Black kitchen walls?
I just saw some really nice rooms using black. I am thinking of painting the walls of my kitchen black.
The countertop is unoiled soapstone, the backsplash is a gray-blue marble, and the cabinets are maple.
What do you think of black walls? Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks.
The countertop is unoiled soapstone, the backsplash is a gray-blue marble, and the cabinets are maple.
What do you think of black walls? Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks.
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And so I thought to paint all the walls black since there is really very little wall to speak of.
I haven't thought about the ceiling. What do you think?
I think the style is a bit disjointed. I like mid century modern, but have the maple shaker cabinets and raw-looking wood shelves.
Idea number 2 would be to paint in a color as close to the backsplash as you could make it, and bring that up to the tile height at the hood. I think that is what is bothering you: the visual clutter that the shelves and the stuff on them create against the lighter wall, and then the line of the tile.
My final suggestion would be that nstead of paint, expand the backsplash tile to the same height as that behind the hood.
And I found this:
I wish I knew about Houzz before our renovation. We had to make all the decisions ourselves.
Again thanks for all your feedback.
We didn't put the tile all the way up partly because I liked seeing some wall. Our kitchen has no wall space at all and the shelves along the stove wall is the only place where there is a good amount of wall. But this was a decision I went back and forth with and so I figured more tile could be added later although it would be a little tricky with this tile.
:). I'll look for some photos in my in box!
Kim
Even though you have good windows opposite your kitchen, you don't really have any natural light IN your kitchen. Black walls are going to be asking a LOT of work from those recessed lights.
I'm honestly not sure what I'd prefer to see - but it just doesn't feel like black is the best solution for your kitchen.
I worry that with black walls, that would be gone. It would be like working in a cave with a flashlight not aimed directly at you for your only light source.
I do like your shelves and your dining space. Wouldn't go for stripes if I were you. But I'm not :-)
1) Install a cabinet of the same wood (Birch?) on the left side of the chimney that is the same height as those on those above the shelves on the refrigerator wall. Position it at the same height as well. This will partially address the balance issue. Make it less wide than the shelves that are there now and also don't put anything on top of the cabinet, these two things will give a little more feeling of spaciousness. To make it as convenient to you, as the shelves are, the door could swing up and then in, totally out of the way while you work. To address the clutter issue, use a door that has an opaque glass panel to hide the 'clutter' look and provide visual interest. For balance and design harmony, on the right side of the chimney, place a mid-century stainless steel clock.
2) Next, to clean up the lines in the kitchen, bring the gray blue marble up to the ceiling on the range hood wall. Not just behind the hood chimney but on that whole wall (except where the cabinet is) and ONLY on this wall. OR if that is not financially feasible or not as desirable, then paint this entire ONE wall into the livingroom a color that best harmonizes with the marble but a shade or two lighter. You will use this color to make the kitchen visually harmonious with clean lines and in the livingroom it will become an accent wall.
3) Now the shelves. Keep a bottom shelf all the way around, shortening it to match the cabinet above on the left. Match the distance away from the range on the right as well. Only keep the most used items on these shelves. It needs to be decluttered. However, use a floating stainless steel shelf as I posted above. The brackets that hold up the ones you use now, add to the clutter look. The stainless steel will tie the appliances and pulls together.
4) The other walls in the livingroom and on the refrigerator wall could be the same color. The bowls on the top of the cabinets don't seem to tie anything together and contribute to the clutter feeling. I would remove them and leave it empty there as on the new cabinet on the range wall.
If you want to try color I love the green that is sitting on the countertop and would to see that on the wall with the stove and the wall next to that.
But hey I love green.
I apologize for my bluntness.
Thanks for all your comments and suggestions. It's fab!
Upon one of your suggestions I decluttered a bit. I always thought that the bowls on top of the cabinets were too much, but I thought what the hell.
The shelves have always been a bugaboo with me. I always thought that the bottom brackets are too long after they were installed but hey, I just thought perhaps if it bothered me enough we would do something about it.
I also thought about the asymmetry of the shelves and I kind of liked it afterward.
Also, I thought the shelves should be more "neutral" rather than have such a strong personality. But this is one of the first parts of the kitchen we bought! We actually chose the maple cabinetry because of them! They are solid pieces of spalted maple. Anyway, I thought the brackets with their more industrial look would offset their rustic nature. In hindsight I probably would have chosen something more plain like stainless shelves or straight maple shelves, but the kitchen developed very organically. Perhaps some might say they are out of place, quirky, weird, but even though I am not that fond of them we decided to live with them.
I always thought that we would tile the whole wall behind the stove, but I kind of chickened out. I thought it might be too overwhelming or overpowering and I thought I might get sick of it too!
