Quiet colors of paint and wood stains can create a vibrant room.
Lilac and gray are subdued colors, so working with them in the same room can be tricky. The secret to achieving beautiful, not bland, is to vary intensities, use lots of white and focus on texture. Experiment with paints and surface colors under different light sources, because some grays and most purples change in various lights and can go flat and brownish or just look gloomy. Try the combination in a long eat-in refectory kitchen located in a typically awkward space, such as a loft. Use every surface for a mix of subtle shades.
Instructions
1. Start at the top. Paint the ceiling plum purple. Keep crown moldings, all trim and the walls and window frames in dazzling white. To reflect natural light from the windows, use medium gloss paint on the purple ceiling.
2. Install a line of silvered gray wood cabinets along one wall that look like bleached teak or salty driftwood. Keep the backsplash white in either tile or the same paint as the walls. A white composite countertop or a slab of white marble or very pale limestone keeps the work area bright.
3. Tackle the wood floor with painter's tape and a tape measure. First paint the wood floor stark shiny white and give it at least two coats for good coverage. Create a large polygonal pattern that looks like light falling through an octagonal or hexagonal mullioned window.
If this seems too ambitious, just measure the floor into diamonds, tape the lines and paint every other one. Use a light gray, such as dove gray, for the design on the floor, leaving the open or alternate spaces white. Seal the floor with a clear protective coat.
4. Strip an old farm or refectory wood table and stain the wood a very pale lilac. Hire a professional to work on it offsite if the table can't safely and easily be stripped in the space. Wax-finish the stained wood or coat it with low gloss polyurethane. Position the table in the center of the room between powder gray cabinets and the windows. Surround it with spare black modern or Ming design chairs.
5. Hang a line of white paper pendants or a contemporary glass chandelier over the table and set a line of jam jars full of violets down the center. Keep the room uncluttered, the counters clear and the dishes plain white for a low-key, high-energy, eat-in kitchen that's light on color and long on style.
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