Here's another tutorial that includes info on chalk paint ...

BTW -- I used Liquid Sandpaper on projects -- brush on -- leave about 20-30 mintes until the finish goes cloudy -- and then paint.

Just some thoughts .....

Here is a link that might be useful: blog ---- and a link to her tutorial

Thanks for all of the suggestions! Jamies, I've been on the Benjamin Moore site "painting" a kitchen today, and am afraid I've only grown more confused. I played around with grays, but they didn't hit me quite right. It's really hard to tell much from the online painting application, though.

Teacats, I used Liquid Sandpaper on my front door and it worked fine. Good stuff! Thanks for the link!

As an interim fix ... because, as I said, I want to really be sure before embarking on this project (and last night, DH was saying we should just tear out the cabinetry and replace it - which started me to thinking about pretty glass-fronted cabinets ...) -- I found this rug online. I wonder if it would be the tie-in that would make me feel a bit better about the current colors? It would go under the island between kitchen and sink. (The butcher block island that you can barely see in the pics is now gone, and has been replaced by a white wooden island with gray-black flecked granite top.

Rug sounds like an excellent suggestion to me.

I didn't say so before because I figured rug didn't have a chance next to Dad's encouragement for painting. (He doesn't have to live in the kitchen while this project happens!)

Maybe not floral, though? Or with a floral rug, maybe change the valences ?

I have a lot of nerve posting. I just hired someone to figure out a fabric for my kitchen windows.

Yeah ... this particular rug, while it does work with the cabinet/trim color and the flooring, doesn't do much to complement the valances. You're right about that! And I love my valances, so don't want to change them.

I think in a perfect world - or as perfect as I can come to it in my own little house - I'd be aiming for sort of an English/French country look. Not sure those red cabinets really lend themselves to that look, but I also don't mind bending the "rules" a little.

So ... What other style of rug do you think might work?

Geometric, like a heriz? harlequin? plaid? a hooked rug with a single image on it?

I guess it would be hard to find something washable.

I plan to make a floorcloth for my kitchen, if I live that long.

I adore your stove: Wedgewood? I've got a 1949 O'Keefe& Merritt.

Rugs -- nothing works like a vintage Persian! Mine wears like iron in the kitchen, believe it or not. The tight wool is much, much easier to take care of than anything else I've used.

Something like this might work for you?

PS: lol Jamies - somewhere around here there's a great link to a make-our-own-floorcloth tutorial. There's also a nice outfit that will create gorgeous custom designs.

I think a red rug might be a bit overwhelming - that's a lot of bright red!

Sunny, I think your kitchen is charming and I love the red cabinets and door. I think the red trim takes away from the uniqueness. So I'd stick with the red cabinet/door color and change the trim.

Just found this thread, so I'm a bit late to the party. I did my trim about 3 years ago with BM oil Impervo. The last time it was done was about 20 yrs ago with the same product. My BM dealer suggested washing down the trim with clear ammonia and water to degloss a bit. I used my canister steamer with the solution in it and had plenty of ventilation. So far, so good. The toughest part about oil is that it has a cure time and even the best painters tape will pull off the finish (one spot in the bathroom was proof).
It's worth it to have that wonderful finish. I did my downstairs bathroom with latex and have never been happy.
I hear the new BM Advance is the best of both worlds.

I'd start with the trim, then decide on the cabinets. As you mentioned, in the long run you may end up replacing them.

How many cabinets do you have? From what I see in the photos, the wainscoting is the area of red that is overwhelming for me. It's the largest amount of red close to the flooring.

I like the idea of a cheamy white then a deeper color on the walls for some pop. Kind of reverse of what you have now.(which is cute) I think the hardest part of painting my last two kitchens was finding a place to let cab doors and drawers cure for a month. LIke you I had older cabs with many coats of paint and you have to give them a few weeks to cure. The painting went pretty fast and easy it was all the prep work that was a pain ,the doors have to come down and hingers and knobs taken off and delt with.

