Please help with a cream and white dilemma

[chelseamorning]

We moved house last year into a place with tired wallpaper and cream paintwork. In fact, the whole house is decorated in cream!

Now, nothing wrong with cream, I might add. However, because the decor is in such a desperate need of a makeover, I'd like to change it all to a warm shade of white to freshen it up.

The trouble is, we've chosen a new kitchen which is actually cream. We love it but I don't want to paint the kitchen walls cream as I'm just hating the colour.

So, the burning question is, would it look naff to have cream units in a kitchen with white walls/paintwork?

Thanks!

I think there's a chance it'll make your units look grubby/yellowed rather than cream.

How about having some colour in the kitchen .. it doesnt need to be in your face colour but an art shade? It will contrast with the cream units and make them look far nicer than cream on cream or cream on white!

Yes, think so too soupdragon. How about a darker cream or oatmeal type colour? Lighter beige shades are everywhere just now. My bedroom looks lovely in focus brand of 'tirimisu'

That's my fear, SoupDragon!

I'm really loathed to paint the kitchen walls cream as the house just feels dirty with its cream outdated wallpaper and stained cream paintwork!!! I need a complete change.

Clean fresh creamy colours are a world away from dirty tired old wallpaper

Green seems to be popular now too ...

Oh, I love cream/beige etc as colours. However I don't want them for this house as it needs a complete overhaul and a complete change.

I wonder what colours I can introduce into the room, Bodiddly, to blend with a cream/white decor. Any ideas????

Are you having tiles? If so, maybe try and pick out the colour of the tiles (perhaps in a lighter shade) for the walls. It can be really subtle colour.

What is on the floors?

how about blue walls, or a pale delicious yellow?

We had yellow walls in my last kitchen, a very soft yellow called Buttermilk. Will look lovely with cream.

Incidentally, would a cream decor with cream kitchen units look too much?!

I am not a Farrow and Ball fan but one way of doing it is to get the F&B sample chart and stick it on the wall and see which colours your eye is drawn to. The colours are usually quite soft and you will have a feel for what works in the room. Make sure you look in natural and artificial light though as colours change drastically! If you find something you like you can colour match to a Dulux range where you can scrub/wash the walls down if they get dirty!

A friend has a cream kitchen and has one wall in a matt evergreen colour (called Chelsea green oddly enough ). The rest of the walls are in a magnolia type colour (one of the Dulux mixer colours, not actually magnolia). It took a while getting the right colour to go with the units.

The floor will be a mid-grey Porcelanosa tile. We're not sure of any wall tiles or splashbacks yet.

Thanks for the colour suggestions. I was (rigidly) thinking of having the same wall colour throughout the house but perhaps I'll have to have a rethink if the kitchen won't work.

An interesting suggestion, SoupDragon. And perhaps one which will fit in with my desire to have a uniformly white house - but with one wall in the kitchen different! Ah-ha!!

we had a soft shade of white throughout our house. That yellow kitchen became my favourite room. I walked in every morning, and was instantly cheered up.

I tell you, the way to a happy life is a yellow kitchen!

I know what you mean, Quint. I had a yellow kitchen in a flat I rented as a student and, as it was east facing, it was fantastic to walk into every morning. The room just glowed with sunlight.

However, THIS kitchen is north west facing so doesn't get much direct light.

Incidentally, Quint, do you remember the shade of white you used?! We've been looking at loads for weeks and we're a bit snow blind!

It was Dulux buttermilk for kitchens. It is very soft and not "in your face". We had a north facing kitchen and did not get much direct sunlight. It really brightened it up.

It was actually lemon tropics

That's nice!

I think I need to be less rigid about the colour scheme in the house. The compromise might have to be the kitchen - and that shade of yellow could really brighten up a dark room. Thanks, Quint.

Sorry about the buttermilk confusion. It was lemon tropics, i checked the website.

It looks quite bright as you apply it, then it calms down as it dries.

When we first moved into the house, the kitchen walls were pink. Ghastly! We had to find a colour that would hide it well, and so chose a yellow kitchen. But like I said, the rest of the house was very colourless, so I loved the kitchen.

Whatever you do, I hope you will enjoy it!

Fab, thanks, Quint. Perhaps the kitchen will be the big feature of our house too. A real statement. It's a real hole at the moment and it's depressing to work in so it'll be an absolute joy to give it a makeover!

Incidentally, what soft shade of white did you use in your house?

ohh. now you ask a tricky question. The kitchen is easy to remember as we repainted 2 years ago. I only remember we were torn between jasmine white, natural calico and wicker for the rest of the house.....

Well I have had it with white! I have this sort of 'rule' that woodwork should be white but having painted my hall and kitchen every year I am now going to paint the skirting boards taupe and the walls stone.

Cream and white looks very stylish together.I have ivory dulux matt walls throughtout the stairs and landing with white doors skirtings amd cornicing and it looks lovely.Simple and elegant but not as cold pure white.have white in kitchen though everywhere cabinets walls ceiling but have red tiles.