Decorating ideas for a brown, brown and more brown kitchen

Reader Paige needs our help — she and her husband Dustin recently bought a 1960 ranch house, and they are struggling to decide what paint color would help liven up the brown, brown and more brown found throughout the kitchen and connected dining room. She isn’t a fan of the brown backsplash, flooring and countertops, but they will have to stay for now. Can we give Paige a few paint and decorating ideas to help add some color her kitchen? 

Looking from an adjacent space (the living room?) into the the dining room.

Paige writes:

I’ve been a follower of Retro Renovation for a long time and have seen you help fellow readers with paint! My husband and I just bought a 1960 ranch, and I am really struggling with what color to paint the kitchen/dining room.

Our kitchen is open to the dining room, and unfortunately the brown back splash and brown floor will have to stay for a while.

That, paired with the blonde woodwork and a wheat Heywood Wakefield table and chairs are really giving me some issues! I’m not attached to the upholstery on the chairs so that can be changed if need be!  I definitely want to go with color in the kitchen but everything I pick seems to clash with the floor. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

So, what can we do to help liven up all of that brown? We think there are a few key changes that can make a huge difference and up the happy factor in Paige’s kitchen:

• Light: Adding additional sources of bright light — like new, brighter ceiling lights — will help the space feel more cheery right away.
• Color: Between the brown wood cabinets and trim, brown tile floor, brown tile backsplash, brown countertop and beige walls, there is sure a lot of brown in Paige’s kitchen. The quick, easy and inexpensive way to fix this problem is to choose a cheery paint color for the walls, or maybe even a wallpaper accent wall.
• Rug: To further up the happy in Paige’s kitchen, we suggest getting a large area rug to place under the table in the dining area. This will not only add color and pattern to the space, but also help break up the large expanse of brown flooring.

Now, let’s see four options we came up with to help brighten up Paige’s brown kitchen.

Kate’s option 1: A happy aqua

In this option, I found a light colored cheery flower print indoor/outdoor rug that will contrast with the medium brown floor tiles and inject some life into the room. Next, I pulled the aqua blue flower color found in the rug and used that shade to paint the walls. This instantly refreshes the space! Playing off Paige’s Jere inspired starburst wall hanging, I also added a coordinating sputnik light fixture that will not only add interest but also more light to the space. Finally, a medium toned vintage wood starburst clock helps repeat just a little bit of the wood up on the walls. Paige could recover her dining chairs with a solid coral, green or aqua fabric and also use that fabric to make coordinating valences for above the sink and dining room window.

• Aqua walls — like Sherwin-Williams ‘Spa’
• Paige’s Heywood Wakefield dinette set
• Paige’s Jere inspired wall art
• Sputnik light from Practical Props
• Rug from Overstock.com
• Vintage starburst clock from Ebay

Kate’s option 2: Cheerful coral

This option — similar to option 1 but a good choice if Paige likes warm colors more than cool colors — I used the same light colored cheery flower print indoor/outdoor rug that will contrast with the medium brown floor tiles and inject some life into the room. Next, I pulled the coral flower color found in the rug and used that shade to paint the walls. This instantly refreshes the space! Playing off Paige’s Jere inspired starburst wall hanging, I also added a coordinating sputnik light fixture that will not only add interest but also more light to the space. Finally, a medium toned vintage wood starburst clock helps repeat just a little bit of the wood up on the walls. Paige could recover her dining chairs with a solid coral, green or aqua fabric and also use that fabric to make coordinating valences for above the sink and dining room window.

• Coral walls — like Sherwin-Williams ‘Persimmon’
• Paige’s Heywood Wakefield dinette set
• Paige’s Jere inspired wall art
• Sputnik light from Practical Props
• Rug from Overstock.com
• Vintage starburst clock from Ebay

Kate’s option 3: Kitschy kitchen wallpaper

In this option, I started with some fabulous vintage 1970s wallpaper with a kitschy kitchen themed print. So as not to overwhelm the space and save on cost, I would wallpaper just one wall as an accent wall. The remainder of the walls would be painted a cheery aqua, pulled from the wallpaper pattern. Next, I’d add a yellow area rug — another color pulled from the wallpaper pattern — to help brighten up the floor and add even more color. A classic globe ceiling light over the table would not compete for attention with the wallpaper, and would provide a nice amount of light in the space. A grouping of vintage wall plaques in coordinating colors to the wallpaper helps repeat the color scheme and ads a bit more kitsch to this kitchen. Finally, a medium toned vintage wood starburst clock helps repeat just a little bit of the wood up on the walls. Paige could recover her dining chairs with a yellow, green or aqua fabric matched to the wallpaper pattern and also use that fabric to make coordinating valences for above the sink and dining room window.

• 1970s wallpaper from Hannah’s Treasures
• Bright aqua walls that coordinate with the aqua in the vintage wallpaper — like Sherwin-Williams ‘Tantalizing Teal’
• Paige’s Heywood Wakefield dinette set
• Globe pendant light from Practical Props
• Rug from Overstock.com
• Vintage starburst clock from Ebay
• Vintage tree of life wall hanging from Ebay
• Vintage yellow flower and butterfly wall hanging from Ebay

Pam’s option 4: Warm and woodsy like Grandma’s kitchen

Pam here. The first thing I thought of when I saw Paige’s kitchen was to start with a braided rug, because this whole space has old-fashioned feel, like a knotty pine kitchen. In addition, that DELICIOUS Heywood Wakefield Dogbone set can skew old-timey or mid mod. So I went for a kitchen like my Grandma Agnes had. I found a Capel rug that would look good with the brown — kinda foresty. I looked for a cheery barkcloth that would add more pattern via matching valances for the two windows — hey, you could also do a cafe curtain on the bottom half of the dining room window, which would add even more cheer. Kate chose a dusty blue paint color taken the rug and the barkcloth. In this concept, I skipped a light for over the table thinking you may want to keep the existing fan with light, for function. And I found forest green fabric for the chair pads.

• Aqua blue wall paint — like Sherwin-Williams ‘Raindrop’
• Paige’s Heywood Wakefield dinette set
• Braided oval American Legacy rug in Pine Forest from Capel Rugs
• Maharam Messenger ‘Turf’ fabric from Modern Fabrics to recover the chair seats
• Martha’s Vineyard vintage barkcloth fabric from Ebay seller floridabungalow for window treatments
• Vintage starburst clock from Ebay
• Paige’s Jere inspired wall art

Ok, readers — here’s your chance to chime in. Which of these options do you like best for Paige’s kitchen? And: Feel free to add your own ideas to the comments, too!

Photo courtesy of April Engstrom.

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