A Design Challenge Because I Am Design Challenged. - Cheaper Than Therapy Cheaper Than Therapy

March 19 10

A Design Challenge Because I Am Design Challenged.

So. Yes. I have this lovely new house that will be in my possession in just about 5 weeks. It needs absolutely no work. Seriously, when I say this, I really mean it. It doesn’t. Which, I’m guessing, is one of the main reasons why we bought it. The husband and I are not big on MAKING WORK HAPPEN.

We had a room in our old house that was carpeted in a lovely shade of Â GREEN and we lived with it for 8 years. We hated it. Hated it. And yet. There it sat, ugly as sin, untouched.

We had a million reasons why that exact moment was a bad one to replace it. It was too hard to match the hardwood. We should wait until the babies are no longer spitting up on it. We don’t want to have to take out all the surround sound wiring. Eventually, we entered the world of…it makes no sense to replace the carpeting for the new owners. So, it stayed. Also fitting into this category: our horrific white-bricked, golden-and-black napoleon fireplace. Now THAT was a winner.

There is nothing offensive in the new house. Each room is a lovely shade of brandspankingnewlypainted beige. There is molding and oh my god there is wainscoting, which is second on the “things in Ali’s dream home” list; second only to the wrap-around porch. So, while beige is lovely and the whole house kind of flows together nicely, I now have to make some decisions.

Which, you know, is where I need YOU.

Should we paint the kitchen? I really always had dreams of having a kitchen with a COLOR – some shade ofÂ red (wine, maybe?) or blue (light? dark?) or green. Will a dark color make the room look smaller? Will a light color look weird with the coloring of the wood? Is it better to just leave the walls as they are, even though it might be slightly, um, unexciting?

The counters are a black/grey/beige-ish granite-y mix, and the cabinets looks like a cherry? Possibly? There’s definitely some redness to them. And the appliances are stainless steel? What do you think? HELP!

Stay tuned design challenge #2…please to furnish my dining room.

Filed Under

The Family

Comments

Hi!

We have the same backsplash. I thought you would find that interesting for some reason. 🙂

I’d leave the walls the color they are. It doesn’t look cold, and once you start filling the kitchen up with your own colorful appliances and hang a nice bright painting or poster instead of the black and white one there you will have all the color you need.

It’s a gorgeous room!
Comment by Miguelina on March 19, 2010
I would add color. I think not red or green. Gold/mustard yellow would be pretty and rich but not too bright. Or a wine color – my kitchen is the color of pinot noir and I love it.
.-= amy2boys´s last blog ..Treasures: Blogged =-.
Comment by amy2boys on March 19, 2010
How long have you been living in my sister’s new house? She has that exact same kitchen. She opted for dark colors like burgundy wine.
Comment by Erica M on March 19, 2010
A burgundy/wineish color was my first instinct…but I was nervous it would make the kitchen look too dark. no?

See? I FAIL at this!
Comment by ali on March 19, 2010
Sorry Ali, I watch a lot of Devine Design. I don’t think Candace would agree with a dark red or wine color on the walls against the dark cabinets. It’s all about contrast. I like the walls now, but you mentioned grey in the counter. You could do light grey.
Comment by Tammi on March 19, 2010
First, that is a gorgeous kitchen and even if you did nothing it is gorgeous. With that said I always love red kitchens. Someday I will have a red
kitchen! I would steer clear of any shade of blue. I’ve heard the color blue suppresses your appetite. Good for the adults trying to watch their weight not good for growing kids 🙂
Comment by Ashley on March 19, 2010
We are also decorator challenged; best advice is to live in the home a year or two then decide on changes that can be justified for re-sale.
Happy problem!
Linda
Comment by Linda on March 19, 2010
Try the Color Visualizer from sherwin williams.
Comment by jessi on March 19, 2010
Red family colors are lovely, but difficult to paint (or have painted). MANY coats required for red pigmented colors. I would go for a green. There is a lovely color green called river something-or-other at home depot (Behr maybe) that is not toooo green-y, not bright, just neutral, calming and has a nice impact without being overboard on color (especially if you have natural light coming in, sometimes nice paint colors can turn retina-burning! I love design stuff (if you can’t tell) and helped a friend pick stuff for her kitchen VIA EMAIL when she did a completed remodel (paint, counters, cabinets, tile, lighting). So much fun…!! Mostly because it wasn’t my money!
Comment by Mon on March 19, 2010
I’m all for colour, but I don’t think this is the room for it. It actually looks great as is because the walls are neutral. You can always add colour with art and accessories.
Comment by Tamara on March 19, 2010
I think burgundy is a great color for a kitchen.

