Color Enhances Family-Friendly Kitchen

This young couple has an expanding family in an ever-shrinking home. They recently finished the kids' rooms and are ready to start on the next and most important room: the kitchen. Since renovations are a costly option, color is an inexpensive way to change this family-friendly kitchen.

Sean and Jennifer like their light maple floor, but the tan granite-look countertops and backsplash have to go. The white cabinets blend in too much, and the dark cat wallpaper border is downright scary. They enjoy traveling to Mexico and find the colors there refreshing and alive; they'd like to bring that feeling into their bland kitchen.

Although they are initially drawn to lime green and deep purple, Sean and Jennifer compromise on a pale cactus green for their kitchen walls. Dark, granite-look laminate countertops provide a lot of contrast to the pale walls and maple floor. A custom radiator cover extends the countertop underneath the window. The cabinets are painted coconut brown. For the backsplash, a custom mix of tumbled stone-look tiles draws the eye up to a row of cactus green mosaic tiles surrounding terra-cotta tiles. The mosaic row is arranged near the top so it's not hidden by canisters and other countertop items.

Blackboard paint and a simple white frame create a focal point on an adjacent blank wall. The words "cappuccino," "tea," "salt," "pepper," "flour," "soup" and others are stenciled around the blackboard for a fun feature wall.

Did you know? Time seems to pass faster in green rooms.