I could not imagine painting cabinets. I would love to get mine done some day. I love your red ones. I don't know about you, but there is no way I could have hooked rugs with my cats!

I like this one, but it only comes in a small size :(

I like this one too....

Can you show us a picture of your actual cabinets? Without seeing them it's hard to offer suggestions about painting them.

I love the rug! What I'd do is paint the trim in the dining area off-white, along with the back door. Paint the little cabinet/fuse box on the wall the same green as your walls.

Then you can leave the red on the kitchen cabinets and let the rug bring the two rooms together.

I can tell you have that itch to paint again. LOL.

Last picture in first post looks like it has the cabinets. Maybe just painting the red wall and trim and leaving the cabinets would be the way to go.

I like your red cabinets, and I like your rug choice better than any of the alternatives that have been suggested in this thread.

Another question: Why would you want a red rug after your statement " My flooring is Saltillo tile, and the red against the terra cotta of the floor has always seemed a bit jarring to me".
If I were to do a rug I'd do something with a different colored background, and maybe small amounts of red in it.

I haven't forgotten about this thread ... just been mulling it over for a bit, and have pretty much decided that I just don't have the time (or the energy) to devote to repainting the cabinets and trim right now. Maybe at some point in the future ... but not now. So to make it feel more liveable, I've "auditioned" a rug that has been upstairs in our bedroom sitting area. It's got all the same colors that are predominant in the kitchen - green (same color as the walls), red, terra cotta, black, and cream. Although the photo quality is poor because it was taken with my phone, do you think this is ok to bridge the gap for now?

Boy, this photos are really poor quality ... And the countertop is really cluttered with last night's making-of-the-spaghetti dinner.

Last shot of this space.

I like the rug but not in the kitchen. You have two styles fighting with each other. Southwest and cottage/vintage.

This may not be practical, but what about a rug with a whitish background?

Now that I see you have a lot of cabs, I can certainly understand not doing this on your own. Maybe Santa can give you a painter? :)

But keep in mind I do have a lot of southwest decor going on in all other rooms of my house. And my Stickley dining chairs in the breakfast area are covered in a southwest-patterned fabric. I dunno ... I tend to think the two styles can blend. Or maybe I'm just dreamin'. ;-D

I'm going to pick up{{gwi:807}} another rug this evening that I've found on Craigslist. It's a Pottery Barn wool, in similar colors and style to what I've currently got there, but a little heavier on the red, and with some soft blue included. I'll either use it in the kitchen instead of what's there now, or use it upstairs where the floor is now bare.

Yeah - it's not only the cabinets, but all of that dang trim, including the wooden window pane "frames". Ugh ... the mere thought of all of that work makes me break out in hives.

ETA: I have seen quite a few rugs with a whitish background that I really liked, but DH is the cook, and a messy cook at that. I'm sure that kind of rug would be a disaster in no time flat. :-(

This post was edited by SunnyCottage on Fri, Apr 12, 13 at 11:12

I love the rug in there, and think it looks perfect. I lived in Europe for a while, and loved how styles were mixed, and decor evolved naturally, those I met decorated with what they enjoyed looking at and using. They didn't worry so much about 'themes', or everything being matchy ( Obviously I don't mean to generalize, and am only speaking of what I saw personally).

I've seen pictures of your home, and LOVE it! Your style is such an inspiration to me. :)

(I think you're in Ft Worth? I'm a little bit west of you.)

Edited for clarity.

This post was edited by Miz_M on Fri, Apr 12, 13 at 11:31

Wow, Miz_M - what sweet words! You made my morning! :-) I am indeed in Fort Worth, so ... "howdy, neighbor"!

Funny you should mention European style. I was actually inspired to try the upstairs rug in the kitchen after coming back from the UK and staying in an absolutely wonderful thatched cottage that was decorated to perfection. It had that feeling of simply having evolved (although it was a holiday rental, and therefore decorated all at once), and there were very formal English antiques alongside more chippy cottage pieces. There was an entire collection of rugs throughout the cottage, many tribals. Somehow, it just all worked beautifully. I know I can never fully replicate that look in my own home, but I'd like to come as close as possible.

