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You want an honest answer?

Your kitchen is so cute I peed a little.

IMHO I would NOT do that backsplash. It looks like you're trying to make the kitchen something it's not. It's super sweet and a little retro. Don't try to make it builder bland.

The color you want is turquoise. A soft turquoise--check out House of Turquoise for inspiration.

Here is a link that might be useful: House of Turquoise

Marcolo: your suggestion is perfect - I love it!

Really marcolo? Probably just nerves... as we are still waiting for Trinity's reveal.

Actually, I think Marcolo makes a good point about not putting a contemporary tile that everyone is using (or something similar) into a retro kitchen with a very different feel.

As far as paint colors, I was thinking in the blues and greens -- not sure if I'd have come up with turquoise, but it does fit the retro part if you want to emphasize that.

I agree with everyone! The backsplash tile is very pretty, but not with your kitchen. Your countertop already has backsplash. Turquoise would be WAY cute. Today one of the kids left a turquoise cup in the bathroom (which is white and various shades of tan and brown) and it was really striking. Now I want to repaint! I actually have a more muted version on the walls- more like a robin's egg blue, but once my kitchen is done I just might be repainting the bathroom.

I just snorted my cocktail out of my nose reading Marcolo's comment! LOL!

Seriously, he's got a good point. That tile doesn't work with your adorable kitchen. Love the white cabs, but no to the tile.

If you don't like turquoise, how would a soft yet cheery yellow sound to you?

I'm feeling cheery yellow too without the tile. :D

Agree with no tile and either soft turquoise, yellow, or a soft fresh green with some yellow in it.

I'm with the rest -- no to the tile, yes to a cheery color. Turquoise sounds lovely, or a sunny yellow, green apple, maybe a tangerine if you're feeling crazy.

Ditto on nixing the tile.
While I'm not a fan of turquoise, I agree that you should use a contrasting color for the backsplash. Perhaps a redish tan to pick up some color from the floor or maybe pick up a color from the dining room.

I am also with the skip the tile crowd. If you want a bs tile, try stainless tiles. Those would be period appropriate and add some pizazz. 4 x 4s would be the best size.
I like the paint colors suggested a lot (I love a cheery yellow. aqua or turquoise), but also think that a blue green shade like BM's Quiet Moments would look nice.

Your kitchen has a fresh and charming vibe. Although the tile you're considering is nice for a different application, to my eye it muddies that crisp, light feel that makes your kitchen so pretty.

If you want a Tiffany blue, look at this posting from Maria Killam. She said it is Ben Moore 626 "Caribbean Breeze"

I also agree, not that tile.

Here is a link that might be useful: Maria's office

Another turquoise fan here. Your kitchen is so cute it would look perfect. Maybe add it some orange or red accents.

I won't suggest turquoise .... since your kitchen is a cute adorable one at the corners add some fresh looks to it. Using blue green or orange will add the freshness. And black splash is not much required for the decor you have in your kitchen. Its bit odd.White cabinets is a good choice as it will make the area look more spacious.

Here is a link that might be useful: Granite Worktop Supplier UK

Your kitchen is wonderful and reminds me of my grandma's before she did away with the 50s look.

I remember her speckled floor, with robin's egg blue and other intense colors on white background. She also had a great dayware--Noritake Blue Orchard. I bought these tablecloths for summertime, and they remind me of her kitchen, and yours. Hopefully they are an inspiration.

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It of course depends on what YOU like in terms of colors--if you like every color then you have almost limitless options. If you hate turquoise then you won't want to follow the turquoise advice.
Since you mentioned your adjacent living room then you want to think where you'd like to go there too, or at least, what you don't like.

You might have fun going to a fabric store and looking to see if there's a print with color combo that makes your heart sing. Or the tableware department for china/stoneware colors and combos you love. Then get paint chips in a lot of related colors and play with them. Everything goes with brown, but some things look more "fresh" and others not.

