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Need Help w Kitchen Colors

14 years ago

Help!!!!! I have a small kitchen and am having the worst time with colors. Nothing looks right and Ive been struggling with this for literally YEARS now. It is time to finish this freakin kitchen. The Ikea Adel White cabinets are supposed to be off white/cream but with the addition of laminate countertops (Wilsonart bronze fusion which is sort of a dark blackish gray w/orangish amber) they have a decidedly green-gray cast to them. Quite frankly the countertops and the cabinets do NOT look good next to each other. I think the orangey tones in the countertops are whats bringing out the greenish yuckiness in the cabinets.

I've already re-done the countertops once already and I can't afford a third time and theres nothing I can do with the cabinets! Im hoping that I can find some type of mid-tone color for walls and painted floor that will pull it all together.

Was originally thinking of some sort of mango or coral or sunny orange-gold or even a red for the walls - would it overpower and get rid of the green or will this contrast with and bring out the greeniness even more?

OR.... do I want to embrace the green and go to a green and cream kitchen ... which I actually think I would like. Im thinking of a summery green or lime - not sage or gray green.

But what would that do for the oranginess of the countertops?

As you can tell I have some sensitivity and awareness of color and how they play off each other, but very little knowledged or confidence in how to use them effectively.

I will certainly get some sample colors before painting but still - hoping y'all can at least just point me in the right direction - thnx!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Comments (3)

haley_comet
14 years ago
In color theory - red neutralizes green....if that would truly apply to this situation I am not sure but that is the rule of thumb.

I would say if you don't go the red route to definately embrace the green - not sure about 'lime' but a 'happier' none grey undertone green might offset the cabinets.

Have you seen the color 'DILL PICKLE' by Benjamine Moore it is the most wonderful green in my opinion.

It is in the "GREEN" thread under the Gallery Section - or perhaps you would find another green there you would like.

Here is a link that might be useful: CLICK HERE FOR GREEN COLOR THREAD LINK
lpinkmountain
14 years ago
I had a similar problem in my back bedroom. I pained it what I thought was pinky beige and it ended up looking pepto bismol pink once it was covering the whole wall. So I tried to neutralize it. Green was recommended as a color to use in the room to look good with it instead of blue which I had been using, which only highlighted it more. BUT, although I had some plants in the room and a green headboard on the bed, the BEST thing I did to "neutralize" the pink was to embrace it and use SIMILAR colors, like yellow, brown, maroon, pink, red, terra cotta. So take whichever color you like the best, the green or the orange, and then fill your kitchen with shades of those colors you DO like. You can find great palette Web sites online to play around with these possibilities. Embrace the color you like and that will hide the tone of that color in your kitchen that you don't like. As for the other color you don't like, it will now have more competition. For some reason, my bedroom photos aren't showing on my photo site so I can't post pics to illustrate. But that's advice I got here a couple of years ago and it worked.
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palimpsest
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Red *Mixed with Green makes a neutral greyish tone, but red and green Adjacent to each other Strengthen each other. Think of the Plaids used at Christmastime.

The way to deemphasize a greenish cast in the white is to use other colors with greenish casts or colors adjacent on the colorwheel: this will make the cabinets appear whiter>

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