A More Sophisticated Kitchen

This blog is written by Beehive Studios designer Megan Leblond.

I met with Julie on an overcast Monday morning.  Her smiling face, a sweet white poodle named Grace, and a steaming cup of coffee greeted me at the door.

Julie is a proud parent of two college graduates.  With the kids now out of the house, Julie was looking to welcome a new look into her home. While updating her kitchen and creating a more sophisticated look, she expressed interest in downplaying her cabinets which are currently a white-washed pine. Excited to showcase her new contemporary tile floor laid on the diagonal, Julie also wanted to steer far from the mauve and blue tints she once used in the kitchen and living room. 

Julie described a nice, rich, red kitchen as her ideal new space. However, she was having trouble selecting a specific red -- some seemed too bright a pink, and others, too close to the mauve she was eliminating.  She also mentioned a light green or gold as considerations. 

The kitchen area leads into the family room with a brick fireplace and beautiful, brand new chocolate brown furniture.  Because this area leads into the dining area and kitchen, we wanted to choose a color that separates the space, but also flows.  She also showed me a bathroom she had redone recently (which looks great), as well as some of her cherished heirloom 1920s furniture in the formal dining room adjacent to the kitchen area. (This is when Grace, the poodle actually ate the entire plate of pastries from the kitchen table!  I was planning on having a piece...but I couldn’t help but smile, at least she didn’t get the coffee!) 

Julie’s kitchen is not small, so I asked her if she had considered separating the eating area and prep area with color.  There also could be some interesting possibilities with the nice, recessed lighting in her prep area which includes a soffit. 

Because the area is so large and open, we discussed how she could use different colors in the prep area on the soffit and wall to create a more dimensional look.  With the intent to add a more sophisticated, and less contemporary feel, we decided that a chair rail in the eating area might be more elegant. 

Valspar’s Jekyll Club Cherokee Rust  was cohesive with the chocolate browns in the family room. Gentle Pasture and Martinique Dawn seemed to brighten the dining space and also read ‘elegant.’  A chair rail is a beautiful way to add a detail element in the home, as well as a great way to add more color to your home -- bold contrasts and subtle nuances alike. 

For the baseboards and molding, White Dove was the obvious choice -- a nice crisp white (and it matches Grace!). 

Here are some of the things I always keep in mind when choosing colors, and that helped me when working in Julie’s kitchen. 

Consider looking at your potential colors on an overcast day, do they still speak to you? 

Keep in mind how you utilize the space. A kitchen is used morning, noon, and night. Will your color choices embrace all of the activity that goes on there? 

The layout -- If you can see other rooms, integrate colors respectively. 

Highlight your prized possessions to create a warm sense of home. Heirlooms and pets could be showcased. Thoughtful consideration of these factors is not time lost, but beauty gained. Rome wasn’t built in a day! 

If you are feeling overwhelmed, ask a friend or loved one for support, but keep in mind it’s your home and your choice.


                                                           
          Jekyll Club Cherokee Rust 2011-7       Gentle Pasture 6003-4A    


                                           
                                       Martinique Dawn 6003-3B