Let's have a look at some of the different options in kitchen colour schemes. Generally speaking I prefer the kitchen counter tops and the kitchen door materials to be of a neutral colour. The reason for this is that if the correct materials are used in the construction of the kitchen then in 10 years the door materials and bench top materials should look like they looked on the day the kitchen was first installed. The splashback for instance is a much better place to put bright colours or distinct colours. In a decades time if you are still in the home you can replace a splash back economically.
Another thing to consider when choosing the overall colour scheme of your kitchen is that all the materials should be chosen at the same time. By that I mean if you choose a great counter top colour but with the wrong door, or kitchen floor colour then the overall effect will not work. So when choosing the bench top colour we need to choose at the same time the flooring and the door materials for the cabinets.
The other thing that is very important when choosing kitchen colours is the presence of the materials that are being used. What I mean by this is this; there are bench top laminates that are basically a photograph of a granite slab. So the colour would be exactly the same as if the natural granite was used - however if you use natural granite it has a presence and it will stand out as a much stronger feature, subsequently the door material in this case should then be slightly more neutral. The same would apply with a
Corian bench top or with a
Staron bench top. It's good to remember that any quality material has a presence that attracts the attention of the onlooker. In a similar way if a natural marble tile is used on the floor then the floor will become a stronger feature than if a plain ceramic tile were used. Remember if too many features are used in the one space then room becomes tizzy because all the features are fighting for attention. If the floor is a strong feature such as the marble tiles and the bench top is natural granite then the door material should simply meld into place.
We also need to keep in mind that the colour scheme used in the kitchen has to flow through to the rest of the residence. When my clients ask me to choose the colour scheme for the kitchen I tell them that it is better if they choose the colours and I tell them if their selection will work; because I will not be choosing the colours for the lounge room, the new furniture or the colours for the rest of the home, unless of course I was contracted for the entire interior decoration of the property.
CASE STUDY,
The kitchen in the photo on the right was custom designed and built for a client.
The doors are painted with a satin finish two pac. One big advantage with custom built two pac cabinets is that you can chose the exact paint colour you desire. In this case we used a Whisper White and we were able to tie beautifully into the room by using the same colour on the walls, but to half strength.
www.kitchendesignerbrisbane.com This kitchen is a classic colour scheme,what doors with black granite bench tops and then a strong colour in the splashback which in this case is red. The choice of the colour for the splashback is really governed by a the rest of the colour scheme of the room. If for instance the client had a green theme happening with the green leather lounge and accessories then the splashback here could be changed to a pale green or even a white with a tinge of green. The black granite benchtop will last for a very long time as will the white doors so that the clients are still in the home in say 10 years time they can change the splashback for a reasonably small amount of money and create an entirely different feel to the kitchen into the family area.
If the same colour combination was used but in a different format, let's say the red was used in the doors and what is used in the current tops with black splash backs on an entirely different feel would have been created for the same space and in 10 years time if the owners became bored with the kitchen colours changing the red doors would be an expensive exercise.