Eager to see how the Craigslist Pottery Barn rug will look in this room too. It's about the same size - maybe a couple inches smaller - so would fit here, or as stated, would also work in my bedroom.

I just realized that these pics show "the bane of my existence" ... DH's bottles and bottles of protein powders and body building supplements. He likes to have all of his stuff out in plain sight. I'm actually lucky that most of it is contained underneath the island. I love that man dearly, but not so much his tendency to sprawl with ugly bottles and jugs of "man things".

Lol! I put the cutest, vintage cane-back chair in our bedroom ... it has become the man's closet area: shoes all around it, clothes draped over it. You can't even see the chair now. Sigh. ;-)

Lord help us. I completely relate to the open-air man's closet. It's like they see a "naked" piece of furniture and think that's where their stuff goes. DH also uses the backs of the kitchen chairs for his jackets and shirts. To be honest, he even keeps his socks and undies in a couple of drawers in the breakfast room buffet, claiming it's just "easier" to grab what he needs there, instead of going upstairs to his dresser. ::sigh:: This morning I saw his leather belt coiled up on top of one of the bookcases in the living area.

Heaven help you if you move any of his things. He notices every.little.thing - particularly if it's not where he last left it.

But he's cheerful and sweet and he makes me laugh a great deal, so I try (try, I tell you) to overlook these things. Maybe you can relate. ;-)

I think if you paint some of the trim more neutral it might be less overwhelmingly red - with the crown and window moldings as well as cabinets and rugs it's a bit much.

I can! ;-)

We're both widowed (in our 40's), found each other via a widow support group (he moved here from NY last year) .... point of sharing all that, is that I am so much more tolerant of the little things in life now. I wish I hadn't had to learn these life lessons the way I did, but the old me would have been much more anal about clothes/shoes/etc out, the new me knows those things aren't important. I miss my late husband more than I can say, we were married over 20 years, and looking back, I've learned to be thankful to see those clothes and things out, it represents love and companionship, rather than an annoyance in my life. :')

I didn't mean to change the direction of your thread! But your last line resonated with me so much. Thanks for letting me ramble! :)

This post was edited by Miz_M on Fri, Apr 12, 13 at 12:19

Love the rug! It looks perfect in your charming cottage home. It really seems to complement the cabinets and bridge the more orange floor.

Miz_M - absolutely no worries about going OT! I love it when someone can relate to what I'm saying. I'm so very sorry that you and your DH lost your previous partners. I can only imagine how difficult that must have been for both of you. And yes, I do understand what you mean about learning to tolerate the small stuff - because it is just small stuff that doesn't matter in the overall scheme of things. My DH snores. Like a freight train. Sometimes it really grates on my nerves, and it is at those times that I really try to remind myself how empty our home would be without the noises. And the clothes and body-building supplements everywhere. Years ago I did strive for decorating perfection -- not a thing out of place. Now I have a much greater appreciation for the life forces that make my house a home than I do for the inanimate things that are so easily replaced.

Tinan - thanks so much for your thoughts! I'll consider what you've said and see if there are areas that could be painted in a light, creamy shade now. Not sure whether or not that would make the room feel less cohesive, or provide visual resting places for the eyes. But I'll think about it.

Thank you, Snookums! I appreciate your opinion very much! :-) I really like that the rug has that little bit of green in it, which matches perfectly the wall color.

For some reason I thought you got rid of all the SW decor. Me bad.

But still...I know the look you're trying to achieve and the rug just doesn't do it. It's not the colors in the rug, it's the pattern.

I appreciate your thoughts, Oakley! And definitely no - I didn't get rid of my SW decor, as it's as much as part of "me" as my English leanings. ;-)

So ... what style/pattern of rug do you envision in this room?

