Congrats on your new home! You do have a large, beautiful kitchen as well. Since your kitchen is basically a blank slate, you could go with about any color you would like on the walls. I just read an article yesterday suggesting these colors, they go well with wood: blue, green, certain reds, and so on. What are your favorite colors? Do you have colorful accessories that you can pull a color from for your walls? Backsplashes are a personal choice and it depends if you want some color in the backsplash too. You may want to find a backsplash first then decide on paint color. It's much easier to match the backsplash with a paint color than the other way around.

So, I have the pitcher below that I use as my cooking utensil holder:

and I have a this set of canisters that sits out on the counter (the red has strong orange undertones):

It's a little bit more ornate and more rustic than my tastes run but for the foreseeable future, this is what I'm working with.

Edit to add that I considered certain reds as a possibility, but I fear that it would be "too much red" with the color of the cabinets. Maybe something in the mauve/burgundy family...?

Beautiful accent pieces! I love the green wall behind the canisters. That would be a beautiful color in your kitchen! Look how beautiful it looks with the canister colors. It will also work with your wood cabinets. The best way to choose the correct color you want is to go to BM, SW, or Behr paint websites. You can virtually paint a kitchen with colors you would like to try out. Once you find what you want (even 2 or 3 choices), I suggest buying paint samples and painting a good sized section of each color on a wall. Look at it for a few days, during sunny and cloudy days and at night, under your kitchen lights. This will help you determine if it will work with everything in the kitchen. This will also save you time and money. This is how I chose all the colors for my house!

I would go with white back splash and walls.

Here is my mocking

take off the 4" backsplash piece if you will be redoing the entire thing.

I think if you get a darker color splash, it will offer some contrast.

That red cab color would be a no-go for me. If you don't like them, you can paint yourself to save some money. it won't be quick, but you can do it. If you don't want to go that route, replace the green paint color with something darker. pick a tone from your granite that works w/the red cabinet shade. is there a medium charcoal shade you could use? A darker navy?

see if any of these work

I'd actually do the island in a dark navy,,like Hale, and the perimeter cabs in a white.

and then do a nice navy tile splash.

I would bring in a multicolored backsplash with some darker colors

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Thanks all! Normally, I would paint the cabinets and do it myself (wouldn't be the first time), but there are extenuating circumstances so that won't be in the cards for a while. Wall paint and backsplash updates are our only options. Some good ideas to check out here, so thank you very much for all of your help!!!

The first thing that pops out to me is the previous owners did a big no no- they added a 4" countertop backsplash and then did the marble above that. Never do a 4" backsplash with another back splash. It needs to be one or the other. You can just remove the marble, repair the wall and paint the whole kitchen including the wall above the 4" backsplash as one option. Another option would be to do something multicolored bringing in some contrast. But regardless, do not combine the 4" backsplash with another tile. Also, I would not do black appliances in your kitchen with the cabinets you now have. Good luck!

Yeah, I thought it looked a little off... Not sure if this is something anyone can answer without looking at the actual place but, short of getting all new countertops, is there an option to remove the 4" countertop backsplash?

wait a minute... why choose colors from a utensil holder and canisters you don't even like? skip displaying the canisters, buy a $10 utensil holder that you do like, and go from there.

ninigret - I don't hate them, and my husband is a bit of a fan, so they're staying... LOL!

"is there an option to remove the 4" countertop backsplash?"

It looks like granite from the photo, so there should be a seam at the angle where the backsplash meets the top of the counter. In which case it can be removed without taking off the whole thing.

Using a bold color would help liven up the space. Something that accents the colors in the countertop. Then find a backsplash that works with them both. Or maybe something neutral in a texture tile to give it interest without add too many colors.

Change out the hardware to match the color of new appliances, and consider changing the pendant lights to a modern fixture that matches as well.

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Best of luck!

We actually think painting and removing the 4" backsplash and adding a new backsplash will help you feel a lot better about your new kitchen.

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Contemporary Kitchen & Bath · More Info

I would paint the walls a dark neutral, modernize hardware & replace the island pendants with a dramatic, fresh fixture in a dark metal finish.