We will only be starting our major remodel at the end of the summer, so last year I did a quick fix by painting our kitchen cabinets and walls to hold us over. On one large wall, I used chalkboard paint to paint a large square, roughly 3' x 3' and framed it out in some leftover molding. It is very practical for leaving messages and noting groceries to pick up, but I won't have a chalkboard again in my new kitchen. It always looks great in magazines, but in reality it's just a chalky mess. If you use an eraser, then you just get a white haze over the black. It's nearly impossible to have a crisp, black background with white writing. If you don't use an eraser, then every time you want to clean it you need to do so with a sponge and water and you need to do a couple of passes on it to get it truly clean. I've also found that while the paint doesn't exactly wash off, after time it does affect it and if I was keeping this kitchen I'd probably repaint it once or twice a year. For me, it's been one of those things thats a nice idea but impractical to maintain. My suggestion would be to purchase a large chalkboard (or make one by painting a piece of mdf and framing it) and then hanging it on your door. That way, if you find it isn't practical (as I did) or you just don't like it, you can remove it without replacing the door. Good luck, claire.

I have dockside hickory flooring, and a pantry in the kitchen. I want to get new cabinets and countertops....I have black appliances. I am thinking a blue...maybe slate blue for cabinets....and wondered what to paint my pantry? NOt sure on wall color...I was thinking white....and not sure of countertops. HELP? lol

It is a wood island and will be painted soon. We'll be adding some detail or trim before painting to make it look a bit less plain. The kitchen is part of a rectangular space with the family room on the other end of the rectangle. Cabinet style is, I guess, "traditional." Installed 20 years ago when the house was built, and is soon to be painted, along with the walls (neutral beige) and trim (white to match the kitchen cabinets.) New luxury vinyl plank floor, new countertops on the perimeter and island, probably white quartz type. The white and beige will be bland. I prefer to have my (costly) fixed elements as neutral as possible to allow for as much variety as possible in decorating in the future. I don't want to be locked into one color scheme. The color will come from the decor. I have toyed with the idea of a green backsplash (instead of white) and green island but again, that would lock me in. Painting the island the same color as the walls allows for a bit of differentiation while still staying neutral. Also, my taste is pretty traditional/transitional. Thank you all so much for your interest. I'm attempting to attach photos.

your cabs remind me of this before and after. Try and imagine the after being the same white (instead of this pale blue/green) and you'll get an idea of what you're asking. If you just look at the pic on the right and see the cabs against the white ceiling, it should give you an idea of what white walls would look like Here's alabaster compared to Simply White or cloud white (forget white dove. too dingy) the other two are neutrals that lean a little toward warm. Alabaster can look pretty 'yellowish'. don't know if you'd want that tone next to the countertops If you have any plants on changing countertops, i'd wait on paint color. Look into Pre-fab countertops. for you kitchen you could do the counters for about 1500-1800 using a prefab. they come in quartz, marble, granite, etc. prefabs come looking like this, usually in 6' or 9' lengths. cost is usually 500-600 bucks. you hire a fabricator to come on site to cut them to your kitchen size don't know where you live. Some states these are very easy to obtain, others not so much.