Paint colour experts - I'm almost too embarrassed to ask...

[amazonianwoman]

Now I realise that this is going to come across as a terrible first world problem and am cringing as I type, but we recently moved into a Victorian house with a cream Aga. The units are oak (orange oak), the floor is chestnut (I think, orange too) and the worktop is black sparkly granite (bloody pain to keep clean)

It's all too orange. We can't afford to replace the kitchen for a few years, the Aga costs a fortune to run but I am (embarrassingly) growing to like it - and removing/replacing it would cost too much too - so all I can do is paint the cupboards. They're solid wood and good quality. Except I can't find a paint colour I like which goes with a cream range cooker and black worktops. Pale/whitish colours look too stark against black granite and I have 2 dogs so they will be a nightmare to keep clean. Most greys don't work with cream (I don't think?). Fashionable dark blues look ok with the Aga but not the granite. Greeny colours look a bit too country (Victorian town house)

Any suggestions, oh wise colour experts?

Yet again, thanks.

Mizzle is quite good, looks cleaner than some of the sludgy green/greys. And I have a tester for LG Pearl somewhere in the cellar. Mizzle on far right, will take a better photo in daylight. What do you think?

Stronger blues and greens are both bringing out the orange in the floor.

Valspar do a bluey grey called British Shorthair, which we have in our living room with cream, and it oooks great. Imtrt thar maybe - blue enough to go with the cream, grey enough to go with the black. Neutral enough to tone down the floor.

I have this combination! I have mizzle units with black enamel handles and French grey accents on other woodwork. By the way OP look into changing your aga to electric fired it willl cost a little upfront but cuts the cost by at least a quarter probably more.

Little Greene have beautiful paints. My favourite at the moment is Rolling Fog Mid. Much nicer than anything F&B have though probably a bit too pink for you. Normandy Grey is a beautiful green....

I know you said not green but it’s gorgeous

I've no idea what the cost implications would be, but have you thought about changing the colour of the aga if you really dislike it? aga colour change link

Floor paint?

www.littlegreene.com/paint/finish/floor-paint

I like Rolling Fog mid.

Looked into changing the colour of the Aga. Along with replacing the top enamel (looking worn) it would be just as cheap to buy another reconditioned Aga (about £3.5k from memory after trading in this one?) Interesting comment about converting to electric though, will investigate.

Of your swatches I like the one on the far left, the others are too blue/green for me.

Have you looked at Slipper Satin? It’s v changeable according to the light and what you put it with.

Long term are you keeping the floor? It’s beautiful but if not, yes, paint it.

Ha thought about floor paint but the same flooring extends through whole kitchen/diner/living, lounge, hall and downstairs shower room. I'm not sure even the best floor paint in the world could cope with 2 dogs and lots of traffic. And it may be too orange but it hides muddy footprints very well and, I suspect, was very expensive, and actually looks ok in the parts that aren't worn. Will eventually have it all re-sanded and see how it looks before it's resealed- may be able to stain it to more of a walnut colour? Not sure.

Thinking perhaps I should just go neutral on cupboards but even then I can't find the right bloody colour. Stony Ground (left card in pic) worked well in last kitchen with a less yellow cream range cooker and with black honed granite (looked dark grey) but isn't quite right now. Sigh.

Oooh a vote for stony ground will post picture in daylight.

Tried slipper satin in last kitchen (and used on walls elsewhere) but it was too stark (pale) against honed black/dark grey granite, so suspect it will look even more stark against shiny black granite. Asked the decorator to redo it the next day in stony ground which looked infinitely better

Would replacing the worktops be an option? Then you could do something lovely like Railings on the cupboards.

Are there tiles to contend with too?

How about Stony Ground wall cupboards and walls (or Shaded White walls) and Off-Black base units? That could work with both the polished granite (my least favourite worktop ever!) or if you changed them to oak.

No tiles, but I'd like to put some tiles behind the Aga in the chimney breast.

Railings I absolutely love (front door!) but it's too dark for the kitchen. If I did replace the worktops I'd go for a light granite or quartz. I had shaded white on walls of last kitchen, and dining and hall! Love it but fancy a change. I realise I'm being hard work

Is your middle swatch Mizzle? If yes, that's the one for me. Whichever you go for I'd def put 2 coats on a large piece of lining paper (1 F&B tester will get you 2 coats on about a metre of lining paper, right to the edges) and stick it in different parts of the kitchen. Good luck! (Your house looks lovely btw 😊)

I like the middle swatch best and then the 1st one on the left.

Middle is F&B Light Gray. Will take new pic now.

Gosh that's surprising but I think it looks really right in your pic. On my swatch thing here it looks darker than that. I'd say it's a gorgeous neutral.

Don't suppose there's a F&B shop near you. There's one in Bath where the manager is a magician at suggesting the right colour.

I like the middle swatch best too

However all your swatches look very light (eg I was surprised the far left is stony ground as it seemed too light). Did you use flash in the photo...?

Another vote for the gooseberry fool! That would look beautiful!

Also something akin to a duck egg blue, but a bit more muted, would work.

Don't go for white or grey, they will mute the cream.

I'll go to the F&B shop next week

I used a flash, but I'd say that they always look lighter when painted over a large area ie stony ground in last house looked like a pale neutral.

So light gray is on the short list! Daylight pic to follow when I get home..

Don't paint the floors it will become a dust trap and there is no need, wood is a neutral.

Pink.

I do love these! Not sure if I'm brave enough though.

Definitely won't be painting the floor, couldn't cope with high maintenance cleaning!