If your kitchen-diner is north facing...

[ababycalledbrian]

... What colour scheme have you got? Ours is a largish white box at the moment. Cupboards are cream, floor creamish tiles, wood (pine?) worktops. I can only afford to change wall colour and add some curtains on French windows. At the moment it feels chilly but I'm a bit scared of a bold colour and not into feature walls. Any ideas please?!

We have Fired Earth "Verd Antique" on our walls and it looks lovely with very pale cream cupboards, creamish floor tiles and oak worktops. Our blinds are stripy green, cream and red www.lauraashley.com/uk/curtain-fabrics/awning-stripe-raspberrylichen-cottonlinen-fabric/invt/3285783 a rug with similar colours and a deep red runner along the (oak) dining table.

Thanks! I'll definitely check out that fired earth shade - we've been thinking about greens but I haven't found one I'm confident in...

That's a good idea. I might go into f and b and try to sweet talk some ideas out to them. Maybe problem is I think that I naturally favour the cooler colours so perhaps I need to try to find the love for reds etc.

We have olivey greens. It warms the room and feels relaxing but contemporary!

Mine's kind of sage/apple green paint on one wall and a warm-ish cream on the rest. The thing that helps most though is having a large mirror on a wall that reflects light from the window into a dark corner. It doesn't feel cold, although it does feel a bit dark still (but not as bad as before the mirror).

Could you do warm coloured accents but your cooler shades for the walls? So bits of yellow, orange, red or pink?

Similar colours here and I'm planning on green. Dulux mellow sage is a bit too pale for us but might work for you. My front runner at the moment is valspar Brussels sprout. The name sounds a bit intimidating though, so I'm still working up to it. Verde antique sounds much friendlier!

Farrow & Ball Lichen is a nice olivey green. I had it in my dark hallway with cream florring.

Yellow

Ours is North facing but a white box also - though we do have a fantastically bold custom made glass splash back in stripes of red, purple and yellow (it works!) and red is our accent colour for light shade, kitchen ware etc.

Our friends have a North facing kitchen diner too and they've gone for a duck egg blue shade for their walls and cupboards, with a white granite type worktop with flecks of duck egg and grey in it. It looks fab, and not at all cold imo. So you could have cool colours? I could find out what colour she used if you like.

I have a gloomy kitchen made sunny and warm with yellow. Pale yellow mainly with deeper shade on woodwork. Dark grey and white chequerboard floor. Gets a lot of compliments.

Ooh yes please Misty - would love to know out of interest. Wall colour and curtains are the only things we can afford to change but good to know what general other colour schemes people have used. Thank you!

I'll ask her tomorrow :)

We have 'Light Blue' in our northeast facing kitchen with cream kitchen units, cream tiles and wooden floor. One wall all glass. It's a gordeous colour and am always asked the name of it by visitors.

She said it's an Earth Borne paint in a grey/blue (looks duck egg to me) but couldn't remmeber the name. Can't imagine there are that Many in that brand though :)

Thanks Misty - I'll check it out x