Choosing Kitchen Colours
Kitchen colours needn't be dull, here's my guide to help you to feel confident when choosing your colours
There are so many colours to choose from, the most popular at the moment being blues and greens, with greys and pinks creeping up in popularity.
I like to get at least two colours into any kitchen to give them some interest and panache, but don't panic, my simple technique works every time!
STEP 1 - CREATING SECTIONS
Mentally divide your kitchen furniture into two or more sections such as:
base units
wall units
tall units
islands /worktables
This will guide where, and how many, different colours your kitchen could have. More chunky and traditional kitchens often suit an eclectic mix of colours of 3 or more, whereas modern kitchens tend to suit a more minimal palette of 2.
The kitchen pictured has SIX colours in it but looks beautiful - 1. wall units & stools, 2. canopy, 3. range base units, 4. island, 5. hanging rack, 6. base unit under the window.
STEP 2 - CHOOSE YOUR FAVOURITE COLOUR
Choose your favourite colour. This will be the colour that we base the rest of the kitchen on so in open plan rooms, you may wish to take into account other colours in the room. You might not want your calm coastal themed sitting room interrupted with a bright red kitchen, but then again you might!
Even in kitchens where you are concerned that it might be too dark, think about how light falls - top to bottom. Your horizontal surfaces (worktops and floor) are the most important part of bouncing light and so keeping these glossy and light will do the most work in keeping the kitchen a bright space.
Your wall cupboards are then the next hit surface and are also at eye level so keeping these lighter is preferable. Light bouncing off these is called ambient light. This is light not from a direct source but fills the room.
Finally your base units get the least amount of light already. This means that if you love a dark colour but are worried about making your room too dark...put it on the base units!
This kitchen started with the strong bottle green as seen on the worktable.
STEP 3 - FINDING TONES
Using your favourite colour as an anchor, find colours lighter and darker but using the same colour tone. Little Greene does a brilliant colour book, which you can get from their Instagram Page, which lists their related whites, neutrals and darks as well as the co-ordinating colours and contrasting accents. It's my little bible of colours!
Starting with the bottle green, we went for a mid green for the unit under the window and a white with a slight green tinge for the wall units. Feeling brave, we then went a step further and kept pulling different colours in with our three greens to see which others worked as well.
STEP 4 - MIXING IT UP
Now it's time to choose which items get which colour. Keep darker colours on the base units and the lighter colours on the wall units, this gives weight to the kitchen but keeps the room feeling light and airy. If you have more than two colours, put the darkest colour on the feature item such as the island. Banks of tall units such as ovens and larders are more tricky to decide on colours but keep reading to find out more.
DARK LARDERS - Using your darkest colour will make a fabulous statement but can overpower a small room or make a room feel too dark. Be careful if this is by a doorway as it will be the first thing people see out of the corner of their eye as they come in which can seem overwhelming.
MID LARDERS - Using your mid colour works nicely if it is joined to your base units or you want to tie two ends of the room together but is quite a safe option.
LIGHT LARDERS - Using your light colour might make a nice statement without overwhelming the room but could be a little bland in larger rooms.