How to Choose Kitchen Wall Colors

Homeowners suffer more trepidation with choosing a kitchen wall color than just about anything else. The kitchen is referred to as the "life blood" of the house, the "center of activity" and the "heart of the home"---no wonder we're scared to pick a color. First of all, it's only paint and that's an easy fix. Start with that as your premise; mull over some of the suggestions here, and then grab a brush.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Photograph of the existing room
• Favorite kitchen pictures from magazines
• Samples of your favorite paint choices
• Painter's tape
• Foam core or 8-by-10 inch canvases

Ktichen Colors by Design

1. 

   Do some investigative work. Take about a week poring through design magazines or online sites and choose 10 of your favorite kitchens. Cut out the pictures or print them from your computer. You'll notice that you have a tendency to choose the same palette and style.

2. 

   Figure out your own design style. Every room can be characterized as modern, Country French, English traditional, Spanish hacienda, pop era kitschy, whatever. Go online to a design center site (see link below), or a search engine box, and type into it the kind of kitchen you've decided you're going for---for example, American retro. Look at what comes back. If you agree that it is a good match or has potential, note the colors used. You're not a copycat---it's research.

3. 

   Ask yourself what are your favorite elements in your kitchen. It could be your black granite countertops, your Polish stoneware collection, or the antique French country table. Either pull colors from the stoneware, for example, or, with the granite, choose an opposite color for pop.

4. 

   Take a photograph of your existing kitchen. Keep this as a reference when you go to shop.

5. 

   Decide on three colors that you've narrowed it down to according to your room's theme, favorite objects, and the mood you're going for. For example: Country French or Italian kitchens often feature warm, sunny colors like golden yellow, sponge-painted orange, and earthy reds---used to reflect the accouterments that are part and parcel to their design and a sunny climate.

6. 

   Visit your paint store and don't forget to bring your kitchen photograph and your inspiration pictures and color choices. Show it to paint specialists, get their input and then select three sample pots to take home.

7. 

   Paint the samples on your wall, or use foam core squares or 8-by-10 inch canvases painted with your color choices and tape them up with painter's tape. Visit the colors at different times of the day to see how the light hits them. At the end of a week you should know.

Tips & Warnings

• Galley style and apartment-sized kitchens could usually use more light. Go with neutrals or crisp clear colors that don't hem in the room in or make it seem smaller. The industrial look is achieved with a soft metallic gray or semi-gloss white or beige---and stainless steel appliances---you're all about the business of cooking here. Red, orange, yellow and variations of these colors help to stimulate the appetite. But you might only want to use them if your wood cabinets are warm and honey-like. Go to Benjamin Moore paints website and play with its Personal Color Viewer---it lets you pick a room and then you can change all the colors. (See link.) Take your color in a glass tile backsplash. If your cottage-look beige is too boring, think about painting it on installed beadboard paneling instead for extra texture and style enhancement.
• Color too strong? Try a sponging, ragging or stippling technique to tone down the hue. Busy mom? An all-white kitchen is hard to keep clean. Don't be afraid of patterned wallcoverings---kitchen designs are scrubbable.

Resources

• HGTV Kitchen Colors That Work
• Benjamin Moore Paints: Click on Personal Color Viewer
• Portfolio of Designed Rooms