what colour to paint kitchen - one wall

[Sarah]

Ok...i painted my kitched last year with a lovely dark emerald green -dulux. The colour goes really well with out white kitchen presses and our balck counter tops and tiles...only thing is the kitchen does not get much natural light and although i have bought a large light with lights spaced out the kitchen is still very very dark. My thoughts were to either repaint the kitchen which is troublesome as i would need to paint the whole thing white again so the dark green wouldnt show through and also am stuck for a colour to repaint in. What i thought of doing is to paint one wall in the darkest area a lighter shade or colour but not sur ewhat would go with this dark green we already have...can anyone share some tips or advice? Thanks a mill.

 

[Thrifty]

To be honest i'd be inclined to repaint the whole thing to make it naturally bright, personal taste is for a very light open feel. However if the cupboards and other equipment covers most of the walls then it may not be as dark as it sounds. If the wall you're thinking of painting is a large expanse perhaps you could break up the dark colour by hanging a big print, putting a cork notice board or something like that up. depending on your style and taste. I've used a colourful french advert print in mine. I would suggest a mirror if it wasn't a kitchen. Black and white prints would be nice either if didn't want too much colour.

a paler green could work well or if you want a contrasting wall i've used pale primose before with dark green. it sounds odd but they actually go very well together and go well with white and black. otherwise i'd consider pure white.

 

[dawnsurprise]

i agree with last poster... paler green would work with dark green, we have that in our hall and it works....
i would disagree about a mirror in the kitchen though, a friend of mine has one in hers opposite the window, and it was lovely, gave great light....
have you though of putting in a sky light?

our kitchen gave us the same trouble, our presses are light oak with a green conter top.... we had painted the kitchen with ripened corn i think, however we changed it for a pale pale yellow colour and it has brightened it up no end...
i would also suggest a soft washable sheen paint, so that the light is not aborbed into the walls.... and of course, you can wash it...