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From a Feng Shui perspective, the kitchen should be a light terra cotta, light orange, or very light yellow - green equals bile.
Just simple color psychology would tell you not to paint a kitchen blue or even gray (I know that's in style now, but it's not appetizing).
Green is a natural color in nature. I have noticed that it seems to get along with almost all other colors. Of course, an extreme chartreuse will not be as agreeable as a softer grayed green. But in general, it is an agreeable color. It can read cool or slightly warm, depending on the whether it tends toward yellow or blue. To say it is the color of bile is very strange.
I have a gray kitchen with yellow maple cabinets. My counters are gray as well. My dining area is painted the same color, and the food I make looks appetizing. Honestly!
My kitchen has white cabinets with nickel finished hardware, and black/gray granite countertops. So far I have tried 4 different paint colors and still can't find something I like. What I have tried so far:
Yellow (came with the house when I bought it) - I hated it. I felt like I was in a McDonald's
Light blue - reminded me of being in a doctor's office exam room
Medium gray - it was ok at first but eventually I felt like I was surrounded by concrete walls
Revere Pewter (current color) - I decided to try this color because it was so popular recently. It's ok, I don't hate it. But in my room it appears much too brown (I would describe it as the color of coffee with milk stirred in)
So I'm looking for more ideas. The kitchen is on the north side of the house so it gets very little natural light. I'm starting to look at some off-white colors that have a light gray mixed in. It needs to be something very light due to the low natural light in the room. But it has to be dark enough to have some contrast with the white cabinets. Let me know if you have any ideas.
Your kitchen sounds a lot like mine. except my countertops are old laminate in a bluey-gray color. They're low on my priority list to replace right now since I just moved in. The seller painted every room gray, no doubt on his realtor's recommendation. Like your kitchen, that color sucks up the light in mine. I am going to paint the walls a warm cream color. It will contrast just enough with the original white cabinets and will really brighten up the space. Eventually the entire first floor will be the same cream color as well. BTW, if you want to take a look at a sample, it's Valspar Veranda Jekyll Island Ivory (or close to that.) It's a historic color and goes well with my vintage house and antique dark-toned antique very nicely.
If you look at paint pallets, there are very light, warm colors - can't describe - a combo of light yellow with light orange - very pale - is a very pretty, appetizing background.
As someone that really dislikes those colors in a kitchen, I would find those to be quite unappetizing.
I usually have a terrible time coming up with colors, but for some reason after I got started updating my kitchen, the color just came to me. I had to have it custom-mixed, as I could not find the color that I had in my head, on a color chip. I wound up getting three sample paints that were close, and mixed them in different batches and tried them on the wall. As soon as one dried, I knew that was it. So maybe you might like something similar.
It looks like a pale sage green in the pictures. I have that in my kitchen also, and I like it.
My kitchen has white cabinets with nickel finished hardware, and black/gray granite countertops. So far I have tried 4 different paint colors and still can't find something I like. What I have tried so far:
Yellow (came with the house when I bought it) - I hated it. I felt like I was in a McDonald's
Light blue - reminded me of being in a doctor's office exam room
Medium gray - it was ok at first but eventually I felt like I was surrounded by concrete walls
Revere Pewter (current color) - I decided to try this color because it was so popular recently. It's ok, I don't hate it. But in my room it appears much too brown (I would describe it as the color of coffee with milk stirred in)
So I'm looking for more ideas. The kitchen is on the north side of the house so it gets very little natural light. I'm starting to look at some off-white colors that have a light gray mixed in. It needs to be something very light due to the low natural light in the room. But it has to be dark enough to have some contrast with the white cabinets. Let me know if you have any ideas.
I would say a grey but it sounds like you've already eliminated those
North-facing rooms are tough. I can see why you aren't digging the grey in there
How about a cream or an off-white?
I've been using Gentle Cream by Benjamin Moore as I've been repainting this house. It goes very well with grey and white.
OP, I have very much the same kitchen colors as you. When I redid my house, I had a consult with an designer who helped with with colors. I am a "color" person and have been for the 20 years in my home but I finally got tired of all that busyness. Based on the type of light I have, wood floors, etc, she recommended Manchester Tan. My whole house with the exception of some bedrooms and bathrooms, is Benjamin Moore's Manchester Tan. It is very boring but works well in different lighting. Some rooms it can appear almost gray, and others it's more cream, and it others you see more tan. It seems to work well enough in my kitchen which has white cabinets and white/gray/black granite. I agree with you about gray. I know it's the rage and it some places it looks fabulous, but depending on your house and the natural light, it can very easily tend to be gloomy.
It took some getting used to (the blandness) but it has allowed me to easily pop in colored accessories and artwork which is working out really well. I have to say, I am loving the soothing vibe of the "non color" house.
It looks like a pale sage green in the pictures. I have that in my kitchen also, and I like it.
It is s mix of a silver and a sage. I love it...it’s calm and peaceful. Exactly what I was after.
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