Decorating a Kitchen
Co-ordinate your new kitchen with the main floor decor
If your kitchen is open to other areas of the home it is important to make sure the kitchen decor flows with the rest of the main floor. You want your living space to feel connected and a co-coordinated color scheme is a great way to accomplish this. I am not suggesting that everything has to be the same color; rather that the basic finishes are repeated. If there is a dark brown hardwood in the living or family room repeat this color in the cabinets or kitchen furniture.
In this room you can see how the flooring and the wall color continue into the kitchen. It would not work as well if there was a break in the flooring from family room to kitchen. You can choose a different paint color for the kitchen however. If you do not have a lot of wall space you might this opportunity to use a darker shade of paint to accent the cabinets. It could be a darker shade of the family room color.
When decorating a kitchen keep in mind that the room is a part of the overall main floor. Continuing the flooring will make several small adjoining rooms feel larger and more connected to each other. You want your home to flow together with different accents in each area but keeping the basic tones similar.
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Having lived in a lot of different homes over the years I have also lived with different types of flooring in the kitchen and family room areas. Tile is great but I will always opt for hardwood in the future when I am remodeling. It is just so great to walk on and stays warm underfoot. I always had a problem with the grout between the tiles and could not keep it clean.
Hardwood just does not have a downside. It is not affected by water as much as you would think. I had a pipe burst in my bathroom above the kitchen. The new oak hardwood floor was soaked for days and the center area was cupping. I just did not get around to replacing it and to my surprise found that after 6 months all the damage was gone and the planks were flat again.
After that extreme condition I know now that no water spills will ever affect the floor as long as you wipe them up right away. So go ahead and install your favorite hardwood throughout your main floor knowing you will love it for many years to come.
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The gold and red decor in this kitchen shows how you can use two different colors that coordinate because they are combined in the kitchen window coverings and the family room carpet and accessories. Even the backsplash includes these tones of red and gold.
Note that the choice of white cabinets and counter with dark wood flooring gives you the ability to change to any other color scheme in future decorating. A kitchen is an easy room to change since there is not a lot of wall space to paint or window coverings to update.
Selecting a color scheme is best done before you choose any of the finishes for the kitchen. It is important to have an overview of what you want the finished room to look like before you start. This will act like a road map and make all your decisions much easier. If you don’t know where you are going, you will never get there!
Inspiration can come from a photo, a favorite granite or a cushion fabric. From there choose the basic neutral colors for the main areas such as flooring, cabinets and counter. Then add style and flair with wall color, furniture and window coverings. Lastly add personal touches in art, accessories and fabrics.
Check out the decorating page for more ideas
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