Back to Work Day?
 

So we're back to the German S&M thing?

decorating ideas
 

So, I'm moving into a place that, in the kitchen, has black and white tile counters and black appliances. The cabinets are sort of a whitewashed/pickled oak. I can't afford to replace the counters or cabinets now, but it feels cold and I want to warm it up. What paint color might do that? Any ideas?

decorating ideas
 

Something bright. Exactly what depends on how much color is in the cabinets. My kitchen (with white cabinets and mostly white tile countertops, wood floors) is screaming chartreuse/lime. Whatever you do, I would stick with a warmer shade. Red is said to increase appetite, one reason it is frequently used in dining rooms (along with how great it makes people look with candlelight; I'm currently considering a dark red for my own dining room).

tm

decorating ideas
 

I'm not really comfortable with bright red. I'm not really a primary color kind of person. The cabinets are fairly light and more cool than warm. Maybe a brightish medium/dark blue? There's not a ton of wall space -- cabinets and the refrigerator cover much of the walls, and there's a passthrough/bar over the sink area. The only appliances I would really have on the counter are a matte grey metallic mixer and maybe a black coffeemaker.

decorating ideas
 

Have you thought of green? It will hide the mildew better, Suzy Homemaker.

decorating ideas
 

I took the cabinet doors off, leaving only shelves. I have brightly colored fiestaware dishes, and it added a lot of color to the room with only a couple of twists of a screwdriver. The downside is that I do have to keep the shelves relatively tidy.

decorating ideas
 

Don't you mean tiddy?

decorating ideas
 

Bright /= primary. And the fact that there is very little exposed wall space means you can go lots brighter, and darker, than you otherwise would have.

As for blue, I seriously considered it for my kitchen, because the trim on my tile countertops is a periwinkle-ish blue. Then one particularly gray day I looked out the window and at the blue paint chips and realized my kitchen would be pretty, but not cheery, if I did that. However, Texas has a much different climate than we do here, and a nice blue may be just what you need to counteract the screaming sunshine outside.

Get the biggest chips you can (Miller, based here, has chips about the size of a dollar bill; there's also a company that sells poster-sized paint chips for $5 ea), and don't be afraid to try test swatches.

tm

decorating ideas
 

If you own the place, and there's really not much surface area, consider a nice tile bar area/backsplash/other surround. It's easy as fuckall to slap tile on these areas with a little practice, and you can experiment and consider how different things look without too much concern (e.g. throw a few of them on the horizontal bar area for a few days, or attach pictures of them (or swatches, if you are handy enough to do it without it being permanent).

I have seen some very cool approaches in such situation involving what is called "subway tile." It comes in square foot sheets of 16 pieces by 16 pieces or so . Within the sheets the tiles are random, mostly a dullish cream (you can get different finishes, though) with some very lights swirls and spots of light, bright colors (pinks, yellows, reds). I really like the small size of the individual tiles.

Summary: there are all sorts of cool things that you can do with tile.

decorating ideas
 

Thanks for the input, all (except flinty -- there's no mildew!!!!!!!). The counters are tile now and I can't afford to rip them out so any tile stuff I might do would have to coordinate. I'm not so good at that.

I will need to think more. I'm kind of worried blue won't go with the black parts of the tile and the appliances.

decorating ideas
 

terracotta

Settle a bet with a feisty coworker.
 

Is the following a run-on sentence, or not?

• Careful, the beverage you are about to enjoy is extremely hot.

P.S. If you are this coworker, shut the fuck up or I'll douse you with a beverage I would have enjoyed.

decorating ideas
 

I've got stainless appliances, dark granite countertops, exposed brick, and lots of afternoon light. It's a fairly cold room. I picked a neat plum color highlight out of the brick and it has really warmed up the space.

Terracotta sounds nice too. Red - nah, too glitzy, but I really like maroons.

Settle a bet with a feisty coworker.
 

I think that a semi-colon is probably the more appopriate punctuation, but I don't think it's a run-on. My second choice would be colon. Two independent clauses should be separated by a conjunction, a colon, or a semi-colon. I guess it depends on whether or not you think "careful", with the implied "be", is an independent or dependent clause.

Settle a bet with a feisty coworker.
 

I can't reconcile this. If a semicolon is the appropriate punctuation, it's a run-on sentence, no?

My feisty coworker was telling me that it's not a run-on because there is an implied "because." I told em that I was unaware of the "implied because" doctrine that excuses run-on sentences. Em is otherwise very bright (hi, em!) but, bitch, please --- "implied because"?