boy, everything is pretty neutral so you could probably do alot. do you have feel like you want to keep it fairly neutral or would you like to go a little bolder with color?

I see a bolder color on the wall since there is a lot of neutral and I say this as someone that loves earth tone neutrals. The two questions I would ask, what colors have you used in other rooms of the house - you don't want to go too far out there and are you afraid to go with a bold color? I have a friend with similar color cabinets and she went with a pumpkin color (not bright orange, more of a darker orange/brown)and it worked in her space which tended more towards modern than traditional.

I agree that some sort of color would be nice. Maybe a smokey blue or something along those lines... nothing bright, just more of a color.. the pumpkin idea from the previous poster could work too.

I think smoky blue would look nice with the quartz - there seems to be a hint of it in there, but maybe I'm misreading. Otherwise, I'd like a burgundy.

Yes! These are the kind of out-of-the-beige ideas I was hoping for! I was thinking I had to go for some neutral shade that matched the backsplash, but all the shades I looked at seemed so boring...

Yet I wasn't sure if I could introduce another color. My quartz is fairly busy (for a quartz), and a lot of the backsplash tiles I'd looked at were too busy with it. I was afraid an unrelated color would be too busy too.

Minac, I'm redecorating the living room/dinette as well. I'll be painting the living room a fairly neutral shade and getting taupey-brown carpet, but I was going to go for colors for the furniture and decorations. Probably a sage green sofa, maybe a red or burgundy stripe for a chair, some blue mixed in there somewhere.

Pumpkin probably wouldn't appeal to me (I'm just not an orange person ;-)), but smokey blue or burgundy are intriguing. I'm always afraid that blue is too cold, but maybe I have enough warm elements in my kitchen that I can get away with it?

If I paint a darker color (like burgundy), how hard is it to repaint later? How many coats do you end up needing?

If you want a smokey blue... how about BM Cloudy Sky or Sea Star? I can't figure out how to imbed the pics from their website. I really think blue would work beautifully. You can definitely mix cool and warm colors. In fact... I think it creates balance; as in nature.

I would not let fear of painting over it keep me from doing burgundy. I have a dark red in my kitchen, and the painters told me that it would probably take a primer, tinted to chosen color, plus 2 coats to paint over it, which is exactly what they used to paint it red!

Because your finishes are medium to light, your walls can tolerate a dark color, if it won't be a lighting problem. One trick is to cut the wall color with 30%-50% white for the ceiling.

As for hues, because your finishes are in the yellow/gold range, you can go straight contrast in the blue family for a big pop. (The smokey blue suggestion was about the biggest pop you can get. A blueish gray would also work, but catch the eye less.)

For less pop, while keeping it lively, you can try a more closely related color, something in the yellow or orange family, like pumpkin, rust, gingerbread, autumn leaf yellow, persimmon, or russet.

In between are the purples and greens, the other secondary colors, such as the suggestion of burgundy, also a warm olive or cactus.

I saw this earlier but didn't want to be the first person to suggest blue -- otherwise y'all might think I'm really obsessed with that color or something :)

I like dark (barn) red in that room. I also like fire engine, *&-you red, but I think that's my inner imp rebelling against beige :)

I also like a blue sometimes described as Prussian, French, or country: medium to medium-dark muted blue with teal and a lot of gray. Think stormy ocean, not sunny sky. That blue shade/family is a warm blue that usually works well with browns. I played around on the Sherwin Williams color visualizer website and found colors such as 6222, Riverway; 6244, Naval; 7612, Mountain Stream; 6214, Moody Blue. All of these have Decorator-Sanctioned Harmonious Accent Colors in shades of beige that are pretty close to your cab/counter/tile colors, and one even has a dark red too! I don't use SW colors and don't know how accurate the website is, so YMMV. If you go too light, your kitchen will look very beachy (sand + sky/waves), which IMO isn't right in that space.

I also think green might work, but I'm having trouble picturing the exact right shade; sage is too boring, dark forest green is too hobbitty, kelly green is too bright....

