Choosing Colour for Your Kitchen

Choosing Colour for your Kitchen- A kitchen project can be a daunting but exciting time with lots of choices to be made throughout the process. The overall finish of your kitchen will depend entirely on the following choices: cabinet colour, worktops, flooring, appliances and those all-important finishing details.

Choose your cabinet colours

Your first consideration when choosing a kitchen colour scheme, should be your kitchen cabinets. Typically, kitchen cabinets take up approximately 40-50% of the visual space in your kitchen and around half of your kitchen project budget.

Choosing the colour finish of your kitchen cabinets will then provide a foundation for the rest of your kitchen choices. With a wide range of door and carcass options available at Jikoni Interiors, there will be something to suit all styles and tastes.

Consider which colours, textures and materials fit your personality, the style of your home and your budget. You may want to consider a mix of materials, such as gloss or matte finish cabinets with accent cabinets in wood, concrete or metal finishes, or perhaps a combination of colours for the base and wall units, such as a dark colour on the base and a lighter shade for the wall cabinets.

Choose your appliance colours

It is possible that some of your appliances may be built in and will therefore be positioned behind your choice of cabinetry. If you choose freestanding appliances, you will need to consider how the appliance fronts match with the cabinet colour/finish. Appliances such as your fridge, dishwasher, built in ovens and even your sink should be considered when choosing the colour of your cabinets as you will want them to look as a part of the kitchen, rather than standing out for the wrong reasons.

Consider matching white goods with white or pale coloured cabinetry or stainless steel with brown hues, vibrant colours or the many, many shades of grey. A lot of appliance manufacturers have recently launched black, graphite and darker colour finishes on select appliances that will work well with darker cabinetry.

Selecting your Worktops

Your choice of kitchen worktop is an important decision for many reasons. As well as practical and budget considerations, worktops occupy a significant portion of your visual space and can have a big impact on the overall finish of your kitchen.

When selecting worktops, first eliminate any options that are outside of your budget. Decide if you want one type of worktop or if you want to have a mix of materials, such as stone and wood to pick out different areas of your kitchen – for example, you might consider having stone on the main run or base cabinets against a wall with an island worktop in a contrasting material such as wood.

Consider the colour/finish of your flooring – co-ordinating the floor and worktop will help the kitchen flow. There are lots of small details that can be made that such as under worktop lighting, different edge profiles and drop-down waterfall edges that can make a bigger impact.

Flooring Choices

Often, adjoining rooms of your home will dictate the colour of your kitchen floors. If your kitchen is going to be part of a larger communal area that perhaps combines kitchen, dining and living space it can sometimes be difficult to know what works and what doesn’t.

When selecting a kitchen floor colour, it needs to coordinate well with all the elements you have selected so far (kitchen cabinets, worktops, appliances) so start by selecting your material first.

Hardwood, tile and laminate floors are all popular choices for flooring in kitchen spaces. A basic rule of thumb is to pick a second dominant colour, your kitchen cabinetry being the first. A complementary yet contrasting colour will shape your kitchen. A timeless combination uses classic white cabinets, and warm wood or laminate flooring – with a countertop that alternates between both lighter and darker colours.

Choosing your wall colour

Kitchen walls are often the forgotten element when it comes to defining an overall colour scheme. Walls play an important role in tying the room together and setting the mood and while walls are generally covered by cabinets, splashbacks and shelving, it can still be a large area that becomes more noticeable if it’s the wrong colour.

Consider colours that balances well with the floors, cabinets and splashback (this could be tiles, glass or even aluminium). Painting kitchen walls in off-white, cream or dove grey should complement most of your chosen elements, no matter what style you choose. Vibrant colours are also an option, just be sure that your floors and cabinetry have a more subtle palette to balance it out.

Finishing Touches

The finishing touches – the parts that tie your kitchen look altogether. Elements such as the cabinet handles, taps and lighting fixtures will be installed at the very end of your project but should be considered once you have made your choices on the cabinets and worktops to ensure they work in harmony. Stick with styles and finishes that complement one another – look at your metal elements and match them throughout. This helps create a streamlined finish. Glass or metal splashbacks will also be one of the last items to be fitted and can make a big impact if chosen correctly – if you have chosen muted, neutral tones for your kitchen consider adding a pop of colour with a bold splashback behind the hob to create a focal point in the room. Antique mirror splashbacks are very popular and add a touch of glamour to the room and pair well with bronzed and copper handles and accessories.