Paint is one of the more affordable and easy ways to lighten and brighten your kitchen and give it a new decorating scheme. You can keep your kitchen painting simple and just use stencils to add a painted trim to cabinets, floors or walls, or you can paint an accent wall or the whole room. The best aspect about painting your kitchen is that you can quickly embellish or change the paint if your preferences shift.
1 Gather inspiration from website, decorating magazines, catalogs, websites and the homes of friends and family. The do-it-yourself decorating movement has prompted many people to take a brush in hand and try new color combinations, patterns and projects. You can avoid white but still stay with basic neutrals on walls, floors or architectural elements by trying a sunny yellow, stone gray, faded cornflower blue, pale earth tone or eggshell.
2 Consider your range of paint types. In the kitchen you need more durable, high quality paint that can stand up to stains, spills and repeated washing. Low sheen and semi-gloss styles of paint do a decent job of covering up the daily smudges that occur and provide a slick enough surface for washing with soap and water.
3 Try paint colors in different combinations. Accent walls can provide a bright pop of color in an otherwise plain room. Update those Scandinavian modern white cabinets by adding a mango orange or fuchsia back splash with paint. Add sunny yellow or periwinkle blue to a kitchen that gets less natural light. Warm up your kitchen with rustic red or pumpkin orange, or keep it cool with ocean blue and greens. Go shabby chic with icy pastels or bohemian modern with layers of colors and patterns.
4 Do other painting projects in the kitchen. Cover a brick wall with antique whitewash or stone gray paint to give it a distressed look. Old wooden floors may only need some stain and polish to make them look their best, or give them an update with a painted trim applied with stencils. Paint the trim of cabinets or shelves with a bright stripe of color, or add an image to cabinet doors for an artisan touch.
5 Create texture with faux finishes. Use sand in the paint or crackle finish to give painted surfaces the appearance of wear and tear. Also paint different layers of color on a wooden surface, and sand away at the topcoat to reveal the colors underneath.
