Quick Kitchen Questions

by Charlotte
(Website Editor)

A selection of short question and answers all about kitchens...

Lots of useful kitchen information still...

Have a browse through to see what's of interest to you...

Don't forget, you can also add a comment to an existing topic, or start your own new topic by asking a question or sharing your story....

I'm really Stuck!

by Donnalee
(gibsonton, florida)

I have medium brown oak cabinets in my kitchen which I cannot paint, and light gray walls. What I want to do is use black and white checked curtains and then use a very bright yellow for accessories (just a few things to make it pop).

Will this be ok or does it sound hideous? Thank you for anything you might be able to help me with.

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Comment
By Charlotte

31 October 2011

Hi Donnalee

I see no reason why the black and white curtains shouldn't go just fine, although I feel they may make the room feel a little busy or fussy.

I definitely like the idea of using bright yellow accessories to cheer things up - they'll definitely give a bit of 'zing'.

I'm interested that you, yourself, think the results might be 'hideous' - which suggests to me that perhaps you aren't fully committed to this scheme yourself?

I like the idea of keeping things simple, so if you aren't fully committed to the scheme, I'm tempted to say try some more simple curtains - a plain color would look good, I think...

...whether it's white (nice and fresh), cream, a darker charcoal grey (to complement the walls) or the same (or similar) zingy yellow as the accessories if you really want to give a big splash of color.

When picking your yellow, I suggest you look at the color against the oak cabinets. Wood usually has quite a 'warm' tone to it (orangey glow) so if that is the case with yours, choose a warm yellow, with orange undertones.

Sometimes oak, though, can have a green tinge or undertone to the wood - if this is the case with yours, a greeny-yellow would look good against the wood.

Get some paint swatches, some with warm yellows (orange undertones) and some with greeny-yellows - put them up against the wood, and you should quickly be able to see which one brings out the colors in the wood best - then choose your accessories with that in mind.

How do you feel about those ideas?

I hope some of the suggestions help you out. Hope you don't feel really stuck any more.

Please come back and ask again if you still feel stuck, or aren't sure, or need more help.

Good luck with your makeover

Best wishes

Charlotte :)

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Red Kitchen Cabinets

by Aggie
(Philippines)

Not sure if you've heard of the Philippines :-), but I'd like you to know that I enjoyed browsing your site.

I am about to have major work done on my kitchen and have been surfing the internet for some color ideas and your basic lesson on the color wheel's great.

I will be having my kitchen cabinets in glossy red but am not sure of which color to use on the walls other than white, which I am trying to shy away from.

Will see how it goes...

Anyway, you've done a great job! Cheers.

Charlotte's Reply:
(Jan 5th 2010)

Some ideas...

Hello Aggie

Thanks for contacting me, and for your kind comments about my site.

Glossy red cabinets in your kitchen sound gorgeous - if you don't want to use white, how about a taupe, beige, mushroom, stone color? Or a deeper grey or brown?

As far as colors go, a green can look very striking with red, or try a teal, turqouise or paler blue?

If you want a warm and cosy feel, russets and oranges can look good.

An unusual look could be lilac and red too.

Try testers in your kitchen so you can see how each color works in your own home.

I think you've got lots of options and I hope you can find one to suit!

Good luck and I hope you enjoy designing for your new kitchen.

Charlotte :o)

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Cooker Hoods

by Andrea
(UK)

We have just bought a 60cm wide built under cooker with a 75cm wide 5 burner hob. My question relates to the cooker hood.

The most common sizes for extractors are either 60cm (too narrow) and 90cm (too wide). I have found a handful of 80cm wide extractors but I'm not keen on any of them. I like a lot of the 90cm extractors but am worried that it will look too big.

If we do go for the 90cm then the three components (cooker, hob, extractor) will all be different widths. Has anyone experienced this and come up with a solution that carries it off?

Thanks

Charlotte's Reply:
(March 6 2009)

Don't Worry Too Much

Hi Andrea

Personally, I don't think I would worry too much about that.

You definitely want to go for a larger rather than smaller, like you say... but I don't think it will matter that the 3 are different sizes.

They won't be right up against each other anyway, with a bit of work surface in between, and then the whole cooking space between the hob and extractor.

I think you will barely notice the size difference - 90cm to 75cm is 15cm - which is only 7.5cm either side - with such a gap between the 2 elements I don't think you would notice the size difference that much.

What does everyone else think?

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