Painting a kitchen, colour advice for old house?

My mums very old, cold house has a massive kitchen with lots of uneven walls to emulsion and lots of wood to gloss. At the moment the walls are sky blue and the woodwork is sunflower yellow, so nice and bright. We want a complete change in colour scheme but we haven't a clue, it's been this colour for about 15 years so nervous to change it and make a mistake - any ideas, please! The wood has to be painted not stripped, some of it is chipboard covering pipes etc. Had a look at Farrow and Ball found some ideas thanks .....Wow, moved 16 times! I was thinking of 3 colours, you've given me lots of ideas something to thinik about (for ages)!

Public Comments

1. Let the wife choose after all she is the one who will be in there.
2. I always go for light and airy myself. Paint all woodwork white (gloss always looks nice and is easy to clean as opposed to eggshell which marks easily). If you want a beige tone, use Delux Toasted Almond or Antique Cream in matt. If you want totally washable matt paint try Crown Egyptian Cotton - I can't remember the name of the washabable paint from Crown - I think it is called Endurance but it's fab.
3. warm very dark red or ruby with eggshell on the woodwork
4. I was going to suggest traditional colours for the kitchen, which are yellow and blue. So that's me stumped. The reason that yellow and blue were used in kitchens was to keep flies away. I was told that flies do not like the colour combination.
5. Peach would be nice and warm, with white woodwork. My bathroom walls are 'winter sun', I think that would look lovely. I hope you find something suitable.
6. Paint the walls either lemon or very pale green. woodwork should be white gloss.
7. I would go for terracotta and mustard (dark) yellow. Keep wood in elderly houses white or magnolia/off white, if you are not stripping it. Sounds grim I know, but it works. Blue is very cold and even colder matched with bright yellow. You need nice autumnal colours in mellow shades to relax and warm the feel of the room. Keep lighting in the kitchen bright. I have a blue daylight bulb in mine as it gives off a white light. (good for bathrooms too). Why not get some match pots and experiment with the colours before committing.
8. Go to your local decorators and ask to see the Farrow and Ball paint range. These paints are 'traditional' colours which as your Mum has an old house, they sound as though they would be perfect for you. Also look through some house magazines for the way kitchens are decorated, they may give you some ideas. The link i have added will tell you where your local suppliers are. Have a look I hope you like it.
9. Picking a color is really a personal choise. I've been a painting contractor for 30 years and i go through this every job, what color to pick. I like painting my cabinets and ceilings white (off white not stark white) then pick a nice color for the walls something that will compliment any other rooms that can be seen from the kitchen so colors flow throughout the house. If you have good lighting in the kitchen you can use a darker color if you like if not stay with lighter colors. make sure you use some kind of shine weather it be eggshell semi or high gloss for easy cleaning avoid flat in kitchens and baths.
10. have a look at the Dulux range they have some good schemes don't use cheep DIY brands of paint use something like Dulux
11. Who spends the most time there? [ cook ] Use the cook's fav color and one that complements it. I like butter yellow [ soft yellow ] and hunter green, or peach and sage green. If the woodwork is green, it will go with a lot of color changes for the walls. [ peach, yellow, ivory, aqua, rose ]. Other combos: rose, burgundy with white peach, terra cotta with ivory butter, gold with ivory sage, hunter with white or ivory aqua, teal with ivory smoke blue, gray with white lavender, plum with white caramel, espresso with ivory