Hello, painting friends. I think I’ve come up with a really good excuse to waste even more time watching TV!  I realized that some of my favorite cooking shows on the Food Network are great places to look for current trends in kitchen décor and new color schemes.

If I can take my eyes off the luscious-looking food for a minute, I check out the colors they’ve painted the walls, the decorative accessories they’ve placed on the countertops, the cabinetry, the bowls and plates the cook uses to serve the food, and anything else that catches my eye.

I realize that professional set decorators create these kitchens to match the personality of the cook, but still, they are fun to look at and make me want to bring my own dinky little kitchen up to snuff. For example, Rachael Ray is young, perky and energetic, and her new kitchen setting has orange cabinets and lime-green walls. Her cookware has orange handles and her colanders are blue or green. Wow! It all looks great on TV, but I’m not sure I could live with those screamin’ colors very long.

What about you?  Have you ever taken inspiration from something you’ve seen on TV and made it work for you?  What was it?  And how did you do it?

—MC Kathy