I'll be the voice of dissent here and say that I like the first color (Smoky Taupe). I think that if you had accessorized it, the neutral palette would have worked beautifully. Just MHO. Your kitchen is beautiful, BTW.
You could always paint it back :o)

I think ur kitchen has lots of potential....If u get a chance, take a look at credomk's thread with before & after pics here....I think the color she's used - BM Smoky Mountain will look beautiful in ur kitchen...Paired with some black accessories...Check it out...

I love the wooden blinds suggestion, I know I'm
in left field but I love the amber color of your
light fixture...have you thought about a gold or
rich tan color. That would like great with
red accessories.

O.K. -- just to be difficult .... (LOL) ....

I vote to paint super white ....

And add color with artworks, chair cushions, fruit-in-a-basket-or-bowl. Which is super easy to change with the seasons ((lime green in spring; orange or yellow in summer; olive green in fall .... and black-and-white-and silver in winter)

Jan at Rosemary Cottage

Go Jan!...at Rosemary Cottage. Hee..we think alike. I REALLY think painting the soffits a deeper color will only detract from the overall impression. Closeup pix with the color aren't bad but when you're stepped back or sitting at the table IRL, I just think a darker tone on the soffits makes everything look squatty. Just fade 'em out and don't keep the kitchen so darn clean lol.

Thank you all for the suggestions and comments.

I do think you are on to something -- the eating area needs a warm, deep color -- and the area with the cabinets and soffits doesn't look right with a stripe of deep color above the cabinets. It calls attention to the soffits and makes it seem like they're closing in on you.

I would LOVE to do something like what Jan T suggested to make the soffits look architectural -- in fact, I saved this link a long time ago:

http://owcl.blogspot.com/2007/03/want-crown-moulding-on-your-cabinets.html

But I don't know if I could actually pull that off - one problem being that my cabinets might not lend themselves to it but the real problem being that I don't know how I would make it "end". It would need to come around this corner - and then where would it go? If anyone can figure that out, I'd be eternally grateful, since that might help me find a way to have a real color in the eating area (like the Tobacco Road that's splotched here) without having it on the soffits:

Parma, I love your living room so much that when I saw your suggestion of PAris Rain, I ran to implement it - and of course it was one of the many color sheets I have tried so I still had it, but in my space it looks very gray and dull. Hard to believe it's the same color as in dlm's kitchen, although actually it doesn't look so bad in this photo. I guess you just have to trust me that it's not good in person:

The other thing a few of you mentioned was the table -- the farmhouse table is currently gathering dust in the basement. I will try bringing it up this weekend when DH is around to help.

I will also experiment with a window treatment for the window over the counter. Anything else I should try?

Thanks again.

One small thing that is very noticeable in the photos is the dark frame on the screens in kitchen -- could you paint those white? I vote for bright white walls as well, to continue the wall cabinet color up the wall. The shades in dining area would probably look very nice in kitchen. Could them maybe add one wide woven shade in dining area.

Ok here is my quick attempt at your kitchen. I like the medium paint colors in your kitchen better than the light. The colors are bright and can always be toned down if it's too much pop. One thing that looked a little off to me was where the soffit and oven cabinet meet. So I bumped out the soffiting to meet the depth of the oven cabinet and then added molding around all the cabinets as a finishing touch. It's easy to do virtually, but I'm not sure how easy it would be to do in real life.

I thought that anything more might start to look over done in the small space. I was thinking the molding could actually double as a plate rail if you wanted something extra in the soffit area.

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

I don't think it's the color - color per se.

I think it boils down to a combination of a few things. Your degree of color tolerance -- you said you're in the kitchen all day. So this is an environment that is highly functional for you, it's not just a powder room off the laundry kind of situation.

All the non-transient items are true neutrals. Black, white, shades of grays. The natural light exposure sounds like it is robust in that it changes greatly throughout the day.

So considering those three things: your tolerance, the inherent light, the non-transient elements you would be an ideal candidate for a testing or two or three of a few full spectrum paint colors.

Gustavian Gray would be the first one I pulled. Then Cognac and Mustard Seed. Then Aqua and then a green.... like maybe Tulip Leaves. Jaunty Jen would be too fun with your orange/magenta accessories, but that would push even the most extreme color tolerance --- but did I mention it'd be fun. :~D

I love the red! It's the right punch of colour, and with such stark white cabinetry and backsplash, you could almost go with any shade of red. You don't have to worry about matching it to a wood tone, which can sometimes be difficult.

