Bistro Look With New Venetian Gold Granite
Hi Tom. I am in the process of buying a townhome from a builder that I almost passed up due to the granite selection, Venetian Gold. It is a spec home and I don’t have the option of changing it. I took some friends by to look at it and give their thoughts. They liked the stone, but one suggested that the tile flooring and backsplash is not a good match. The current tile is a creamy, yellowish color with a little veining. With that suggestion, I’m growing to like the Venetian Gold, but am not sure what color tile and b/s I should have it replaced with, as well as the paint choice.
My cabinet color is called cherry spice - 42″ meet the ceiling, canned lighting, appliances stainless steel with black trim. The kitchen is open to the living area and breakfast nook, both covered with wood flooring of a med reddish brown color, living area ceiling height is a full two floors. My furniture style is contemporary, but not a cold urban loft look.
I would appreciate your suggestions for tile and paint color to maintain a sort of coffee house/bistro sort of look with this granite color.
Shari
Hello Shari,
Even though you are working around the constraints of stainless appliances with black trim and New Venetian Gold Granite, you can still achieve the coffee house/bistro ambiance. The granite color is quite popular and tames the kitchen enough to allow you to go bolder with the paint. Paint is a funny thing because it can totally sell a home for top dollar if it is the right color, but if the color is wrong, buyers usually look past it and just imagine another color to change to after they own it.
The coffee house, bistro feel would work well with New Venetian Gold and Cherry Spice cabinets. Leave the floor as is. For the backsplash, I suggest Roman tumbled travertine (4″x4″) set on a 45 degree angle with almond grout. Now! Here is the fun part. Consider a blue or sage green paint for one wall as an accent. Paint the other walls to match the floor kitchen floor walls (creamy/yellowish). If the accent wall gets a lot of natural light, forget the blue and go with sage green. Blue is very tricky and it needs to be a purple/blue, as shown in the photo below, to warm the room up. I like this best but if it gets too much natural light it will turn everything in the room blue, including your face! In which case, go with a sage green and even consider matching the carpet in the living area. See the sage green carpet swatch below, also.
The goal is to darken up the area a little to get the coffee house mellowness but you need more color than just the New Venetian Gold offers. Going this route also allows for future buyers to change the whole décor but just changing the paint color. Also, it sounds like your furniture will go well in this setting as well.
My best wishes!
Tom
November 13th, 2007 at 5:44 am
Tom:
I am redoing a kitchen in a 1770 house in Litchfield, Ct. The NVG granite seems to lend itself well with the character of the house and what will be wide planked wooden floors stained a med. brown/red to match the rest of the house and light maple cabinets. Stainless steel appliances and a farm sink in white. (The granite has not yet been selected and someone suggested Kashmir white but to me it does not seem to fit as well in this old house though perhaps would blend better than NVG with appliances and the old dark steel oven which is embedded in the center wall of the hearth?)
There are four windows facing south and will be french doors leading to a terrace which will be built into the gardens.
Thank you for suggestions on color for the walls. I do like bright and agree that the color can make or break the place.
January 5th, 2008 at 12:35 pm
Hi Tom,
I am in the process of remodeling my kitchen, the granite I
selecetion is Venetain Gold. My cabinets color is honey maple
and my appliances is stainless steel with black. But I am not sure what color tile for the floor and for the b/s, and what color paint for the wall. I would appreciate your suggestion
to help me bring it all togetter.
Jean