I also sort of like the idea of a deep smoky gray, but gray is just blue without the fun parts :)

Bluekit, why would anyone tease you about suggesting blue? ;-)

Actually, this blue thing is totally growing on me. I love blue, I love these smokey shades of blue - I don't seem to ever have enough blue in my decor. My new dishes just arrived from Bloomingdales.com - they're cream-colored. I think they'd be so lovely with all this blue and warm brown around them...

(The dishes, btw, were a steal. Service for 12 including desert dishes and a completer set for only $89.99 with free shipping! Unfortunately, their web site does not provide the ideal shopping experience. They sent me a shipping confirmation without a tracking number, and when I called, they said the dishes were shipping by USPS and I should call back Wednesday for more info - well, they came today by UPS, and my neighbor took them in for me. 82 lbs. of dishes! I feel so bad!!! I had been planning to stay home to take delivery... As soon as my kitchen is done, I need to make him a noodle kugel.)

Well, I think the consensus is blue! While I love reddish colors, I'd be careful with anything in that family because they tend to absorb light-- we've had red rooms in all the houses we have lived in-- we love it, but it tends to make the room a bit dark.

BM has lots of lovely blues-- I wouldn't be afraid to pick a strong blue with a good bit of grey in it.

In any case, color is reversable.. it's a pain to paint (and repaint!) but it is also relatively inexpensive and definitely a DIY project.

BM also sells little samples-- if you test some out, please post pictures.

I am wondering if we are all thinking blue because of the spanish tiles in the background of your tile backsplash pictures. The french blue looks great with your colors and really brings it alive.

I would opt for that in a heart beat.

Another suggestion: Paint your ceiling a color (as yet to be determined) and wallpaper your window wall in something funky and cool. Just that one accent wall with the wallpaper. Everything else is tiled or cabinetry as far as I can see.

I just put this Nina Campbell wallpaper on one wall in my mudroom... it is great and a lot of fun:
http://www.ninacampbell.com/wallpaper/wallpaper.aspx?intWallpaperID=4

not suggesting this paper, but the idea of something with some "splash" no pun intended.

or bring the outdoors in (probably in a different colorway.. something with more panache)
http://www.osborneandlittle.com/osborne-&-little/walk-in-the-park-wallpaper/wallpapers/richmond/

this would be striking:
http://thibautdesign.com/Collection/patternDetailWall.aspx?pid=965&prdId=5581

One of my all time favorite wallpapers is by Brunschwig and Fils... at first glance it looks like a trellis - a closer look shows frogs holding on to each by hands and feet. couldn't find a picture of it on the internet.

you wouldn't need much wallpaper .. .would be a great way to get some punch and individuality into your kitchen and should be budget friendly.

What wood is the ginger glaze on? We had it on maple, and it seemed to have a yellowish cast to it.

Also, which way is your window facing? Ours faced north, which would make the colors look different than if light came in from another direction.

Anne

If your finding the paint thing overwhelming take a look at the BM Pottery Barn colours - lots of great colours across the spectrum but not tto many. I gave my sample book to someone at work but they had a nice mid-tone blue (I am thinking of using it in my entrance hallway but I may cheap out on the paint - maybe I'll colour match it). In such a cozy kitchen with a lot of neutrals I would go lighter to get some contrast not darker.

Your living room plans sound like a great backdrop for colour. Mine is embarrassingly stalled but I am presently sprawled on on my orange couch trying to avoid looking at the partially painted beige walls. New drapes (orange stripe) are being made in January so I better get cracking.

Here is my kitchen color. It's BM's Grecian Green. I think it's a soft color that would look nice with your cabinets and tile choices.

{{gwi:1397847}}

This might help visualize-riverway and burgundy

Here is a link that might be useful: {{!gwi}}

....and burgundy

Here is a link that might be useful: {{!gwi}}

Charlikin,
Can I ask what your hardware is and where you got it, I love it.
thanks

Biner, I'm floored! How did you do that???!!!

Wow. Okay, love the blue - it's very tranquil. And like the burgundy quite a lot more than I thought I would - wasn't sure it would work with all the yellow tones in the cabinets & backsplash, but it does and gives an edgier, more urban look to me. (THANK YOU for mocking these things up!!! It really helps to see them that way!)