I agree with greenthumbfish, I would try tobacco road or something in that range.

I love the green that you had, so I think Parma's Paris Rain suggestion is worth a try. You need to go get a quart and paint a big area of the wall. It's just so hard to judge the color from the samples.

Laurie

I really loved the green you had! If it didn't look as good in person, try to find a green paint that looks like it does in the pictures/computer monitor.

My favorite was the first, the Smoky Taupe. I think you need something, whether matchstick blinds or fabric valances, over your window. You could put some pretty color in the dining room and fabric with richer color/more pattern, for dining room pull ups or Londons or whatever. A beautiful vase of flowers on your rustic table, and you will see how it can all come together.

Red

Here's an idea for your soffit. (I don't know that it would work, but it is an idea.) If you want to make your soffit look like a trim piece, you could install a piece of shoe molding along the bottom edge, a piece of crown molding (to match your kitchen style) along the top edge, and paint the entire area the same high-gloss white as your cabinets. I've seen this done to mimic the look of thick molding. As for the corner. You could either bring the trim all the way to the other wall or use a piece of shoe molding running vertically to form the edge of your cabinet molding. (Not sure if I explained that well.)

BTW, I love your kitchen. The cabinets, countertops, backsplash, and floors look great. You can hardly go wrong with wall color when you have such a nice place to start.

Across from your DWer, do you have a refrigerator and pantry? We live in (almost) sister houses.

I vote for color, my daughter has a similar kitchen, she uses accents with orange /red /lime green, (chef colors)and her paint is SW Adamame, looks nothing like the SW monitor color. A vibrant green, I love it. I think red and orange accents look great with green, brighten up that space with a stronger contemporary color. I can get a picture of it if need be, just adding my opinion.

Don't feel so bad. I have 12 different colors painted all over my living room right now. I painted my sun room (adjacent to my living room) Tobacco Road, with the intent on continuing in to the living room. I hated it. Didnt' work in my house so now I have to repaint and I swear I stressed so much. Every day I came home with new colors. The problem being I would leave when it's dark and come home in the dark. Everything looked greyed, some yellow looked green, others looked peach, tans looked pink. I think I settled on Monroe Bisque. As for your kitchen, you could do anything with white. I personally love Red because it makes me feel happy and I spend so much time in the kitchen that I want to be surrounded by a color I love. I also had a blue green color and felt it was dull. Now I have Butter, which I love. I do agree that woven shades and possibly the longer handles would dress the cabinets up. We recently went to Ikea and got some great handles that felt substantial than the small ones we had (similar to your pulls). Baskets, accessories that you collect will add that homey and warm feeling you seem to be lacking right now. Don't be afraid of color.

Here's another color you might like.

Brutus' Nantucket Gray

{{!gwi}}

Laurie

I would get some flat strips of wood and frame out the soffit above the cabinets to look like the shaker style of the cabinetry, then paint that white to match the cabinets. That frees you up to paint all the rest of the wall space in the kitchen in a color and leave that area white.

I agree that the room needs a warmer color feel, especially because the floors are warm and rich, and the cabinets, counter and appliances are cold.

I love the orange/burgundy/pink accents. Your wood floor appears to have a burgundy undertone. I am wondering about a blue-green, something medium range. My old fan deck from SW has a color called Watery SW6478 that might be interesting.

Then something like this for a valance over the kitchen window, and romans or panels on your other window.

patrick coal

Add some artwork, a tray with various heights of pillar candles in your 'hot' colors, maybe tie-on seat cushions in a complimentary plaid or print. Change out the bowl of red apples to a bowl of pomegranates (real or faux) for more color similar to the pink/orange/burgundy line.

If you aren't using stools on the side of the cabinetry that faces the dining table, don't be afraid to hang a piece of art there as well. A stretched canvas unframed would work well there. Maybe something like this, that doesn't have to be seen at eye level to be appreciated.

Honesty

ok, maybe I am off, real off but what about an apple green? It would look so awesome on the soffit.

I just saw a picture somwhere here on GW of a famous decorators use of the apple green, black and white. It looked really good!

