Picking a colour for your kitchen can be a little overwhelming so we put this together some ideas in this blog to assist you in choosing your cabinet colour and style.
The kitchen is the heart of every home, so whether you have a modern kitchen design or more traditional look, just changing the colour of the cabinets alone can change feel of the entire space.
The key to choosing a new colour for your kitchen cabinets is to assess the existing (or new!) features in your kitchen and select a colour that works well with those features. Here’s our guide on how to choose a colour for your cabinets that turns your kitchen into your dream space…
Choose cabinet colours to match your kitchen design
If you’ve chosen a more traditional design for your kitchen, oak cabinets or shaker style kitchens with wood grain effect, then classic colours like creams and whites will always be a good idea. Lighter colours reflect more light and tend to expose the rich natural grain of wood cabinets more than darker colours would.
If you’ve gone for a more modern look with your kitchen remodel, with smooth finished cabinet fronts then choosing a dark/bold colour scheme with dark blues and cosy greens can work well.
Consider kitchen size and lighting.
No matter the room, dark colours will make the space cosy, but by absorbing light, darker shades may also make the room look and feel smaller. Light and bright colours are more reflective and can make a room feel more open and spacious.
Unless you have extensive bright lighting in your kitchen or large windows to let in plenty of natural light, you may want to choose lighter cabinet colours to allow light to reflect around the room and create a neutral palette creates a quiet backdrop for the room’s activities.
Creams, whites and neutrals are typically good choices, we like Farrow and Ball\’s Blackened, a cool white with a hint of grey. However, a pop of darker colour can make a statement in your kitchen without making it feel smaller.
If you have a larger kitchen, perhaps with an island, your colour options may be wider, and you could choose either dark or light colours for your cabinet doors. A more expansive space can handle many different colours and design choices.
Choose a cabinet colour that works with your worktops, tiles and splashbacks.
If you have decided to keep your current worktops, tile and splashbacks, your colour choice for your kitchen cabinets will need to complement these. When choosing a new worktop, consider your cabinets’ colour choice. Whether you go with wood, laminate or marbled effect worktops, there is now such a large range of colours and styles for you to choose from.
Perhaps you might take the opportunity to choose contrasting colours and textures (think a black marble worktop against white cabinets or a concrete countertop against a slate blue island) but always consider the whole picture when choosing your cabinets.
Perhaps you have already got a colour in mind? Can you see how it will work with the worktops and floor? Use colour wheels and paint websites to check how colours blend with each other and find colours which complement each other, getting inspiration for your kitchen.
Coordinate kitchen cabinets with your wall colour
If you are keeping your current wall colour in your kitchen, make sure your cabinet colour and finish choices pair well with it. Neutrals like a cream or pale grey wall will work with any type and colour of cabinet, so your options are wide open.
If you are repainting the walls, then your colour choice should depend on how much of the wall is on show around the cabinets and appliances. Perhaps you would like your walls to stand out with bold colours while your cabinets are neutral, or maybe you are thinking of darker cabinet colours with lighter-coloured walls.
Reflect the right mood in your kitchen
Do you want a kitchen that invites family and friends to linger and chat as you prepare your meals? Or do you want one that reflects the mastery of a professional chef?
Whatever mood you wish your kitchen to evoke, your kitchen cabinets will be the main driving force because they take up so much visual space. Choose a colour that speaks to your personality and culinary aspirations.
The kitchen pictured here was for a client who loved this particular green, which they felt conveyed their character. The problem with this green was that it could have really made the kitchen feel a lot smaller, so they decided to have the top half white to allow more natural lighting to reflect around the room, making the room feel brighter and not as small.
The dark sage green is Farrow and Ball’s Calke Green
Consider resale value when choosing a kitchen cabinet colour
If you have recently remodelled your forever home’s kitchen, you probably aren’t looking to sell soon. In that case, you may want to go a little bolder with the choice of your kitchen cabinet colours. But if you think you may be putting your home on the market in the next few years, you should ideally try to anticipate what buyers want most in a kitchen.
Neutral shades such as whites, creams and greys help to create a great blank canvas that allows potential buyers to imagine how they might put their stamp on the place.
What do we love at Revolution Finish?
We love to use Farrow and Ball colours and have great feedback from our customers for this paint. By considering factors like the kitchen’s size, lighting sources, and the overall aesthetic you wish to create, you can narrow down colour choices to what suits your preference. Why not take a look at our Gallery for some inspiration from our customers.