I love reading about interior design so that I can get ideas from those more knowledgeable, more creative, and less terrified of accessories and color than I am. So now I humbly ask for your advice, dear readers, because I’ve hit a wall when it comes to our kitchen-slash-dining room. I’m nervous about sharing it, because this space is not how I envisioned it would be.
Mr. JC and I would like to paint it and add a tile back splash above the sink and stove, but I’m stumped when it comes to color.
Here’s what we have to work with:
- The room abuts the living room, which is painted in Behr’s “Sagey”
- Chestnut cabinets that have a slightly yellow/orange hue to them, excellent quality and condition
- Off-white trim, which is throughout the whole house; closest I’ve found is Ben Moore’s “Bone White”
- Mysterious “greige” builder-basic wall color that offers very little contrast with the trim (pet peeve), and feels very cold
- Grey granite counters with streaks of brown, black, and rust (don’t want to play up the rust)
Our kitchen now, with tiny view of dining room
The sink area, before we moved in
BM Bone White from myperfectcolor.com
I found this tile and really like that it combines both blue and green with neutrals, but am worried that it’s too iridescent:
glasstilestore.com
I’m not a huge fan of our dining area right now. I inherited the table from my grandma, and for reasons we’ll never know she had wood-grain Formica fused to the top of it. We don’t want to spend money on a new set right now, so I will try to paint it (black maybe?) and get new chairs. The other furniture in the room is new, as is the Pottery Barn rug and chandelier. I’m thinking of switching out the shades for these.
The valances are hung to hide the exterior-mounted blinds. The window frames in 90% of the house are shallow and ridged, making it nearly impossible to mount blinds on the inside. This huge, three-paned window was particularly difficult. I plan to hang matching floor-length drapes on either side to soften the look.
Behind the door is a half bath.
I’ve been playing up the blue in the valances with accessories and would like to carry it to the back splash.
Detail of valance fabric
Some questions for you:
- Should I go for a warm beige wall color? If so, what are your favorite shades?
- Would the iridescent tile look ridiculous with granite? (I’d definitely order a swatch to check for sure).
- Any other suggestions to pull the look together?
I blog about interior design because I want to learn more about it, not because I actually know anything about it. So any advice from those of you with more design experience (or just a good eye!) is appreciated.
Thanks!
I blog about design for the same reason – I want to learn more. So, I can’t really offer any educated advice, but I’ll give you some feedback (but definitely toss my opinions aside if someone more qualified disagrees!).
I’m not sure the backsplash would be too iridescent. I think its one of those things you would know right away if you got a sample and compared it to the marble. I agree that the colors would be perfect and would pull the rooms together. Did you see Elements of Style’s post yesterday? There are great examples of different types of tile there too, in case this one is too shiny.
I like how you’re picking up the blue with the accessories, I think it looks good with your cabinets. I like the beige we used in our family room, but I’m not sure if it would be too dark for you (with the color of your cabinets). It’s Windsor Greige by Sherwin Williams. If you want lighter, I’ve heard good things about Rice Grain by SW (I’m planning on painting my foyer this color). One of my friends also painted most of her house Relaxed Khaki by SW, and loves it. I think it looks good too.
I also think with the black chandelier, your table would look good painted black. It would look good against the blue rug.
Good luck! I can’t wait to see how it turns out.
I agree with the previous commentor, I don’t think the backsplash is too iridescent, I think it’s really pretty. Plus once you guys are experts on how to do that tile maybe I can talk you into coming to our house to help me do it too… if I can just convince the hubby
What about going a little bit browner than beige? Like the color of light chocolate milk or cafe ole? This should go with the sage in your living room as well as making the trim look whiter.
On BenjaminMoore.com you can look through their virtual fan of colors online and then at the store you can get small sample jars. I highly recommend getting a couple, painting a big piece of posterboard with each color, cut each piece into quarters and putting pieces of posterboard up on the walls in different parts of the room. Leave them up for a few days to watch the color at different times of day and in different parts of the room. This was a big help when we were picking the colors for our upstairs.
Laura,
First, I love your blog. We just moved into a new house so I am a shopping and design freak as of late
We just painted our DR “haze” by BM and LOVE it. I think it would look perfect with your colors.
I also don’t think the tile will be too irridescent – you have paisley curtains, gotta add a little funk to the tile! Plus, at least from the pictures, your granite is almost invisible compared to the blues, and eventually, more blacks.
GOOD LUCK! Keep us posted with more pics.
BTW – went to HG today and spent $150 on literally an entire cart full. Love it
I love the backsplash and the paisley…I would actually suggest painting the kitchen blue — well, to be specific, a light blue with strong gray undertones (favorites: BM’s Nantucket Mist or Feather Gray; also love Farrow & Ball’s Parma Gray — all of these colors I’ve used in my own houses with great success). It’ll pick out the light blues in your tile and backsplash, play down the yellow tones in your wood and be a nice contrast with the warmer rusts, olives, etc. and I think you’ll be surprised at how neutral a pale blue (with gray undertones) can really be.
As for other suggestions…have you considered staining rather than painting your grandmother’s table? It’s about as simple as painting, holds up better on furniture (when you combine the stain with a polyutherane — which you can buy as a single product now) and a lovely darker stain could be a great way to update it.
I would stay away from the iridescent tiles in your kitchen, they look much better in bathrooms where the glitter goes well with the wet environment. I did my kitchen last year and used a tile which was made from both stone and glass (the line is called Glacier Mountain by Giorbello – Gobi Desert Color). It went nicely with my granite counter tops and travertine floor tiles. You don’t want the backsplash to be too reflective in your kitchen area. Just be sure to get a sample of the tiles you plan to use and look at them in your kitchen area before purchasing.
Hi!
First I say paint. A fantastic khaki that goes with everything (navy, black, sage, etc) is Cliveton Leather by Valspar (from Loews) It will go flawlessly in any room. Then worry about the cabinets. It would be neat to do your island a different color from the rest of the island. Maybe a brown for the island and a cream for the cabinets? Not sure. Start with the cheapest and easiest (like paint) and then work to the more serious commitments (like tile)
I think I have that same dining table- is it a Heywood Wakefield?
(if so, she put the formica on top because the wood hates water in a very intense way)