SFGate

Barbara Griffith Designs This entire area is void of color or interest. What other colors have you chosen for the house and specifically the adjacent rooms? In this room however, I would hang drapery panels off the sides of the window/glass door in the table area, in a patterned fabric, maybe something geometric. Change the light fixture to something larger..5-7 lights. Much larger art on the wall, maybe a collection of pictures..but the picture now is dwarfed by the size of the wall. Maybe add a few large colorful items above your cabinets. I think beige is not an option for this room..you need color. Maybe a mossy gray green.

twylahaj The walls look like three different colors in the three photos, so not really sure what color they are and whether the area with the table is the family room you refer to. Not sure if the dining area show is what you are referring to as a family room or if there's another room that has some kind of separation via archway or trim or something.

If the family room is totally open to the kitchen (no archway or trim or anything, use the same color for the walls in both rooms and do a backsplash in a material you like. If a material you like is not in the budget and paint is what is in the budget, create a painted backsplash by masking off the area you want as a backsplash, painting, and then, if you can swing a few extra bucks, trimming it with inexpensive moulding.

If the family room is separated somehow (looks like maybe there's an archway), you can use a different color, but it should coordinate with the taupe you've chosen for the family room. Try a field trip to a fabric store and find a fabric you like that has the taupe color of your family room, the countertop color and the cabinet color in it and pull out one of the other colors for the kitchen. If there are additional colors in the fabric, they will go well as accent colors in either or both rooms.

rkhan531 Hey, if your sticking to a taupe theme in the living area how abit bringing that theme into the kitchen maybe nice green patterned blinds an shades of green for the walls? Maybe tiling under the units!

marybraue A shaded of blue but you have to get the right shade a light with white crown molding. Buy some samples try them out in different shades of light.

Carolyn Albert-Kincl Design I would really like you to improve your lighting so that any color you put in your kitchen will look its best.
With a ceiling fixture, a breakfast table light and a light over the sink, you do not have the best lighting either for working in the kitchen or for enjoying a warm ambiance which good lighting might bring to the area.

I would add 4 recessed lights, placed only 18", no more, no less, out from the walls. They will fall over the countertops thus providing light for working there. Any light from behind the person working at the counter is blocked by their own shadow. So place 2 of them over the are to the left of the sink, and one near the corner cabinets. the fourth goes to the right of the range.

As mentioned above, the lighting over the breakfast table should be increased.

Now we can talk about wall color. But the wall color would also involve the backsplash color, if you had one. So I suggest you select tile for the backsplash. Maybe it could incorporate some bluish/green as I know that color would work well with your oak cabinets. Then the walls in the kitchen could be painted a blue/green...if that goes with what's happening in the family room.

Alternately, and oh how I wish this could happen...you would also like to paint your kitchen cabinets. Perhaps you meant to say that and didn't. That opens so many options, so please let us know if this is a possibility and we'll give you many more ideas!
Carolyn Albert-Kincl, ASID

reen63 I guess I should have posted these pics instead. We have a taupe for the major portion of the house. I do have things over the cabinets. Great idea about the art, something larger would be nice, it's a hard wall because it vaults to the ceiling.

Dianne Ziegler shagreen from Sherwin Williams And some trim on the cabinets, crown molding perhaps

Lkristine Just a paint color idea, greenish seems like a neutral "color" to liven it up a bit and still go with what you are describing for paint in other areas. I did darken your bamboo blind a little bit too just to see what it would look like. I tried to find a color between your countertop color and cabinets. You have a very nice kitchen!

sands213 Home Depot has some great colors to choose from. I recently repainted a large room with a vaulted ceiling and I used a blue call Cayman Bay. It is a great deep color and would complement and enhance the look of you cabinets, However, perhaps there is a color in your dishes that you love and you can use that.

Mottles Murals Ceramic Tiles I would just pick a nice cheerful color that I like and go with it. I recently painted my kitchen a lavender color and I love it...because I like the color lavender. I had the adjoining living room painted a similar green that lkristine displayed and on the other side I had the dining room painted a light yellowish beige color. You can pick up paint samples from your paint store and bring them home to see the contrast of your wood and counter top. White or cream ceramic tiles for your back splash, and if you are feeling a bit daring you could install some pretty kiln fired decorated tiles. (smile) Good luck, you have a beautiful kitchen!

reen63 Wow, I love this website! You all have inspired me :) I think we will go with green, maybe olive and a larger painting for the vaulted wall. I would love to do the backsplash but I'm not a crafty person, so that scares me a little but who knows we're not at that point yet. Thanks for all of the wonderful ideas!

sands213 I love to uses mirrors along with paintings. A large oval mirror would look great and add some softer lines. Have fun painting!

morristhecat I've attached my dining room pic so that you can see our larger landscape picture with our vaulted ceiling. It fills in that wall better. I have kitchen granite countertops which are yellow/gold/taupe/darkbrown; should have sent a picture. With your dark countertops I think a creamy yellow would look good. Get some striped or geometric rugs to punch up that kitchen. Target has some good ones.