Nice! Both are big favorites with me too.

An endorsement of pale yellow: I currently have very pale yellow/cream walls with white cabs, but the large expanses of surface are distinctly different, and to me it's entirely not too light. It is a very gentle harmonious look, but it also helps the room look larger than it is. Bling comes from accessorizing, but I can put any other colors in there I want, which I really enjoy. Everything goes because the background is so soft. My sitting room next door is a deeper buttery yellow.

You say your cabinets are "dove" white, though. Does that mean a somewhat grayish white? If so, I'm wondering if large expanses might not go as well with yellow as with a beautiful sagey green.

I would suggest something stronger than a pale yellow. On your color strip, I'd suggest the one on the bottom. Kitchens do not have a lot of wall area for the paint to show and you can go with a much richer color there than you would normally feel comfortable with and easily get away with it not being overwhelming at all.

The yellow cream on your DR walls is lovely. I'd be tempted to bring that into the kitchen for now - it is a tried and true color for you and one less decision to make right now. What color is it? Hm...the more I look the more I wonder if you have the kitchen that color already?

Rosie makes a good point about the undertones of your dove white cabinets, though.

Is that Behr Restful on top of the green card? I used Turtle Dove, which is two shades up in the same color family, in my bedroom and loved it.

I like the green, although some of that may be how it looks with the sink in the pic, which you said you haven't settled on. Yellow is a very cheerful color, but I find it can quickly become too much. Your pine floor will probably have yellow undertones, and the counter samples in your pic do too. The white cabs should balance some of that, though.

I think yellow if you want an energizing space, green if you want a soothing space.

I suggest you decide on everything else and then pick your paint color. Wood countertops will be different than green countertops and might change your paint choice.

Finish the kitchen (I'll join you in your chant) and then decide on paint for the rest of the house. And, if you do have white cabinets, wood countertops and wood floor, I would recommend a soft, leaf green, with a bit more yellow than your sage. My mom has that in her kitchen and it's warm and cheerful...and looks great with the wood! Gray tones can be a little cooler and sometimes can take away from the warmth of the wood, IMHO.

Yellow vs green. That's a tricky choice. But since you've got the yellow everywhere else, I'd do green for a change of pace. I don't think you can go wrong either way which is probably why you can't decide.

Also, cats look better against a green field. No, really, they do!

On my monitor, the green makes the tan sink look muddy.
I'm not terribly fond of yellow and tan, though, so I am absolutely no help at all.
Individually, I like all those colors -- and your stone choices! :)

Good luck & post!

Green: I'm curious, which of these would you have chosen?

Rosie, thanks for the vote for yellow. I am not color blind but I don't have an eye for color shades or tones so I'm not sure if there is gray in the white. The cabs are KM Dove White and they look pretty white to me. Do you know how I can tell if there is gray in it? I am going to try and take a picture of the 9 in base cab I put in the kitchen so I could see how it looks next to the yellow. Maybe that will help. I too like calming color. I'm not one for contrast and that's why I am a bit undecided on the dark green granite.

Green, yes, my fear is that while I don't love contrast, I don't want none at all and I feel that the pale yellow may be too pale! The same can be said for a light green v. a dark green. I have a friend with dark colors in her home (well, dark to me) and I would have to say that her home is "warm". I have light colors all throughout and while it is "cool", I don't consider it cold because I have lace curtains, touches of black, floral fabrics and pillows but I know, I like light colors which is funny because I wear a lot of black.

Yes, Steph2000, that's the same color in the kitchen now as the dining room. I don't know if I can still get this paint. HD stopped the FreshAire line and the PO painted the house before we bought it and most of the rooms are this pale yellow. I fell in love with this house the second I saw it but I was living in a flood ravaged apartment so anything was better than the apt. They had painted the living a soft pale blue (I think because we have the original 1940 yellow/blue bath). I love blue skies but I prefer green in the house so I repainted the living room a nice sage green which appears mint sometimes but dark in the evening. It's crazy how colors change with the time of day.

Cawaps, you are correct! You have a very good eye. That is Behr's Restful and I really like that color. I grew up in a house that was all white with dark wood trim, all of my apartments were all white and now I live in a house that has pale yellow or sage green. I guess you could say I am really color challenged. I just love yellow for the kitchen but I don't think that tan sink works and I'm just not sure with the white cabs. The green looks a lot better next to the white cabs but then if I get the green granite, too much of a good thing? I didn't think of yellow as energizing . . my yellow is pale and I don't see any gold in it but I do think green is more calming. That Turtle Dove sounds lovely - I will have to check it out. I think if I go with green, I will have more options as far as BS, sink color and countertop.

Lavender, thank you for joining in my chant to finish the kitchen. Will it ever be done? I wanted to pick the paint last but DH is getting someone to help him fix the plaster walls since he had to move plumbing and electric and he wants to paint at the same time. At this point, I don't have my heart set on anything. I had my heart set on a farm sink and marble countertop and well that just didn't happen. I didn't give up and I'm not really disappointed but let's just say I'm open to other things now. I will checkout the leaf green suggestion. Again, I am challenged with tones but at least I have a direction to move in. Thank you!

