Taking this opportunity to reply to a couple of emails I received from blog readers.
#1
I just saw your blog - it's great! Thank you for sharing! I don't know how to blog, so I'll ask my question this way....What is a good kind of cream neutral yellow you would recommend for kitchen and living room - not too overwhelming, something warm and comfy?
Sandi
Hi Sandi - thank you for visiting the blog. I'm happy to answer your questions! My all time favorite gold (neutral) is Dunn Edwards Golden Gate. I remember being completely unimpressed by the paint chip, but blown away once it was painted on the walls. Everyone who sees it, loves it. I have also used Dunn Edwards Tortilla and Crossroads and both are lovely on the wall. I recently blogged about yellow/gold here:
http://yournestdesign.blogspot.com/2011/01/exploring-wall-color-warm-tones.html
http://yournestdesign.blogspot.com/2011/04/asked-and-answered-wall-color-choosing.html
there is a lot of information on different yellow/gold colors on these posts - but here are some of my favorite choices:
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| Dunn Edwards [Golden Gate] |
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| Benjamin Moore [Hawthorne Yellow] |
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| Restoration Hardware [Buttercream] |
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| Sherwin Williams [Whole Wheat] |
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| Benjamin Moore [Putnam Ivory] |
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| Sherwin Williams [Ivoire] |
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| Benjamin Moore [Mellowed Ivory] |
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| Sherwin Williams [Restrained Gold] |
#2
Hi Claudine
Your website has some of the best pics and ideas I’ve seen!! But I am stuck on my own problem. We are building a new house and I want a craftsman style kitchen in white like you show on your site. My dining table and furniture is black with a neutral beige top. My thought was to have cabinets in the same kind of beige color and the island base in black. For walls I love Benjamin Moore Azores paint as I had it in my previous living room and tied it together with red couch and accent pillows in the same color as Azore (my new family will open to the kitchen so I’d like to retie that back in….maybe just an accent fireplace wall and some kind of grey beige on the remaining walls.)
So I guess my overall question should I just go with an off white cabinet or commit to matching the kitchen table? Will it look weird if I have beige in there with the white (opposite walls). What would be a great granite to capture the white\cream and possible blue\green hues in the walls? I am definitely going to go with a neutral subway tile.
This kitchen works because the island and the counter stools are dark and ground the room, while the cabinets and subway tiles are in white. The gleaming stainless in appliances and light fixtures add reflective surfaces and breaks up and warms the white. This kitchen is anything but sterile looking.Thanks so much for all your insite hope to hear from you soon.
Lisa S.
South Carolina
Lisa, first of all, I think everyroom can do with a little pop of black or red. It adds a grounding touch. A little dark in a white or neutral room just accentuates all that is good about white and neutral - as you can see in the photo below.
Your kitchen wall color is lovely (Benjamin Moore Azores), and you are spot on with how you plan to pull the two rooms together with an accent wall in Azores in your family room and accent pillows on your couch. As long as you also have the wood trim, mantel, doors, moldings in a white, there is no reason you can't also have your kitchen cabinets white. I wouldn't necessarily try to match your cabinets to your furniture. You may want to change your furniture sometime in the future! Both the black and beige you describe are neutrals and should be fine together.
Granite color - for a craftsman style kitchen I would go with a honed black granite. For the black painted island, you could use a white countertop - marble or a man made product in a white or light cream, or even a very light granite, if you can find one. If you want to bring in the Azores color other than the wall - do it with accessories.
Lisa, first of all, I think everyroom can do with a little pop of black or red. It adds a grounding touch. A little dark in a white or neutral room just accentuates all that is good about white and neutral - as you can see in the photo below.
Your kitchen wall color is lovely (Benjamin Moore Azores), and you are spot on with how you plan to pull the two rooms together with an accent wall in Azores in your family room and accent pillows on your couch. As long as you also have the wood trim, mantel, doors, moldings in a white, there is no reason you can't also have your kitchen cabinets white. I wouldn't necessarily try to match your cabinets to your furniture. You may want to change your furniture sometime in the future! Both the black and beige you describe are neutrals and should be fine together.