I remember seeing a lot of Indian rugs, art, etc, in cottage-style homes in Europe. Obviously, I mean Middle Eastern, not Native American, but it's an example of mixing influences. It's a sense of collecting treasures, and enjoying inherited items ... and Sunny's house has that feel to me. Beautiful, inviting, interesting, and very personal.

I meant to post this picture earlier, showing the rug, it's in a cottage in England ~~

Edit: oops, didn't see your post before mine, Sunny!

This post was edited by Miz_M on Fri, Apr 12, 13 at 16:11

Miz_M - yes, that's the look! Pattern-on-pattern, but because the color palette is so similar, it feels soothing instead of jumbled. Of course, I can't do much about my myriad colors unless/until I repaint - so just think of the rug as something of a stop-gap measure. Maybe one that will be in place for a long time, but still. ;-)

That style rug is very similar to what filled the little cottage where we stayed in Cottesmore last month. I lusted after every last one of them.

This is the wool PB rug I'm going to pick up after work this afternoon. Not sure yet if it will work better in the kitchen than what I've got there now, but hey, it's fun to have options, no?

This post was edited by SunnyCottage on Fri, Apr 12, 13 at 16:45

And seriously, now I really, really want a quilt just like the one in the photo and I want all of those pillows. That looks like Christina Strutt's (of Cabbages & Roses) work. Absolutely lovely!

Sunny, I think that is where the pic is from! (Cabbages and Roses) I meant to say, I'm on our i-Pad, and it's hard to type on this dang thing, so I get lazy. :-D

Loooove your Pottery Barn rug, too! Can't wait to see how it looks in there.

Off-topic......we went to the Botanical Gardens in Ft Worth last weekend (we're only 20 minutes away)......it's heavenly right now!

This is the blog I saw the pic on~~

Here is a link that might be useful: Blog

Oh, what fun! I'll have to drag DH to the gardens very soon. Spent a lot of time there as a child, but sadly, even though I live and work very close to them, I rarely go anymore. My brother and his bride-to-be are getting married in The Fuller Garden there in a few months, and we're really looking forward to the wedding!

So, you must be in/around Weatherford?

Good guess! I grew up in Arlington, lived in many other places, then moved to Weatherford in the mid-90s. We're hoping to move in the near future, though, but not sure where! He's from Long Island, but wants to stay in Texas. We LOVE Fredericksburg, Austin, that area. There's more than you wanted to know! :-D

We ate at Mexican Inn on Camp Bowie before the gardens, YUM!

How funny, and small world indeed! Our paths may actually cross frequently, and we never even know it!

I just found this photo of Christina Strutt's kitchen (OMG, I love her kitchen) - and I think I can just see another tribal rug peeking in the photo.

We probably have! He had a lot of family visiting from NY last year, so we had to do all the touristy things. I went to The dang Stockyards more last year than in the past 15 years combined! It is kind of fun seeing it all through other's eyes, though. :)

Mmmmm, love that kitchen! And the rug. ;-)

I like the pattern and the color of your rug in the kitchen. Isn't it nice to be able to move things from room to room? The only thing I would wish for is that it were flatter and thinner. YOu can't have everything.

It's a gift to be able to move things from room to room~
love the upstairs rug in the kitchen and I adore the new PB rug.
You will be able to do so much with it!!
I love your style and energy...keep us posted on the updates.

I wrote an article how to paint kitchen cabinets that might be useful; as mentioned earlier in thread prep work and product are the two most important elements.

Here is a link that might be useful: Learn how to paint kitchen cabinets

Really nice job seattle, please share how you attach those hangers to the doors?

Interesting question, caminnc. Someone posted that question on his blog two months ago, but I don't see an answer.

{{!gwi}}

Here is a link that might be useful:

This post was edited by graywings on Thu, Jun 13, 13 at 10:29

Cup hooks screwed into the doors edge.

I think that's a good argument for not painting good quality wood cabinets white. Those "before" cabinets were gorgeous! I think the "after" cabs look cheap. This is not a judgment about the painter's work but about the homeowner's decision.

And there lies the "to each their own".