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kittt29 Views from the family room and from the kitchen out...

Jayme Hobbs what colors are the counters? Are they a tannish?

Barbara Griffith Designs I think I would look to the red furniture when you consider a wall color. I, personally, do not care for the round black rug and the black panels covering the windows. I also think that whatever color you choose for that walls should be used on the entire space. I would look for a patterned rug for the living area and the dining area that would be larger than what you have. Choose something that has more multi color..not dominant black or red. From the rug, choose a neutral color that is not dominant in the rug and use it on the walls. Maybe roman shades on the windows as there is not enough room for panels on the fireplace side. It is a fantastic space and a really great kitchen.

kittt29 Thank you Barbara, we are excited about the space we will have to work with! I'm sorry I didn't make it clear earlier, we haven't moved in yet and this is the sellers furniture, so picture it without all the furnishings if you can. It's all more modern then our style.

You did hit on another question though, should we paint the entire area (kitchen through to the family room) the same color or what about using a similar color, just a few shades off to distinguish the areas a little more?

Curtains will be the next project. The ones near the fireplace are slim but I definitely need to get something for all the windows that adds privacy.

Jayme, the counters do have a hint of gray to them.

Jayme Hobbs I would look at a grey-beige like color, could be used throughout.

Jayme Hobbs I wonder if Ben Moore's Clay Beige would work?

Jayme Hobbs Also in second row to the far left

kittt29 I will try a sample of the Clay Beige Jayme, thanks! Do you think that will be enough of a contrast with the counters?

Jayme Hobbs I wish I knew the answer to that...it is so hard to tell from computer monitors how things will look..and paint seems to always look darker on the walls than the swatches...There are darker shades on the Ben Moore neutral palette also...to consider.

kittt29 True Jayme lol I'm sure you don't have that magical power to know! I'm going to get a few samples to try in there. I also want to try something with a little more color so I will try a variety. Thanks for your suggestions!

Jayme Hobbs lol!!! Good start!!

Barbara Griffith Designs I always choose paint last. Wait until you know all the colors & patterns that you will use in the area. Your choices will become more obvious then. Even neutrals have a direction..grays are either to the blue tone or the beige tone. Beiges are either to the yellow tone or the pink tone.

kittt29 That does make sense Barbara, I guess we were just trying to get a jump on things and make it easier by painting before we moved in. The family room will be almost all new furniture (shopping Sunday!) so we will have more of an idea after that. The kitchen itself should be easy enough to paint down the road and I may end up liking the current color, but I did want to tie in all the connected rooms more with the wall color. Do you have an opinion on using the same color throughout or can I vary it some?

Jayme Hobbs OIC...I thought u already had furniture...by all means don't make a choice until you have taken all of the above into consideration...I misunderstood by not reading all the posts.

Jean Tuck In the kitchen, orange not being my color choice I would paint orange walls same color as light switch cover is.Kitchen chairs to be covered with color blends incorporating 2 rooms for uniform design.Nice spaceto work with. I would use a softer complimentary sofa covers for the room to make spacious by colors All three areas I feel might best express elegantce by keeping colors similar in gradual tones.

Jayme Hobbs I did read that clay beige is a "chameleon color"...able to pick up either cool or warm tones...Per Better Homes and Gardens...if that is of any assistance.

Barbara Griffith Designs In this combined area, I would paint it all one color.

Jayme Hobbs I would also paint it all one...we are re-doing our open kitchen, dining, living areas and I am planning to use one color..

mamachers I love the orange color myself, but a beautiful yellow would be nice too. Try a sample of Ben moore Concord Ivory. I think it is a perfect yellow.