Fori, yes, cats look better in green for sure! The paint will probably happen just like the door style, I just picked the one I liked best! And, I can just adjust the counter, sink and BS accordingly based on whether I go with the green or the yellow. Thank you.

Christine, I hope you are feeling better! Yes, I don't like tan and yellow together but I like yellow and green together! While both DH and I love that tan sink, it's not going to work unless I go with the green. That tan sink might be one of those things that I love but just won't work in my space. I really wanted a shiny white sink but maybe I will just get the SS sink - SS goes with everything but wait I have a chrome faucet. Argh!

Angie, did you choose one of those colors for your space?

The kitchen is tiny and I guess my dilemma is really that yellow will make it larger and brighter and green will be more smoothing and give me more choices for the countertop although I am sure I could probably find one of each that would do it all!

Thank you all for posting!

Green. It looks good with all woods (think nature), whereas I don't think yellow does. I speak from experience with an unfortunate bathroom painted with BM Philadelphia Cream. I do agree with the others to save the paint decision until everything else is in place.

I'm not a "color expert", but anything is better than yellow IMO....

Sage green is nice.

From waht I was seeing, I would have said yellow, but from what you are telling us, I would pick green.

I had a kitchen that we painted a pale yellow. I really liked the color -- it was a three small rooms as one space with vaulted ceilings and it made it much brighter than the dark floral wallpaper before. The kitchen cabinets were painted with an oil base paint that had yellowed, and we didn't get to repainting them with a brighter non-yellowiung white before we left, so we needed more contrast when we went to sell. We painted the walls Behr's restful and got tons of comments on the paint color -- even requests for the name form realtors who wanted to use it in other houses. I think that would be a good choice, especially with a darker green counter.

I think yellow walls could get very tricky with green counters, especially when you add in red walls in the dining room. I no longer see the calm that you mention -- that seems high energy to me. I start seeing Mexican fiesta or traffic lights, and while I'm sure it can be pulled off more artfully than those choices, you will have to be careful. If you go more neutral with your counters (black, stainless, butcherblock, grey) I could see the red and yellow working better, but the sink might not work with them any better than the green.

Catlover, could you go to a kitchen showroom and check a bank of those cabinets in place, maybe chat with the store designer? Doves are a warm pale gray, there's always a gray called "dove," etc., so that's why I'm wondering.

There are also grayed yellows that might work with them anyway, scarcely noticeable in light tones, just a bit softer and more sophisticated than the sunny versions. Worst comes to worst, though, you decide your kitchen really looks even better with a lovely soft green.

My vote goes to green. Not too bright and not too yellow, a sage green will contrast nicely. Don't go too light or the pigment can wash out. The second shade down on your color strip is good.

Cat: yes, I chose the yellow in the lower-right side of my picture (SW 6676 Butterfield). It came out much stronger than I was anticipating. If I had it to do over again, I would have chosen top center (SW 6675 Afternoon,). Having said that, I have come to really like my choice. It is bold, sunny, warm, and inviting. More invigorating than soothing, but that is okay. (Plus, I don't feel like repainting it!!! :-))

I'd like to echo wizardnm's advice to not go too light (assuming you have adequate light in your kitchen). I painted my bedroom BM Camouflage (soft sage) several years ago and still love it. My kitchen is along the same wall and has the exact same light exposure (east-facing) as my kitchen. A few years back, after seeing how lovely it was in the bedroom, I used it in my kitchen. It totally washed out and barely even read as green. Maybe it was the white appliances and white tile counters, but the color was just completely blown out. I wish I had gone with a darker shade, although Camouflage is at the bottom of the color strip (with Simply White at the top, strangely enough).

Another *potential* vote for leaf green...at least the consideration of it. In my lighting, dove white had a grayish tint, and I think there's a risk of it looking dirty next to yellow. Wait to pick paint until you can compare the paint samples to the actual cabinet color (perhaps borrow a finished door sample if you need to paint first). I also found it much easier to keep my decisions in line if I came up with a cohesive vision first. So, look for inspirations pictures. Perhaps you'll find a beautiful kitchen that gets your heart set on wood or black or stainless counters, and that will help direct your paint choice in regards to the overall feel of the room.

Here are some white cabinet kitchens from my inspiration file, some with vivid walls and some more muted; perhaps one will strike a chord with you.

I am doing a sage green. Most of the house is buttery yellow from the PO and the green will give me a change and a bit more ease in choosing a countertop (it goes great with the dark green granite and the lighter granite or even a wood countertop) and should go well if I go for a neutral beigey BS tile. DH is pleased too as he preferred the sage green but now he wants to paint the tv room a dark sage green. I know, finish the kitchen first!

Jessica,thanks for taking the time to post these great pictures. They were very helpful. A picture is worth a thousand words.