What I think your getting in the above posts is, DO use a real color. I wouldn't think yellow would be the best bet because of trying to tie in the brown--yes, it is possible to get some great combos with brown, yellow and white but it is tricky. A cherry red goes well with white/retro look, the blues as mentioned. Look at vintage/country magazines too for combos with vintage Pyrex--blues and turquoises, some salmons.

Again, lots of choices--if you can narrow down a bit--are you a blue person or more of a red-orange person that helps you get started--and think what you will do in the living room--will you add throw pillows and accessories in the accent color; were you thinking of getting a chair or curtains in a print that sets the scheme--that kind of thing. Because the paint, while youi can just pick it first to set the stage also, is the easiest thing to fine-tune in terms of variations in shade and tone, so if you were to fall in love with a fabric, or a pair of green lamps, or something, you would pick your paint to match that.

Just an idea if you went with turquoise.....saw it tonight.

It made me smile.

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Did we scare the OP away? Was it the color ideas? Or the nixing the tile?

I'm with everyone else. Go with the retro vibe. Your kitchen is so cute, and a turqouise or yellow or spring green would be so perfect! That tile, while nice, just doesn't look right in that kitchen, IMO.

Maybe we should wait for the OP to offer one response in the thread posted 3 days ago.

I keep opening this thread to see what the OP thinks of our suggestions. But no response! Maybe she forgot to check the button to have responses sent to her.

Yep, she doesn't have her email turned on. Hopefully she'll remember to come back and check. Probably thinks no one has responded.

I agree with the BS not feeling right. But I am thinking a stick of butter for the paint color. If you bring one in to SW or BM they can match it. Soft and creamy and cheery like kadydid said.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I like the idea of a blue but honestly color scares me. Growing up I could only have white walls and now that I am on my own all the color choices are a bit overwhelming. I do not like yellow as I have tan now but it looks yellowish at different times of the day. Hunny did not really like the tile so it's out. I switched from working on the kitchen to my son's room. I feel like that's the best room to try to overcome my color phobia :) We picked a medium green for it

Yes! Kick off those shackles! Go wild and put some color on that wall. Tell yourself that paint is cheap and easy. If you don't like it, repaint it - but I bet you'll like it once you get over the taboo thing.

P.S. You might try those little sample cans of paint first to see how a good size swatch looks.

Kitchens are a great place to put a lot of color, especially with white cabinets and appliances. You don't have that much wall space left over so it's harder for a color to become overwhelming. You can always put something like the turquoise above a chair rail and a darker shade of the same color -- even as dark as a navy, or a contrasting but more neutral color -- like a cocoa, on the bottom.

If you don't have photoshop, make a copy of your photo (color or B/W) and white out the walls, then make several more copies. Get out some crayons or colored pencils and get a feel for what you like. My DH can't visualize things, so we had to go through a similar process with the drawings of our kitchen plans to make some of the decisions.

lacebrandon, along the lines of lascatx's suggestion, Benjamin Moore has a free application that you can use to upload your own photos of your room, outline areas you want to paint, and then change colors. Don't be afraid of color, especially with all the white cabinets!

Here is a link that might be useful: BM personal color viewer

Well, cool! That would certainly be easier and a lot more fun.

Hope you like the green for your son's room. Watch some of the design shows on HGTV -- they involve a lot of putting new colors on walls. You can also use that, as well as magazine photos, to see what you like on walls and what combinations you like together.

A couple more research ideas.

1. Houzz dot com is an amazing site for design ideas. Make sure you have a spare hour or two when you go there because you'll get sucked into looking at beautiful rooms and lose track of time.

Oops. Forgot the second one.

2. Decorpad dot com has a feature where you can sort rooms by the paint color on the walls. For example, it'll pull up all rooms painted shades of blue, etc. Many rooms also list the paint color so you can check out a color sample in your space.

Don't be afraid of color! There are plenty of other fearsome things in life....like big, hairy, disgusting spiders. ;)