Wednesday, April 20, 2011

CHOOSE MY KITCHEN COLOR!

Good morning! I need your designer help today! We have some ugly wallpaper in our kitchen. Well, it's not horrible, but I don't particularly like wallpaper and I'd like to have it removed and painted. Although I'm not sure what color to paint it, and I'm thinking bold red, but then I'm worried what if I hate it six months down the road, but doesn't everyone say red is the color for eating and kitchens and manga! (What the heck does that word even mean, and right now my stomach is GROWLING and I want a huge bowl of pasta with pine nuts and fresh parmasan and olive oil and doesn't that sound awesome, but probably not if you're reading this at like seven a.m.)

OK. Digress.

Friday, Friday, everybody's waiting for Friday. HATE THAT SONG.

(Yes, this is how my mind works when I'm blogging.)

Back to the paint and red and being hungry ...

So, I was hoping you guys could take a look at what my kitchen currently looks like and the family room which is right off the kitchen and give me some suggestions of colors to choose from. Because I have NO FREAKING idea!

Here's the wallpaper, up close and personal.


Really? Do I live in ROME??

Here are some pictures of what my kitchen and family room look like. There are black accents in the granite and the paint and carpet in the family room is also black, which I'm not crazy about, but I can live with:

Main large wall:

Family Room
Kitchen Eating Area


See how there is so much black accent? Notice the "'70s porn carpet?" We don't like it that much either and often wonder how much DNA ended up in there before we moved in.


So, seeing those pictures, what color would you go with for the walls that have Roman Numeral Wallpaper covering them?

I just found a place where I can paint a room online!

Can you help me find a color!?!? PLEASE! Or just tell me what I should do!

Thanks!

38 comments:

Homestead Jen said...

Red is a hard color because if you do change your mind, it takes a lot of work to cover it up. Plus you cannot get a drop anywhere. That said, I have seen red kitchens and they really pop.

However, being in the Southwest, you might wants something bright and cool (as in temperature).

I am no help at all. And your DNA comment helped kickstart my diet this morning. Ewww!

Meg said...

That would be a TON of red on all that wall - might end up looking like a blood bath. My parents had a wonderful light yellow color in the kitchen, with a slightly different/darker shade of yellow in their connected living room.

Or you could always follow my MIL's example and paint it beige. Just make sure you actually pick a beige and not a pink...or your kids will Never let you hear the end of it...

Anonymous said...

Our kitchen and family room are an orange-y/brown color called soft pumpkin. I really love having the color but the touch of brown in it keeps it neutral enough to match things around it.

-Donna W.

Jen R said...

Maybe you could go for a red accent wall

I'm not really great with interior design, so not much help

Melinda S. said...

I like red, but I've also been liking sage and terra cotta color as well. I'm with the accent wall suggestion...that way if you hate it in a couple of years it's no big deal to change!

Anonymous said...

i love the idea of red since it's my favorite color. (i once wanted to paint my bedroom red until my brother said it would look like a bordello. i never did ask how he would know that...) anyway, i think a soft yellow or maybe sage like melinda s. said!

Jonessa said...

I wold go with a pale yellow or green like sage. Makes the room feel fresh and inviting. Not a huge fan of red at all. Hope you let us know what u decide.

Anne said...

I think Manga means let's eat (or similar) in Italian. I like a pumpkin colored kitchen, maybe just one wall (the big one) and then something milder for the others. The pumpkin ends up being pretty neutral so people don't walk in and say WOW, this room is fill in the blank of the color. That being said, I think red would be cute too. Again, just one wall with tan or similar for the others.

Melisa Wells said...

Red accent wall if you use red: with so many black accents in the house, you don't want to use too much red and have a kitchen that looks like a bordello...

Lindsay Elizabeth said...

I too love the idea of red but am always afraid I'd hate it after while. Your ceilings seem pretty high so like a few others said that might be a whole lot of red!

I love earthy tones like slate grey/blue, sage, or even a sandalwood color.

Sorry I'm not much help, but I think whatever you do you'll like it a lot more than the roman wallpaper! :)

RivkaBelle said...

