I received a series of emails from Suzy in Maryland yesterday. I will copy the first here:

Denise –

I came across your website looking for ideas for my kitchen/family room.

We are in the process of redoing the kitchen.  The layout of the area is very open and includes the kitchen, a nook for the table, the family room (with a reddish brick fireplace – brick to the ceiling) and a hallway area that connects the kitchen to the ½ bath and foyer.  This hallway area isn’t really a hallway, it is more an extension of the kitchen. The family room is one step down.  The family room has a vaulted ceiling on the fireplace side.

The whole area is southern exposure with lots of windows and tons of light.  The family also has 2 skylights.

The space before had very little color.  White walls with a stenciled design around the top.  Cream sofas with small colored pin stripes. Cream tile floor in the kitchen, light oak cabinets…you get the picture.  BLAH.

My goal was to add lots of color.

The new kitchen cabinets are a medium-maple shade.  The counters are “verde butterfly” granite – a grey/green/blue with black, gold, cream and specs of deep red.  The deep red you really only can see when the light hits it right.  The floor will be a 13 x 13 porcelain tile – colors vary from deep grey to light grey and various shades of beige (i.e. LOTS of variation in the tiles).  The backsplash will be fully tiled with a natural stone tile that is creamy colored.

Now I am trying to decide what to paint the walls.  I have already added a lot of color just with the cabinets, granite and floor.  So perhaps I no longer need to worry about putting lots of color on the walls.  I don’t know whether to paint each distinct area its own color – (1) nook (2) kitchen/hall (3) family room, or if 3 colors is too many, given all the color in the new kitchen.

The colors I am drawn to are earthy reds, greens, tans/browns and golds.  Although the granite has a lot of grey/blue in it, I really do not want grey or blue on the walls.

I would like a bold color in the nook – 3 sides of the nook are all windows (the 4th side being open to the kitchen)…I was thinking of something in the deep red family.  But then I am lost as to what to put in the family room (which has LOTS of wall space) and the “hallway”.

Any advice or ideas?  I can send pictures of the space if that helps.

Thanks-

Suzy in Maryland

Ok, deep breath. This is not as hard as it seems. First off, I want to congratulate you on your Kitchen remodel. You have made some wonderful choices. I am especially delighted in the backsplash. Using a darker tile as a border and then rotating the creamier remainder will be unusual and interesting. And your choice for a variegated tile floor will be very dynamic. 

Your biggest challenge is finding a way to blend the older but still pristine wallpaper with your more current choices. Since the Dining Room wallpaper is so visible from many angles in the Kitchen, it would be a mistake to just ignore it. The good news is the teal tone below the chair rail, though dated, coordinates well with the new granite. The bad news is….the very 90’s burgundy in the stripes make using red virtually impossible. Today’s reds are very “earthen”. In other words, they have a lot of orange in them. Plus, you already have a lot of tones of red: in the brick fireplace, in the cabinets and, of course, in the wall paper.

 My solution would be to paint the Eat-in Nook, which butts to the exigent wallpaper, Waterbury Green. (HC-136 from Benjamin Moore). This tone is bluer than the sage green choices you already tried, but it will act as a perfect connector to from the old to the new. Plus, it is really beautiful. I believe it will draw some color out of the granite and will harmonize perfectly with the orange undertone in the cabinet and the teal in the wallpaper.

The Kitchen proper, and the hallway containing the Mudroom and Half Bath should be a soft but strong gold. Try Henderson Buff (Benjamin Moore HC-15). A soft gold that is not too yellow or bright will set a perfect note that allows the cabinets to sing. The cabinets should steal the show here, not the wall color. (Ok, enough with the theatre metaphors.) You should also sample Summerdale Gold (Benjamin Moore HC-17) since there is a lot of light entering the room. Repaint all the trim and doors and ceilings white. My favorite is Cloud White OC-130.

Now for the finale. Oh no, I said I was done with the metaphors…I want you to paint the Family Room a deep rich brown. Don’t be scared! This will be stunning. You have all the elements to make it work— A tall vault in the ceiling, skylights, and a pair of glass doors. Use Middlebury Brown (HC-68, also Ben Moore). This brown has enough red it in to make it lively, and will bridge the three colors of tile and the accent stain in the ridges on the cabinets with the reds in the brick on the fireplace. If facing the fireplace, paint the wall to the right brown all the way to where it ends on the short wall to the left of the refrigerator. All sides of this short wall will be gold. You can decide which of the three colors you would like on the half wall on the back of the second island.

Bold reds aren’t forever gone. They can be added back in on furnishings and in accessories. I would love to see a huge piece of art on the long Family Room wall with brighter, bolder tones of all the colors we used.

Thanks for writing, Suzy! Remember to send pictures of the “After”!