It's a perfect time to liven up your kitchen with paint and color.
Choosing a paint color for your kitchen seems challenging and scary because it's such a central part of the house and there seem to be so many elements to pull together. You can make a fabulous, dramatic change with paint color alone, and most kitchens can be painted in a day. Here's some tips for choosing the perfect paint color.
There are no rules
If you have red oak cabinets, 1970s gold linoleum, avocado-green appliances and the notion of purple paint on your kitchen walls makes your heart sing arias, go for it. The number-one rule is: In the end, what decorator magazines, decorating shows, current trends and your next door neighbor think is irrelevant. It is your kitchen and you will be the one looking at it every day. Your opinion is the only one that matters.
First, sit in your kitchen and think of other kitchens you have seen, the colors and ambience that appeal to you. Don't consult a ton of magazine pictures and paint samples yet. Just think about it. Do you want warm or cool? Funky or classic?
Now consider the immutable factors in your kitchen--things that aren't likely to change anytime soon, such as cabinets, countertops and flooring. If all the colors are fairly neutral, you almost have a blank slate. Why not punch up your kitchen with a rich color, perhaps pulling in a color from the upholstery in an adjoining room, a favorite print or a set of colorful serving dishes?
Don't be afraid to use rich or bright colors. Chances are you have very little wall area to be painted. Most kitchens don't.
If you have strong color in your kitchen, deep cherry cabinets or dramatic countertops, you still have many choices. Pulling a color out of the countertop, perhaps, or a rich shade to complement cabinets. Light terracotta or French blue look great with dark, red-toned wood. Sage green and deep reds go very well with golden oak cabinets.
Now you can get color swatches and narrow your choices down. Then, this is important, invest in a sample of the paint you are considering and put it directly on the wall so you can see what it looks like in real life.
 | For almost every painting project, you will not get the best results with a cheap paint brush. Buy high-quality brushes. With proper cleaning and maintenance, they will last a long time. |
 | Paint brushes are sold in a wide price range and variety of materials. When choosing a paint brush, it is important to match the bristle material to the application and type of paint. Quality paint brushes should last through many jobs if properly cleaned and maintained. |
 | Paint rollers allow for fast application of paint over large areas. Most wall paints are formulated for use with paint rollers. Standard wall rollers come in 7 inch or 9 inch sizes, but paint rollers can range in size from 2 inches to 18 inches. |
As the son of a cabinet craftsman the importance of taking the time to maintain and properly store quality paint brushes and equipment was impressed on me at a young age. The results you get with fine painting instruments can't be matched with simple foam throw away brushes. |
The only masking tape available used to came in beige rolls and the only choice you need to make was what width to buy. Now there's a dizzying array of choices: blue masking tape, green tape, beige tape, low-adhesion tape, high-adhesion tape, sunlight-resistant tape, masking tape for curved surfaces, tape with plastic sheeting attached... How do you choose the right masking tape? |
