# Brightening Kitchen-painting/color advice needed!



## Ariadne (May 9, 2014)

Although there is a lot I like about my new kitchen, there are some things I want to change.

It was remodeled by the previous owners, and they did a great job, but our tastes are a little different...










Features: a black sink, black appliances, black island and bar stools with walnut brown distressing, ORB hardware, custom crown moulding and kitchen cabinet doors, dark tan and brown back splash, brown wainscotting, built in pantry and corner bookshelf, and butterscotch yellow walls.










This is the diningroom, forming an L off the kitchen. (The curtains and wall decor are not staying; table and chairs are.) What I would ideally like to do is repaint, in maybe a sage green or soft farmhouse blue, and do the wainscotting in white. However, that presents a problem with the moulding, which ties in with the cabinetry, which I have no intention of painting.

Would it look strange to paint the wainscotting, but not the crown moulding? (I'm of the opinion that it would, hence my conundrum.)










I love the moulding, but it feels very dark and heavy to us. I don't want to paint it, because the color and finish are lovely, but I don't know if I want to keep it like it is either.










The backsplash isn't bad, imo, but with the other elements, it adds a very dark vibe to the room. I'm hoping to accentuate some of the lighter notes with a new paint job.










The granite counters have just enough lightness to help balance the room a bit, and I think is color neutral enough that it won't clash with blue or green. What do you think?










The island, barstools, dining set, sink and appliances are all black. Replacing appliances isn't financially feasible just for aesthetics, and I actually like the contrast and boldness of the dark island. It has a light walnut distressed treatment that softens it perfectly.










Here is where I start to flounder. This is part of a built in bookshelf in the corner off to the right of the island. It ties in with the wainscotting and moulding, so if I paint this piece, I feel like I have to paint all the wood trim. What do you think?










To the left is the livingroom, which is rocking the 70's era wood paneling. There is a hallway with the lower half of the walls covered in paneling trimmed off with chair moulding; dark brown baseboards in every room and brown windows. My plan is to paint all that white, and accentuate the rest with paint colors instead.










The pantry is detailed in ceiling to floor wainscotting, which corners directly against the cabinets just to the right. The pantry door also matches all the bedroom and hallway doors, which I planned to paint. Would leaving this one natural look strange?










I don't feel confident that I can repaint the trim and paneling throughout the house and leave the brown wainscotting, but I don't want to paint the crown moulding or cabinets. Would it look goofy to have brown crown moulding and white wainscotting?

If the paneling didn't end where the wainscotting begins, I'd paint the rest of the house the way I want, change the yellow in the kitchen and be done, but as it is I feel like it will be too harsh of a transition.


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## alexdavid (Oct 22, 2014)

The kitchen seems to have dark ambiance. There are lots of options you can do to make it brighter and vibrant. Choosing green color can give your space more vibrant. It is also a good idea to change the color of the door. You might try the Black Knight, which complements on your green kitchen. You can also add green pendant lamp. Just use light colors on your walls.


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## Ariadne (May 9, 2014)

Thank you! What brand is Black Knight, so I can look it up?

Also, what is your opinion on painting the wainscotting/crown moulding?


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## alexdavid (Oct 22, 2014)

Ariadne said:


> Thank you! What brand is Black Knight, so I can look it up?
> 
> Also, what is your opinion on painting the wainscotting/crown moulding?


Black Knight from Benjamin Moore. You can also check out some more shades. In molding, you can choose the same color to the walls. But choosing a lighter shade of the wall color is also good. It makes your ceiling higher.


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## Two Knots (Nov 12, 2011)

I would paint all the walls a light cream color,
the dining room as well.

Where are the windows in the kitchen?
What color is the island? 

Also, what's behind the drapes in the dining room;
French door, or sliding door or windows? 

Can you post more pics?


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## RHeat (Nov 14, 2014)

Beautiful kitchen. Just need to brighten it up a bit


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## Ariadne (May 9, 2014)

Two Knots said:


> I would paint all the walls a light cream color,
> the dining room as well.
> 
> Where are the windows in the kitchen?
> ...


Would you paint the wood as well?
There is one brown window over the kitchen sink.
The island is black with walnut brown distressing. All hardware and light fixtures are ORB.
Sliding doors.
More pics when I can.


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## Ariadne (May 9, 2014)

RHeat said:


> Beautiful kitchen. Just need to brighten it up a bit


Thank you. Yes, the kitchen and livingroom need brightening, and the rest of the house needs to be de-blanded. It's a strange mix of dark and blah.


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## Ariadne (May 9, 2014)

alexdavid said:


> Black Knight from Benjamin Moore. You can also check out some more shades. In molding, you can choose the same color to the walls. But choosing a lighter shade of the wall color is also good. It makes your ceiling higher.


