4 Colour Ideas for Your Kitchen

Colourful kitchens have been enjoying rather a renaissance, from rustic farmhouse looks to more modern sleek designs, we have been seeing more and more colour on walls, cabinets & woodwork and even ceilings! Using brighter colours on cabinets or kitchen islands is not a new ‘trend’ but the colours being used and the combination of colours are most definitely more creative and confident.

There will always be a demand for fresh, clean white washed kitchens but customers are choosing the warmer new neutrals rather than starker whites of yonder year. We are also seeing more and more bespoke designs incorporating antique pieces, incredible detailing in hardware & handles, showstopping lighting and of course we are spoilt for choice with tiles these days.

It’s a good time to plan your dream kitchen and what better place to start than with a lick of beautiful and transformative natural paint.

New Neutrals

Why not try one of our neutrals for a warming and calming effect. These colours will react beautifully with natural light but also under artificial lights in kitchens, bringing out gorgeous tones in both instances.

New neutrals like our most-loved pinks are the perfect soft hue for a calm kitchen space. ‘Jonquil‘ is our versatile plaster pink and has a wonderful soft hue that hovers between pink and yellow/beige. If you wanted to go slightly pinker then ‘Cuisse de Nymphe Emue‘ is the ultimate dusty pink. And finally, ‘Lilac Pink‘, neither lilac nor pink, is a warm beige with pink hues in certain sun kissed light. All our popular pinks are perfect for a chic kitchen makeover.

Colour of the moment ‘Clove‘ is perfect for an open kitchen space, enveloping a room with a spicy warmth. While still being a deep beige the earthy red oxide in the mix really wraps the colour round a space. We have seen it looking stunning on the walls and even wall to ceiling as well as on the joinery of a kitchen.  The perfect, new, warm neutral paint colour has become a go-to choice as we embrace more nuanced colour in our lives, all created by the depth of pigment we use in our natural paint.

Colourful Cabinets

Be colour confident and use vibrant colours on your cabinets and units; either against a neutral backdrop or create a tonal or contrasting palette.

Edward spoke to Homes & Gardens about how to decorate kitchen spaces. He says: “A kitchen usually has lots of colourful elements in it. I would go with quite neutral colours for the walls and some bright colour on the cupboards. Try mixing it up with contrasting colours: as long as they work tonally you cannot go wrong. You can play it safe with colours that sit alongside one another on the colour wheel, or for striking impact, go for those on opposite sides I.e. greens to complement reds, blues to complement oranges and purples to complement yellows.”

Daisy Sims-Hildtich has used our ‘Verdigris‘ on her kitchen cabinets which adds light to the space in turn making it feel bigger. Daisy said: “As soon as I saw ‘Verdigris‘ on your paint chart I knew it would be perfect for the look I was hoping to achieve in my kitchen. I wanted the space to have a playful and fun feel and to be a haven away from the busy rush of London life where I could be creative and conjure up ideas for future paintings”

Simple and sleek

If you want to keep it simple ALWAYS use an off-white rather than a bright white, this will react better with all light and be kinder to everything in the space. Go for a warm off-white like our ‘Spanish White‘, ‘Milk White‘ or ‘Whiting‘.

One of Edward’s favourites is ‘Spanish White’. As far back as Ancient times various pigments were described as ‘Spanish’ because this is where they were mined, processed and traded from. Edward adopted the name for this very pale warm white as it evokes what comes to mind for many of us – the whitewashed houses of the Mediterranean coast. Our natural process creates this bright white with the clarity and slight yellow ochre tone of natural chalk which responds to light in a way which synthetic paints cannot recreate.

Another of Edward’s go-to off whites is our ‘Milk White’ which he says is “a good choice for an off white that has some weight and combines all the Earth pigments in balance and has a hint of black for some greyness”. This colour is perfect for a modern, fresh kitchen space.

‘Whiting’ is also a very popular off white that we have seen in kitchens, hallways and bedrooms. Base preparation in the past was often done with a simple chalk and animal glue mix known as Whiting. This is the name we have adopted for this shade that reflects the slightly beige appearance of size. It is a really useful off-white shade for lighter palette schemes and also compliments the deeper off‐whites really well.

‘Fine White‘ is one of our warmer whites, of the hue that is often known as ‘magnolia’. Kerri Lipsitz used this in a wonderful open and light kitchen space which catches its warm hues and creates a fresh and clean backdrop for dark marble and wooden elements.

We also like the effect of a white kitchen with a differentiation of colour in woodwork, a more pigmented white or warm grey can add some depth to white walls and give more structure to a white space. ‘Fine White’ makes a good counterpart to our greyer shades as it adds warmth.

All out natural colour

A bright and bold kitchen is not for the faint hearted but immediately brings a fun and happy atmosphere. Why not go bold with one of our brighter pinks like ‘Rose‘ or ‘Nicaragua‘ if you want that all out wow-factor!

If you are looking for something blue then make sure you use a warm blue like ‘Azurite‘ which is a real pick-me-up, packed with pigment to give strength and depth, but with earthy warmth. Or try ‘Vert de Mer‘, this sea blue conveys the warmth of the Med and the greeny depth of the ocean. Our popular ‘Invisible Green‘, which is hardly invisible, is a fun and happy hue which brings joy to any space.

And for a complete maximalist kitchen combine two of our punchy colours that are rich with pigment like in Martin Brudnizki’s amazing ‘Dutch Orange‘ and ‘Invisible Green‘ kitchen of dreams! Sometimes colours that are so full of energy is exactly what a room needs.

Fear not, if you are still unsure about what colour to go for to create your dream kitchen our colour consultants are here to help. There are three different ways our colour consultants can help you: they can visit you in person at home or on site, you can book a virtual consultancy service to speak to us by phone or video or we can give you free colour advice online by email. Not only will we help you create your dream scheme but we will follow through with advice on choosing the right paint finish and, most importantly, the correct preparation.