Golden

Still to finish in the kitchen is this one upper cabinet next to the fridge.

When I started planning the kitchen renovation, a few of the things high on

my list were hiding the microwave and adding a TV.  Having this little space

tucked next to the fridge seemed to provide the golden opportunity to get both.

I think I mentioned earlier that I was painting the back of the cabinet

a dark color called Ben Moore Deep Creek.  I learned in my art

training that your eye goes to the area of highest contrast so the

idea behind the dark color is to "hide" the microwave and the TV.

And then I'll use white pieces of pottery to further draw your eye

away from these things.  An interesting experiment if nothing else.

I've quickly staged it with a few things so you see what I mean.

But this little area has also proven to be a challenge.

The original plan was to have a full-sized microwave but my ductwork

guys thought this would be the best location for the heating duct to the

upstairs bedroom which left me only 16 inches for a microwave.

I know they make tiny microwaves that will hold a mug but imagine

how psyched I was when I found a 15-1/2-inch model (Whirlpool)

that still holds a full-sized dinner plate.  It's perfect actually.

And deciding what paint colors to put where is driving me crazy...

this side panel on the fridge especially.

It starts out at the floor where I feel it should be the same gray as the cabinets...

...up to the top where white feels right.

If I start with dark gray at the bottom, I'd have to carry that all around

the fridge...

...and quite possibly around the corner on to the wall.  Nothing feels perfect.

How would you feel about an ombre treatment?

Anyway, while I mull that over, I'm thinking about staining

the wood of the upper cabinet to match (as closely as possible)

the bin drawers.  The two sets of bin drawers are pretty close

to each other so having that upper cabinet match those

would really help balance things out.

It looks like it's somewhere between Golden Pecan and Golden Oak.

If I can make it match, I'll be golden.