Dh says it makes him feel like he lives with a serial killer!

[Pippyls67]

I want to paint my kitchen red. Tried a tester pot and Dh says it looks like I’ve committed mass murder and not cleaned up after me. I think it’s jolly. Very old house, quite dark though with low ceilings and exposed beams, stone walls etc. Maybe it could he construed as ‘spooky’. Depends on your take on it I guess. I really want a deep rich colour feature wall. What colour would you go? Should I stick to my guns (excuse the pun) and stay with the red? Edited to say yes to first couple of replies- you’re right, I must consider him too. He’s not prepared to suggest a colour tho as he got free reign on his own study. Just comments unhelpfully. He’s very old tho so he says he’s fully entitled to be curmudgeonly from time to time. So up to me. Maybe on reflection this is why I want a jolly colour. Or Oh my God, stream of consciousness thinking now, am I trying to bait him for mild entertainment???? No - I’m old too - but I’m not that cantankerous. Ahh the fun of being a pair of retirees.

Why do a colour DH doesn't like? Surely you need a compromise. I'd go for a similar tone but in green or blue.

Red 'makes' people angry and on edge, you want something calming or bringing the outside in perhaps.

Well I wouldn't choose a colour my partner (the other person the house belongs to) had told me they didn't like. So, no, I don't think you should "stick to your guns".
Whatever colour is picked, both parties have to be happy with it.

In my mind I can't imagine red working in the house you describe, but hard to say without a picture. Would more of a burgundy fit your taste but be less blood-bathy for DH ?!

OP red looks horrendous IMO. I've seen some stately homes where red looks good but it often doesn't work.

If your house is old, use heritage colours. You need a light colour to reflect the light.

Is the house owned jointly? Then you compromise on paint colours. Sounds like red will be too dark/gloomy in a dark old house with exposed beans. And who wants to cook in a kitchen that reminds them of serial killers?

I’d find a compromise, I can’t imagine painting something in a colour my husband dislikes and wouldn’t be happy if he did that to me.

surely it’s his home too? Do you often treat each other like that.

I'd go for heritage colours that suit the age of the house - and light! Maybe have a feature wall in a burgundy?

What kind of red? Baked cherry sounds like it would be fine, if quite… imposing. An orange-y tomato red would be a lot day-to-day. I think reds only work in editorial shoots or if you’re a very talented interior designer.

But ultimately, both adults in the house need to like the colour. Choose something DH can live with.

There’s red and there’s red: It’s a difficult colour to do well as one of the photos shows! Burgundy isn’t too bad but still difficult. Especially for a dark room. A big grand period high ceilinged kitchen I could imagine it in but I’m struggling to think it will look good with low ceilings.

But if your partner hates it then why stick with it? There are so many colours.

You need to compromise if you both live there. I've no objection to strong colours, but bright red would make me feel as if I were in a McDonald's.

I'd also paint it red cos it's my fave colour.

Two things - 1) as previous posters have said, it's probably not best to go ahead with a colour your other half definitely doesn't want. Has he actually said that? Does he mind?
2) How dark is dark? Do you have a light floor, big airy kitchen, multiple windows, white/silver appliances?

I think it could look very bright and cosy at the same time in the right room, but your description of the house makes it sound a bit like a dungeon!

I’d try and find a colour you both agree on (I don’t think I’d like it if my husband painted our kitchen a colour I’d described as murder-y 😂)

Maybe a deep teal (like this: https://www.littlegreene.us/tea-with-florence ) or a rich purple (https://www.grahambrown.com/ae/product/famous-paint/109616-master/ it’s quite dark so I’d probably just use it as an accent colour)
Or a red with pink undertones so it’s less gory looking (https://www.grahambrown.com/ae/product/ianthe-paint/109954-master/ or www.littlegreene.eu/leather)

My upstairs bathroom is a beautiful deep red and it’s luxurious and relaxing. Colour used right is better than all these off whites and greys people curse their lives with

I love red but probably not in the kitchen. And I'd definitely compromise and find a colour you both like. I wouldn't want to live in a house that my partner had insisted on painting a colour I hated.

Agree with all this

Yeah, a completely red room might be a bit much.

A long time ago I suggested to my DD that we might paint walls of the downstairs loo red, until she pointed out to me that it would look like someone's period had exploded all over the walls.

No you both need to be in agreement. How would you feel if he blew your joint savings on a fancy car, same principle

Also forgot to add why not consider burgundy it's nice and more pleasant

How about aubergine or plum?

I’m really into dark greens at the moment.

Off topic, but why do you call it 'your' kitchen? not 'our' kitchen?

Has he moved in with you to your house and you still haven't got used to compromising over joint decisions? I would never paint a room a colour my DH hated.

I once had a red wall in my living room - I thought it was a good idea at the time, but honestly, it did start to take on a sinister feeling - didn't help that it was textured wallpaper under it...

I've gone with a kind of washed out yellow almost lime green (hard to describe) in my kitchen, and I wasn't sure at first, but it's had the opposite effect to the red and grown on me.

Yes it was a pepper red, so a bit orangey. I love the idea of burgundy or cherry red. I’m very taken!

Turquoise, green or dark blue are great feature colours in kitchens - or an amber colour