That's not actually Saltillo tile (which is earthen and handmade), but appears to be ceramic. I think the tile is what is "dirtying" the look of the kitchen, and yes, I do see what you mean about it not quite going with the rest of the house. The tile doesn't seem to be a very good match for the granite either. Since you don't want to make replacements, I would look at how to add a decent-sized rug or runner to this space to help hide the tile. (Some will insist that the kitchen is not a place for rugs, but I disagree.)

Are the cabinets as true-white as the trim? On my monitor, they appear to be more of an off-white. Painting the walls a different color might help, but others who are more knowledgeable about colors will have to chime in on that.

How lovely that you've got those big windows. Overall, I think you've got a very pretty space.

if the kitchen is a stand alone room, its ok to paint the white trim a tad warmer color just in the kitchen. there might be a mismatch between the kitchen and the rest of the house but that doesnt mean you have to have the trim in the kitchen clash with the kitchen.

i suggest 'split the difference' between true white and your cabinet color.

IdaClaire, the cabinets are cream and the walls are beige, and yes it's ceramic tile trying to look like saltillo/terra cotta. I thought it was an odd choice too with the granite countertops.

At first I thought we'd need to paint the rest of the house trim cream to tie the kitchen in, but that feels overwhelming. It'd be easier to paint the kitchen cabinets and walls. We could also replace the countertops, but I think the tile has to stay.

More than likely we'll paint the walls in the living room, dining room and sunroom a shade of off-white/cream (now they're blue-grays). I was wondering if painting the kitchen cabinets a gray-blue or deep teal, changing out the countertops to maybe butcher block, and painting the walls off-white/cream like the rest of the living space walls might do the trick.

Here's a picture of the sunroom which has an earthy floor as well. The rest of the floors in the house are natural oak.

Its all very nice. I think you could change the tops, add a colorful bs and continue the oak floors to work with the rest of the house. The cabs can be painted a light clean color. The cream is whats off if you want crisp.

You have such a lovely home! And the kitchen is lovely, too. Painting your cabinets and walls should be enough to make your kitchen match more with the rest of your home. No need to change the countertops, they will look great with white cabinet color.

Please consider your lighting before major changes in paint. Maybe adding lighting to the ceiling or under cabinets or changes your bulbs to a more natural or whiter light.

You have a lovely home. The mix of rustic and country is very pretty. I see what you mean about the kitchen being a tiny bit off from the rest of the house. But I believe Threers is correct. Before tackling anything, please consider changing your light bulbs to as bright as you can go. And then see if that helps before tackling the floors, or counters or paint or _____

This Houzz poster had struggles with how white can change to creamy yellow because of the wrong light bulbs. [White cabinets look yellow. help[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/white-cabinets-look-yellow-dsvw-vd~5224453?n=83)

If you do change your countertops, think about removing the 3 inch backsplash piece. And think about a color theme that would go with your Boho style. Those floors may need to stay as it could lend itself nicely to a bohemian style. I can't wait to see what you come up with. Enjoy your kitchen.

It's a lovely house!

Light bulb change, then a large indoor/outdoor or polypropylene rug that reads boho, then maybe change the wall color.

I'd also remove some of the solid upper doors and leave off or replace with glass.

Check out www.rugsusa.com

More than likely we'll paint the walls in the living room, dining room and sunroom a shade of off-white/cream (now they're blue-grays).

I like this idea, because off-white/cream is much more versatile than blue-gray, especially for your "modern boho" look. And if you paint the walls in the other rooms, then the kitchen will fit in better. Cream walls can work very well with white trim. I have BM Windham Cream on the walls, and BM Cotton Balls trim and ceiling in several rooms of our new house and it looks lovely. You might need a white trim color that plays better with a range of colors.

I wouldn't make too many changes to the kitchen until you've lived in the house for at least a year. No point spending money now even on smaller cosmetic changes if things aren't truly awful, because in a year you may decide that you want to move something, which will require new countertop, flooring, and/or cabinets.

I would not paint the cabinets. Trust me that is way more work than painting the trim in the rest of the house. And a diy, or even professional, paint job is no match for a proper factory finish (assuming that’s what you currently have).

I would actually try painting the ktichen walls an off white. Split the difference between the cabinets and the trim color. I think that would make things blend better.

First, remove all that's on the counters- even the water on top. Remove it all. THEN:

What is it that truly makes this kitchen not work for you? I'd be willing to bet that you come to "flooring". And maybe even painting the freestanding cabinet.

