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Accent color for red dishes...help me spruce up my mom's kitchen!

12 years ago

I'm helping my mom do a mini (teeny tiny) makeover of her kitchen. Mainly just reorganizing and doing a basic spruce up. They plan on selling in a couple years when my dad retires so they are not going to do a major reno.

My mom has a gorgeous set of red glass dishware that she only brings out at Christmas. The rest of the year it's stored in boxes in a lower cabinet. She'd like to take them out of the boxes and display them in glass doored upper cabinets that are already in the kitchen. They are a deep red just like in this picture

{{!gwi}}

The kitchen has medium oak cabinets -not honey oak or orange-y oak at all- and white walls. There is not a lot of white showing because the kitchen is mainly cabinets and windows.

My question: what color should we paint the backs of the glass cabinets to help showcase the red dishes and bring in another color into the room? The house was built in 1900 and it's a foursquare but it's not particularly craftsman-y. The walls in the adjoining DR and LR are tan with red and blue accents and the guest bath is Hawthorne Yellow.

Thank you!

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Comments (8)

Sueb20
12 years ago
A green -- but a gray-sagey sort of green so you don't get the Christmas effect year round!
Fun2BHere
12 years ago
I can't suggest a color without seeing a picture, but I can suggest a methodology. Go to your local craft store and buy sheets of scrapbook paper in the colors that you think you might like. Try them out in the back of the cabinet with the dishes in front to get an idea of how the paint colors will look.

Alternatively, rather than painting, you can cover posterboard with fabric or paper and wedge it into the back of the cabinet. It's a great way to get a pattern into the room and there are some terrific patterns with red in them ranging from the popular suzanis and ikats to ditsy, plaid, etc. A pattern could really set off those solid reds in a terrific way.
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For $100? Maybe swap out the chairs with some that are more modern but a real bargain on craigslist? The existing chairs are cool, but they tip the eating area in a distinctly un-modern direction. The table is simple enough that, if you paired it with modern chairs, that whole area would look modern. Sophie's advice is good too. Make sure you have extra flooring so your future remodel is easier.
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yayagal
12 years ago
A muted aqua would look fabulous.
geokid
Original Author
12 years ago
Thanks for the responses! I'm sorry the example pic is so terrible. It's just a pic I found on the web and not my mom's Christmas table, I swear.

Sue and Yayagal, those are the two colors I thought of right away! Glad to know I'm thinking in the right direction.

Fun, love your suggestions about scrapbook paper. I know that will definitely help my mom with visualizing a color. And I really like the fabric idea too. I'm hoping I can convince my mom that the old red and cream buffalo check cafe curtains have had their day and fabric behind the dishware would bring nice texture back in the room.

I will try to get a picture this weekend when I go visit her. She lives two hours away and is not computer savvy. I wanted to get some direction before I went so that we could get started.

My youngest brother is moving out this month (he bought the house next door....we joke that one day he will leave the block!), so it will be just she and my dad for the first time in 35 years. She is going to downsize the big table in the middle of the room (she still has a large table in the DR for family gatherings) for a smaller breakfast nook in the corner by the windows and put a moveable island in its place.
stolenidentity
12 years ago
A cream color would be very nice. I have some of that cranberry glass from my grandma, it stands out when accented by lighter colors. I think any shade of green would make it look like Christmas.
teacats
12 years ago
Perhaps consider a fresh white to match the walls? And then add a few plain white accents to the display too ....
Carol_from_ny
12 years ago
I'd be thinking about a toile for the back of the cupboards, it'd be easy to buy extra yardage and do curtains to pull it together.
pricklypearcactus
12 years ago
I was thinking exactly what Fun2BHere said about wedging a board of some sort in the back. I think you could play around with wallpaper, or stencils, or fabric. I like carol_from_ny's idea of toile or maybe a damask? I like the idea of white and gray or white and black.

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