First time home buyer here. I close tomorrow! Yikes!

Question

That said- the house is currently painted a nice, 'safe', beige with some maroon accents. Beautiful yes, but I want to do something completely different.. Simply because I CAN. 
The first pic is my master bath. I want to paint the walls a dark grey. I think it would look fab with the white tile/trim. However, I do not currently have plans of changing the cabinets, which are wood. Is this going to look ridiculous? 
Same issue with the kitchen.. The previous owner has blue laminate counters (which I want to change, SOMEDAY), and a darker blue tile backsplash. IMO it does not mesh with the cabinet color, or the current wall color. What I want to change right now: I'm going with a wayyy lighter grey in the living spaces/kitchen/etc (with a smokey blue accent wall in living room)
So. Is going to a cooler nuetral color going to be painful to look at with the warm cabinet colors? A kitchen remodel is in my 5 year plan but not tomorrow.

Thanks fellow hometalkers :)

Peace Painting Co., Inc. · Answer

There are other folks here more qualified, but I think your ideas sound like they would work very well.
CP

Bob and RodMan S · Answer

One hint on judging colors, Krissy. Small paint chips almost never give a true idea of the how the color will work in the space. When you have narrowed down the selection to one or two likely prospects, get some 2'x2' (at least) plywood squares, have your paint supplier mix a sample - you may have to buy a gallon - prime and paint the plywood square and see how that looks in the space. Takes some time but really beats the prospect of repainting when the paint on the wall turns out to look substantially different from the sample chip. Its not that the color is really different, but the size of the chip simply does not allow it to represent the look of the full application.

Krissy Grant · Answer

Thank you :-) I will absolutely be doing that.

Peace Painting Co., Inc. · Answer

Good point.  Sher-Will has $5. quarts called Color-to-Go to be used for sampling only.
CP

3po3 · Answer

Congratulations on your first home. 
If you are interested, I have a friend who does virtual color consulting, so you can get a professional opinion. 
Another idea is to put up these photos on a color visualizer site - Sherwin-Williams has a good one. You can use your own photos and drop in any color to see what it will look like. It's not perfect, as it won't look exactly like the paint on the walls, and pretty much nobody has their monitor calibrated correctly (unless you happen to be a professional graphic designer). Nonetheless, you will get an idea of the look.

Yamini LEED AP at Urbanmotifs · Answer

Krissy Grey is my current favorite neutral. Here is a link on House beautiful on all the lovely 'Grey's out there - http://www.housebeautiful.com/decorating/colors/26-shades-of-gray

Krissy Grant · Answer

Thanks everyone. 
@Steve G: My monitor is calibrated (professional photographer) so I will try that. :-) 
@Yamini: I love greys too, just worried it'll clash with the browns of the wood cabinets. Thanks for the link. :-)

Donna McCrummen · Answer

Go with what you love. My kitchen is dark brown.....

Hughena M · Answer

Just bought my home about two years ago and chose some really different bright colours. My kitchen is painted yellow with white cupboards and an almost navy countertop. Most people say it is very comforting and welcoming. My office is a rose colour with white trim and curtains - at first I thought I had made a mistake but it is everyone's favourite room in the house.

Dan's of Central Florida, Inc. · Answer

Just a general point about paint colors - dark colors in a small area will make it look smaller and more like a cave. Conversely, lighter colors make smaller areas seem bigger.

Donna McCrummen · Answer

Great rule of thumb Dan but not always the case. A dark color can add drama to a small space. I once painted a small bathroom black....it was awesome.

Ellen H · Answer

You could paint your cabinets... they look to be Builder grade stock. so it wouldn't take away from any value they might have.

Sherrie S · Answer

Krissy, it is hard for anyone that is not trained to properly design/color a room/house.  All you & I know is it doesn't look right.  There are others that have a way of looking at it in a different way and making it look perfect.

This homefixes site is wonderful.  Ask the same question to the designers on this site and see what ideas you get.  I'll be asking about my pink bedroom/bath soon.  I decided it would be pink - now I need someone to help me make the rest of the room (masterbath & bedroom) look really nice.