The wood, btw, is indeed maple. I would say there is definitely a yellowish cast to it. The countertop can almost have an olive cast depending on what you hold next to it - olive isn't my favorite color (for decor, anyway), so I don't want to encourage that.

Mamadadapaige, wallpaper is braver than I want to go. If I screw up on the paint color, much easier to fix. :-) (That said, the papers you linked to are beautiful - I especially liked the last one! Thought it would coordinate beautifully with the cabinets, but maybe in another time, another kitchen...)

Crabapplemcn, the hardware is Top Knobs M1131. It comes in this size (about 5-1/2"), and there's a roughly 4" size (M1128, maybe).

That Riverway blue that biner did is exactly the kind of blue I was trying to describe. You can go a little more gray, or a little lighter, or a little more blue/less teal, depending on the light in your space and your own personal preference, but that's the family of blue that IMO would be best. I really, really like the way that shade brings out the warm tones in your cabs.

Your photos made me think of a muted, gray-blue colour. The burgundy is also fabulous though, as long as you're up for that much intensity.

What sort of a feel do you want your kitchen to have?

MyPerfectColor.com has some great combos to pore over, using Benjamin Moore paint colors. Many of them might work for your kitchen:

Warm Inspirations:
{{!gwi}}

Atlantic Northeast/Metropolitan Merge:
{{!gwi}}

Global Eclectic:
{{!gwi}}

no problem-i have a software program called picture painter that allows you to add paint and texture to any surface in a photo. couln't find your tile or stone but the program has all of bm and sw paint colours as well as some others and different tile, stone, wood etc. Let me know if there are any specific colours you would like to see and I can put them in your photo for you.

Charlikin, I also would love to see a smoky blue with your tile, cabinets, and back-splash colors. I love your kitchen and since it is so neutral, any color would look nice in your kitchen I feel. So you really have a lot of choices. I would make sure the color flows nicely to adjoining rooms.

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charlikin, I just came across this again when I was doing a search for your floor (which I love BTW... I may order a sample as an option for my remodel). What did you decide on the color?

Hi Remodelfla! I'm pretty sure I'm going with the smokey blue - just have to determine which shade! Bluer, grayer, how dark... I tried using BM's Personal Color Viewer software (even paid $10 for the download!), but the colors come out very different (lighter and in shade) than on the paint chips.

Also choosing colors for the living room and bathroom since it's all going to be painted at the same time. Thinking maybe BM Monroe Bisque for the living room, but I have to paint up a sample.

The countertop and backsplash just went in on Thursday and Friday, so I can post some updated photos. These are with the grout still wet - it dried quite a bit lighter so it blends in with the tile - an effect I *thought* I wanted. I actually liked the grout better wet. Sigh.

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That looks sooooo beautiful...:-) and you KNOW I think smokey blue would be perfect. Get some sample cans and paint them on your wall if it's colors they have sample pots in.

Charlikin, I love the backsplash and I can't wait to see an updated pic with the grout drying lighter which I think would even look better and the backsplash already looks so nice. I love the look of the maple kitchen cabinets with those pretty pulls and the counter top also looks great in the darker color. Everything is coming along fine and I feel a smokey blue paint color would look so nice. I can't wait to see final pictures when you are done.

Wow your kitchen came out fantastic. You must be soooooooooo over the moon. I too think that a dusty blue would be great.
And don't drive yourself crazy about the endless details like grout color- it looks great and only I should be going crazy over dumb details like that!!!

green that is on the grey side - 100% for sure it will look amazing

Hmmm...so I was reading the thread about window treatments, and now I'm thinking I should do a neutral color on the walls and a really rich fabric shade (maybe in burgundy) on the window. It's a large window with a thick frame around it... that might bring me the splash of dramatic color I want without having to commit to putting it on the walls. (I'm sorry - I know paint is supposed to be easy, but NOTHING is easy for me!!!)

With the smokey blue, I was going to do a neutral (probably musliny off-white) shade. Also, since I want to paint the window frame the same color as the wall (the white or different color trim thing wouldn't work style-wise with the rest of my apartment), I think painting it all a light color might work better than painting that darker blue.

Just my current thoughts. Will post updated photos later... have to do some cleaning up first!!!