Yellow is a great kitchen color - it has the same "hungry"-kinda attributes as red, without being AS bold (and is MUCH easier to cover-over later!) You can go from a light buttery yellow to a brighter yellow - kinda depends on what effect/feel you want, and how big your space is. Just remember: the color chip that you like will look much darker/brighter once the whole room is painted that way -- our kitchen is yellow, and we picked the chip that was 2 chips lighter (from the same card!) as what we wanted, and the final effect is the original color (because color bounces and reflects back on itself, amplifying the effect) :o)

Anonymous said...

I like red, but your wall is too large. The yellow would have to be very pale, or it will look like a bumble bee with the black granite.

I would say a burnt sienna would make a good accent color and then use a neutral color similar to the one you have in the living room.

The black carpet has to go... I would keep the wall paper over the black carpet.

Just my 3 cents!

OOHHH and thanks for the pasta craving. Just what this preggo needs, another crqaving. 7:00 am (only 1.5 hours ago) I wanted rolled tacos. How is that for a morning snack.

Thanks for blogging MM! Be back tomorrow, to see if there is anything new.

~Nattygirrl

Kari said...

I totally feel your pain MM. I agonized for days trying to decide what color to paint my kitchen. I have white cabinets and thought a shade of yellow would look good (mind you I have no skills in the design dept). The painter painted a small section just so I can get an idea of how it would look and I hated it. It didn't look right with the white cabinets. So guess what? I went red and absolutely LOVE it. I get so many compliments. The color definitely pops with the cabinets.

Sorry I'm not much help :)

equinn726 said...

Wow! That would be a lot of red. I love the idea of red, but like a lot of other nice folks on this blog, I worry that it would be tough to cover. When we lived in Chicago, I painted an "accent wall" in a our condo a bright red - then I decided it was a "bit much". It took my husband 4 coats of paint (he finally bought a paint gun after the 3rd coat) to cover it. Maybe a lighter rusty color or I've seen kitchens that were painted a warm sage that look really nice. Sorry if I'm not much help either. Looking forward to seeing pics of the color you choose!

Jenn3128 said...

Holy Wallpaper Manic! I'd constantly be wiping the walls thinking it was smudges of dirt.

I'm not a fan of red walls, my sister had one and I felt like I was sitting in a cave, it was too dark.

I like the very light yellow or again very light sage for your walls.

Um, yeah, the DNA, wear shoes all the time. eeeck.

I don't recognize that song, but its probably better that way.

Brenda L B said...

Oh so hard because everyone has their preference with color. Greens are suppose to good for kitchens too for calmness. I looked at the site and it was so cool how you could paint the walls. I was torn between Prairie Sage and Soft Sage. But then if you put the color in the window it gives you other coordinating colors that you can use for accent walls. Really cool.

Lisa said...

That's a hard one to answer since I've lived with the standard builder's white all over my house for two years as I ponder paint colors. If you really want red I think the accent wall would be a good idea. One brand of paint makes samples so you could inexpensively audition a few colors you're thinking of. I really like the online thing though... I'll have to try it.

Wull said...

Red isn't that hard to cover up if you don't like it. When we moved into our house the kitchen was red. We put primer over it once and then painted with a primer + paint and that was that!

I personally don't like the whole red kitchen idea and you do have a lot of wall to work with.

I'd do something more neutral. What about a gray? Or even a mushroom gray/purple type of color?

Wull (again) said...

Since I can't post pictures I find...here's the name of a couple:

Gray Owl by Benjamin Moore

Amethyst Shadows Benjamin Moore: gray w/purple&blue undertones

Every picture I found happened to be a Benjamin Moore paint. If you go on their website there is a tab at the top "Get Inspired" then within that is a link that you can match your countertops to a paint color!

I'm looking for a paint color for my room, so I know how it is! After 10 sample colors on the wall we finally chose our living room color! GL!

AisforRandom said...

I'm a fan of greens and purples. Maybe do some of the walls in varying shades of green? some soft and comforting, some jeweled and brilliant. Green is the color of humor, growth, and all things pretty. I sound super crazy hippie. I need to get out of the mountains. NOW.

