Your Guide To Kitchen Colour Schemes

Kitchen Colour Schemes 101

Create A Kitchen Colour Palette

When it comes to your kitchen, the choice of colours can make or break the overall atmosphere. If done incorrectly, your kitchen colour scheme can do one of two things: it can create an overwhelming hodge-podge kitchen space crammed with contrasting colours that resemble Joseph’s technicolour coat.

On the other hand, if you don’t put enough thought into it, your choice of kitchen colours could result in a kitchen lacking in both character and colour. But, with a keen eye and a little bit of thought, your choice of colours could be the way you bring your dream kitchen to life. So, when exploring kitchen colour ideas, consider how each hue can contribute to the ambience you desire.

Kitchen Colour Schemes: Your Colour Wheel

It’s a given that when choosing your kitchen colour scheme, there are multiple options to choose from, including a wide range of kitchen colour ideas. You pretty much have everything on the colour wheel to work with. You could go with a sky is the limit approach, but we suggest you use a ‘less is more’ approach and choose a maximum of three main colours to work with when designing your kitchen space.

We suggest this as, when you are starting out, there are almost too many options to sift through. Even if you know where and how you would like to start your kitchen planning process and have a few preferred colours in mind, there are an infinite number of hues, tones, and shades to choose from.

And after all that, there is factoring in creating a sense of harmony, cohesion, and flow within your kitchen space. It is not surprising that this can all begin to feel a bit overwhelming.

Picking Your Paint Colour

Our kitchens come in a huge range of colours and finishes which means you’ll have even more decisions to make about your new one! Broadly speaking you can break up your colour choices into five categories.

1. Warm colours (like yellow, bright blue & warm wood)
2. Cool colours (like sage green & pale blue)
3. Bright colours (like pink, orange & gold)
4. Dark colours (like brown, dark blue & dark green)
5. Neutral colours (like white, grey & cream)

We suggest choosing a neutral colour as your main base colour as a starting choice. Then choose two complementary secondary colours one from either the light and dark colour wheels and the other from the warm and cool colour palettes. This will process will leave you with three core colours that you can begin building your kitchen design around, and makes the room feel balanced and harmonious.

Creating a Colour Scheme

A kitchen’s colour scheme is not only defined by the colours you choose for your floor, cabinets, and walls; it is also affected by smaller factors like your kettle colours, cabinetry, and finishes. All of which could make (or break) your kitchen’s colour cohesion.

So, when it comes to picking the perfect colour scheme for your magazine-worthy kitchen, it’s always a good idea to take a step back and consider your kitchen colour palette as something that is made up of multiple contributing factors, including various kitchen colour ideas.

Below, we take a closer look at what these contributing factors are and how you can make the right colour palette decisions for your kitchen.

1. Kitchen Cabinets

Now we haven’t started with your cabinets for any old reason, cabinets are the bread and butter of your kitchens colour scheme, they can potentially take up to 60% of your kitchens surface area or visual space and therefore, their colour matters a great deal.

As your kitchen cabinets will probably take up to around 40%-60% of the visual space in your kitchen, the colours of your cabinets are a great way to establish a baseline for the colour scheme within your kitchen. Cabinets are the foundation of your future colour choices.

Start by choosing a cabinet that has a texture, material and colour that fits your budget, home design and kitchen style. Now we know this is easier said than done, but try not to overthink this step too much. Go with what feels right and in the name of getting the ball rolling, pick a cabinet and move on.

We have put a few pictures of cabinets below for inspiration, have a look and decide which of the cabinets you like the look of the most and then click through to view that cabinet’s relevant range and a broader selection of cabinet choices.

2. Room Size

Then we suggest looking at the size and layout of your room. Are you working with a small space, an area that connects to your living room, or a traditional house and kitchen space? Different colours work better in different spaces. For instance, if your kitchen is small with a low ceiling and doesn’t have much natural light, go for the whites or greys in order to make it as light as possible and help create an illusion of space.

Conversely, if the room gets a lot of natural light, you can use darker shades and different colours that will give it a more welcoming feel.

A Combination Colour Wheel

Remember, you don’t have to stick to just one colour scheme. If you’re opting for light-coloured kitchen cabinets, you can create a more colourful tone with bright splashback panels or by painting the walls.

By using a contrasting colour, you can really create a wow factor that will give your room a fresh feel and will accentuate the beauty of your design without overpowering it. Perfect for small rooms, but can also look great used in larger kitchens where you can also use ornaments in display cabinets to continue the colour theme.

3. Don’t Forget Your Floor

When it comes to choosing your kitchen colour and your kitchen paint colours, you also need to think about your ideal kitchen floor. Do you want it to be patterned, plain, wood, tiles or vinyl? You need to factor in the look of your floor at the same time as choosing your kitchen colour scheme.

We’ve got lots of great ideas for kitchen colour schemes, so please feel free to visit our kitchen showroom in hertfordshire to see what’s on offer and talk to our designers for ideas.

6 Example Kitchen Colour Designs & Tips

Tip 1: Using Dark Blue Grey Cabinets As Statement Pieces

When it comes to using coloured cabinetry to make a statement, don’t be shy. Whether your cabinets are coated in a natural wood look, neutral tones or darker tones they can be used to craft your kitchen space using colour. Dark cabinets or dark wood cabinets can have a framing effect and if you use complementary colours and neutral tones your dream kitchen will begin to emerge.

Tip 2: Use White and Grey Cabinetry

Use tones of grey and cream to create a classic kitchen space that is both warm and modern. Using white cabinetry gives your kitchen a sophisticated tone and a classic feel that is both natural and inviting.

You could add a splash of colour into your kitchen with home herb gardens that can add a personal style and act as an accent colour subtly changing the tone and feel of your kitchen space from being a space dominated by grey tones.

Tip 3: Let There Be Lighting

When creating a kitchen space that needs to be both functional and an aesthetic masterpiece you might want to go for something slightly different. Like this white modern kitchen with backlighting to highlight their cooking space and frame their kitchen space. These kitchen owners have made a kitchen space feel that reflects their personalities and their home, really making the kitchen space their own.

Tip 4: Using Light Wood

Using light wood accents and cabinetry in a kitchen that is given character with touches of black and white can create a modern minimalist kitchen that feels structured and calming. See how this kitchen has contrasted the amazing wood cabinetry to create a classic look and feel in the interior of the kitchen. The light wood cabinetry is a bold statement and is a great inspiration for your kitchen!

Tip 5: Using Green, Grey and Wood Accents

Using white wood accents in a kitchen that is given character with touches of grey and blue can create a modern kitchen that feels cooling and calming. See how this kitchen has contrasted the amazing white wood textures and white walls to create a classic look and feel in the interior of a traditional kitchen. The light wood cabinetry is a bold statement and is a great inspiration for your kitchen!

Tip 6: Don’t Be Afraid to Be Bold

When creating a kitchen space that needs to be both functional and an aesthetic masterpiece you might want to go for something slightly different. Like this white modern kitchen with touches of grey, yellow and white.

The light kitchen uses its cabinetry well to reinforce the warm yet edgy kitchen design. These kitchen owners have made a kitchen space feel that reflects their personalities and their home, really making the kitchen space their own.

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