redecorating- painting cabinets-colour choices

[swellmomma]

I am going to repaint my kitchen cabinets this summer and hopefully in the fall refinish the counter tops, since I can not afford an actual kitchen reno which my dated home truly needs.  There is a tile backsplash behind the sink and stove that is straight from the 70s (think burnt orange-almost brown; with cream/tan tiles).  The current countertop has olive green flowers all over it.  Ceiling light fixtures have olive green colour though I will be spray painting those.  The room is getting repainted first in a beige/tan colour.  Nice and light like I light for kitchens but neutral because it is attached to the front entrance which is merlot, chocolate brown and taupe.  BUT I am trying to decide on the paint for the kitchen cabinets.  On one hand I am thinking of a nice classy shade of taupe (these are cabinets in the dark wood of the 70s) or going for a pop of vibrant color with a creamy orange shade.  For those that know walmart CIL colours the taupe is called Progressive Taupe 80YR 42/073 and the Orange is called Apricot Nectar 36YY 66/349  Both would look good.  There is a floor to ceiling panel of the cabinet material that I will likely paint with chalk board paint though it could be the cabinetry colour. 

I will be making/buying new accessories to match regardless of which way I go.  I am also opening a home daycare so while I think the pop of colour will make it fun I don't want it to be gaudy.  As well we homeschool at the kitchen table so I spend a large part of my day in the room so I want to be happy with my choice.

So if you were painting your cabinets would you go for the sleek and neutral taupe, or for the fun and vibrant orange? 

I am not wanting them to be white because next to the tile(which is under the full length of them) it would be too stark and not look right.  Other colour options will be considered if you have an idea.

[*Michelle*]

I would go taupe and save the vibrant color for things that are easy to change.

[KatieJ]

I was going to say Green before I finished reading the entire post. I agree with Michelle. Nice safe taupe and enchance the orange with dishes, curtains, soap dispenser, etc.

[zoobie]

There's a Rustoleum counter paint that's supposed to work pretty well, if you want to get rid of flowers. There's tile paint too. The previous owners painted two of the bathrooms with it, and they have the 2/3 tiled walls popular in the 1960s. It's holding up great.

 

Otherwise, I agree with taupe cabinets and orange accessories. You could do the bottoms darker than the top. Get a test pot of taupe. The card chip can look totally different once it's in a big area and absorbing other colors. (Ask how many taupes I painted in my den...)

 

Edited: oops, reading comprehension fail. You're already doing counters later. Sorry!

[lmrich]

I painted mine black. I antiqued them a bit and rubbed them down with an oil. They look great and have held up well. The black paint had great coverage. I did use a grey tinted primer first.

[8circles]

I find taupe quite difficult to get right. That might push me towards he apricot, which sound lovely. But I also like the suggestion of black - depending on how much light the room gets.

[Farrar]

I wanted to say orange, because I love orange, but you have a lot going on in there so I might go for a more neutral color.

[Tap]

LOL I have spent hours looking at painted kitchen cabinets the past few days.  For ideas and colors, look at Houzz.com -- search term   'painted kitchen cabinets' or something like "painted kitchen cabinets +orange".  I really recommend signing in to your own account, because you can save pictures to your file and put notes.  

 

I have good notes like "love the color" and some that say "don't like this color!".  I am going to paint my cabinets a dark grey color so I am looking for the perfect dark, but not black color.  When I see a grey color I don't like, I want to remember that as well.  LOL