What would you do about the crown moulding? A lighter color will create a higher effect, but I imagine the brown trim is going to be a shock if I leave it, unless there's a clever design technique to make it look deliberate.


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## Two Knots (Nov 12, 2011)

Ariadne said:


> Would you paint the wood as well?
> There is one brown window over the kitchen sink.
> The island is black with walnut brown distressing. All hardware and light fixtures are ORB.
> Sliding doors.
> More pics when I can.


I would just paint all the walls a light creamy white first. Leave the wood alone for now. What is on the floor? 

yes, post more pics. 
The cabs are gorgeous as well as all the wood. 
The drapes in the dining room are a bit too dark, as well.


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## Ariadne (May 9, 2014)

The floor is a warm brown vinyl laminate product. The drape are definitely going to be replaced, once I figure out what changes I'm going to make color wise.










The only window in the kitchen, aside from the sliding glass doors, which are on the opposite side of the room. The sink is black granite, I think. And that window valance is not staying either; definitely not my style!










View from the sliding glass doors in the dining room to the kitchen.










View of the doors that lead out to an elevated patio.










Dining room light fixture. Dark and dramatic; I like this piece so it will stay.










Light fixture over the island.










Black island with walnut brown distressing and ORB knobs.


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## Two Knots (Nov 12, 2011)

I would paint the walls a creamy white color.

The kitchen window would look nice with a roman shade.
install the shade up high to expose the entire window
when the shade is up. The shade should also be a light
creamy color. It could either be fabric or bamboo,
as long as it's light creamy white; you have enough brown
in this kitchen. 

The sliding door could also have a roman shade in a 
creamy color. You can also have a light color creamy drapery
legs on each side of the door, They should be a light weight
Sheer fabric. They could be tied back and just cover the ends of the door
a few inches on each side.

I love the lighting fixtures. 

I wood leave all the wood alone, but think about painting the Island
another color to brighten up the room. This is not risky, if you don't
like it, you can re-paint it. What other color in the room would you
like to bring in for wall prints, etc? Last week in home goods I saw an
Island painted red, and rubbed like your is...it was beautiful. 

What is behind the walls in the Dining room...the wall on the left
is that an outside wall by any chance?


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## Ariadne (May 9, 2014)

My color scheme may either be a soft sage green and accents of orange and yellow, or pale blue/navy, yellow and cream/white. Undecided on that still.

I like your suggestion about the roman shade, and the drapes will probably be replaced with canvas dropcloth with a painted stencil.

Wall art will probably be lots of mirrors, and a rustic message station.

One side of the diningroom is an outside wall, the other is a bedroom. Were you thinking of adding a window there? I'd love to, but it's a brick exterior, and I'm not that desperate for more light, lol.


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## Two Knots (Nov 12, 2011)

yes, I was thinking of a nice big window, bay window, or box window.
The brick exterior wouldn't stop me, as I love windows for the
view as well as the light it reflects. Put it on your wish list,
Maybe someday... :yes:

Mirrors do reflect light. I have lots of mirrors in our house.


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## leathersofa (Dec 8, 2014)

All looks really dark. You can try creamy colour for the walls and may be for the doors, also you can use the same colour for the dining chairs and the sofa cover and pillows; the drapery should be creamy colour and silky, really transperant. You can change the towels and all kitchen accessories in the same colour.....my point is, leave the furniture the way it is, but change all you can with it's white/creamy alternative.


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## lisadesign (Jun 7, 2012)

Ariadne said:


> The floor is a warm brown vinyl laminate product. The drape are definitely going to be replaced, once I figure out what changes I'm going to make color wise. The only window in the kitchen, aside from the sliding glass doors, which are on the opposite side of the room. The sink is black granite, I think. And that window valance is not staying either; definitely not my style! View from the sliding glass doors in the dining room to the kitchen. View of the doors that lead out to an elevated patio. Dining room light fixture. Dark and dramatic; I like this piece so it will stay. Light fixture over the island. Black island with walnut brown distressing and ORB knobs.


You have a lot to plan. Just from looking, if you are not going to paint the crown and baseboards, I would pick a neutral color. I would paint the top above chair rail a light neutral and the bottom below the chair rail the same color only a shade darker. Have the guy at the paint store mix a few samples just darkening the top shade a bit till you get what you want. You have black accents so I would embrace that within your drapes (light color drapes to coordinate with your paint color with a black accent edge or some black in the design. You could have another color in the drape within the print that you could use as your accessories pop of color. For instance cream, black and yellow as your pop of color. I would pull your pop of color from what would work well with your back splash. Go to the store and get some placemats in different colors and play around a it. Loose the topper over your sink window. If you don't need to put anything up there, I would leave it open. It will make your window look taller and you will get more light. Good luck. Be sure to prime all the wood first. Talk to the paint guy to be sure you are getting correct primer.


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