Kitchen A Good Place To Leave Neutral Colors
Q.We bought an existing home and our formal/ traditional taste differs quite a bit from the previous owner’s casual/country taste. It hasn’t taken much money or time to change the wall colors and draperies in other parts of the house to our favorite colors of gold, salmon and ivory, but the kitchen will be more costly, and we need some advice before we begin.
The white appliances and cabinets are fairly upto-date (although we wish they were bone color) and the floor plan is a handy compact pullman type. It has casual oatmeal-looking vinyl counter cops and a green vinyl floor. The curtains are a green and white striped fabric and will be no problem to change, but we don’t know which direction to go from there. This kitchen joins a dining room to a breakfast room and will be a part of the entertainment area, so we want it to look good.
A. Since you have used color in the rest of the house,. why not let this room be a little different with a “no color” look of beige and white? Family rooms and kitchens are good choices for this look. There is already so much color in the food, games, toys, hobbies, crafts, magazines and cookbooks. Having a neutral color scheme cuts down on the cluttered look these rooms so often have.
I would leave the oatmeal colored counter tops and choose a new floor in a white and beige marble-design vinyl. Since it is a small floor plan, it may not cost too much to tie the kitchen to the breakfast room by carrying the vinyl floor into that room also.
The curtains could be changed to a beige-and-white stripe in silk-look moire fabric. Roman shades tend to have a more formal look than curtains, so that would be my choice for your window. You could also tie your kitchen to the dining room by changing one or two of the cabinet door fronts to glass and displaying some pretty crystal serving pieces or glasses.
With lighting under the top cabinets on each side, you will have a very elegant passageway-kitchen of beige and white - a perfect background for showing off your colorful gourmet dishes.
Design tip
If there is something whose color you need to match and you can’t take it shopping with you (such as a big chair, heavy drapery, or even some woodwork), here’s an idea for you: Visit a paint store and stop at its free color-chip display. Pick out some samples in shades and tints of the color you need. Take a handful of these home and choose the one that matches your drapery and furniture. After you have found the one that is a correct match of your color, you may go back to the paint store and get a few more of the same (make sure the store can spare four or five).
Put one of these color chips in each of your jacket pockets or purses so you always have one with you for spur-of-the-moment shopping.
For more serious shopping days, keep one in a manila envelope by your front door, along with a tape measure, arm covers fabric swatches and measurements. You can save a lot of tine and extra trips by being prepared with these handy things as you leave the house. xxxx