No judgement (I can't tell) but if your windows need a bath, do it. Lighting is good to look at as other's have said. Make it cohesive with the rest of the house, and then start editing back in. NO worries- there is a big difference between "perfect design" and how we really live. I'd send you a picture o my kitchen but oh my- is it ever a mess! :)

Just give yourself a chance to see this with fresh eyes. Beautiful home. You can love that kitchen- I know it.

It's an absolutely charming house! I would not re-paint the walls. The "earthy" floor you describe on the sunporch is actually Vermont slate and it wonderful.

What does NOT work is the countertop and the kitchen floor. It's a shame they didn't just use the Vermont slate in the kitchen. Start with a new countertop and backsplash and then think about adding a hardwood floor to the kitchen. DO NOT paint those cabinets - they are very nice and you could easily really mess them up.

Good luck!

The mismatch is between the cool paint colors in the rest of the house and the warm flooring throughout. The warm kitchen colors are perfectly suited for the tile floor and the adjacent hardwood floor. I suggest repainting the blue living room rather than the kitchen cabinets. The custom cabinet finish is expensive, the living room wall paint is not.

I would go with the same color in kitchen walls or even bluish.

I'd like to know what market this is in, because for all that people everywhere are up in arms about staging houses for sale, the previous owners of this place and the RE agent didn't even care about the quantities of water on top of the fridge lol.

I think that's it - it's not that it's clean vs muddy colors but warm vs cool colors! The entire house is painted in cool colors except for the kitchen and it's my favorite room in the house. So painting the other living spaces warm colors makes sense to me. Although I'm surprised how good the blue walls look in the kitchen celerygirl!

The windows are all painted shut so we're going to get those working and there's lots of peeling trim paint, so since we have so much trim to paint I suppose we may as well change the color. Would you go with a warmer white trim and cream walls like beckysharp suggested or cream on cream? Or keep the same white trim color and do cream walls?

jtlashell, it would probably help to read up on different whites. Cotton Balls isn't so much a warmer white, but a more universal/neutral white that plays well with other colors and in a variety of different exposures. The light in your area and also in each room needs to be taken into account too, the various rooms in your new house don't exist in a vacuum.

This is one article I read by interior designer Laurel Bern that helped me decide on Cotton Balls for my house,

https://laurelberninteriors.com/2015/06/07/the-one-white-trim-color-that-works-every-time/

That's a great article! I have White Dove and Simply White on woodwork and Cloud White on the walls in my current home and the only one I like is White Dove. For a creamier color I was considering SW Creamy or BM Navajo White for the walls in the new home, but I read in several places that Navajo White is better if it's on both trim and walls but that Creamy could go with white trim. I wonder how it would look with White Dove.

It's always worth investing in a can of paint or two and trying it right on the wall to make sure : ) .

Thanks so much everyone! This has been incredibly helpful!

Let u sknow what you end up doing. Always nice to get a follow-up.

Hi JT,

Congrats on your new house!

I like the mention of "even my husband," lol! I once put up a Christmas tree and my hubs didn't notice, walked right by it.

Why don't you pick out a super cool pendant light to go over your sink while you're at it? Night time dishwashing, may want more light.

I absolutely adore that blue hutch in your kitchen and the sunroom ceiling color. Amazing!

Seeing the tones in those and the floor/cabinets/counters, I would chose a fairly neutral tone trim color like BM Simply White. If the tone has any warm reds it could read pink (our engineered cherry floors did this to us) or yellows it will emphasize the counters. Since your floors have an orange tone (at least on my monitor) and that's opposite on the color wheel from the blue hutch and accents throughout your home, I recommend not encouraging or contrasting that color. Essentially, adding more warm color tones like Cotton Balls would make the warm tones even more dominant and adding cool would provide contrast, potentially making the warm pop more. A neutral tone will let the two coexist without dominance.

Threers is right about lighting too. My husband rebelled at daylight lights in most rooms, but our kitchen was the one room that really needed it. Higher kelvins can wash out some of the warm tones, which can make the colors better go with the rest of your home.

We actually think adding in some blue to the kitchen will help bring everything together. We don't think you need to repaint the walls outside the kitchen, perhaps just in the kitchen.

Don Jose Renovation · More Info

North Berkeley · More Info

Florence Avenue: Kitchen · More Info