Decorating and Design - Kitchen & Bathroom Decorating Help!

My husband and I have just bought our first house and it needs some definite updating. The bathroom and kitchen are the initial rooms in need. First of all, they both have carpeted floors, which will be the first area of attack. We would like to put tile in the bathroom and tile or pergo flooring in the kitchen. I come into trouble deciding what color to paint the walls in order to coordinate it with what is already there.

The kitchen is small and does not have a table in it. It has a yellow sink, white appliances, but a brown stove :eek: We cannot afford to replace these right now, but would like to find a wall color to compliment them. Also, the aluminum cabinets are a yellow creamy color and the counters a light wood. I thought of painting the cabinets and trim white, but do not know what to do with the walls. I would like to bring together a sunflower theme. Any ideas?

The bathroom is also pretty small. It has a yellow sink, toilet and bathtub with dark brown wood trim. It also has dark and light blue tile halfway up the wall. I though of incorporating either a moon & sun theme or ocean. However, I can't stand the old wallpaper that is currently there and need to find a nice color to paint the upper wall with. Any ideas would be wonderful!

Thank You!

if you paint the kitchen cabinets white, i'd go with a yellow on the walls; something in the same family as the sink, but maybe lighter. if the cabinets are currently a color that blends well with the sink, then i'd leave them alone & use a richer version of the cabinet color on the walls to tie all the yellows together. if you find sunflower print fabric and/or a sunflower border FIRST, then you can pick the exact colors you'll need. if you can't find a border, get a stencil & use whatever colors you like. if you want to get a little more creative, you could paint stripes or checks on the walls in a yellow/white combo. or do a sponge or rag faux treatment with the same colors. kitchens are a great place to do more fun/whimsical decorating, that you might not feel would be appropriate for, say, your living room. so get creative! (and don't forget the ceiling!)

as for your bathroom - the moon & sun theme would definitely bring the yellow & blue together. again, i'd find some accessories FIRST and then decide what color you can pull out to use on the walls. if you decide on a blue color for the walls, maybe you could put yellow on the ceiling.

here's a TIP: when picking out paint colors for walls, it truly makes it easier if you'll find SOMETHING for the paint to go WITH, as opposed to just picking a random color out of thin air. (see my Stickie at the top of this forum called Choosing Paint Colors 101). once you have the "thing" in hand (be it a wallpaper border/fabric/towels/placemats/picture/etc...) then your choices become much more clear and, thankfully, limited!