I need help. My kitchen has been in the process of a remodel for--*gasp*--over a year. We have stripped about 60 years of paint coats off the cabinets and now, finally, finally, we have nearly completed the repainting/rehanging process.
The "new" cabinets are painted a milky country white. I distressed and sanded the edges to give them a shabby chic look. The cupboard doors are fastened on with black rustic/iron-looking hinges.
I have a simple valance over my window box, which is above the sink, and another valance on the door leading to the driveway (the door has a glass window... in case a curtain on a door sounded strange at first). Both valances are made out of this fabric:
The "new" cabinets are painted a milky country white. I distressed and sanded the edges to give them a shabby chic look. The cupboard doors are fastened on with black rustic/iron-looking hinges.
I have a simple valance over my window box, which is above the sink, and another valance on the door leading to the driveway (the door has a glass window... in case a curtain on a door sounded strange at first). Both valances are made out of this fabric:
We are replacing all of the old cabinet knobs and drawer pulls with these (the red ones, not the blue ones :)):
The previous owner of our house painted the kitchen walls a truly hideous shade of beigy gray. We've been suffering with it for a year and a half and it is starting to make both me and Dan a little crazy.
This is my dilemma: I have no idea what color to paint the walls. The problem is, I didn't quite think this through before I jumped on the red toile bandwagon and threw all reason to the wind. This is probably because I have an ongoing love affair with toile and as a result I do believe I have the cutest powder room west of the Mississippi (it's all in black and white toile). Problem is, the red toile idea didn't translate as well in the kitchen as I hoped it would.
I can't paint the walls red. My dining room (next room over) is already painted a deep shade of cranberry. Red will clash. Plus, that would just be too much red for my taste, even if I could find a coordinating color.
I don' t like yellow. Our office and our bedroom are already painted pale sage green. White seems too... uh, white? I don't want the kitchen to feel sterile. Taupes, beiges and neutrals are just too boring, and they don't suit our kitchen at all, which gets lots of happy sunshine in the mornings. I tried a silvery color swatch, but to me it clashed with my curtain fabric. I am diametrically opposed to pink and purple in ALL circumstances. Blues are a little too cool for the warm "country kitchen" feel of the room.
What's a gal to do? Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm so tired of that icky beigy gray and I am determined to finish the kitchen before the baby arrives. :)
This is my dilemma: I have no idea what color to paint the walls. The problem is, I didn't quite think this through before I jumped on the red toile bandwagon and threw all reason to the wind. This is probably because I have an ongoing love affair with toile and as a result I do believe I have the cutest powder room west of the Mississippi (it's all in black and white toile). Problem is, the red toile idea didn't translate as well in the kitchen as I hoped it would.
I can't paint the walls red. My dining room (next room over) is already painted a deep shade of cranberry. Red will clash. Plus, that would just be too much red for my taste, even if I could find a coordinating color.
I don' t like yellow. Our office and our bedroom are already painted pale sage green. White seems too... uh, white? I don't want the kitchen to feel sterile. Taupes, beiges and neutrals are just too boring, and they don't suit our kitchen at all, which gets lots of happy sunshine in the mornings. I tried a silvery color swatch, but to me it clashed with my curtain fabric. I am diametrically opposed to pink and purple in ALL circumstances. Blues are a little too cool for the warm "country kitchen" feel of the room.
What's a gal to do? Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm so tired of that icky beigy gray and I am determined to finish the kitchen before the baby arrives. :)
9 comments:
Have you considered a warm gold?
I would go with the creme that matches the background of the fabric, personally. But that's just me.
I was hoping you'd get good advice because I certainly have no knack for figuring stuff like that out.
My thought was to use red accents, like a border. Which would look nice with either warm gold or cream.
-- SJ
I once saw a decorating mag featuring an entire house. It showed pics of all the rooms. I was so transfixed & taken in by all the pics that I didn't notice anything...until the end of the article when they mentioned that every single room was painted the same exact color. It was amazing. It was the beautiful blue-slate-green-warm color and w/ each room it took on a different hue, depending on what accents were in the room. It was amazing.
-Ceste
Maybe try a darker shade of the neutrals I know you avoid? They really do make a room feel warm and cozy. Just add color with your accents. Plus a darker colored wall would contrast nicely with your light cabinets. I found the idea for my kitchen colors at Lowe's so browsing is a great way to get inspired. And, if it helps you any, I have a burgundy-ish red dining room next to a orange-ish red kitchen and it works out just fine.
Have you considered a brown? There are a lot of shades of brown that are a far cry from boring old beige. If you pick the right shade, it would be a fantastic bridge between your red and cream anchor-colors. If you wanted to get really fancy, you could alternate between a brown, and the cream color in your fabric with vertical stripes of paint. I'd have to see the architecture of the room to know if that would work though. Also, consider the color of your flooring and counter tops.
Green might be all wrong with that fabric... as might a blue, but if you take the fabric to Home Depot or Lowes you might find some sample shades of blue or green or a neutral that goes well with it.
Err, what I mean is - I'd suggest a shade of green or blue, but then it might be all wrong. Checking the fabric against shades at HD or L might help you. :) Sorry.. previous post was confusing.
If you call it "latte" instead of tan, it's much more exciting. :)
I think a golden color or maybe even a "dried grass" yellow color would be pretty. Maybe you could also go with a totally different type of green than you already have. Maybe even a dried green with some brown tones in it. Otherwise, a bright white might look pretty and a nice contrast with the toille.
Have fun with it. :P)
Post a Comment