When I first saw your kitchen I thought red also. Here is a pic from a hugely talented GW member whose album I kept in my files.

You may want to check out Devine's blush, found under the Valley Vineyards Palette.
Reds can run you craze since, IME, they turn out looking totally different than the paint chip. Be sure to paint at least a 3x3' section of wall when choosing!

Here is a link that might be useful: Blush

Very interesting ideas Les, and I LOVE the art you chose. Can you say more about what you'd do to create a shaker look? I understand using flat strips to make "boxes" -- but would you do one big box that runs the length of the wall, or a box above each cabinet door or each pair of doors? Would the box extend the entire height of the soffit? I think you might be on to something, but I'm having trouble visualizing.

I vote for a red color :-)

I have not read through everyone's replies in here so if I am repeating what someone else I am sorry! LOL

I like your kitched, I am a big fan of white cabinets. I think a punch of color is in order. My first thought is to but a spiced pumpkin kind of color...not neon orange, but a subdued spicy orange color that will go so well with the accessories you like. I think with the white cabinets I would not like to see a pale pastel kind of color.

Glad if I have been of some help. I would do the boxes the length of each area of soffit. That would echo the look of the drawers that are on the one end of the kitchen and below the stove. I would fill the whole space top to bottom, and so you would end up with one box on the soffit above the sink side, one above the stove side, and a small one on the angle wall.

To me, the problem with making them the size of the cabinets is what do you do above the sink area, and also where do you stop the effort to make them look like cabinets? Do you add hardware like the pulls on the rest of the space?

The other nice thing about framing out the whole space is that down the road if you decided you wanted to put art or plates or something up there, you could still do that.

Unfortunately I don't have Photoshop (or the talent that people like Squirrelheaven have to do it), so perhaps someone else could mock it up for you.

The art piece seemed fun to me, and in keeping with the style of the space. But you certainly could use other art down there - I would just be sure it didn't need to be seen at eye level, and perhaps was a bit more abstract or impressionistic, rather than something that was more detailed and literal.

I had Nantucket gray in my old kitchen for 6 years and loved it. Personally I prefer the calmer colors of green or blue in the kitchen. I like red for the dining room or study. Just a personal preference. I like your green but I can see how it could be too green and dark. I would try something lighter/less green like nantucket gray or clarksville gray. Or how about something like RH silver sage?

We just painted our dining room in BM Arctic Gray. On the swatch it looks very gray but it real life it has a nice blue gray look to it and it's beautiful, we have white trim and black accents in there and I'm in love with it. No green in this color.

I'd do a not-too-light soft blue, gray-blue, or even a little periwinkle to it. Great with the white/black/gray, and with your spicey orange accents.

Here's a couple of pictures I had saved in my files.

Duron Roasted Pepper
{{!gwi}}

Kpaquette's Gray Wisp
{{!gwi}}

Can't remember who this kitchen belongs to.

Laurie

Metromom, I just had to ask, where did you get your drum pendant?

I also have a recommendation for an easy window treatment to add color and texture. Take one matchstick blind, the roll-up kind, not the roman shade type. Take 2 strips of 2" wide colored ribbon (grosgrain looks great) or fabric of your choice. Loop the ribbon or fabric on either end and tie in a simple knot to hold up the bottom of the roll.

The matchstick blind adds texture and you can change out the fabric strips/ribbon with the seasons or as your decor colors change. Super simple, super cheap, big impact.

Can't wait to see how your kitchen turns out.

Kathe

Thanks all for the suggestions. I'm still trying to find a way to not have to paint the soffits the same color as the walls, and my current idea is to use beadboard wallpaper on them - something like this:

I'm still pretty much thinking out loud here, and maybe tomorrow I'll wake up thinking that's a terrible idea, but that's where I am right now. If I somehow did white beadboard or other trim on the soffits, I think I could go punchier on the walls.

Kathe, that light fixture is from Crate and Barrel. Unfortunately, the shade recently got water stained so I'm now looking for a way to re-cover it.

