Bright colors. Blue would be great. Red would be overwhelming, but would go with the cabinets. Not orange, and yellow would be difficult. Green and purple would also be a bit difficult to pull off.

Some shade of blue. The shade depends on whether you want the kitchen area to stand out at all. I think navy would set off the cherry cabinets, but it would define the kitchen area perhaps more than you want. If that's the case, then a clear, light blue with grey undertones.

Hi, I am sorry if you are not the correct person but it appears that you might have listed a Brandon Pottery Barn rug a while ago. If so, is it still available? My email address is skenyeres@comcast.net if you are interested in selling.

thank you,

susan

nice kitchen!
i think a solid dark gray wall would be dull on it's lonesome. your print is great! what about recreating it? or reinterpreting it? large (simple) graphics in neutrals would help that wall stand out. it looks like you have high ceilings. and your kitchen will never look dull with all that stainless steal! bling bling.

i made a couple of examples.

http://blackinkjar.tumblr.com/post/176622701/large-scale-grain-graphic-in-dark-grey

or i was always told if you dislike something you cannot change, celebrate it.

a contrasting pale green (or mint or a green with blue, teal) would allow the cabinet colour to be an asset because it would play off the large wall.

http://blackinkjar.tumblr.com/post/176622244/large-scale-grain-graphic-with-pale-green

Apartment therapy has a lot of examples of grey interiors that are great! A grey or any neutral would give it an elegant and classic feel against the cherry cabinets. You could always have one accent wall with a bold color. Really it depends on your style or how willing you are to try other colors, bold colors like reds and yellows or rich dark colors like blues or purple would be your best alternative.

Blue. A nice bright blue to bring out the red in the cabinets. It would also complement the gray walls.

Don't worry about "matching" the cabinets. They are a stained wood so treat them as if they were the floor color. Look for shades of blue or green to compliment your gray. Try Benjamin Moore 683 St. Lucia Teal or maybe 1657 Niagra Falls. Good Luck!

~Tracy @
http://www.dailydecorator.com

These are all wonderful ideas! @Sphinxie & Slowdown I like the blue idea, a dark denim color would work well with the rest of the space. Susan, I'm sorry I'm not the one with the rug. @Blackink I never thought about a pattern, that's a wonderful idea. @Designit I was leaning away from grey since my entire interior (even my wardrobe) is grey. I'm a little too inspired by it, haha.

I love this site, I knew you guys could help me.

-Liz

Yellow.

I have had an almost identical kitchen twice now. I've found grays, sand, or buttery colours work best.

cobalt blue - deep and rich

A soft yellow would look great with the cabinets and the grey on the other walls. It's a very popular color combo right now, so you could find lots of inspiration pics.

There was a post here on AT a couple days ago where the owner painted the wall above her kitchen cabinets in bright kelly green. It was gorgeous, without making things overwhelming. You might want to try it with a gorgeous blue for a POP. Your high ceilings would make it absolutely amazing.

Here we go.
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/la/kitchen/before-after-olgas-green-stripe-094053

Colour theory anyone? Even though the cabinets are a natural wood tone, they have a definite place on the colour wheel -- they are not neutral. Any blue or very cool colour is going to excite the orange tones in the wood by contrast and they will stand out more. If the goal is to de-emphasize the cabinets' cherriness, go with a warm hue (red, rust, burgundy family) that is at least as saturated as the wood tone and the same tone or darker. A really dark colour will have the added benefit of making the kitchen alcove recede and look deeper.

Forget painting the walls. Buy a big bright abstract painting and hang it on the walls over the upper cabinets. It'll give colour without going beyond the "borders" of the kitchen.

Nothing too detailed - you want it to have appeal at a distance, as that's how people will view it.

Also in a tiny kitchen like this, you might want to reduce the visual clutter of the fridge magnets and cannisters.

But deep reds and warm colors would look oppressive next to the dusty gray in the rest of the apartment. And the question was which colors would 'go' with the cabinets, not which colors would minimize their impact. The right shade of blue can make the wood glow and would work with the gray. Finding a warm color that won't make the whole kitchen area stick out in the loft would be more difficult.

Totally depends on what you want, I think warm sand tones would make the kitchen to stand out less and go well with the gray, but it you would like it to stand out a bit more, why not go for black (possibly just on one wall though)? Add some spotlights (cheap ones can be found at IKEA) and you could get a really cool kitchen.

I agree with home body - cobalt blue.

Paint the back wall a dark grey/black to match the color around your door and on the appliances. Put black knobs on the cabinets, to replace the silvery ones. However, I loathe seeing the kitchen.

What about Tiffany blue?

I have to say - my first instinct when looking at your photo was dark grey - like Benjamin Moore "Graphite", and then hanging your art that currently sits on top of the cabinets would really make it pop against that wall. BUT - if grey is not your thing - please - please - not "bright" or "cobalt" blue - I fear that would look too "kid's room" - you do need a strong saturated color to work with all of the very saturated tones of the cherry cabinets and the black on the appliances. If your heart leads you to blues, use a greyed-down, sophisticated, darker value blue like Benjamin Moore "Mineral Alloy" or "Stillwater" - they are closer to a denim color that you mentioned might work for your space. OR - if you are feeling like pushing it a bit, I would put a large scale black/white pattern on that wall - Ikea has a cool drapery panel of birch trees that could inspire a great painted wall treatment:
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/40122212
Have fun, and follow your gut! You have a lot of good input here!