Kitchens – Calm or Colourful?

The kitchen is the heart of the home — a place where functionality meets personality. When it comes to choosing the right colour scheme, it can be surprisingly tricky to decide between calming neutrals or a bold burst of colour. Each approach has its own charm, and the best choice often depends on your personal style, lifestyle, and the atmosphere you wish to create.

Neutral tones like soft whites, warm greys and muted pastels create a clean and timeless look. These colours are perfect if you’re looking to create a  relaxed, airy, and refined space. They reflect natural light beautifully, making the kitchen feel more open and serene — this can be especially beneficial in smaller spaces. Reasons to pick softer tones is they can be easier to decorate around – you can add strong colour with blinds, soft furnishings, artwork or accessories. Colours we recommend for a calm kitchen include: Milk White, Laylock, Whiting and Flaxen Grey.

In contrast, bold kitchen colours make a great statement and are a way to add fun. From richly painted cabinets to cheerful yellows or bright greens, adding colour can turn your kitchen into a truly unique space. If you love creativity, warmth, and a kitchen that sparks conversation, colour might be your best friend. Going bold with colour can add energy to a space and allows you to express unique personality. It can also work well in open plan spaces, when making the kitchen to serve as a visual focal point. Whether you choose to add the colour to the walls or the cabinetry the effect can be just as striking. Below, is a kitchen with the walls painted in Olympian Green and another where the walls remain white, but the cabinets are painted in Fine Green and Persian. Both are equally striking in their own way.

Pinks and yellows are a good half way house for those not feeling like fully embracing such strong colours, such as Cuisse de Nymphe Emue and Warm Stone. Additional colour can be added by painting the woodwork on the windows a different colour or introducing wallpaper. The kitchen at Court of Noke, the home of Edward Bulmer is painted in Jonquil, with woodwork in Pompadour for contrast. Kit & Co has combined Persian on the cabinetry with floral wallpaper by Sanderson.

Whether you lean toward soft and subtle or lively and loud, let your kitchen reflect your lifestyle, your taste, and the mood you want to create every time you walk in. After all, the best colour for your kitchen is the one that makes you feel at home. For more kitchen inspiration explore our Pinterest page.

Colour is fun and until the end of April, we are offering 3 sample pots for £10. So don’t delay! Embrace natural colour with Edward Bulmer Natural Paint.

For more colourful inspiration explore stripy rooms in our blog The Power of Stripes