Personally, I really like what you have, but it looks more contemporary to me than the last photo, which has a cottage look.

Colors are so hard to identify on a computer monitor, but the light color looks a lot like SW Soft Apricot 6352 to me. Could be a color from a strip one or two away from 6352, but somewhere close to it.

I really like the color you have...it's very similar to the color I used in my kitchen. I'm not sure I'd like the paler color with your upper cabinets as much...

I like your current color better, too. I think what gives the magazine photo room the cottagey look is that it has a lot of decor and mixed finishes that bring "age" to the look, more than the specific color combo.

(Sorry, I know you weren't asking people to vote on your current color vs. the new one!)

Thanks guys for your responses. I think that I'm second guessing myself because the color is so strong. I remember that when I was picking the paint, that the upper cabs made it difficult in choosing one. I really would like to make it more cottagey looking. I have discovered that the cottage style is the direction I'd like to go, and I associate that with lighter colors.

Yeah, but this is a good red! I vote leave it too. I think your window would disappear with the lighter color.

No need to repaint, you can easily replicate the cottagey look with fabric and accessories. Notice how all the pretty fabrics and rooster painting and figurines soften the room?

I agree that accessories will finish the style...and you'll need quite a few as the cottage look is all about stuff that's been collected over years and a jumble of prints and fabrics.

While the prints on the wall are a great color, the frames are very modern and the two side by side are very formal. I would reframe them and put something more cottage on the wall like a painted plate rack or shelves and then start filling it. I'd put a braided or hooked style rug under the chair and tables, I'd put printed chair pads on the chairs.

A little bit more of a challenge would be to get a balloon shade or valance that would fit inside the arch of the window and I'd make that into another print or a check.

This picture illustrates the structure of what I'm talking about, but clearly not the fabric, or the hemline I had in mind...can't find what I'm looking for and can't draw for beans, but I hope you get the idea. This way you still enjoy the arch, but get more of that cozy cottage feel.

Annie, I was thinking a braided rug would be perfect under the table also. Plus they come in light shades so it can still be on the cottage style instead of country.

I love the pictures but I'd take the white matting off.

One thing I'd do to cottage it up, is to put a tablecloth on the round table. You have a lot of dark wood in there and a light colored cloth will add the lightness you desire.

You're going to have fun collecting things!

Thank you all so much for your suggestions! Leaving the wall color will sure make things easier. If I take the pictures down, which I really like, I will probably have to repaint that wall because touchup will not be possible.

Annie- Did you mean to add a plate rack in their place? Or what can I do to perhaps add to that wall and how? I probably won't do a window treatment on the big window, but will over my window above the sink.

Oakleyok-That braided rug is definitely needed after all and I love the table cloth idea. All the wood is rather harsh. If I can find some fabric to use for my window over the sink and my table, it will be a good start.

If any of you come across fabric that would fit the bill, please let me know. I don't sew, but have a friend who does.

I love everything about your kitchen, including the pictures!

I think the reason you relate the cottage style to lighter colors is because the style as a whole has a lighter more airy feel to it. While your kitchen it lovely, other than the wainscot/trim, all the colors in it are very dark.

I'll be the voice of descent here when it comes to accomplishing your style goal. I would change out the color and the color in your inspiration picture is a lovely choice. It will lighten up the space, offer some contrast to the darker colors and give you a good base to bring the reds back in through accessories.

I'm not sure of the exact color but the color in the photo seems to fall into the same family as SW Ivoire or SW Jersey Cream (which has more yellow in it). I would also add a valance or shutter type window treatment but instead of shutters, you could shirr fabric in them to add pattern to the room. Use that fabric to coordinate other fabrics you add for placemat settings, a table runner, seat cushions or what not. Your space has soooo much potential!!!

Not sure why touch up wouldn't be possible....depends on what's there and what's to cover it. Putting just a dab of color over any white sheetrock that might show should do it....

I was thinking of something like this for that wall space. You can fill it with coordinating plates or small objects, pitchers and such.

Then reframe the prints you have to something smaller and more rustic frames with less matting and use them as a grouping, maybe one on top of the other somewhere else in the space. Or you can put them one on each side of the large window. (The large window feels very modern to me and I think some fabric would make it more cottage-y...maybe out of an eyelet...note the printed balloon shade in your inspiration picture)

Annie- I love that plate rack! And the pictures on either side of the window is a good option. When you say rustic frames, do you mean just a distressed wood in perhaps a light tone? My other question with regards to accessorizing over my cabinets, would you put lighter things above them. Currently I have old baskets, bread box and pottery. I like these things but again they are dark. Whatever I put, I have found that it needs to be large. I tried a couple of ironstone pieces, and they were dwarfed.
You mentioned eyelet so are you thinking white eyelet window treatments?

