A few days ago, I was sharing my plans for the studio cabinets with my mom. Well, she wasn’t thrilled. ? My mom and I have very different taste in decorating. We like different styles and different colors. I like way more pattern and texture than she does, and I like brighter and bolder colors. But even with all of that, I do often ask for her input because she has an artistic eye. So I was surprised when her objection to my plan for my studio cabinets was that pink and gold don’t go together. I couldn’t disagree more. ? I think they look perfect together! So weigh in on this debate. Do pink and gold work together?
First, let me remind you about my inspiration for my cabinets in the studio. I was inspired by this bookcase by Kristie McGowan. I especially loved the corner shape on face frame of the upper shelves, the trim on the doors, and those gold accents around the doors and shelves. Oh my…those gold accents!
A lot has changed with my plans since then. I’m no longer using the upper open shelves on the mural wall, and because my cabinets included some very short (5-inch-high) drawers, I had to simplify my trim design so that it’s just a simple rectangle. But I had still planned to add a gold detail to the cabinet doors.
And that’s where the disagreement came in. Now, do I agree that gold looks even better with cool colors like teal, blue, green, etc.? Absolutely. Those colors were made for gold, as you can see by Kristie McGowan’s beautiful bookcase above. And still today, six years after I painted my kitchen teal, I have people tell me that they’re sad that I got rid of my green and gold kitchen.
So, yes, I think cool colors with gold are a natural fit. And do I think that pink and silver tones are a more natural fit? Probably. But I lived with silver tones for so long that I have a natural aversion to them now. I won’t use silver tones in my house. The only place I’ve used silver tones is in the hallway bathroom. I regretted that from the beginning, and I’m swapping them out for warm gold tones now.
And it just so happens that I’m adding those gold tones at the same time I’m adding pink to the room!
So while I do think cool colors go better with gold, and I think that pink and silver tones are a more natural fit, I still love pink and gold together. I think pink and gold together are a very feminine look, which is perfect for a room that’s all mine and that I don’t have to share with Matt.
What I don’t really like is a pale pink with gold. And that’s not really because I think they don’t go together, but more because I saw way too much of that combo over the last few years, and I just got tired of seeing it. But the pink I’ll be using is a much more saturated pink. Here’s the peek I shared a few days ago.
So ever since seeing Kristie McGowan’s bookcases, and seeing that beautiful gold detail on the doors, I’ve had something like that in mind for my studio cabinets. I love that it’s kind of reminiscent of my green and gold kitchen. And I’ve been looking forward to that touch of subtle shimmer on these cabinets, and the feminine saturated pink and gold combo.
But another reason I’ve been looking forward to that touch of gold is because I think it’ll add interest to the two cabinet areas that may otherwise just look like huge masses of pink. The gold will break up that look and add some visual flair to areas that could otherwise look kind of plain, even with the pink paint.
Just imagine all of the cabinets in my office corner of the room painted that dark pink, surrounded by a neutral wall color and ceiling color. In my mind’s eye, it will just look like a huge blob of pink.
The same goes for the cabinets just inside the studio door from the breakfast room. They’ll just be another blob of pink.
And while I don’t think the cabinets on the mural wall really need anything to spice them up because of the mural, I still think that touch of gold would be beautiful, and it would look especially feminine because of the mural.
I know that some people may envision that and think, “It would be too busy!” But y’all know I don’t care about that. While I don’t really consider myself a maximalist, on the spectrum from minimalist to maximalist, I’m definitely more towards the maximalist side. I love a lot of color, pattern, and texture. And there would have to be a whole lot more of it than what I have now for me to consider it too much. Adding a bit of gold, for my taste, would never be too much. It would make it just right.
So I think that pink and gold go beautifully together. My mom disagrees. What do you think?
Honestly, this is probably one of those things I’ll just have to try so that I can see it with my own eyes. I’ve had this vision in my head for so long now that I’ll regret it if I don’t try it. But it might still be a while before I can even try it. I’m still working on trying to get the doors and drawer fronts all trimmed out and ready for paint.
It’s taking way longer than I expected to get these doors and drawer fronts done because, quite frankly, I don’t think I realized just how many doors and drawer fronts there were for this room. ? In all, there are 50. That’s 50 doors and drawer fronts that have to be sanded, trimmed, caulked, primed, painted, and clear coated. That’s a big job! But I am making progress, and the first batch should be ready for paint today.
Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.