Donna McCrummen · Answer

Good suggestion Ellen. If you chose to paint the cabinets be sure to use paint made specifically for cabinets.

Dana N · Answer

I have used the designer at my local Benjamin Moore paint store a lot recently to help me with color choices. Her advice is free and has been invaluable! I also found some good ideas for color use on Design Seeds, a blog with nothing but color schemes. The main thing is to have fun making your new house YOURS!

AND painting those cabinets could be a perfect solution for you. I'm painting mine!

Sherri H · Answer

You have received a lot of advice on picking paint. If you want dark grey, which I call charcoal, it should be OK as long as it is a yellow base, not blue with the light wood cabinets--if they are a yellow based wood. We have the remodeled beigey travertine bath and I insisted on including decorative blue and green and turquoise  tiny tiles (my favorite colors) which only worked because there were pale ones, too,  that picked up the tile base color.

Lindsay N · Answer

That big mirror can be jazzed up by putting a frame made of your standard trim around it. Simple, cheap, and makes a very big difference!!

Mary T · Answer

It's way too big! Have it cut down and then put in a nice frame. Will look so much better and blend in.

Mary T · Answer

Plus the kitchen is boring...make that wall a warm color like an orange-red , then accesorize with similar colors.

Krissy Grant · Answer

Thanks, folks. But my question was paint color. ;) I actually LOVE the mirror. @Linday: I saw a tutorial on that on younghouselove's blog I think. I have been talking to my boyfriend about that idea, because I think it'd look amazing. :-)
We decided we like the grey enough to do it. Gonna get a few shades and see how it goes from there.

Harold M · Answer

Personally the color doesn't bother me at all.  I like the color.  Hanging pictures painting etc, really make a room come alive.

Nip Tuck Remodeling · Answer

Contratulations on your new home! A little paint and some accessories will make this room come alive.  Paint is the least expensive treatment you can do to make a big impact.  After you are in the house for a while, you may want to change the countertop to a slab which will give you more opotions for contrast.

Krissy Grant · Answer

We figured out after much trial/error that grey will not work for the kitchen at this point. The lighting turns it all sorts of weird colors, and we're done for now. It's going to be white, with some form of interesting wall hanging. The bathroom is still being determined.

ToolSelect.com · Answer

Krissy, congrats on the new house! I am sure you have a lot of ideas for your new house. If you need any advice on power tools for your home improvement projects check out our website at http://www.toolselect.com.

AJ T · Answer

I also just bought my first place and wanted to say CONGRATULATIONS!

Kelli M · Answer

I would paint the cabinets white. SW has a color called 'Divine White' that is lovely.

Krissy Grant · Answer

Kelli: I'd love to, but that middle panel is vaneer so cannot sand it to prime/paint. Plus, my better half LOVES the cabinets. Since he is more of a cook than I am, he wins. ;-) 
This thread was to get input on my selection for the wall color. We've settled on white for the kitchen walls.

JoAnn H · Answer

I just bought a can of blue paint for my kitchen with your same cabinet colors. If you get tired of white. :) I'm also going to put in a 'tin' backsplash. If you google blue kitchens I found some great ones out there. The blue I like is similar to the classic Wedgewood blue. It has a hint of gray, a dusty blue, looks great with cabinets (Think blue jeans and cowboy boots). I have white appliances, light cabinets, soon to be blue walls. Be brave! It's just paint. :)

ReRe · Answer

oh i would love to get ahold of your house , love the layout .. i decorated french country .. awsome colors .. i love dark wine colors , black , i did my kitchen walls the dark wine , trimmed in a dark tope , then added the other victorian colors in good luck .. would love to see your work P.S eggplant dark is a very pretty color

Paint-N-Plus · Answer

Congrats on selecting a color.I would suggest a washable paint for those areas.An eggsheal type finish will do nicly and last for a long time. Would like to mention,On the vaneer.It does not have to be sanded.I would use aproduct called deglosser to wipe it down.Then a good primer,if and when yoy do decide to paint.Good luck

First time home buyer here. I close tomorrow! Yikes!

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First time home buyer here. I close tomorrow! Yikes!

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