Mom'sLove said...

I would do the biggest wall in a mediumish color like a sage green or buttercup yellow. the other smaller walls, a few levels lighter than your big wall. Looks cool with the heat and warm in the winter.
Amanda

faithspage said...

If you want red, then go for it.

I love my red walls in the kitchen, it's only the bottom half of the walls.

faithspage said...

BTW they have been red for about a year and still loving it.

BethC said...

I love the idea of red w/all that black. I would only do an accent wall as well, with it being such a large room. I currently have a red kitchen and love it. But, it is a deep red, not like a apple or blood red. I also have a lot of light in my kitchen. I think that is important, so that it doesn't make the room feel to dark or closed in. I don't think red is all that hard to cover up, if you use primer. But, we had a professional painter paint our kitchen and he didn't have an easy time painting with the red. It took lots of coats. But, I absolutely love the outcome.

Erin T. said...

With that mossy green currently on your walls (porn carpet room)a butterscotch yellow might go well. It may lighten up the room but not make it look like a bumblebee like someone said a bright yellow would...

Not much help - I wish I was a designer of some sort. Then I could put things like this together!

kristinrose said...

I think a soft or pale yellow would look nice. But I've been working on picking a new color for my kitchen for 6 months now so my opinion might not mean much.

Kristi said...

I really love terra cotta. It has such a nice tone to it and it would go well with black. My kitchen is tiny and would look like a cave if I painted that color.

Unknown said...

What about a nice cranberry color? Its very "country" though which you might not want? That was the first color that popped into my head :-)
Kirsten R.

Nearl said...

I love the idea of a light red. It is such a happy color. My sister had it in her place and it really brightened the room.

Dawn from CA said...

I personally love a yellow kitchen. It's bright and sunny and can be accented in a lot of different ways..red, eggplant, and pumpkin in the Fall, grass green and bright blue in the Spring. My kitchen is called Buttercup and my adjoining family room is Buttercream (slightly lighter with more off-white) and the fireplace/accent wall is called Goldenrod. I hate wallpaper! It's a pain to get off, too. You should hire someone to do it. Good luck!

Dolly said...

I don't know how you feel about a paint 'treatment', but the first thing I thought of was the old-world Tuscan plaster look - blends of sage, tan, yellow, terra cotta, red - either actual textural treatment with joint compound (if you really want a lot of work!!), or 'the look' with just paint. Go visit an Olive Garden for an example!

Karen said...

I think no red because of the scale of the space. There's a color that I saw and loved called "Barn Swallow" (which would actually tie into the whole porn carpet theme, yes? - juuust kidding) that is a gray-blue color but quite lovely. You can cut it down a step and it would look great with the black accents. I also love an old color by Benjamin Moore called "Oriental Silk"...it is a tan-yellow color that actually looks yellow but goes with everything. Happy painting! :)

buttah said...

I did red in my dining room in our old house...let's just say that is a hard color to do right. I never got tired of it though. In my kitchen I did a texture with sheetrock mud...picture Tuscan type of sweeping texture, and then painted it kind of a mustardy yellow and then did a harvest gold "wash" over that so that the texture picked up the darker color. Love, love, loved that kitchen!! Our house was older and when we pulled the wallpaper down, the sheetrock was in pretty bad shape, so it was either re-wallpaper or texture. Texture won!!

Unknown said...

Go with a green theme through the kitchen & family area. 2 shades.

Nicole Marie said...

I love yellow for a kitchen. That's what I painted in my last apartment. Kind of really liking the pumpkin color as well, though... so I'm a bit torn...

I also love to paint, though, and would probably change colors every few months if I was allowed :)

Amy said...

I have never commented on here before, and we were on vacation last week so I just read this now. My kitchen IS red-a red called Cayenne Pepper. I am also not good at interior design...I stress & make it a lot harder than it should be, so I let my 11 year old son pick the color, and it looks awesome!!

Books & Reviews said...

Wish I could be of some help but all my walls are white and I only have a mirror hanging up in the hallway, upstairs. I can't commit to anything on the walls. Good Luck.

Ivy said...

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