Kitchen renovations are some of the most involved home projects you can do, and with so many elements to consider—storage, lighting, fixtures, and fittings—sometimes your colour scheme can be left behind. Choosing the right colour scheme can be the cherry on top of a successful kitchen renovation, so it’s important you choose the right one to fit your vision.
Different colour schemes can drastically change the way your kitchen is viewed and how it feels. Do you want your kitchen to feel warm and homey, cool and modern or cute and rustic? The right colour palette can be key to pulling this off.
Want to learn more about how to choose the ideal colour scheme for your kitchen renovation? Read more below and discover how colours can affect your kitchen, what elements you can customise, and some of the most popular colour schemes to inspire your choices.
The right colour scheme can do wonders for your kitchen! Here are a few of the benefits you can enjoy by using certain hues in your kitchen area:
It’s clear that having the right colours in your kitchen can contribute greatly to your enjoyment of the space. So if you’re finding your kitchen feels a bit dull and dreary, a new colour scheme may be just what it needs.
Do you need kitchen renovations in Melbourne? DPV Construction is here to help you craft the kitchen of your dreams – contact us now.
If you’ve decided you’d like to paint your kitchen, your next decision is what elements of the space you’re going to transform. A kitchen is more than just blank walls after all – you have many different fixtures, furnishings and other pieces of the puzzle to consider.
Let’s go through which areas of your kitchen you can paint to fit your colour scheme.
When you are painting any room in your home, the first port of call is usually the walls. Walls are easy to paint thanks to their flat surface and grippy texture, and the ones in your kitchen will be no exception.
Painting your kitchen walls means the colour you choose here will probably be the one that is represented the most in the room. Because of this, make sure to choose a colour you’ll be happy to see lots of and don’t make it a hue that will overwhelm any others you plan on using.
As the major accessory in your kitchen, your cabinets are seen as the ‘face’ of the room and are deserving of a new lick of paint when you’re renovating. They can often get scratched, oily and dirty overtime, so they’ll probably need it too!
For a more cohesive look, you can choose to match your cabinetry colour to the one on your walls or pick a shade slightly off from it for a complimenting effect. You can also use your cabinetry as a chance to make some bold statements – choose dark cabinets that pop out from your wall colour for an exciting and more dramatic aesthetic in your kitchen.
Your kitchen bench or island won’t usually need to be painted – rather, you can replace the bench with a material that naturally suits the overall colour scheme you’re going for. Here are some examples you can choose to match your colour scheme:
1. Cosy Colour Scheme: If you want a warm kitchen full of rustic charm, timber benchtops are a great place to start. Any wooden benchtop, including those made from bamboo (yes, we know it’s technically a grass) will need to be sealed with a food-safe oil to keep it in its best condition.
For a more affordable option, laminate gives you a rainbow of colours to choose from and it can be designed to mimic other materials like wood or stone. It’s easy to clean but prone to physical damage, so be careful with hot pans and always use a chopping board when cutting.
2. Minimalist Colour Scheme: If you’re trying to create a cool, unfussy and minimalist kitchen in shades of white and black, then choose materials that naturally come in this colour. Porcelain is a great choice due to its resistance to most forms of damage and ease of cleaning – a quick wipe is enough to dislodge most stains. The natural bright white colour is a great draw, too!
Natural stone benchtops can be polished to a high sheen or sanded for a matte appearance, and each one will give you a unique look thanks to its natural origin. This material has a porous surface, so spills will need to be wiped up quickly, otherwise the stain will be absorbed and become almost impossible to remove.
3. Modern Colour Scheme: If you’re creating a modern kitchen with sleek textures and bold colours, marble is a pricey but fantastic option. As the most luxurious of benchtop materials, it has a high upkeep cost – but its spectacular look and feel make it so worth it.
Granite is a very durable and hard-wearing material used for kitchen benchtops. It is easy to clean and comes in a wide range of gorgeous colours and natural patterns. It is expensive, but its many good qualities make the price tag worth paying.
A benchtop material that can be customised to suit any aesthetic is acrylic. This synthetic material is a popular choice because it can be crafted to look like one seamless block and come in any shape you want. Combine this with a wide range of colour options, resistance to stains and easy maintenance, and you have a versatile material that’s easy to customise to your liking.
