Kitchens are often considered the most neutral rooms in a home, leading many to consider giving it a fresh lick of paint. However, it’s crucial to remember that whatever colour you choose will likely be part of your home for several years – so it’s vital to get it right.
While some colours can enhance a kitchen’s appearance, others can have the opposite effect.
Tracey Hague, director of Where Saints Go, explained that when it comes to painting a kitchen, homeowners should aim for a colour that strikes the perfect balance between stylish and timeless.
She pointed out that this is why it’s usually “best to avoid fads like the bold, trending colours” currently seen in celebrity homes and interior design magazines.
The expert warned: “While it might be fun to experiment with shades like bright yellow, hot pink, and cobalt blue initially, it’s also likely that you’ll tire of these shades and find that they make your kitchen look cheap or outdated when trends change and move on.”
Meanwhile, Fiona Davies, research director at Kosy Co Living, argued that while a splash of certain bold and bright colours can be fantastic, there are some shades that can turn a “classic” kitchen into a “cheap, outdated and tacky” one.
She noted: “It’s important to remember that not all bright colours are bad for a kitchen, and a touch of lemony yellow or sage green on a wall can help to brighten up the space and give it a classic feel.
“However, neon or electric shades can make your space look cheap and tacky as they’re often associated with low-end establishments or fast-food restaurants – not the ideal look when you want to show off your cooking space.”
Instead, the expert recommended that households choose more subdued or pastel versions of these colours, like blush pinks or creamy apricots on accent walls, to give their space a rustic finish.
Fiona chimed in: “You could also use these bolder tones as accents to add some pop without overwhelming the space.
“For example, a white vase with hot pink trim can help liven up an otherwise neutral kitchen without making the space feel tacky, giving it a chic but high-finish edge that is perfect for showing a touch of personality, but still neutral enough to not ruin your property value.”
Rather than choosing pastel shades, Tracey suggested households utilise colours like slate grey, sketch black, or Farrow and Ball’s Hague Blue, describing them as “a more enduring choice” for the kitchen.
However, she clarified that if a kitchen has relatively small square footage, households can make the kitchen appear more luxurious by avoiding dark colours entirely.
Tracey stated: “It’s a well-known interior design trick to make compact rooms feel more spacious by decorating them with colours on the lighter end of the spectrum, such as white, cream, and an array of other pastel shades.
“So, when selecting the colour scheme for your walls, floors, cabinets, and worktops, bear in mind that lighter hues can make a small kitchen feel more luxurious simply by making the space seem larger, brighter, and more inviting. However, use bright white sparingly as it can appear somewhat stark and clinical.”
Fiona expressed her disagreement with using dark colours in kitchens, stating they make them look “unappealing”.
She noted: “Kitchens are not cheap, and what may seem like a fun or fashionable choice now may quickly become outdated or unappealing – this is particularly true for dark and moody shades of blue, grey and purple which, while currently in vogue, could rapidly decrease the value of your home.
“These shades can also make a room feel smaller, which, when combined with wall-mounted cupboards and cabinets means, a kitchen can look far smaller than it actually is, which isn’t ideal from a property value standpoint – plus it can take your kitchen from cosy to cramped in an instant.”