Anyway, no need to feel bad about offering advice on our kitchen. I find the comments interesting to think about and I really appreciate them.
After all that I am thinking of painting just the stove wall grey to get an idea what it might look like if it were all tiled.
Here are some more pictures after the "decluttering".
Cheers!
I am still wondering about the tile. Would a whole wall of tile be too much? Having some wall space seemed like it would leave it more open? In a way I thought it would be less chunky or divided up if there was more wall, more like a room, if that makes any sense. We did it this way and thought we would live with it for now. It seemed the least risky and can easily be changed.
I also thought about putting a cabinet on the left, but in the end liked the shelf idea.
I think if you really want to do black, do it on your refrigerator wall. Then go with something a little softer- a gray, maybe- for the rest of the walls. I think on that one wall you could handle black because there isn't much wall to speak of.
I just want to reiterate how jealous I am of your beautiful kitchen! Great job!
To tennisanyone: I completely agree with you. I am a bit puzzled by your last entry. I am not sure where you are coming from. Did I say anything to offend you or anyone else? Really puzzled.
I agree with you about making it less chunky. That's why I suggested making that whole wall into the livingroom the same color. Either by the combination of tile in the kitchen and same color on the rest of that wall or by paint on the whole wall. Going up to the ceiling would also make it feel less broken up.
Spalted maple is precious. Every time I got some in a load of lumber into my shop, if it had a few pieces of spalted I would set it aside. It was always an exciting find to get a piece of lumber that was special in the lot.
It was a bold idea to go black and definitely worth thinking about. Darker colors will make the wall seem to receed and feel that the room it is actually bigger. But you also might find that the color is too much as some have suggested. How well you like it might depend on how dark you go.
Best wishes and thanks for sharing your home with us and letting us share our thoughts with you.
I definitely leaning with those of you who say no black for the kitchen walls. But I am going to try it in our family room for our fireplace. I think black for a fireplace and for the whole wall looks cool.
i'd be careful about going with too much dark. i once painted my kitchen olive and eggplant after seeing a new calvin klein bed and bath display at macys. it was early fall and the change sounded great. and it was great. right up until the 1st dreary, stormy morning. suddenly life seemed bleak. i wasn't going to endure that all winter. by the end of the week it was painted a soft,happy, pale moss green with white trim and all felt right with the world.
I think all of you who say no to the black may be right about going too dark and it being dreary and would make the room too dark. I love black, but after having tons of black coats in my lifetime and in my closet I try to steer clear of them! I don't need another black coat! : ). But perhaps a black room or accent wall somewhere in the house?
Pale moss green sounds so pleasant!
I still think (almost) black would look wonderful on the wall with the stove, and you could paint it another colour if you didn't like it after all. But of course you don't need to paint it, as I said... beautiful the way it is.
Person. Nagoose, no wonder you had no idea
What i was talking about. I think i had too many conversations
Going. I have to slow down. Lol.
kitchen look really really dark. And I don't think that the cabinets would look good with black. :)
Your kitchen does look very good and for what its worth here are my two-cents .
I would have done the tiles farther up the wall. Either in line with the bottom shelves or in line with the bottom of your cupboards . I do love the shelves and think maybe the problem is the bare walls above . I think so nice artwork would compliment the shelves and make the wall look better overall .
As for the paint I am a lover of the quirky and not following the herd but I would definitely not go black . I think if you did a dark grey (with undertones of black) that the room would look nicer . I know there have been some pictures put up of black walls but a lot of the rooms are very big with a lot of light .
I think I'd put a lighter grey then on your other walls and then go for maybe a print material on your window furnishings with colours such as pistachio , purples , oranges even a steely blue all of which would compliment the grey well.
Have fun whatever you do as sometimes too much advice is a bad thing lol
I am definitely thinking a light to medium grey. I am thinking to paint the stove wall and under the cabinets on the fridge wall the grout color we used and then possibly a different color for the rest of the kitchen. The grout is by Mapei in pewter and I attached a sample. So the second color would start above the cabinets and to the left of the shelves.
i note with interest that your extra photos were taken at night & the windows are 'black'!!! yikes! just for the fun of it, why don't you print those out, & then use marker to color in black walls.
hmmm, not so good. 'kudos' to all you folks doing the 'windows paint' mock-ups!
You also need to be sure you have lots of high contrast - which, you currently don't have.
To use black in a space you need to ensure you have lots of natural and incandescent light. I've attached an article on using black in your space to help with this decision. If, in your mind its still the right thing to do then go for it.
I really like the left image that Kevin posted.
Hope you post after shots.