While you could be entirely focused on the physical design of your kitchen and trying to decide what goes where, it’s never too early to think about the colours you want to use.
The first thing you should bear in mind is that this is going to be the social hub of your home as well as a cooking area. For that reason, you’re going to need to consider a colour scheme that works for everyone. While wall colours can easily be changed, things like cupboards, worktops and flooring can be a lot more difficult if you get it wrong first time.
Our main tip: Take your time and work with the kitchen designer to make sure you get colour combinations that work.
1. Keep Things Neutral
While it might sound boring, neutral colours in the kitchen work pretty well. You can always jazz things up with wall hangings or ornaments and the odd rug, but for the base colours you don’t want anything too extreme. That includes your worktops and cupboards. How everything fits together is important and it’s often difficult to get that bird’s eye view unless you’re working with a proper kitchen designer.
2. Think About Lighting
One thing that will affect the colour scheme in your kitchen is the lighting. For a start, you want a decent amount of natural illumination coming in through the windows. At night, the latest LED bulbs can give a truer reflection of colours. If you’re using darker colours, they can make a smaller space actually look smaller especially if you have lower lighting during the evenings. It’s well worth thinking about how your colour scheme works at different times of the day.
3. Focus on the Big Three
The main areas you need to think about when it comes to colour are the floor, the walls and your kitchen surfaces and cabinets. Ideally, these need to combine together as a whole and not work against each other. The size of any of these areas will affect how balanced or how lopsided a colour design can appear.
4. Keep It Simple
It might be tempting to introduce a range of different shades and colours. The trouble is these can all work against each other and give a sense of chaos rather than harmony if you get it wrong. The best advice is to stay with a simple palette of perhaps two colours. Do that and the chances are you won’t go too wrong.
The good news is that there are plenty of places online where you can get inspiration, including Pinterest, when it comes to colour designs. It’s perfect for finding out what works and what doesn’t. Our kitchen designers can work with you to help come up with some new and exciting suggestions.
At the end of the day, you want a kitchen space that is not only functional but looks great at the same time. After all, you’re the one who is going to be using it. That means you need to take as much time over the colour scheme as you do with the rest of the design.