(ohsojealous!! my kitchen is so blah)

You should get some paint samples and see how things work with the lighting. And be careful if you do try a wine shade, sometimes they can turn out kinda purplish.
Comment by Maile on March 19, 2010
Oh, and in regards to Mon’s comment about red being a difficult color to paint. I painted part of my daughters room a deep plum color and just used that new Behr paint+primer and it just took 2 coats. Not hard at all.
Comment by Maile on March 19, 2010
although i absolutely love red in kitchens, i dont think it will work with the tone of the wood cabinets. (it would be very tricky to find a red that didnt clash) i recommend a warm dark clay color. a soft mossy green would also look nice.
try getting a bunch of paint chips from home depot or lowes and tape them onto the wall to see what you like and what works in the day light and at night.
Comment by k-tee on March 19, 2010
I usually say BLUE!! or YELLOW!! for kitchens, but with the color of the cabinets and your backsplash I’d say some variant of a rich, rusty paprika. Bright though, not too dark. I really think a wine would overwhelm everything.

A dusky slate blue totally might be awesome too.
Comment by Maria on March 19, 2010
You have lots of ideas given here. Here’s my two cents…not red (and I LOVE red), too dark with the dark cupboard and counter. I think a mossy green colour. I think it would rock the cupboards and the counter.
So that’s my thought…for what it’s worth. 🙂
Comment by Amanda on March 19, 2010
I think dark walls would make the room look like a dungeon with all the dark wood and countertops you have going on. Why call attention to the walls? Leave them the nice neutral they are and add pops of colors with accessories on the table that I’m sure you’re going to put in that open space. Or get rid of the dull picture and replace it with a shelf that you can use to display colorful, interesting things.
Comment by Denny144 on March 19, 2010
I vote for burgundy/wine. It’s also my favourite colour.

It looks like you have plenty of light in there, so that it won’t too cave-like. Just cozy.
Comment by Nenette on March 19, 2010
I vote any shade of Yellow, it would go better with the existing furnishings. We live in the land of lime green with red accents. Tip – warm colours trick the brain to eating more, so they say to paint cold colours in kitchens, but who cares what size our ass is if we are already married right?
Comment by Ali on March 19, 2010
If I ever convince the pooples to buy a house (NOT LIKELY) will you post pictures of it and let people rec things for me? I’m hopeless!
Comment by slynnro on March 19, 2010
Also, I’m loving the paint colors in my house (IN MY DREAMS)- sagey green. I think burgundy might be too intense.
Comment by slynnro on March 19, 2010
I just played around with a photo of your kitchen and the color visualizer from Sherwin Williams. I really loved 6272 Plum Brown.
Comment by Carrisa on March 19, 2010
Pepto Pink. I hear it’s all the rage in Canada.
Comment by muskrat on March 19, 2010
@Tammi
Exactly! The light grey would still be different, maybe with a darker grey sponged on top of it or something slightly metallic?

@k-tee
Mossy green, combines the thing I wanted to suggest of a darker green (though too much in that kitchen would be overwhleming) and they grey which does sound like such a wonderful idea.

***

My fav green has got to be one called Athenian Green by Behr.
Comment by Mari on March 19, 2010
I like punchy colors in rooms normally… that said, a dark red or any dark color WILL make the walls more defined = room look smaller/shorter.

If you feel like doing a different color, I would do a neutral but medium dark shade of brown (like a light chocolate shade… yum!) Then accent with brightly colored objects. Or even a softer shade of gold or gray-blue.

We’re also design challenged… we’re changing our brick red kitchen wall (which SEEMED like fun at the time) into brown walls with cerulean blue and red accents.

Good luck!!!
Comment by loren on March 20, 2010
Darling as an interior designer, I would go with a medium hued tone such as a sage-y green.

Green is calming, offers you oodles of art options since its in the primary color family so you can do some nice contrasting tones with various colors.
Just my 50 cents 🙂
You have a nice light colored floor, beautiful dark cabinets so going too extreme with light/dark tones will upset the balance.
Comment by Steph on March 20, 2010
I have friends with a similar kitchen and they used a blue/grey. The beige is fine too…says the girl with dark wood and off-white walls.
Comment by Angella on March 20, 2010
My two cents – I agree with others that say this is one room that should stay beige, so your cabinetry and the lovely counters are the focus of the space. Go for accents – artwork, linens, decorative thingies – in jeweltones like jade green or cobalt blue to add that bit of color.
If the walls NEED painting, maybe go one shade darker into a sandy or tan color, but keep it neutral. Your cabinets are such a vibrant color, it’ll be hard to find anything that won’t clash.
Comment by Jen_Ann_W on March 20, 2010
I love that green… BUT. As the daughter of a builder…. Myself? I’d leave the colour. Not only are neutrals “safe,” but I worry that any bold colour you choose will clash with the flooring and cabinetry….

