I like the gold paint with the brown counters. What don't you like about it?

I'd probably paint the upper section between molding and ceiling some shade of off white and then see how I felt about the lower section.Interesting new hardware is what I'd be having fun shopping for with all the work you've done. the paint is not a biggie-but you have to get handles,right?

It's hard to tell through that photo the exact colors in your kitchen, but it looks like there is a lot of brown in the counters. I think it will be hard to get a "crisp, clean look" with brown countertops....they are just warm, you know? Crisp and clean usually can go with whites, greys, etc....once you add the muddiness of brown in the mix, it will be hard to do that. It's why grey is becoming a trendy color.

If it makes you feel any better, I have the same problem, only mine is with warm hickory cabinets! I would just stick with a yellow and put pops of color in the accessories.

There is a lot of pale blue-green in the Eternal City swatch on the Pionite website. Why not try that?

Palimpsest has a better eye (and maybe a better monitor) than I have. I saw some gray in the Eternal City samples I saw online, but couldn't make out understonse. Anyway, did a board for you (below) that shows Eternal City with some muted blue/green Benjamin Moore paint samples (I was looking at these for my bedroom).

upper left is Pure Essence
upper right is Turquoise Mist
middle left is Swept Away
middle right is Bali
bottom is Palladian blue

The counter would definitely work with muted yellows and golds, oranges or rusts, or neutrals with those undertones (camel, caramel, some beiges and browns). But it sounds like that isn't really what you are into.

I don't see it nearly as much on my home computer, but there is still a cast of blue-green to the white or grey. My other monitor may be off, because it looked very pale blue-green, and now I don't see it as much.

It's not the paint. It's the light. You need more lighting. Even if you painted the walls white, you'd still have a dark kitchen unless you addressed the lighting needs. Start with under cabinet lighting first as that will make an immediate impact on your work surface.

Hmmm...where did my pic go?

Hi There - color is a really personal choice, so if these aren't to your taste, no worries. If I understand you correctly, you are trying to brighten things up, but you also want to balance the colors of your laminate so the room doesn't end up completely brassy. I would choose a very pale blue grey like Whisper from Ralph Lauren Paint. It balances the browns/golds very effectively but it's a light, bright color. If you don't like blues, you could opt for a light grey like BM Barely There. You want the color to be different enough from the cabinet and trim color to be noticed, but still not too saturated.

In addition, I'd lose the window covering altogether, and install brighter (and possibly under cabinet) lighting. By the way, it's not very expensive to re-laminate your counter, and there are lots of DIY instructions on YouTube. You may be stuck with laminate, but you're not stuck with THAT laminate. If you do decide to alter the counter, I'd chuck the 4" backsplash and add some light reflecting tile.

Good luck!

Thanks for all of your help! I ended up taking your suggestions of a blue-green-gray, and went with BM Gray Wisp. I still need to work on the lighting, and change out the faucet.

Oh that looks nice! Refreshing and serene. Your countertops look so much nicer now. Thanks for sharing your update.

I think that is a big improvement! I like the paint color a lot.