a new look for my 'new to me' kitchen--help!

13 years ago

We've just purchased a home and will be doing A LOT of painting and updating and wallpaper removal (photos reflect previous owners things, not ours). For now, we can only do minor cosmetic work in the kitchen (paint, hardware, window treatments, accents, etc).

I am having a tough time figuring out what to do with the kitchen wall color! Just don't have a vision, other than I want it to feel warm and refreshing (is that possible to have both??) I'm thinking about painting the adjacent dining room BM Palladian Blue, and the living room and adjacent foyer a tan. I'm planning on changing light fixtures and adding black hardware and perhaps a painted black dining table and chairs for contrast in the breakfast nook (which also might hold up better to three young children). I like the idea of a striped cotton rug for the floor, think Dash and Albert type.

The floors are red oak laminate, the cabinets are white beadboard type and the counter top is a light wheat colored corian. The kitchen has a bay window with southern exposure but will have indirect light due to a porch on the front of the house. Some borrowed light will come from the dining room which faces the north side of the house.

I'm just not sure what color might look best considering the light, plus the color of the counters/cabinets. The counter color is not my taste (I'd prefer a brown or black to provide more contrast with the white cabs), but I need to work with what I've got. Do you think the green or blue colors be too cool, or blah? I'm not a huge fan of yellow, and the one of the wall now is just too intensely yellow for me.

Thoughts? Also, if you have other suggestions about minor/inexpensive changes that I could make, I would appreciate it!

Thank you in advance!

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Comments (4)

dilly_dally
13 years ago
The pics are kind of tiny so I can't see all he details. Is there a backsplash? I'm thinking you could do a white for a backsplash and white walls and a dirtied yellow on some walls. This would make your beige cabinets look darker and richer. The whole monochromatic look could be punctuated with colors in the accessories. Use some accents of natural wood. Go with chrome or brushed nickle for the hardware instead of black.

Is there any way to fit an island into the space? The island could be of another color than the cabinets.

The counters seem to bother you and you can't replace them right now you say. A lot of people have had good luck painting their counters. I've never tried it but it is said to have good results and it wears well until they can be replaced. Off course you could paint the cabinets instead too.

{{!gwi}}
Sueb20
13 years ago
Our beach cottage had a similar kitchen and we painted it Prescott Green (hm, I hope that's the right name -- from Benjamin Moore historic colors). The nearby living room happened to also be Palladian Blue. In the kitchen I also had a lot of red accents and a bit of black. So you might take a look at that color... I'm not normally a big fan of blues (the Prescott Green does lean toward blue at certain times of day) but I really liked it. I think you could really play up the cottagey aspect of your kitchen (if that works for your house!)... in ours, for accessories I had red/white striped canisters, polka dot bowls, retro-floral dish towels, etc.

I agree that the bright greenish-yellow (as it looks on my monitor) is not working at all!
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vampiressrn
13 years ago
The pictures are small, so can't tell what accessories you have. I vote for either an apple green or sage with black accents on your counter. You can then pull the green and black into your dining area. Your black hardware would look nice and like your idea about the rug.
teacats
13 years ago
Let's see:

For another blue for your dining room: Benjamin Moore "Glass Slipper" 1632

Kitchen:

Benjamin Moore "Mesquite" 501
Sherwin Williams "Honied White" SW7106
Benjamin Moore "Raccoon Hollow" 978
Benjamin Moore "colony Green" 694
Benjamin Moore "Chic Lime" 396
Benjamin Moore "Creekside Green" 2141-40
Benjamin Moore "Hancock Green" HC-117
Benjamin Moore "Wispy Green" 414
Benjamin Moore "Powder Sand" 2151-70
Benjamin Moore "Pear Green" 2028-40

Of course -- new handles on the cupboards and drawers and fresh lighting would make HUGE changes to the look of the kitchen!

Just to name a few .....