Renovate Your Kitchen With Paint

You may think your kitchen needs a complete makeover. But does it? Are there some perceived issues with the kitchen that can be fixed with paint? Paint will not get you that new refrigerator, fix the garbage disposal or increase your storage space, but smartly-applied paint and colors can transform your kitchen and how you view it.

Vertical Jump

You would no sooner put on a sweater with horizontal stripes after a Thanksgiving meal than you would paint a small kitchen with horizontal stripes. Instead, apply the opposite theory and use vertical stripes to add the illusion of taller walls and a more spacious kitchen.
* For a delicate touch, paint pinstripes or super skinny stripes in white on the largest wall in the kitchen.
* If the room is divided horizontally by two colors of paint, or is half paint and half paneling, paint the walls all one color. Yes, you can paint over paneling that's been primed.

Ceilings: Too High, Too Low

Believe it or not, bigger is on the way out. People are craving spaces that are more cozy, or at least feel that way. If your kitchen ceiling feels too high, you are lucky because your choice in hanging lights is pretty broad. How to make a kitchen with a high ceiling feel cozier and more down to earth:
* Paint the ceiling in a dark hue.
* Choose a tinted white color for the ceiling, except when you get to the top of the walls, don't stop painting. Create your own imaginary border, drawing the ceiling down closer to you by painting a portion of the top of the walls the same color as the ceiling. You can paint down the wall one foot, two, or to the halfway mark.

The opposite holds true for ceilings that are too low. Since darker paint color on the kitchen ceiling makes it appear that the ceiling is closer to you, a lighter hue will make it seem further away.
* If your ceilings are too low, you need to brighten them up with a light color of paint, or a bright white.
* Use a white tinted with a color that is complementary to your wall color, for greater contrast than you will get with pure white ceiling paint.

"Shhhh," Says the Paint

Make a tiny or small kitchen feel bigger, or at least less like a Hobbit home by sticking with a simple color palette.
* Forget the multi-colored painting scheme and choose one light and pleasing color in the blue or green color family.
* Paint everything the same color and only stray slightly from the original paint color when painting trim and adding accessories. Stick with colors on the same paint swatch to keep colors harmonious.