etc. Another option would be a plate rack.

You might look at the soft blues with a hint of gray or a hint of aqua to go with your colorful accessories. Take a look at Wythe Blue. Several posters on here have used it or at least looked at it. Just not sure how it would look with yor counter, but would definitely add a nice background for your mix of brights. If you don't like blues, perhaps a crisp green.

I love blues! We were talking about Wythe blue over on the other thread about my living room, and I'm definitel going to get a sample to try. I'm not sure about that color with the lime green canister and some other accessories of the same color, but maybe a soft blue that's a little less on the aqua side? Also, I'm defnitely changing the countertop, so we can be creative with tha color and don't need to match the one that's there.

Me again, back with a better picture of my bathroom. This gives a pretty good idea of the vanity color, though it doesn't quite show how yellowed and plasticky the current vanity top is:

I like the white trim with the warm wood of the vanity, but would like the vanity top to be a closer to the other whites in the room, and of course the wall color is the big question. I was suddenly seized in the middle of the night with the idea that the walls should be a sort of melon or persimmon color, and I brought over a pillow in that sort of color, which you can just see to the right side of the frame. That might be a bit much, but it could be really fun. I was thinking of using a shower curtain with a palette like the one linked below, from Pottery Barn, and picking up the melony color in it. Hmm...

Here is a link that might be useful:

Checking back in to update this old thread. New kitchen and bathroom counters are in!

See, I wasn't kidding when I said "colorful" :-) Kitchen walls are to be BM Milkyway (a pale, creamy yellow). Here are the new kitchen pulls, which are bluer than they look in this pic:

New vanity top in the bathroom, whose walls will become a shocking persimmon, and fabric for blind and shower curtain:

The painters are hard at work patching and priming, so I should have wall color pics to show you within the next week or so.