I put a white antique table cloth on my table just to see how one would look, and I was amazed at how that one addition softened the space. Thanks Oakley!

Regarding the large window, if I didn't do a window treatment how about a shutter on eithside of the window would look to tone down it's modern look?

Sorry about that. Hopefully you understood that I was trying to question about a shutter on either side of the window. Of course if I did that, I'd need to put my pics on another wall, perhaps the wall directly across from where they are now. Currently I have nothing there and it needs something going vertical. It's about 24" wide there. Thanks so much for your help.

I'm probably the wrong person to ask as country cottage is not my style.

I'm not a fan of too much stuff over the kitchen cabinets as they are dust collectors and hard to clean. But if you are doing that, then scale and brightness is important against the darker wall color....If you want baskets, paint them white or other light colors. You can even do things like paint vintage watering cans and such...maybe a pickle crock....
Another alternative is if you want to use darker, smaller scale items, put large white platters on a plate stand behind the smaller darker object and it will stand out better.

Yes, I think the frames could be distressed...they can be a color too that would blend with the prints.

I don't like the idea of shutters as the window is so large that the shutters would have to be large too.

An alternative is to use a tension rod at the height of the first straight muntin or maybe the 2nd in the window and gather white eyelet or lace trimmed curtains on the rod.

Here is a link that might be useful:

Though I understand your intent to create a more cottage feel, I have to say that I really like your art and think it would lose its effect if you remove the matting. I'd keep it as currently framed and move it elsewhere in your home if you don't want to keep it as-is in its current location.

I like the idea of a lighter wall color. By adding a rug and some window treatment, along with objects that have meaning and bring a personal touch, might you be able to create the warmth of country without being so literal about translating the look? You have lovely warmth in the wood, a beautiful view and a great kitchen. Maybe as you add your own touches the space will take on the feel you're after without being designed.

Thanks to all of you for your help with my kitchen.

What I think I have decided is that I really need to repaint. While I initially liked the dark color, it has just become too much. As one of you posted, it is just so much dark going on, particularly given the darkness of my lower cabinets. Truthfully, I don't want to paint my cabinets. I need a color that will look nice with the cabinets but not be the focus of the room. If anyone has some suggestions, please don't hold back. Because my upper cabs and floors have red undertones, yellows don't seem to work.

I guess i'm in the minority~~I really like the lighter colors sis, the cottage looks is reflected in the colors very nicely. IMO, the darker green is dated, ie;hunter green. With the dark walls *AND* dark cabs the room reads very dark, and it seems you're wanting light/bright. I don't think you'll be sorry. ;o)

I suggested some close matches for the color in your inspiration picture in my last post, which I also think will look lovely with the wainscot.

I just want to offer a tip for painting over dark colors. We had a ton of dark colors to paint over and it worked great for us. If you mix 1 oz of black in the white primer it will make gray which covers dark colors beautifully AND acts as the perfect neutral undercoat for any new color you put up, light or dark. Good luck!

pattycakes-You are right about the dark colors and also about the outdated hunter green cabinets. My cabinets, which I've had for 11 years, have made it difficult to pick paint colors that I would like. Who knew when I was picking them out that they would be such a problem.I am honestly considering having them repainted. They are Woodmode and the finish is tough as nails.

Lukkiirish-Thanks for your primer tip. I think I am going to consider what color to paint the cabinets and then look at wall color.

I plan to post another thread about what color to look at. I'll probably paint uppers and lowers. Any suggestions for a good color to go with my soapstone and backsplash. Those won't be changing.

If you do a google of "cottage kitchen pictures" you'll get a slew of samples and most have white cabinets. Granted with the wainscot and backslash all white cabinets would be a lot of white, but you could just leave your uppers in the wood and paint the lowers white. At least that way you'd have a neutral foundation and it would still look nice.

I would also do a cross post in the Kitchen forum, they have a lot of experience with this sort of thing.

Love your inspiration pic!

What if you did your cabinets in a similar sagey green like your inspiration pic? Go with a similar wall color as the pic, too...then have fun with fabrics and accessories.

