Kitchen decorating

[chie96]

Hello! We moved to a new town and new home last summer and had painters come in and do our eat-in kitchen, family room and master bedroom and I need help with the kitchen (see http://photos.yahoo.com/chie96_photos Kitchen album to see how it looks currently).

I am not thrilled with the color I picked for the kitchen ("stone") as I think it is too cold. Hmmmmm - should've known that a color called "stone" would be cold and impersonal, :laughtears Anyhow, it's what I have to work with and I think if I add a lot of color it will be just fine.

We have knotty pine cabinets that are not painted, plus trimwork that is not painted. I have no window treatments for the window over the sink that faces the front of the house and no treatment for the bay window that faces the rear of the house. We do have neighbors behind us, but the yards are very large and I doubt they could see in - we certainly can't see in their houses (too bad - maybe I could get some decorationg ideas).

Here are my questions:


Should I use a border paper to add color? If so, would I use the border right above the counters in that part of the kitchen (my cabinets go to the ceiling so border would have to be low), or should I use border paper at the ceiling in the breakfast area?
If I use border paper, should I have matching window treatments and chair pads?
If I choose the fruit border I like (see attachment) am I then "stuck" with a "theme" of fruit - meaning, will it be hard to bring in other non-fruity knick knacks and have a nice looking kitchen?
If using border paper will tie me into a theme, how can I add color to my cold kitchen walls, short of repainting (which we don't really want to do)?


Oh - one more thing - my kitchen opens into my family room, where I have an accent wall painetd a medium-to-deep red.

Thanks so much for reading! :cup

[MarynMunchkins]

Well, don't shoot me (ducking), but I'd repaint. It's not that the stone wouldn't work with the darker cabinets and butcherblock countertops, you need a color that's not a neutral. Personally, I'd go for a buttery yellow or something like that. It would look good against the red of your family room too.

As far as the knick-knacks go, I think it depends on what you want to put there. I don't think you're tied to fruit unless you want to be, but I think that grouping stuff together and picking out stuff with a general theme or color scheme in mind is important. Coordinating is more important than matching. :)

If you're set on not painting, I'd add large colorful prints to the walls to bring in some more color. Have fun! :D

[Mothering by Heart]

We had a similar kitchen in our old house. We ended up painting the cabinets :shifty It was alot of work, but they were not pretty like yours.

We also had a wood valance over the sink, too. We took that down and the kitchen was so much brighter. I think if you put a window traetment there it will be too much.

Should I use a border paper to add color? If so, would I use the border right above the counters in that part of the kitchen (my cabinets go to the ceiling so border would have to be low), or should I use border paper at the ceiling in the breakfast area?


Yes. Above the counter in the kitchen and at the ceiling in the dining area would be fine.

Maybe some others will have more ideas about the color. I would repaint, but that's coming from someone who changerd her mind about stain color AFTER her dh stained her bookcases :eek :rolleyes :lol

[chie96]

Personally, I'd go for a buttery yellow or something like that. It would look good against the red of your family room too...If you're set on not painting, I'd add large colorful prints to the walls to bring in some more color.

I have to LOL - the color of the kitchen before we painted was yellow - and it looked pretty good! I :heart yellow but our family room furniture is taupes and reds and the yellow just didn't work (the two rooms sort of run together). That's also the reason we didn't paint the cabinets and trim: our family room has hardwood floors, beautiful solid wood panneling from the chair rail down, and the trim is not painted. To paint the kitchen cabinets would make it necessary to paint all of the wood in both rooms. Neither room is what we want, but we'll have to make do for many years, until we can gut the kitchen and start over. I guess I'll start adding the colorful prints ;)

Amy - ty for your insight as well. Were your cabinets knotty pine? I have heard that painting them is not good b/c the knots somehow "bleed through". Is that so?

[Mothering by Heart]

That is true about the pine. Ours were just ugly, can't remember what wood dh said they were. They were just---old and dark.

[DogwoodMama]

Would you consider doing a faux finish of some sort over the stone to add some texture and warmth? There are some pretty simple and quick ways to do this... you could paint some scrap wood your stone color and then do some samples... maybe do a glaze with some warmer tones, or dry dry brushing a complementary tone on. I think there may be some things you could do without totally repainting.

[bostonsmama]

i think a faux finish would be nice too! btw, i LOVE that huge window, im sooo jealous!

anyways, my kitchen walls just got repainted (i paint my rooms about once every 3 or 4 months!) but, this time we went a little bold, but i love it....anyways, we hung some shelves and put up different jars up (inspired by miracle mama) you could do this for a relatively inexpensive project...depending on what jars you use. we bought the unfinished shelves at lowes and painted them to save some $. and i had most of the jars already, but you could add lots of color by doing that...you could fill your jars w/colorful items. here is a pic to explain what i mean....<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v304/bostonsmama/P1010028.jpg" alt="Image hosted by Photobucket.com"> (apparently i dont know how to add a pic w/out a link) sorry!

i think if you just hang some things on your walls it will make a huge difference! i honestly think it looks fine! i love the cabinets. maybe knocking down that wooden valance would open it up like amy said...?? anyways, if you just add lots of bright cheery things, i think it would be great!

[ArmsOfLove]

that is gorgeous, Elise!

I like the border and don't think it would tie you to fruit, but I'd try to do maybe some kind of theme that fruit fits with--barnyard, fruits and veggies, nature, etc. And you can always do curtains of solids or different fruit patterns.

and I love your backyard!

[Karrinne1960]

I have to say I love your cabinets, I'm getting ready to go in hock up to my eyeballs to have cabinets almost exactly like that!!! And your huge window in the dining area - just gorgeous!!!! :jump

[Abinsmom]

I love your big bay window in your eating area -- it's just lovely! Don't hang window treatments there -- you'd ruin it!

I agree with an earlier poster -- can you remove the wooden valence over the kitchen sink?

And my initial reaction to the paint was -- make it yellow! But you've already BTDT. The floor looks to be a color that probably worked well with the yellow, right? Any chance you'll replace the floor? That might tell you which color to go with the paint.

You mentioned you've got taupes and reds in the family room, but the pine cabinets don't really go well with those colors, so you might just have to bite the bullet and go back to the yellow paint.

I know I'm not much help!

[righteous mama]

Well, I would make it a buttery yellow and bring in the red from the other room in valances and chair cushions. Then I would buy some wraught iron work for the wall, take down the wood valance, and start shopping thrift stores for plate to hang on the walls that compliment those colors.

I also wouldn't do a fluffy valance. I would do a wood box valance.

You could mix a solid red fabric that matches your other room with something more rich like...

http://www.fabricplace.com/images/thumbNails/5701094.jpghttp://www.fabricplace.com/images/thumbNails/0711944.jpg

Or use some like this for all your fabric. It gives solid color with a bit of a print...
http://www.fabricplace.com/images/thumbNails/0757109.jpg