I live in a small 1100 sq. foot bungalow and have a small kitchen, which is currently painted white. I am thinking on painting the kitchen a rich "brick" red - i feel as though the room needs a bit of funkiness. I have those god awful bleached oak cabinets (which look a peachy- pink!) and a black patterned counter. The floor is wood. I have two sliders which open up to a large deck and all in all , the kitchen is extremely bright... I was told that a small room can be painted dark if it's bright enough.... Need some convincing...
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Buy slim line appliances and if they are integrated it streamlines the space
Avoid space hungry appliances and gadgets and restrict your cooking equipment
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oliviaharis
Do you ever watch Decorating Challenge on WTN? Go to www.decoratingchallenge.com and check out episode 120... a really funky kitchen done by Tracey Kundell (forgive if I misspelled) She is my favourite decorator on that show. I wish I had your kitchen so I could do this treatment!!! Good luck. Linda
I had a friend who had creamy white cabinets and painted her walls a fire brick red...it was very country and cosy! Otherwise, try what was suggested previously with the Bistro look...like that! I personally like the deep red/semi gloss cabinets with black counter tops and stainless steel appliances for that retro look... saw a lot of that in Italy last fall...too cool!!
Go for it your kitchen will look smashing. Give it a Bistro look, red walls, white or matte black cupboards and trim , bring in small accents in greens and yellows , pull in some wrought iron, table , bakers rack, pan rack etc. Floor black and white tile or hard wood. Call friends over for coffee and enjoy.
I've been thinking the exact same thing...we are going to redecorate our 18 year old kitchen which has dark oak cabinets with very dated, Amerock brass handles; I want it to look like a country kitchen. I've thought of a brick red, antiqued with a touch of black and then finished with a pearl glaze and perhaps round wooden knobs matching the cabinets or white porcelain ones. I have all new white appliances and thought simple, white countertops would offset the sea of red. We went through the same process painting our three outside doors last summer. Our house has grey siding and white trim, shutters etc. and I finally convinced my husband to go all out and paint the doors colonial red. It looks fabulous; really brightens up the appearance. As far as kitchens go, I love painted colonial furniture and pine and I too would like something different like the colonial red; blue would be cold, but red would always look warm and appealing. Anyway, would love to hear how your kitchen turns out.
Hi!! My kitchen is painted in a deep plum (with a grey tone to it). It is Martha Stewarts apple butter. It is gorgeous. My cupboards are a light maple, and I believe that with cupboards that light, the room would look kind of blah with a light colour painted on the walls.. I love it and have had MANY comments on how they love the colour...
Don't be afraid to use dark colours!!! I have also used the hollyhock red by martha and it is beautiful!!
Good luck!
It took me two years, but I finally painted my kitchen Hollyhock Red by Martha Stewart and I LOVE IT. I have received numerous compliments on it. My kitchen cabinets are white. Prior to painting the walls red, my kitchen counter top looked really pink because of the flecks that are in it, it now casts more of a tan shade (I hated the counter tops - now I can live with them). I live in a 1000 sq ft house with a kitchen that is not that big. The color didn't seem to make it the room smaller even though I have medium to dark "slate look" lino.
Good Luck!!
Go for the red! But I agree that you should try it on the cabinets and not the walls. I saw a kitchen done once in high gloss red cabinets and stainless steel appliances...very funky!
Most kitchens have very little wall space as most of it is covered by cabinets, windows and doors. So go ahead and paint whatever color you like! Just be sure it coordinates with the other major color surfaces in your room (i.e., cabinets, counters, floors, window coverings and furniture like a table & chairs).
Another option is to paint the cabinets instead of the walls. Sounds like you don't like them anyway. And they probably dominate the room more than the walls.
Be careful with red!!! I agree that it can look very nice, but getting the "right red" can be difficult. We did ours and re-painted within two days. We both found it very hard to look at.
Paint a poster-sized board or paper and see what you think.
Why not colour block?...Then it wouldn't be overpowering.
PS. They say red increases your appetite!!
Hello,
I can't see why you could not paint your kitchen a darker color, it may look very nice with the white cabinets, making them stand out more. If you are undecided on a color, Go to your Bengamin Moore store, and pick some colors, and when you narrow down your choices, you can buy small "testers" and poster boards, and paint the boards, move them about, putting them against the cupboards etc, and see how they work in your room during the different times of day, worked for me!
PS, if you go with a dark color, wait till it totally dries and "cures" a bit, I found any dark color looks AWFUL till it fully dries, so don't panic!
Tam