What do you think

So some really good news I am building a house even if it will take just a bit. I haven't even broke ground yet but I have big ideas for my kitchen. I plan to have black tile floors, with white cabinets, and black counter tops, white appliances (I don't like stainless), and light yellow walls, with a wooden island with a butchers block top, and a potrack/ light over it. And what I can't decide is if the yellow walls will work with it and if I should switch and make the cabinets black and the counters white. The kitchen is kind of going to have a country theme complete with my teapots and old saucers on display.

I love a country theme (my whole house is country), so i'm going to throw out a couple of suggestions, Gail.
I think a black and white them can work in a country house, but (in my opinion) the white needs to be an off white to keep it from looking too contemporary. I really like the idea of black tile flooring and counter-tops, especially if the counter tops have speckles of different colors in them.
I think yellow walls would be pretty, but you're going to have to find just the right yellow so there's not too big a contrast with the black---maybe more along the lines of a light gold. And if you could get yellow/gold flecks in the countertop, it would tie everything together.
Good choice on the white appliances; I don't care for stainless, either.

To me, yellow paint usually ends up looking kind of garish- maybe a pale green or blue? I also like the above suggestion of gold. I think it sounds like it will be gorgeous!

For the tile, I think it depends on the size of your kitchen. Black might make a small kitchen seem even smaller. And, black shows everything! We went with all black appliances and I regret it now. I try to keep a clean house, but I'm a very poor housekeeper and I found out that fridge DOES get dusty when it's black. I honestly never thought to dust the fridge until then . I'm sure it's the same with black floor. Especially with a light colored cat, you may want to go with a neutral color. A black floor in the kitchen sounds wonderful, but it should come with a cleaning lady!

I agree with a rich yellow/gold color instead of a bright yellow. Butter color may work, but since you're using white appliances and deeper color would set them off more.

Just a thought...could you get a tile with black and yellow accents that would tie everything together?

While it sounds lovely, I have to agree - black is difficult to keep clean. If you have hard water, any even little teeney splashes from your sink will show up, as does dust!!!!!

My parent's kitchen has yellow walls. Its what we call a "country" yellow. It's not a "blind your eyes" yellow nor is it a dull yellow. Its nice color that reminds me of a color you'd find inside a house in the country. It's very cheerful and it seems to bring the feeling of sun into the room. It has few windows and the few it does have seem not to let in much light.

Personally I wouldn't go with black tiles on the floor. the whole color combo seems like it may be a little too much like a bumblebee. I mean it would depend on the shade of yellow you go with but I've always thought that if you're going with a country theme then you can't beat hardwood floors. Up until the age of 8, I lived in Iowa. We have a friend of the family there that lives in a old house (bout 150+ years old) It has a yellow room with darker woodfloors and it is absolutely gorgeous!

I have Black Galaxy granite countertops.(Black with copper flecks) I love them. I think the black floor is what would bring "Contemporary" into the look, (not to mention black shows every speck of dirt just like white) If you go with black, go with a low luster finish, not shiny. Shiny will drive you nuts with footprints. Ceramic tile is also really nice.

Will the countertops be granite or corian (swanstone, etc...)? Both come with color mixes, so you can add a little accent color, to match your walls as well.

I love white cabinetry, but because I have 4 kids, white would have been asking for trouble. lol.

My walls are a light yellow, but my counter and cabinets are dark, so it lightened up the room. My floor is a terracotta porcelain, it has a mix of terra cotta, yellow,brown and the edges are beveled.

To make a room look bigger, use bigger tiles on the floor. My kitchen is 15 by 17 and I used 20 inch tiles to get a biiiig spacious look. The tiles are more expensive, but you won't need as many, so it evens out. You can also use white grout with black tiles to bring that into the room. OR you can go with one of the many new colored grouts to match your walls.

If you are really looking for a country look, black and white will be hard to do, but with a few tweaks you can achieve it. I'll neaten up my kitchen later on a post a pic so you can see. i have a country kitchen.

Didn't you just get a new job and were saving up to move out? How did this house building happen so fast?

So far as the colours go. I like the idea of yellow walls. But I suspect you will come to regret black floors and countertops. Black shows up the dirt very badly, not to mention streaks from washing. Not only that, but too much dark colouring will make the room look small. Plus add to that the "fad" colouring, will make your kitchen look dated very early on and could prove to be against you should you ever decide to sell that house years down the road. Not many home buyers want to rip out floors and counters to update their kitchen.

Why not black and white tiles?

Originally Posted by GailC

Why not black and white tiles?

Click to expand...

(has flashbacks to her own 1980's design ideas) NNOOOOOOO!!!!!

If you're going with a country feel, hardwood floors. You can do a laminate, or a bamboo flooring, and it has a sleek feel but not too contemporary. A medium to darker color of stain would be nice, in a warmer tone, which would warm up the feel of the room.

Solid surface counters... don't do tile counters... my parents did that and ... well... it's nasty all these years later... avoid grout lines on counters at all costs... ick. Corian counters are nice, and you can get a nice soft off-white, and match the cabinets...

Walls, well, I've never been a big fan of yellow, and it's a hard color to get just right. I'd do a pale blue, then use yellow in your accent pieces, like towels and crockery that sits on the counter. blue and yellow is a very traditional 'country' mix, and the blue is a nice soothing color.

Amanda

I really hope this is not the house your sister was to build for you.
I cant comment on the tiles as we just used the cheapest self stick tiles we could find. Good luck

I love the whole country cottage theme and I would love to do my house like that,I love creams,rose prints and florals really,shabby chic it is for me.x