Paint Color for a kitchen (resale)

[Naomi]

I need to pick a color for this kitchen. We are putting the house on the market in the next week or so, and the kitchen is currently stark white.

The cabinets are going to stay the honey oak color, because I don't want to paint the wood, and also because I'm lazy. :shifty

The tray ceiling is currently white, and is not getting painted. The wallpaper is gone.

I've read online that yellow is the best color to paint a kitchen for resale, but off of the kitchen, there is a yellow bathroom, and a bedroom that is half yellow/half green. The outside of the house is also yellow. So.. I feel like there is already enough yellow in the house. The living room is a light tan color, and the master bedroom is a light blue.

So.. what color shoudl I paint it. I'm most drawn to a rust color (orangy/red), but also know that that is not something that everyone would like. I also was thinking about doing a taupe color.. something darker than the living room is, but not too dark.

Suggestions? What color is your kitchen?

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e73/samnnaomi03/DSC_1491.jpg
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e73/samnnaomi03/DSC_1504.jpg

[backtobasicsmum]

My kitchen is light sagy-apple green...but in your case, I'd paint it the same color as the living room. :yes

[mellymommy]

As neutral as possible.

[Autumn]

The one we're moving into soon is yellow but the living room color or a little darker both sound good :yes

[kiloyd]

As neutral as possible.
:yes

If you have a good realtor then s/he will suggest a color.

I say a sage green.

[Barefoot Bookworm]

Mine is the same color as my living room, kind of a light cinnamon-y brown.

[Prism]

I think you should go with the living room color as well.

[JessicaTX]

The houses I've seen for sale lately all have shades of brown as a neutral. I don't know how that would go with walnut cabinets. It seems espresso colored cabinets and stainless steel appliances are the new signs of an updated kitchen, or that could just be my area =)

My kitchen is a honey yellow, to go with my victorian purple dining room and living room is a soft green. I'm not a fan of brown personally :giggle

[Waterlogged]

The bigger problem is the wallpaper border and color on the breakfast nook space.

[mountainash]

I'd go with a toasted wheat color.

[shekinah]

In the design world, brown is on its way out, and gray is in. Usually trends last about 10 years, and the new homes are coming out with gray paint and stark white cabinets, having bright accent pieces in the furniture and decor like bright yellow, turquoise, and red/orange.

The pale yellow is pretty popular in rentals if they aren't just white walled, but it is really overdone and looks tired and starting to date itself, in my opinion. The place we moved into four years ago had that yellow in the kitchen and living room, and we have painted over it since. I think that colour started showing up in the early 2000's and has had its run.

I would suggest a neutral (nothing with pink undertones though! Pinky beige is a no no) or the gray. Like a light, sparrow gray. Stay away from too warm like rusted red and brown and too cold like blue-gray and pure white. I like the suggestion of the toasted wheat. It has the hints of the brown that people are familiar with but also the sense of fresh and new of moving on. And in your smaller space you don't want something really dark with those wooden cabinets. It'll look cramped.

[ellies mom]

Well, my kitchen is a dark purple. My last kitchen was a dark purple too and it sold with no problem (it was actually considered a selling feature). I get tons of complements on the color.

One color that I absolutely love is Laura Ashley Gold #3 (Valspar from Lowes). I'm not normally a "neutral" person when it comes to paint but this one absolutely glows.

Grey is really big right now and if you look on pinterest, you can get a lot of good suggestions of exact shades.

[kiloyd]

Take off the wallpaper boarder! And paint over that rust color.

Ask the realtor about a soft green. I'd say a cream but that might be too light with the counters and floor. But you really cannot go wrong with cream/tan.

[Naomi]

The bigger problem is the wallpaper border and color on the breakfast nook space.

The wallpaper and color is already gone :yes It's all white right now.

I like the idea of a grey, but don't know how well I'd do at actually picking a good shade.

So what exactly is "toasted wheat"?

[katiekind]

You guys that are recommending grey - are you taking into the consideration the warm tones in the cupboards and countertops? I'm not offering a counter-argument to grey, just trying to learn. :cool

[believer]

Neutral colors sell best. Did ya'll take down the wall paper yourself? Are the walls now textured? If you are keeping the cabinets that color, I would just go with an off-white shade that goes well with the cabinets. Buyers can change the color. A light color will make the room look larger as well.

[Naomi]

We did take down the wallpaper ourselves, but it was just the border, the rest was just paint. The walls aren't textured at all.

Katie- you do have a point. Grey might look really funky with the warmness of the countertops and cupboards. :think

[katiekind]

I wouldn't rely on me--I am update-decorating-impaired. It could be that the contrast of warm tones/cool tones is really great. I was just wondering what the thought on that would be.

If it was my kitchen and if those are not special cabinets, I would paint them white. Then you might be able to find a contrasting paint color for the walls that is a cool-ish tone--if that's what's in now. The countertops have some warm tones but I'm guessing that you could have a cool toned wall color if you played your cards right.

[JessicaTX]

:idea So that's why all the bridal and wedding showers lately have been grey. I thought people just had terrible taste! (i am so not a fan of grey, is it obvious?)

[Auroras mom]

Fo resale, I would go cream or the toasted wheat as previously mentioned.

[mountainash]

Well, when we bought paint for this room (http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150363989721391&l=9201a5184d), the paint color was called "toasted grain" from Behr paint.

[JessicaTX]

ya, the paint in the house my mom is selling is all toasted oatmeal and something latte...I forget.

[cro]

If you're not painting the cabinets, I feel like anything cream/tan/toasted... would look too drab. :shrug3 Guess I'm on the same wavelength as Kathy. ;)

My last house had the same color cabinets and counters as yours. I painted my kitchen a light apple green color and I loved how it looked. Apparently, so did the buyers. That house sold in 12 days.

[Naomi]

If you're not painting the cabinets, I feel like anything cream/tan/toasted... would look too drab. :shrug3 Guess I'm on the same wavelength as Kathy. ;)

My last house had the same color cabinets and counters as yours. I painted my kitchen a light apple green color and I loved how it looked. Apparently, so did the buyers. That house sold in 12 days.

THat's exactly what we are struggling with teh most. I really want the kitchen to pop, even if it's not the buyers favorite color, I want it to look like something that grabs their attention. :think

[librarianjojo]

The bigger problem is the wallpaper border and color on the breakfast nook space.

Agreed. Most people are turned off by wallpaper. If a buyer doesn't like it, all they see is a project of trying to rip it off the wall. My brother didn't buy one really great house because there was at least a wallpaper border, if not more, in every single room.

[RiverRock]

If you are looking for a nice green, my dd has this colour in her bedroom. Her furniture is medium/honey oak so it is similar to your cabinets. It is just a hint of "fresh" and a touch of grey. I have a friend who is considering it for her kitchen remodel with white cabinets. http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/fernwoodgreen