I think you need to stay away from the grays and greens
and go with Red, Orange or a combo of both. Something
truly dramatic.
Visit the paint store again and look at every red, orange,
coral or cranberry red. Find your favorite. The thing
about a red paint is even in dark light it looks nice.
Red adds life to a room and life to the people who use
it. Go with red.
~boxer

My favorite reds are...
BM Poppy, Behr Currant Red, Behr Cherry Bark red,
BM Ruby Red,

Merlot Red by BM

Morocan Red by BM

Apartment Therapy shows a beautiful red

Raspberry truffle BM from a GW image

Red Wall

BM Phillipsburg Blue looks great with white cabinets and black granite counters.

Hi again,

Re: the beadboard? I probably wouldn't go to all that work as I don't think it will do what you want it to do. As I mentioned before, I'd paint the soffits out to match the cabs and probably, at most, do a crown moulding at the top. The more you play them up, the heavier and more dominant they will become. Fade them awaaaay lol. The crown however would finish them off nicely.

I really think this kitchen is pretty and needs only to be punched up with accessories, a WT and more substantial hardware on the cabs...same style (maybe shorter though by a bit?) as your drawers. THAT will elongate them tremdously and also make them the focal point vs the soffit. I can't believe how much it changed the look when I did a virtual of that!

My Mr M had this exact same look in his last home. When we did a quicky remodel of the kitchen, we added trim to the cabs, new hardware, backsplash and appliances but just painted out the soffit to blend. It worked well.

Just putting more high impact stuff at eye/countertop level should work beautifully. Then paint whatever you'd like in the eating area. (I did like that wood table you had in there before...added a lot of warmth and contrast.)

Can you try the accessory route/ throw a piece of colorful fabric up over the window and perhaps take off one of your drawer pulls and stick it up on a cabinet for us to see? Love to see a pix of how it might look.

It's will also a LOT easier lol. :)

Here's a pix of M's kitchen after remodel showing the soffit. I had an antique iron piece I threw up there for a little interest. Matchstick blind, some colorful accents, rug adds a little contrast and punch.

Gee, that sounds like the most simple and effective solution. What would you think of just trying that???

I will try it this weekend and post pics! If it looks as good as the one Jan posted, I'll be thrilled.

Good for you! Keep us posted... :)

I went to the Benjamin Moore website and looked at some colors I thought would look nice. I tried to save the pictures but the site would not let me do so. Anyway, if you go to the site and click on the painter, there is a picture of a kitchen with orange and yellow and red accessories. These are the colors I tried on the walls: sultan's palace 2081-20, sweet pea 2031-30, raspberry blush 2008-30, and rose quartz 2002-30. They look nice with the colors you like as accessories in your kitchen.

I really like the idea of either boxing in the soffit in shaker style, just with flat trim (you could do that around the corner as well, maybe even make one rectangle going right to the outside wall), allowing you to change wall colour from the trim down), OR just drawing the eye away with lots of other stuff going on at eye level - new handles, etc. What a difference the little things make!

One strip of crown moulding also looks good, and you might also be able to take that around the corner to get a natural point to change the colour. You just need to decide whether the soffit should look, from the side, as if it is a box only over the cabinets, or one that extends right to the exterior wall.

As for colour, punchy colours aren't for everyone, and from your previous attempts it does look more like you lean to a more subtle palette. I also agree I liked your old table and chairs better in the space; maybe if you put those back and look for a colour that will co-ordinate with them, you will find some direction; maybe some of the above suggestions. And then let the stronger colours stay as accents.

BUT I do wonder if there is something wrong with using a punchy colour with little accents... it's like they punch you in the eye that way, whereas a strong colour that wraps around you draws you in instead. But it has to be a warm, enveloping shade, not a ...punchy one.

KarinL

I did a little bit of playing around with things I had on hand, just to try to approximate what it might look like to take some of these suggestions. What do you think, is Jan onto something? Or am I putting lipstick on a pig?

(I do know that the matchsticks would need to be hung much better - they need to be trimmed to fit but I didn't want to do that unless I'm definitely keeping them)

In this one, I tried to create the look of a colorful roman blind rather than the matchsticks :

Hmmm. I really like the crown. It gives it a more finished look and makes the cabinets look more substantial. As for the matchsticks versus the colorful blind. I'm on the fence. I like the texture, but also the pop of color. I guess ultimately it will depend on what you planned to do with the walls. Not sure if I missed it if you're going with a different color.

Thanks for the info on the pendant. I'd seen it somewhere before, but couldn't ask about it.