Did you know that lighting comes in two major colours? You can technically get lights of any colour, but you probably won’t be wanting blue, pink or green lights in your kitchen. Instead, we are referring to cool and warm lights, each of which can change the way your entire kitchen looks and feels.
Cool lights are white, bright and strong, and mimic the natural sunlight indoors. It creates an energetic feeling in the kitchen and will represent your kitchen’s colours in a realistic way.
Warm lights are yellow, soft and warm, and are similar to candlelight or firelight in colour. They create a more cosy feel and make a room feel warmer, but they can also slightly alter how your kitchen’s colours may look.
You could have only cool lights or warm lights in your kitchen, or you may like to have a combination of both. Cool white downlights and warm white pendant lights over a kitchen island are one example of how you can combine both in one space. In this case, the downlights will light most of the room, while the warm lights will highlight the island and whatever is on top of it.
Your choice of kitchen decor is a fun and easy way to add some colour to your kitchen without the need for big renovations or high costs. While the kitchen may not be the first place you think that needs decorating, a few accessories here and there can go a long way to making your kitchen feel like a space you want to spend time in, not a place you are forced to.
The great thing about kitchen decor is that it’s easy to change. Swap your potted fern for flowers for a change in colour, or move your baking staples into the pantry and transform your kitchen style into a more minimalist space. Decor gives you the flexibility to change up your kitchen’s look on a whim!
If you need some inspiration on what kind of colour scheme to use for your kitchen renovation, we’ve got some themes you can use as a springboard.
A safe, clean and modern choice is to choose a white colour scheme for your kitchen renovation. This doesn’t mean you have to stick to pure white of course – eggshell, ivory, cream, parchment and porcelain are all possibilities, or you may like to go for grey tones for a softer feel.
A white kitchen will feel bright, airy and clean, and as we’ve discussed above, can make smaller kitchens feel larger. The only drawback is it will need regular cleaning to keep it that way – a very smoky cook could stain your roof, or oily spills may tint surfaces if they’re not cleaned up in time.
Choosing darker tones like black, navy and smoky grey can transform your kitchen into an eye-catching and modern space your guests are bound to remember. Of course, not every surface has to be dark, as this will make your kitchen feel like a cave. Your floor tiles, benchtop, kitchen appliances and fixtures can all be in darker shades to provide dramatic contrast against lighter elements.
If your darker kitchen features have a glossy finish, be wary of fingerprints and other oily stains appearing, as they will be very easy to see. A quick polish every now and then will keep your kitchen pristine and blemish-free.
Love colour? Then consider utilising some bolder hues in your kitchen renovation! A good general rule to stick to when using multiple vibrant colours is 60%, 30% and 10% for three colours. So the largest part of your kitchen (like the walls and ceiling) should be one colour, taking up 60% of the space. Then your kitchen cabinets and drawers, which take up 30% of the space, can be another. The last 10% can be applied to handles, trims and decor.
Bold crimsons, grassy greens, majestic blues and brassy metallics can all be used to create a gorgeous kitchen colour scheme. Use complimenting or contrasting colours for a professional feel, and make sure to leave some neutral spaces so the colours don’t overwhelm each other.
Neutral does not equal boring. In fact, using neutrals can help you create some of the most welcoming and charming kitchens of all! Neutral colours and earthy tones invoke natural sources, making the space seem more inviting by highlighting the colours of nature. Woody browns, sandy creams, mushroomy beiges, and ashy blues all combine wonderfully and are especially effective when used in natural materials.
Create a few pops of interest with matte black fixtures, metallic pendant lights or a vase of pink flowers, and you’ll have a gorgeous kitchen with neutral tones that are easy to maintain.
Are you excited to renovate your kitchen? The team at DPV Construction is here to help! As your local experts for home renovations in Melbourne, we are keen to help you create the tailored kitchen of your dreams, and can provide expert advice on how we can make it happen.
Call us to discuss your kitchen renovation in Melbourne, or fill out our online form, and we’ll respond as soon as we can. And if you need more information on kitchen renovations, make sure to read our blog on 10 Common Kitchen Renovation Mistakes To Avoid.
