What color to paint?

Question

I am looking to paint my kitchen however the cabinets are pecan colored, the floor is white ceramic tile and the countertops are granite with colors of grey-kind of speckled....what color would be a good match for me to paint an accent wall or possible all the walls? Not sure what would go with pecan and greys.....

I want to add a bit of warmth-but not make the kitchen totally dark-I am leaning towards a pumpkin spice color

Answer 1

I think a pumpkin/spice color would be lovely. Here's something to make it easy. Try to find something, like a towel or throw pillow or a piece of art, with those colors in it. You'll have the pecan, the grey and the pumpkin and see how it looks together. Or is you find fomething with just the pecan and grey, see what other colors look nice combined and you can't go wrong.

You might consider a sage green. Actually that grey is "neutral" so it will go with anything. And if you go too dark with your wll color, the whole kitchen will look like a cave. You can also color-block one wall with that pumpkin, and use another lighter version around the cabinets.

Good luck.

Answer 2

All the answers so far are good. Almost anything will go with the pecan/white/gray colors already present because they are neutrals. The best way to choose a color is by doing the following:

1) Decide what color(s) you absolutely don't want
2) Go to the store you plan on buying your paint from and get some paint chips or color sample cards etc. from your brand of choice. They’re usually free so you can get everything they have or stick to colors you're sure you will like.
3) Put them up on the walls in the kitchen. A piece of tape or fun-tack on the back on the card/chip/etc. should do, they are usually pretty light. You can do one color at a time or several colors at once, whatever you feel works best.
4) Live with it a while. As you decide which ones you can/can't live with remove what you don't like and keep what you do. At the end you should wind up with 1 or a few colors that you really like and really look good in your kitchen.

Don't be afraid to go with more then one color. There is no rule that says all the walls have to match or that one wall must be all the same color. The things you can do with textures, patterns and faux finishes now are amazing and usually easy.

One quick note....even though the colors in the room are neutral they seem to carry warm tones, so if you want to blend with them be sure you go with warmer colors (red, orange, yellow) rather then cooler colors (blue, green, silver) but once again, it's up to you-nothing says you can't contrast instead of blend. You’re the one that has to live there and cook there, so you’re the only person whose opinion really matters in this. If you don’t like it, don’t do it just because someone else tells you it’s what’s “best”.

Before you paint, don't forget to scrape, patch, sand, and prime- especially if this isn’t the kitchen's first or second paint job! Tape off anything you don't want paint on and you'll wind up with a very professional looking job for a lot less money then hiring someone else would cost. Good luck, and let us know how it turns out!

Oh, 1 more thing. If you want some hints of how your finished kitchen will look, or just want to make sure the colors go together go here http://www.behr.com/behrx/workbook/. Have fun!

Answer 3

I personally like a pale yellow in kitchens, it just seems to perk the whole place up, and is still neutral enough to go with pecan colored cabinets, white tile and grey speckled granite. If you're looking for something a little more contemporary than yellow, you could go with a taupe (off-white) color. Go these websites:

www.behr.com
www.dulux.co.uk
www.benjaminmoore.com

They all have a virtual tools where you can preview the color in a room before you purchase it.

Lots of luck!!

Answer 4

Pumpkin spice walls sound lovely. I would paint the ceiling a buttercup yellow to accent. Looks so much better than a white ceiling. You may even want a small wall to be the dark color and pull one wall of buttercup yellow down one entire wall. Have fun!!

Answer 5

Here is a kitchen idea planner from Ikea. I think the pumpkin spice or a red would look great. There are many different combinations in the planner to suite all different tastes:

http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_US/complete_kitchen_guide/get_inspired/index_original.html

Answer 6

I think that sounds like a great color! Try adding some throw rugs with that color on the floor to pull the darkness down.

Answer 7

I think the pumpkin spice color sounds beautiful with your kitchen and quite cozy. Sample different shades and look at them in different lights before you decide.

Answer 8

play with your colours here: www.behr.com and use colorsmart. it's very cool. you can paint a kitchen on-line and play.
pumpkin would look nice, sage green too, as it has a bit of grey to it, not yellow.

Answer 9

How about a salmon color? Just a thought, I bet it would look awesome.

Answer 10

Terra Cotta or in the orange family. Terra cotta is in my kitchen. It looks cool..