Kathe

I would do the colorful valance on the small window, and then use the same fabric for drapery panels in the eating area, with the matchsticks underneath.

Sorry, I don't see the crown in there - way too busy for the simple elegance of the cabinets and the more modern, clean feel of the space. I would still go with trimming them out to match the style of the cabinets.

I like the crown. It reminds me of Janicecarolyn's kitchen.

Laurie

Here is a link that might be useful: Janicecarolyn's kitchen

Morning,

Well, you've been productive! Nope, I wasn't sure about a crown and thanks for doing that...I'm NO photopshopper. It's too heavy. I still think it's smart not to focus on the soffits. The problem is (and this is really obvious from your first pix in this post, especially the side view) that the cabs are actually set back IN from the edge of the soffit. If you trim them out at all the soffit will protude even more out over the cabs which I think will look very odd.

The matchsticks I'd love to see in the light natural shade vs brown. The ones you have there sure are transparent...somewhat unusual. It's distracting seeing the window casing through them. Bit I DO like the texture...just not those so much.

Do you have any baskets, books, larger items that aren't slick or shiny? That's key I think...warm textural items.

Pleeeeze, pretty pleeze grab one of those drawer handles and use the bottom hole to screw one in place on an upper cab so we can see how that looks? I don't think the knobs are doing much for the cabs...and they are extremely low. Just little changes like that can make a huge diff.

im definitely thinking about you getting the beadboard and just adding it to look like you have cabinets to the ceiling although the matchstick blinds might be too much vertical & horizontal stuff and you will need to have some round designs (APPLES AND A PRINT LEANING AGAINST WALL?). what i noticed the best in color was when the dark grey and dark green were used. It seemed to pull the black with the white together the best. I really seemed to focus on the counters which are gorgeous.

We are just getting our honed BLACK GRANITE tomorrow aND IF i CAN EVER figure how to post photos I may be asking some same questions as we have just painted the room very pale white dove from BM, but I am big on bright prints and accessories so I am hoping to pull it together...good luck. love your kitchen!

Sorry I haven't been back with an update...I have been looking for better blinds, more textured accessories, and cabinet hardware -- no luck so far though. I did pull the table back up - here it is if anyone is curious:

And I am considering ordering these blinds if I can't find some that I can see in person before ordering (the shipping for these is almost as much as the blinds themselves!)

I'm thinking that if I can get some of that stuff in place, it might help me make a better paint decision. I'll post again when I have more to show. Thanks again for the input.

MM

I do like the raintree green on the walls. it doesn't look - on my screen - real greeny.

I also looove the red at the windows - and the DR wall pics.

i think that'd look great with a few other touches of red - as in towel, flowers, vase on the counter etc.

if the 'green' isn't real greeny - otherwise, it might look too much like Christmas all yr around!

I like what you did with the matchstick blinds and curtains, better than the roman shades. I wouldn't order those blinds if the shipping is high (I had bamboo ones in my old apartment that I bought at target for decently cheap).

Not sure how to post links, as I'm to all this but try these:
http://www.target.com/Bamboo-Roman-Shade-Spice/dp/B000KUCEI6/ref=br_1_5?ie=UTF8&frombrowse=1&searchView=grid5&searchNodeID=15751241&node=15751241&searchRank=salesrank&searchPage=1&searchSize=30&id=Bamboo%20Roman%20Shade%20Spice

My one suggestion would be use a more colorful curtain than the white long ones. It makes the room look modern, but a bit to stark and plain. Maybe even just white with a delicate print?

Maybe like these from ikea..
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00135551

or these from target
http://www.target.com/Home-Damask-Window-Collection/dp/B001J215Y8/ref=br_1_1?ie=UTF8&frombrowse=1&searchView=grid5&searchNodeID=596480011&node=596480011&searchRank=salesrank&searchPage=1&searchSize=30&id=Home%20Damask%20Window%20Collection
(and they're on clearance for super cheap!)

As for paint colors, I'm sorry I'm no help. I'm having a mini breakdown trying to decide on a palette for my house as well..

Good luck! And happy decorating!

Megan

Thanks Megan, those are the exact same blinds I picked out. The blinds are cheap but the shipping is ridiculous (and they are sold out in the stores) - oh well, as long as I like them, it'll be worth it.