Paint colour for kitchen cupboards - help for a non visual luddite

[sharmck]

I want to paint my kitchen cupboards cream (something mid range not too white not too clotted) and am staring at farrow&ball and fired earth colour charts endlessly but can't visualise. We've got black granite, black oven and slate-ish floor. I can't go blueygray on the units (tho I love it) because there's a old sofa in there that's claret and sand gold (mostly claret, its a woven diamond pattern, sounds hideous I know but it's better in the flesh. Also it's a darkish room (barn conversion with tiny windows). The rooms surrounded my units and itsn't huge so nothing overwhelming. Has anyone used any shades and look good? (Sorry about all the detail, I think I've just poured my thoughts out!)

I painted kitchen cabinets Oyster colour by Fired Earth. Dark room, with sandy yellow walls. Oyster is cream but not yellowish at all.
What about just pinning up a piece of unpainted lining paper on cupboard (a sort of parchment cream colour) and seeing what effect is en masse?
I know someone who painted bottom cupboards in a north facing kitchen auberginey dark red and top cupboards a farrow and ball v. light parchment colour. She found all cream too insipid after four years in the kitchen.

Personally I think the whiter the cream the better in a very dark room.

Pity that blue-grey won't work as I had F&B Parma Grey on my last kitchen and I loved it!

My current kitchen is F&B New White (so that it matches some Ikea cupboards) - but it is a very warm cream so don't know if it's what you are after. I do have some bits in a claret colour which look great with it though... My walls are a very pale grey.

I like Elephant's Breath too but might be the wrong shade for your room?

What about a brown reddy colour?

Can I hijack please, and ask a dumb question - we're planning on painting our kitchen cupboards either cream or duck egg blue - if we do the blue then we don't have to paint the cream walls - you're all talking Fired Earth and F&B - are these special cupboard paints? Do you think they're the best? And do they do it in a pale blue?

I don't think that F&B have special cupboard paints - but they are very durable, good coverage etc, esp if you use the oil eggshell. I painted my last kitchen (which was horrid orange pine) in the Parma Grey (which is a pale blue really) and it was still in good nick 8 years later...

You should be able to order a colour chart on-line or Homebase stocks a limited ranger.

Thanks grapefruit I'll have a look.

Thanks everyone. I'm liking both FE oyster and FB new white (both look v similar) and will definitely try the lining paper idea, especially given I am a bit scared of it looking bland all cream. I may try just doing the top cupboards or bottom cupboards first and then seeing if it looks to much I could do the others a slightly different shade maybe. Does anyone know whether you'd usually go darker on the base units or darker on the top? (Im guessing from your friend swanriver that its darker on the bottom) x

I would say darker on the bottom.

hi all

am just nearing the end of the same process myself. Here are my tips:

...for colour advice re: farrow and ball rush out now and buy this month's (March) Homes and Gardens - it comes with a free supplement from Farrow and Ball with a guide to their colours and combining them with wall colours - v.imp is the bit at the back that tells you the base colours of their key neutrals - they're either red, yellow, warm grey or cool grey. btw - i think new white can look green!

...not in the above guide - but mentioned in the above magazine - Slipper Satin looks off-white in almost all situations (ie. not yellowy / peachy / blue)

...definitely do the lining paper test - and look at the colours from above, as well as when they're hanging over your cupboards with + without artificial light AND at different times of day

...use www.plainenglishdesign.co.uk/longhouse.html for inspiration.

...check out another online community www.livingetc.com/forums/ for some lovely ideas and really helpful people who seem dead happy to discuss colours - including one lady (sorry haven't been able to find link) that posted lots of details about her Plain English kitchen that was painted in White Tie

pistachio

Our kitchen units are F&B Pointing and I think it's the perfect cream - not too white and definitely not too clotted cream/buttery. and it goes great with our black range