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maine_mare

Kitchen paint color in 1810 cape

Maine_Mare
12 years ago

I'm renovating our kitchen and need assistance with paint color. I know there is a specific paint forum but I really want 'old home' color help so I hope this is okay.

My kitchen is small and the while the renovation will help it to feel larger we are unable to raise the barely 7' ceiling so I want to make sure my colors don't weigh the room down.

We are installing beadboard cabinets to match what is in the very early pantry. I keep returning to a red color for the cabinets and keeping the walls and trim around doors and windows as white but am concerned that it still might be too dark/make the room feel small. There will be four windows (3 across the front, southern facing and 1 facing north) so that will be helpful. We will continue the cabinet color into the dining room for the 2 board wainscoting, again leaving the walls and trim as white or a variation of white.

Our floors will be painted pine and I am hesitant to use white due to how quickly it will become dirty. We are a small farm and the in and out of muddy boots and dogs is pretty consistent year round. Any input on the color of the floor? Maybe a brownish yellow?

Thanks!

Comments (6)

  • sombreuil_mongrel
    12 years ago

    Some friends had me paint their new wood kitchen floor Tile Red (a porch & deck paint color). It doesn't show dirt too badly, and is an "old" color. Another very authentic floor color is yellow ochre pigment, in a color like BenMoore's Sulfur Yellow, Ochre, or Camel. I have Camel on my porch floors, it's pretty intense, but rich and authentic; I found it as the match to my original 1906 porch floor paint.
    Casey

  • Ina Plassa_travis
    12 years ago

    if there are more windows than wall cabinets, the red should be fine - I love the warm earth colors in kitchens, the bring the 'hearth' back in to the room for me : )

    for the floor, my dad had this thing about using either local stone, or a color that echoed the local dirt, to 'ground' the house in the landscape - and it's not bad advice, particularly in a world of paw prints...but really, if you find the right ochre to work with the cabinet red, go for it, if not, maybe a caramel or other golden brown?

  • Maine_Mare
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Thanks! I like the idea of ochre/camel floor with the rustic red cabinets.

    Now I'm thinking that I'll do the dining room in a different color as I can't picture painting the wainscoting red and door white. And if I do the door the same color as the wainscoting, can I get away with painting the trim around the windows white? The dining room is pretty dark with a low ceiling and I think the red will be overwhelming. The rooms are connected by a pantry and entryway so are related by more than just their use.

    How are your dining rooms and kitchens in regards to paint? Are they related or completely different in color?

    Decisions...decisions...

  • columbusguy1
    12 years ago

    My pantry does not connect to the dining room, just the kitchen--and its trim and cabinets are painted a chocolate brown. The dining room is original stain/shellac and the kitchen is stripped and stained to closely match the original stain.
    Red was not the only color for trim--personally, I think white is too stark for a colonial house...it should be a warmer tone like ivory.

  • Maine_Mare
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Thanks Columbusguy, I do say white but probably should have said that it will be a pale cream/ivory type color. I, too, think stark white is too modern but definitely want something that helps to keep the dining room less formal. Currently, it has sage green walls with a very heavy/dark cream on the trim and wainscoting. These are colors the previous owners painted the room and I like them but the room is now being used for holidays or large group meals only. Once the kitchen is renovated we are losing our kitchen table (which is fine as it only seats 3 and our 2nd child is just about ready to start solid foods so will be joining us at the table soon) and will move all meals into the dining room. At that point I do want it to be brighter and more 'every day' feeling versus the formal feel it has now.

  • columbusguy1
    12 years ago

    How about a pale yellow for the walls? Something buttery would look nice with the cream trim!