Miller's Paint & Wallpaper A few things for you to consider. Since your kitchen goes directly into your family room you want to have a smooth transition. What furniture are you putting in the family room? What colors are the furniture? Is the furniture solid or not? You do not have to use the same color through out both rooms if you do not want to for it looks like you have breaks in the wall, but the colors have to work together. As far as your kitchen goes, once that orange is gone you are pretty neutral and can do a lot. Without knowing you and just looking at a photo I feel a good designer can't pick just one color that would work for YOU. I suggest that you look at the Historical colors Ben.Moore paints have. They give you a lot of color yet are not stark or in your face. Keep in mind the tone of wood in your cabinets and the color you pick for your walls should be lighter or darker than the cabinets as to give you depth. The best way to pick your color is pull from something you want to use in your kitchen ...it can be as simple as finding some artwork for the walls, curtains, etc. and then pull the color from that. I also suggest that you paint a poster board (not the wall) with the colors you are thinking about. The reason for that is colors work off the colors they have around them and by painting a board you can move the board around the room and put it up against the OBJECTS THAT ARE GOING TO STILL BE THERE to get the true color. If you paint a spot on the wall the orange or off white that is there now will reflect the new color and you will not see the true new color. Ben Moore has pint size color samples that you can buy that are not expensive. Good Luck and I hope this helps a little.

chickinvic I really like the orange color that's there already - I guess I'm in the minority on that. I'm not sure I love it with the color of the cabinets though.

kittt29 The orange that's in the kitchen currently isn't horrible and accents the backsplash, but not really my preference either. We had our house inspection today (everything went great!) and we are going to do some furniture shopping this weekend and next. I guess I need to focus on choosing those items first and then see what compliments the furnishings. I also think though that the orange paint with the cabinets and floor gives the room an orangish tint and that's what I want to get rid of. We are going to refinish the wood floors and stain them darker but I don't know if that will resolve the problem.

I love the tip about painting the poster board rather then sections of the wall. One of those simple things I never would have thought of, thank you for that Miller's Paint!

My fiancée wants some sense of separation in the rooms so we are playing with the idea of using a lighter color in the kitchen (it gets a lot of sunlight) and then for the family room going a shade or 2 darker from the same paint strip. Is that just a bad idea all around? I know many of you suggested all one color but we are still throwing ideas around.

4resas You need to have a 2 shade separation in colors in order to actually detect the deference. If you only go 1 shade different the eye reads it as a shadow, not a distinct color.

color1235 You will be living in this room, so think of the emotions you would like for your rooms to evoke. If you don't have a lot of natural light, stay with light shades with yellow undertones for warmth. Shades of ivory, parchemnt, and even muted greens will look lovely. You can start with BM Philadlephia Cream and look at surrounding shades of the same weight. Make sure you make your decisions in the room your are painting. Don't ever rely on store lighting. Have fun, and best of luck in your new home.

susanjwatts I think a pale sage green would contrast nicely with your beautiful backsplash and since it can read as a neutral, will go well with almost any furniture so can be continued into the adjacent areas. That orange will really limit colour choices for furniture and accents.

4resas Blue is opposite orange on the color wheel,so it is referred to as orange's compliment. I've attached a grey look and a reddish brown look

kittt29 I decided on a red wall in the kitchen (after buying a dozen paint samples and painting them on white posterboard which really helped me visualize the space) and I used SW Accessible Beige in the rest of the room. We are moving in less then 2 weeks, I will post pics when everything is done. I appreciate the help!

theconstantdecorator What about a lovely soft sage green?

Ann Wow Kittt29, I'm afraid of bold colors and wouldn't have had the nerve to do that, but I must admit, it looks very nice. Others have mentioned blue gray and sage as colors to work with since they are a compliment to your rusty red and I think that's a great idea for accents, etc. I think you'll love your new house. I look forward to pictures.

kittt29 Thanks Ann! It was a bold change for us. At our old house everything was very neutral and while we lived it we decided to adds one more color in the new house. I've always liked a red kitchen but never thought I would do it. The red isn't in the entire room so that helps a little. We are sunning some blue/gray in the attached great room.

kittt29 I do like a lot of the suggestions for sage green and the blues and grays and we did use those colors in many of our other rooms in the house. So I was definitely inspired by the advice, thank you all again!