Granite color - for a craftsman style kitchen I would go with a honed black granite. For the black painted island, you could use a white countertop - marble or a man made product in a white or light cream, or even a very light granite, if you can find one. If you want to bring in the Azores color other than the wall - do it with accessories.
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| Decorpad |
Another example of black with white. The island has a marble countertop in white. The walls are blue. These may be the best examples of what your finished look may be.
9 click HERE to leave a comment:
Thanks Claudine! My initial thought is to have a stacked stone fireplace (about 5 ft of stone) with a wood beam mantel to match the dark handscraped floors then possibly add batton board white trim (bnejmanin moore Mascapone - kitchen cabinet color) on each side of the fireplace wall with azores painted above...do you think that would work? or is that too many styles? Also does honed granite show finger prints? I was dead set against going with dark granite because in the last house it showed everything but I do like it against the white. Is their a granite that gives that white\gray marble look I have heard marble can burn and chip and with 2 kids not sure how it would hold up. Thank you again for all your suggestions! I love this site!!
Lisa
Great post Claudine! I always enjoy reading your tips. I'd love to see suggestions for colors of wood floors. I love dark ones but they seem to show every little thing. I was thinking of going very light, however I normally see those in contemporary style homes and my style is more traditional. If you've done a past post on this, please let me know. Thanks!
Lisa, Love everything you are planning. Thanks to your question, I did a little research on the honed vs polished. Apparently most black granite is not true granite, but basalt. It can be affected by lemon juice, and can show fingerprints until cleaned if not sealed properly - whether it is honed or polished. Soapstone seems to be a better choice, and man made will be the best along those lines. The same with marble. Marble is a softer stone and works best in areas with lower traffic as it can chip and stain. However, the same look can be had with a very pale granite or a man made product. Good luck!
Thanks Claudine!! let me know if you have any great fireplace pics I am stumped on what to do, would love stone but want to keep a craftsman\cottage style look...how to incorporate with a vaulted ceiling not having surround all the way to the ceiling
Lisa, just posted on fireplaces, and thought I'd add a few thoughts on the questions you asked in your email... I think that stacked stone will be beautiful, as well as your mantle. I also like the board and batten walls in marscapone and the azores color above that - you may consider taking the paneling over the mantle as well - in effect taking the fireplace area up and capping it off with some molding detail - to raise the eye and expand your room. There are some examples of this on my new post, so drop by and have a look. http://yournestdesign.blogspot.com/2011/06/fireplace-design.html
Try BM Willow Creek or BM Gray Owl for your other walls - test them to see which looks best with the Azores. Hope it helps!
Regards,
Claudine
Hi love you web page lots of lovely ideas.
I have a porch hallway & landing which is very dark, I need to repaint it, at the monment I have yellow on top & orange on bottom but im fed up of it, what colours would you suggest that are warm and bright
Dear Anonymous,
I'm a champion of neutrals on a wall - just for the very reason and vibrant or saturated colors do wear on you after a while - try a soft gold or a light grayed blue to keep it fresh and bright without being cold. Good luck!
Churchill Hotel Hazy Yellow by Valspar is really nice, not a true yellow but reminds me of the color of French Vanilla ice cream.
I had a mural i did on my foyer in 99 golden, aged w/ grapes and fleur de lis in metallic gold..still love it...debated on painting over it but everyone said no don't do that it's WOW. I ripped out dark red wall paper from an adjoining hall and primed over red walls...the room looks 3 times larger sunny and light filled even on drab winter days. I wanted a color that wasn't dark and that did not read as yellow. Using that soft blue with it as accents.
Claudine I have very dated golden oak (real wood) kitchen cabinets and love the dark brown in the photo under #2 shown on your blog. Do you think I should restain or paint them for this effect? There is a clear gloss over the stain.
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