need help with new kitchen colors?

Question

i just bought my first home SO EXCITED!! My kitchen is so beautiful although the countertops are bright orange(excellent condition though) so i really dont need to replace them i just need help with the design idea. my cabinets are dark brown wood. i plan on painitng those. Any bright ideas?

My floors are a cream colored marble ceramic tile, i also have a beautiful skylight

Answer 1

Unless your cabinets are in poor condition, I would suggest you live with them a while before making the decision to paint them. The combination of dark wood with pale tiled floor gives a stunning contrast which keeps the kitchen feeling large and bright. A good trick is to have your floor and counters in similar shades, and the back-splash a combination of that colour with the cabinet colour and an accent colour. But obviously, with a bright orange counter your can't do that. If you were to paint your kitchen a deep but warm "cafe au lait" type colour, the whole room should start to pull itself together visually. Your accent colours can be terracotta, honey, almost any shade of orange, and many of the other earthy colours.

Aside from the fact that wood cabinetry is very "in" now, wood is so easy to clean and maintain. A painted finish can stain, and can chip or otherwise show imperfections from normal use. Having wood cabinets sent out to be lacquer painted is a costly project, so I wouldn't recommend that either. Many people are accustomed to having white or pale coloured cabinetry and when they buy a home with wood, their first thought is that it's too dark. Live with it for a while with your colours and your things, and then if you still want to paint them at least you know you're not making a hasty decision. Good luck & best wishes in your new home!

Answer 2

Simplify first--accessorize second. The orange counter tops are a force to be reckoned with--so I would NOT introduce any more colors on permanent surfaces.

Use the floor tile color as your guide, and paint the walls to match, or lighter in the same color family. Painting cabinets is a tough job--it may be well to leave the dark brown, as it doesn't stand out.

Considering only the ivory and the bright orange, you can go forward with accessories that pick up both base colors and also add a few additional accent colors without going overboard. Think ethnic pottery...Tuscan, Mexican, etc..

If you like the rustic rooster theme,or a vegetable/fruit motif--you're sure to find full lines of matching items for reasonable prices at many retail chains. Canisters, platters, pitchers, vases...even kitchen linens and rugs. Just keep the orange and ivory in mind for consistency of color when you shop. Mix in some solid ivory pieces for interest and texture, and to keep the matching things from looking too "staged."

You may not be able to judge how well the stuff will fit in until you get it home, so make sure that the store has a good return policy.

Good luck!

Answer 3

There are 2 ways you can go.

Compliment the bright orange colour with another strong colour like denim blue and then yellow walls. Not for the faint of heart, but will work well if you are up for it.

Or...paint the cabinets a rustic green colour and then an warm antique cream for the walls, preferably doing them with Venetian plaster to get that old world look. These would be my choice as it would have the Mexican-Tuscany feel and look. You could even do a back splash of ceramic tiles that are in the colours of orange/green/antique looking tiles.

Answer 4

This sounds like it could be a beautiful kitchen but I agree with you,the cabinets need to be painted and lightened up....the dark brown sounds dated. Would a beige look good with the orange counter and the beige tile floor? For wall color, a light terra cotta or peach sounds bright and maybe one wall in a wallpaper that picks up all these colors and maybe introduces another such as aqua or turquoise? The bones sound great, and the painted cabinets should make all the difference.

Answer 5

Go for warm colors. For the walls, I would look for a cream color. If you are going to paint, pick two complimentary shades of cream and sponge paint (roll on lighter color first, buy a clear glaze and mix it in with darker shade, dip a natural sponge or rag into darker color + glaze mix and place gently on wall). Home Depot has a great paint section and has free brochures with more detailed directions on texture painting. Another option for the walls would be tiling (back spalshes behind sink and stove). Again look for warm, neutral colors to compliment the orange and dark brown.

Lastly do not try match the orange of the countertop to anything. It's too hard to match something like that and it would be too overwhelming to the eye. Let the orange be the focus.

Answer 6

i agree with laura on the cream,or even a very light salmon/melon color, texture or sponge paint over with a deeper cream at least 2 shades, or you wont see the difference. then either get a wallpaper border or stencil a design that picks up the orange, doesnt have to be exact. as for the cabinets, i would go a light color, maybe the cream, and if you still have the energy, antique them or do a technique called stress painting, it kind of works like you paint over the brown, with a lighter color mixed with painters glaze, then wipe it off. i think that would be cool..good luck..

Answer 7

If you're going to keep the orange counter, you might as well play up the color some more. I suggest painting the cabinets cream or creamy yellow and adding orange either in your backsplash (Mexican tiles, for example), curtains, or a great piece of artwork.

Answer 8

one option is to buy replacement doors for your cabinets, this may be easier (and a better effect) than painting them. A nice light pine would be good, with silver steel handles. If you do this you don't need to replace the "carcases" ie the parts of the cupboards screwed to the wall.

Answer 9

I think that a neutral colour like a light colour of green. (mint or something similar.) Something that would kind of brighten the room even more. I wouldn't want to go dark. Good luck!! I can't wait to ask the same question. :D

Answer 10

i imagine a pop of color might want to be a magnificent assessment to the timber and gray, Terracotta or a prosperous Burgundy will bypass properly with your kitchen and also praise the golf eco-friendly and yellow of your different rooms.