Totally OT--what color should I paint my kitchen?

[Hallie_D]

We are moving this weekend into a condo (hooray!). The previous owner had chosen very strong colors in areas that we wanted more neutral tones, so we have been working like dogs (do dogs really work?) for days to repaint. Now we only have a few rooms left. The kitchen was a soft yellow color, which we were more than willing to keep...until we removed the old alarm system yesterday and found a giant hole in the kitchen wall behind the keypad/control box. It definitely needs to be patched and then the area needs to be painted, but we can't match the paint because we don't know what he used before.

This is a small job because the kitchen actually only has the backsplash area--everything else is cabinets, and it is completely open to the dining room along one whole wall. It has blond maple cabinets, black granite countertops, and stainless appliances. I know it will only take an hour or so...but I can't make any more decisions about color!!! DH wants to paint it red, but I wonder if a strong red will compete with the strong black countertops. He doesn't want to go with yellow now that we can choose whatever we want.

Your suggestions requested!!! Please help keep me sane!

TIA,

[christic]

well, if I had my kitchen to do over again I think I'd pick a light kiwi green then get some cobalt blue pieces to accent. I just love the way those colors go together, especially in a kitchen. And the pale green wouldn't be too much of a shocker after the yellow and would go well with the stainless too.

You can play with paint colors on the Benjamin Moore website--not that that will help keep you sane...I could obsess over paint colors all day.

have fun!

[mamahill]

I painted my kitchen blue - it's a little darker/brighter than robin's egg blue. When it was first going on, I kept thinking, 'Oh no, this is way too dark. I hate it. What a mistake!' But now that it's up, I love it. I have a blue/green/white/red/yellow rug from Crate & Barrel and it goes with the walls. Whatever you do, go somehwere like Cost Plus and buy several dishtowels in crazy different colors. It's fun what little color splashes do to the room. Have fun!

[Hallie_D]

Surprise--DH went to home depot today and bought a gallon of paint called Manhattan Mist--a soft grey that we used to paint our living room. He thinks it will look nice with the black countertops and stainless appliances. We'll have to see, I guess! I love the idea of brightly colored dishtowels, esp. since everything we have now seems to be white.

Now he wants to paint the dining room red instead.

Thanks for your suggestions!

[mamahill]

My friend's dining room is a deep red and gorgeous!!

[Hallie_D]

I remember reading somewhere that many restaurants use red tablecloths because red stimulates the appetite. Since DS is a picky eater and very small, maybe we should try it! :-) DH brought home a sample of "Red Red Wine" paint and it looks really pretty in the can.

BTW, DH loved your suggestion of the brightly colored dish towels.

[C99]

Our kitchen is mostly white (w/ lightwood cabinets and dark blue countertops), but we do have a red wall as an accent -- mostly because dark colors like red are *really* hard to do and require several coats, but also because my husband didn't want more than one room to be red. If I had my dream kitchen, it would all be white, red and black. I love these colors together!