As the daughter of a builder (and a former art student), I also know that, yes, the darker colours make the room look smaller.

It’s all so gorj, by the way!
Comment by Haley-O (Cheaty) on March 20, 2010
i am a fan of the red. and the color in general.

but in this case, i agree with many of the others. red would be too much, too dark, and blue is not so great for an eating room. i do love the shade of you linked to.

and am totes jealous of your new digs!
Comment by tara on March 20, 2010
Love the green color. Best choice ever.
Comment by Holla on March 20, 2010
Keep with the beige tones, just go a darker version. Avoid burgandy, it will likely clash with the cupboards.
Comment by April on March 20, 2010
keep the beige and add art and accessories with the colors you like, you can always change them… but repainting is always a pain
Comment by corinne on March 20, 2010
I think beige is a waste of an opportunity. People seem to like it because it says “contemporary” or “modern” or whatever, but I just think it screams “boring”.
Might as well have some fun with color. It’s just a can of paint. It’s not such a commitment.
Then again, you’ll get about a thousand contradicting opinions and you can’t listen to all, so good luck!
Comment by Tali on March 21, 2010
We had a red kitchen in our house, but the cabinets were a much lighter wood. I think a yellow might work well there.
Comment by Avitable on March 21, 2010
Just my opinion, BUT I would definitely recommend you keep the beige. I agree with the other commenters who have said that a dark/rich paint colour, combined with the dark-ish cabinets, will make the kitchen feel a little too cave-y. And we do live in Canada, where we don’t get a ton of natural light for a good few months out of the yr.

FYI re: furniture – we just bought our first house a few months ago and actually found our dining room table on Craigslist of all places! I actually ended up knowing the person I bought it from. We got some custom pieces from a gallery just west of Barrie. The prices were insanely inexpensive and the pieces were beautiful; for much less than what you would pay in Toronto. If you need/want the contact info, let me know!
Comment by Jen on March 21, 2010
I am excited to see what you decide, since my kitchen is similar color with the dark cabinets and I don’t know what to paint it! I’ve lived in apartments way too long because I’m still afraid to paint!
Comment by Kristabella on March 21, 2010
I am thinking you need a lighter color to offset the dark wood and dark counters. I am a BIG fan of mustard yellow in kitchens. If you don’t want to actually paint, then I would get all matching accents to bring in the color.
Comment by Jen on March 21, 2010
Does your granite counter-top have greenish tones in it? Hard to tell from the pictures – but it almost looks like it does. I’m thinking if you can identify a “hint” of a color in the granite, then find a lighter shade of that color – and use it on the walls. So if there’s green in the granite, maybe go with a light sage on the walls (in the same “tone” as what’s in the granite). I’d definitely go lighter and keep it somewhat neutral. As others have said, you don’t want to “compete” with the cabinets.
Comment by QT on March 21, 2010
Turquoise. My dining room/living room has cherry-stained gumwood wainscotting/chair rail/12-inch baseboards, and the walls are the happiest turquoise in the world. Your kitchen would look awesome, and who cares about matching a piece of granite?
Comment by kgirl on March 21, 2010
If you wanted to paint in before you move in I would look into a green shade. I think it would contrast really nicely with the red in the cabinets. I have red-maple stained french doors into my diningroom and was told to go green (almost mossy). Otherwise, I would wait, kitchen are very easy to paint after you move in and maybe you will have an epiphany after you move in and live with it awhile. Burgundy would be too dark and too much like the cabinets. Another choice would be a yellow/gold but be careful as it’s easy to choose the wrong yellow and you will hate it. BTW .. get the little practice pots ($7 for benjaman moore), paint a 4×4 foot area and see what you think before buying a gallon or two!
Comment by Sarah on March 22, 2010
What about orange? Like a nice sweet tangerine or terra cotta? I think it would compliment the wood quite nicely.
Comment by Elly Lou on March 22, 2010
Your new kitchen is eerily similar to my parents! My mom was thinking red, but went Terracotta which looks nice, but I think grey if there is grey in the counter tops.
Comment by Kate on March 22, 2010
I’m a Benjamin Moore paint fan – my fave blues are Buxton Blue and Phillipsburg Blue
.-= Sarahviz´s last blog ..Waiting is the Hardest Part =-.
Comment by Sarahviz on March 22, 2010
I’ve got a similar colour scheme in my kitchen (though my cabinets are lighter) and I painted my walls olive green.
Comment by hillary on March 22, 2010
I have no ideas, and that’s mainly because I am INSANELY jealous of your beautiful house. I can’t wait to come see it!! XOXO
Comment by sam {temptingmama} on April 6, 2010