If you can't stand the heat....

Q: Dear Bill,
In my kitchen I have black granite counter tops, honey maple shaker cabinets, red oak hardwood floors, and a brick fireplace. What Benjamin Moore color would you recommend? The foyer leading into the kitchen has marble tile, and the foyer walls have a raspberry Shumacher large traditional paper on them. The adjacent dining room is a very neutral beige.

I'm leaning towards natural wicker, but afraid it will turn green. The kitchen is not dark, but it’s not a sun catcher either. The trim color is mayonnaise.
Thank you!
Joan

A: You must be a very warm person because you sure do like warm colors! With all the honey maple, red oak, brick fireplace and raspberry paper you need to cool down a bit. Oh and by the way ... what's wrong with green? The perfect lozenge to those warm colors would be cool shades of blues, grays and greens. You never want to have a room that is all warm or all cool colors and you never want a 50/50 mix either. With this balance, colors will fight with each other rather than compliment each other. Try and shoot for a 75/25 mix to have a pleasing effect. So, back to you Joan, you seem to have the 75%... now chill a bit on the walls. Pick cool neutral shades like Healing Aloe (1562), Gentle Gray (1624), Windy Sky (1629) or Mountain Mist (868). Although I would need to be in your space and light, I can assure you that these soothing shades will compliment your warm tones and go with your neutral trim and dining room .... "if you can't stand the heat then get out of the kitchen" will not apply!

Color Questions

About Bill Baccini

Bill Baccini has a degree in textile design and has worked in the field in New York for 18 years. He has traveled extensively throughout Europe researching trends in fabric and color, attending color seminars and trade shows and lecturing national and international clients on color and its applications. Bill was on the board of the Color Association of the U.S for 11 years, a member of the Color Marketing Group for 14 years and edited a New York color and trend publication with an international distribution. Mr. Baccini studied with Leatrice Eiseman, Executive Director of the Eiseman Center for Color Information and Training and Executive Director of the Pantone Color Institute. Simultaneously, since 2000, Bill has worked as a freelance interior designer and color consultant, with a client base ranging from New York to Washington D.C. He is currently an adjunct faculty member at Philadelphia University.

For a personal color consultation, contact Bill at bbaccini@cavtel.net