Or go with a rustic white cabinet finish...paint white then rub on a thin layer of a darker color (maybe a greenish color)...so the color fills in the details of the cabs, but still retains a light finish.

I'm no help on the wall color...I agree it does need to be light for a cottage look.

I'm working toward a cottage look in my home, too. It's harder to pull off than I first believed--for me anyway!

happyintexas-- I love the sagey greens. I just wonder how that will look in 10 years. I know people say if you love it, it shouldn't matter but nobody wants a really outdated look. I loved my green 11 years ago. Boy it is so confusing trying to decide what to do.

What color are the walls painted? Someone above said red, but it reads a dark clay color on my laptop.

Now that I see this other kitchen picture, I didn't realize you had an upper just to the right of the stove hood.

I wonder if you could have metal added to your hood (between the wood strips, and horizontal on the bottom - also inset). Our HVAC company cut my hood copper and his machine bends (to make edge pretty).

Is your table and light fixture centered on the window? It appears to be, but pushes the table too close to sideboard - or is that an optical illusion? If it does push it too close, and since your light fixture is already swagged, why not move the table and fixture over some?

Do you want to put something on the large window? I would probably leave it alone if privacy is not an issue. If your view isn't a priority, then maybe a horizontal piece of vintage framed stained glass. Nothing fancy, just with one to three colors, and the rest clear or frosted glass.

Let me know about the wall color.

What you have is beautiful!

I think the paint color in the picture is really a yellow. The lighting is making it look a little peachy, but seeing what else is in the room (pillows mainly), I'd say it's a soft golden yellow.

Allison--Thank you so much for your suggestions!

The wall color is indeed a copper or clay color called foxhill brown. We had the walls painted this color for only about four months now, and to be honest, I really like it. I have had the walls paler colors, but for some reason the lighter colors just didn't work.

I love the ideas about changes to the cabinets. That seems doable with the help of a cabinetmaker in order to remove the cab over the refrigerator
and the cornice since it is somehow attached to the cabinets.
With regards to the plate rack, would this be attached to the upper cabinet
and would it sit on the countertop?

I would love to have an island made or purchase one already made. Do you have any suggestions in regards to the finish for that?

The kitchen table is indeed close to the sideboard. In order to center the light and table with the window, it is a little snug. Would you suggest taking the sideboard out as opposed to having the table not centered with the window?
Who would do the copper work that you are suggesting? I love that idea!

The more I have thought about it, I really don't want to have to paint the cabinets if at all possible. While yes the hunter green is outdated, it is a country kitchen and things tend to look outdated in them anyway. It really helped me to realize that on the David T. Smith site. Love his work.

Hope to hear from you and again, thank you so much.

The color in your inspiration pic is Princeton Gold by Ben Moore, kitchen designed by Cami Forte.

athomeinva-- thank you for looking that up.

TheFoxesPad--Thank you for those kind words.

Allison--I am set on the plate rack idea but there is an issue. The place that you have suggested putting it has all of my receptacles( garbage disposal, under cabinet lighting, etc.) behind where it would go. Because of my tile they really couldn't be moved. What do you think about the left
side of the sink? My other question concerns removing the cabinet over the fridge. It is attached to the vertical wood panel that separates my countertop/cabinets from my fridge. My soapstone and tile are butted right to that panel and I would guess the side of those cabinets are not finished.
What about removing those doors and inserting a large basket, or would the effect be lost. If you need a close photo, I can post one later. Also, definitely want to do the copper. The area where you suggest putting it has the little ledge on the front of the hood but does not wrap around the sides. The sides are just flat wood. What would you do about that. Can post pics of this later too. Look forward to hearing from you.

Do you want cottage or country or are you trying to mix the two? I love the cottage look but country not-so-much. I think a braided rug reads more country than cottage. I also think you need to lighten up the colors. I wish I could remember where on-line I saw a beautiful kitchen yesterday. The cabinets were perhaps a sage green - well a greenish-gray mid tone. The owner had taken down some floral drapes out of another room in her house and was trying them in the kitchen. It was lovely! Like Lukki said, white cabinets are very common in cottage kitchens, but many other colors are used also. I see alot of grey cabinets. I read alot of cottage style dec books and blogs. I just got a new book today "BHG New Cottage Style". You should look at some books/magazines/blogs for inspiration. Your inspiration pic also leans towards french country so you might check that out online also for more ideas.

tina

I was suggesting it be put inside the upper cabinet - not between the cabinet and the counter. So outlets and tile are safe. As long as shelves are adjustable, the cabinetmaker should be able to do this. You could use copper piping like I did. They are small = thin, so soft. Lowe's also sells small wooden dowels that will fit inside the copper tubing... BUT the dowels MUST be put inside the copper BEFORE the copper is cut. I have a double plate rack - dinner plate above, salad below. The chicken wire on the doors doesn't show up well in this picture. I hit/went over it with dark glaze dipped in a sponge brush to knock down the silver/shiny finish.

