karen paul interiors You seem to have a little bit of a country feel? If that is the case, most likely something in a check bringing in merlot, gold and green would be nice. Waverly and Schumacher have some classic checks and small plaids. From the fabric, choose a color for your canisters, etc. You might also consider a beautiful floral arrangement for the counter. Freshly cut flowers weekly from the garden (or the store) can really make a kitchen feel special.
Charmean Neithart Interiors, LLC. I would consider black. The palette seems to be a bit monochromatic right now so I would consider a high contrast color. Black would look good with the cabinets and you can stick with black gingham if you like that pattern. Hope that helps. Charmean Neithart
houssaon Hang the rod for the valance high so that the bottom of the valance covers only the top of the window, not almost half of it. That way you get more light in the room and you don't see the top of the valance.
colourmycocoon I would recommend either cream or black. Not red or a bold colour as the eye is too confused by such accents in such a traditional kitchen.
Charmean Neithart Interiors, LLC. You're very welcome. Houssaon found a great picture of black gingham, exactly. Try to find black canisters, this will support black as the accent color. Try Target, they usually have a good selection of canisters. If you like to see the contents of your canisters, then try to find glass canisters with a black or oil-rubbed bronze lid, like this...
pauli12 And now, seeing the yellow bananas and the yellow flowers in the window with the curtains I am wondering if some bright yellow with the black might really add some great color and contrast?
karen paul interiors Years ago I bought black and white check napkins and fashioned the same valance (on the left). I don't sew. I pinned everything around a rod. That's when I painted my kitchen black. Ha!
pauli12 What about white? Could you stand white? It would give everything an instant pop of freshness and brightness. Maybe white dishes. I wish you could put glass inserts in the 2 cabinets on each side of your sink and put some white dishes in there and then have the valance with the checks between it. It could be black and white, green and white or whatever you like.
pauli12 The reason I said white is because everything in your kitchen is kind of dark.. not in a bad way, just lots of browns and such and I think the white against the dark would look so fresh and wonderful. What do you think? I love sage green and it would work well with the counter tops. So a sage and white check is what you are thinking? That would look awesome!
handymam I think that the sage and white check will look great with the Portmeion dishes too! I have them too, lol. Don't forget to get some fresh flowers too! Will you carry the color onto your table with your table covering, runner or tablecloth?
Country Curtains has a nice selection of valances you can order See: http://www.countrycurtains.com/product/08045v6922+cabin+check+lined+austrian+valance.do?sortby=ourPicks&page=2&filterby=
I really like the style of this Buffalo Check Lined Pleated Scalloped Valance:
http://www.countrycurtains.com/product/083050166+buffalo+check+lined+pleated+scalloped+valance.do?sortby=ourPicks&page=2&filterby=
I love sage green and it would work well with the counter tops. So a sage and white check is what you are thinking? That would look awesome!