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Paint Design Dilemma Kitchens

What color kitchen cabinets? Honey oak to something modern

last year

My kitchen is open to the living room and we just had the living room painted a creamy SW Alabaster from a beigy-yellow. It looks a thousand times better already. However I want to update the honey oak cabinets into this decade. They are being professionally sanded, primed and painted. After the living room paint went from yellow to cream I had second thoughts about also painting the kitchen cabinets cream/white. Floors are a dark engineered wood and the granite countertops which run all the way up the backsplash are this strange color believe is called Saphire Blue Granite. It has a salmon color, black, brown and icy blue. Eventually when budget allows I will replace the granite with something lighter but for now I need to tie the living room with the floors with the kitchen cabinets with the busy granite. Island is half stucco and the other side are drawers and cabinets. I will be adding black matte hardware to the cabinets and drawers as well.

Should I go with the same color as the long living room the kitchen is opened to or would a darker cream like swiss coffee work? What about a very light grey?

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Comments (5)

cat_ky
last year
What color is your trim?
ellaphant
last year
With black appliances, I personally think you need a color, like some kind of grey-blue. You could go brighter if you want, like yellow.
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arcy, I can reposition the island. Funny you mentioned that because my mom hopped on the wagon to help me figure out what to do with the kitchen and she, too, suggested I reposition it. She also pointed out that the otherside of the island is much more attractive than the side that's exposed to the dining room. I will turn it next time I'm at the house and see what it's like. Thanks! Also, thanks for the wallpaper suggestion. I'll check out the collection at SW for ideas just in case. :) annkathryn, your cabinets are GORGEOUS! Thank you for the inspiration photos. They are gentle reminders of ways I can live with what I've got for now until I'm able to do what you did with transforming them. Great job! As promised, here are better photos of the kitchen: Here you can see the two green samples as well as a TINY bit of the Toasted Cashew I tried to sample peeking through Backsplash details (there is some splattering from cooking, that's not the tile) Close up of the tile in the kitchen (the grout will be cleaned when we move in so it'll lighten up a bit, the tile that will be installed in the dining room and living room will be similar in color to the lighter tile in the dividing strip shown here) Looking into the kitchen from the DR Someone requested a photo of the view from the back of the kitchen looking out to the DR -- pardon my lovely SIL, she was rinsing paint from her hands and the mini rollers, and my hand wasn't very steady here My mom suggested I take advantage of the side of the island shown in the above photo and turn it outward towards the DR. She also mentioned the idea of painting the island as some suggested here. I really like that idea! Hope this helps you all more than the previous photos did.
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I worry that any white that isn't WHITE will look dingy/dirty up against the white appliances, I would lean toward a bit of colour. I have written a few blog posts on both white appliances and wood cabinets, they might have some helpful info in them! https://www.kylieminteriors.ca/the-best-paint-colours-to-go-with-oak-wood/ https://www.kylieminteriors.ca/kitchen-ideas-decorating-with-white-appliances-painted-cabinets/ ~Kylie
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We only had a few minutes to chat, but she said she probably could not afford granite. I don't know her budget yet either. I am going to suggest to her this site and also Pinterest to get some ideas. She's not a computer person so I wanted to take photos of ideas and show her. I'm not sure what options she can choose from besides a laminate. Maybe a silestone or something comparable would work for her.
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Your rooms and furnishings are all neutral enough from what I can see that you could do any number of colors/patterns - depends on what you like, or maybe what is in adjacent rooms. You could stick with curtains on the slider and coordinating or matching fabric valance over the sink, or do a blind on one or the other. Curtains are probable most cost effective, though, since you just did new roof and siding. I would probably look at places like Target, IKEA, JCP and Pottery Barn for ideas. Even HomeGoods carries lots of curtains, although their selection is more hit and miss.
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anna_682
last year
Some good info on Alabaster paint color. Scroll down for a good video of the color by Kylie M.

https://housekeepingbay.com/alabaster-sw7008-by-sherwin-williams
Rina A.
Original Author
last year
Thanks for the replies. Cat, Trim in the kitchen is the same oak. In the living room is ultra white. Elllaphant, I like the idea of a grey-blue, if its light enough. But Yellow I cannot do. I painted my old tiny apartment kitchen yellow once and it still haunts me. Thanks so much anna thats a great article i'm studying it well!
ellaphant
last year
Rina, oh no, I'm imagining that kitchen turned out highlighter yellow!

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