Kitchen Renovation

[Erin]

Boyfriend''s kitchen is a Hot Mess! It is in desperate need of a makeover, or at the very least, update.

I am not a big fan of his oak cabinets. They''re the kind you might find in a basic apartment - with gold knobs. I would love to paint over the cabinets

It''s a standard galley kitchen with no windows. Past the kitchen is the dining room (with an oak table chair set) that ends with a sliding glass door. My favorite look is when the upper cabinets are white or off-white and the bottom is darker like indigo or a deep mossy green. His flooring and countertop is a light colored tan/beige, but here''s the kicker - Black appliances.

There are other things I don''t like about the kitchen which are easily remedied like the wallpaper which has to come down, the overhead lighting (currently flourescent

), and the lack of any finishing touches like a floor rug, clock, hand towels, etc.

So imagine, if you will, beige vinyl flooring, beige laminate countertops, black appliances. What paint color combo would you suggest?

1. Upper cabinets
2. Lower cabinets
3. Walls

 

[Hera]

It's a standard galley kitchen with no windows means you should try and keep the colors on the wall a little light so it doesn't darken the space too much. I like the idea of white cabinets (maybe off white would be nicer though) and mossy green bottom cabinets. Then I would change the hardware to modernize the cabinets. I would paint the wall color a light green in the same tone as the mossy green but very light.
So:

1. Off white (cream) cabinets
2. Mossy green cabinets
3. light green on the walls.

 

[Erin]

Here''s an inspiration picture. I like the darker really saturated green color for the bottom because of the black dishwasher and stove. Here is one inspiration picture I''ve found. It''s a lot tougher to find that I originally thought...

 

[Hera]

Then find rugs or window treatments that have cream or your beige, green and black to tie all of the colors together.

 

[Hera]

Looking at the inspiration picture, why not paint the wall color the pumpkin color shown on the brick?

 

[Hera]

Maybe make the hardware black to tie in all of the black appliances. Sorry, so many posts, thinking out loud...

 

[Erin]

Black hardware, hmmmm... hadn''t thought of that.
Time to get the sketch pad out and lay out this color combo.

Does it matter that the adjacent dining room flows into the living room from the side and everything in there is tan/beige? The hook here is that we''ve been talking about painting an accent wall and the end hallways a reddish maroon. However, we also flip flopped on the idea of a teal. I think I''m going to have to really think this out as one large harmonious room before I do anything.

 

[Hera]

It does matter for the flow of the two rooms together. You may want to consider the same color value (not necessarily the same color) for the two rooms. It depends on what you like though. If you have accent walls, maybe you have them scattered through the house. It all about flow and consistency. Am I making sense? I'm in design jargon so ask for clarification if you need it.

As far as the accent wall, I can't really picture where you would put it, but I wouldn't choose the teal color because all of the colors you've chosen are earthy tones and teal isn't earthy.

 

[Elmorton]

I like the idea of the green cabinets and pumpkin walls for the kitchen keeping with the maroon/beige in the living room - I think those colors sound pretty complimentary.

Ditto the idea of the black or antiqued hardware, too.

I love the inspiration pic, but I might go with a mossier pale green or khaki than mint. Greens can be hard - in both our current and former bathroom, you can see tiny places where the previous owner had painted mint, and I can totally tell why they painted over it.

Are you thinking about doing different colors for the bottom cabinets and the top? I'm not too keen on that, really...how big is the kitchen you're working with? In a huge kitchen with high ceilings, lots of light, I can see it working (like the pic) but if this a smaller kitchen, then I'm afraid the look would be color-blocky.

Are you thinking about any backsplash work?

When my DH had a bachelor pad, I got him a tile that had chili peppers painted on it in a simple black frame (Kohl's I think?) for the kitchen since there was nothing over the sink. He loved that thing and threw a little bit of a fit when we ultimately got rid of it after moving in. The green/pumpkin/black theme would totally work with a few "pepper" touches (not themey, but at least something that's not overly feminine for the walls).

 

[packrat]

Our kitchen walls are a Benjamin Moore color called Baby Turtle-it''s a khaki greenish, and the cabinets are a creamy yellowish white color..can''t remember the name offhand..the walls were supposed to be a lighter khaki called Flowering Herbs, but I liked the darker better. I''d go get a bunch of samples..or visit some decorating boards..they''re really helpful. A lot of paint brand websites have room coloring tools to play w/to get ideas of what you like together.

 

[Hera]

yeah, on second thought, maybe not having the pumpkin color. That might be too many colors for a small space.

 

[Erin]

What if I paint the walls something to enhance the beige floor and countertops. Sorry this is a crude drawing, but it has really helped me layout the colors in my head.

 

[Erin]

In case that would be too much beige...

 

[ladypirate]

I like the beige one! It looks warmer than the gray.

 

[Italiahaircolor]

I''d be careful going two-toned cabinetry. Thats very personalized, and resale might be tricky....Its'' popular right now, but in small spaces you want lots of light....Maybe you could get some new fronts for the cabinets in glass?

I wouldn''t do "black" hardwear...but maybe an bronze...then you could change the sink faucet...and the deeper tones would carry nicely.

 

[Erin]

Bronze - you mean like oil rubbed or 3rd place medal?
I don''t think glass fronts really work for him because one, he doesn''t display anything nice to look at two, his kids are like bulls in a china shop

The sink is stainless and so are his coffee pot, knife set, canisters. He likes the stainless steel accents. Can that still work with bronze?

Oh and also, with the sliding door at the end of the kitchen, it never feels dark in there. I guess with the black appliances now, nothing feels cohesive at all.

 

[Erin]

Goin a little different green, a clay colored wall and nickle pulls - looks like a Southpark kitchen, doesn''t it?

 

[Hera]

I like the beige one up top.