If you don't want to do a skirt under the sink, or if the plate rack proves to be impossible, you could always replace the glass with chicken wire. Leave as is, or put fabric behind. If you decide not to remove the cabinet over fridge, you could remove the center panels from those doors and add fabric and/or chicken wire. Fabric to hide storage, or chicken wire only for display.

You can see my hood in the link. My HVAC guy measured and cut the copper. You can see the edges/corners have a piece that bent - they do that on a crimping machine they have to make duct work. He brought - but I did not use - a small (about 1") copper piece to go straight down the front/center. I left it off, wasn't needed to hide a seam. So I know they can cut and crimp a piece or pieces to go over your entire hood, or fit inbetween the raised wooden pieces. That said, I haven't seen your wood hood in person, I'm going on a wood hood I had similar to yours in our last house that I could have fit copper between.

Here is a link that might be useful: my kitchen

...to answer about the table and light fixture. If it's centered in the room, and it feels good to you - it's okay. I would suggest you move table and chairs over for a few days and see if you think the window being off with it bothers you. Then you can move the fixture, if you like.

If you're adding a rug, that will ground the furniture to its position even more.

It wouldn't bother me since your furniture would be centered in the space. But everyone is different. lol

I like the sideboard and the artwork. I wouldn't remove them.

If you ever decide to do a large table, you could have a new top made for this base. Add a couple more chairs - don't have to match your four. You could even do a copper top.

Our HVAC company has made copper counters for people. I was going to do copper counters in my laundry room, but had bought a copper farm sink to use in kitchen. DH decided he wanted to use the one from England. So when I decided to move the copper sink to laundry room, I did the backsplash in copper instead of the counters. I got the copper sheeting from our HVAC company to do the backsplashes.

I love the ideas. Just need to get a cabinet person to take a look and see what can be done. Thanks for the clarification on the plate rack. Would love to have copper on the hood but need to decide who to call about doing it. While I would love to have the whole thing covered with copper, not sure how that would look with the wood slats. I may try googling some photos to see if I come across ones similar to mine.

Do you have any suggestions regarding island color? Thank you.

I for one don't think the green is outdated. It was really popular back in the 90's, but that doesn't mean you have to get rid of it because you think it looks dated. In a few years everyone will have forrest green again. lol.

I still see a braided rug in your breakfast room. They're extremely popular, but not really on this board, and the colors to choose from are endless. Put a braided rug w/your colors under that table and I'll be over for a cup of coffee! :)

oakleyok-you are so funny! You are my "rug lady" indeed. You are actually the reason I put a flat braided rug under my dining room table and I love it! I made some changes in my dining room and the painter is yet to finish painting the white air return in there. I did repaint in there but still went with a red which I love, Ellen Kennon's Berry Red. As soon as we hang our sconces on either side of our hutch and paint the air return, I plan to post pictures. So many people were kind enough to make suggestions, including you. I do plan to use a braided rug or two in the kitchen but probably not under the table. I have a 21 year old and a 16 year old but neither is as messy as my DH. Seriously! You can still come for that cup of coffee! Plan is to keep the green and the stain and make other changes.

If you're keeping your current colors (cabinet and wall), I would look for a rug first. Then pull a color from it for the island.

allison- That is a good idea. I have decided against the rug under the table but will look for one for in front of the sink and in front of a cabinet that's in another corner of the room. We called our builder today who gave us the name of a man who does copper work and he plans to come out this week. I am so excited about having that done. I want to add the fabric for under the sink as I have always loved that look and do the chicken wire in the cabinet over the fridge. How is the chicken wire attached in your cabinet? I love your cabinets and the uniqueness of each one. You must love being in that kitchen! Can't wait to make the changes that you suggested. I can't thank you enough.

For the window and under sink area, would you do two coordinating fabrics as opposed to the same pattern for both? Thanks.

Probably would use two. I like to mix things up.