9 Colour Schemes For Kitchens

Changing the colour of your kitchen is not only a significant investment but also a daunting one! Going from an all-white kitchen to one with a splash of vibrancy through the finishing touches sounds like a drastic change, but trust us when we say it is well worth it. There are many fabulous kitchen colour ideas that can transform your space from a dull and lifeless area into a socialising hub that makes a statement. You can combine colours to create shade contrasts and define sections, or you can go all out by completely refreshing your space – the options are endless!

As specialists in kitchens in Milton Keynes, our experts have their fair share of wonderful tips on creating the perfect design that fuses style with functionality. To give you a helping hand, we have devised a guide detailing not only some of our favourite colour schemes for kitchens but also how to pick the right palette for your home.

Our Guide To Colour Schemes For Kitchens

Whether you have recently moved into a new home and are planning renovations or want to give your existing property a new lease of life, designing a kitchen is by far one of the most exciting projects. The kitchen, while one of the most used rooms in the home, is often neglected in terms of decor. Functionality always becomes a priority, which can make it tricky to design a space that also offers a touch of personality. Nevertheless, with plenty of research, design inspiration and the expertise of our kitchen fitters in Milton Keynes, this challenging prospect becomes a straightforward project.

At the heart of every successful kitchen design is a colour scheme that creates a solid foundation to work from, allowing you to piece together each component with ease. Luckily, there are a wealth of stunning possible kitchen colour schemes, many of which you can find amongst our project portfolio. So to get started, let’s take a closer look at the following:

• Tips For Choosing Colour Schemes For Kitchens
• Modern Kitchen Colour Schemes
• Small Kitchen Colour Ideas
• Kitchen Colour Combinations
• Kitchen Cupboard Colour Ideas

Tips For Choosing Colour Schemes For Kitchens

With so many beautiful shade combinations to choose from, you will never be short on ideas when looking for colour schemes for a kitchen. However, there are a few dos and don’ts to keep in mind that will help you to begin shortlisting options; our top tips include the following:

• Understand How Colour Palettes Work: The first step is to familiarise yourself with how colour palettes blend, as not all colour combinations will work. Using the colour wheel, you will be able to determine which colours are complementary and which are analogous, then start to experiment with combinations. Take a look at Digital Photo Secrets for an excellent article on how to get started on this.
• Keep It Refined: If you have lots of different colours you like, it can be tempting to attempt to include them all, but our advice is to keep it simple and refined. Including too many colours in your design can make your kitchen feel a little overwhelming, so we recommend using the 60-30-10 rule. This is a theory used by top interior designers and allows you to perfectly balance three key colours. Find out more about this rule on The Spruce.
• Choose Lighting Carefully: The lighting inside your kitchen can have an immense impact on how your chosen colours appear. Typically natural light offers the most accurate representation of the colour, and artificial alternatives will alter the shade slightly. Always test out the bulbs you plan to fit against your favourite shades to determine whether they will work under your chosen artificial lighting.

Modern Kitchen Colour Schemes

While bright white kitchens have been popular for several decades and are often the go-to for a modern interior, more and more people are now opting for a dark and elegant kitchen design. Darker colour schemes offer the perfect contemporary aesthetic and even better versatility. They enable you to create striking contrasts with light marble worktops and stunning polished metal fixtures.

Forest Green

A trend that has recently taken over the fashion industry, as well as interior design, is the use of dark forest green. When paired with glass cabinets and gold accessories in a modern design, forest green walls and units look absolutely stunning. Most who choose a darker shade opt for a matte finish on their cabinets to make the design less intense, creating a moody yet sophisticated atmosphere. Take a look at Decoist for more green kitchen ideas!

Kitchen Featured: Fitzroy

Matte Black

The idea of an all-black kitchen can be daunting to many, but it can offer a sophisticated look with a modern touch, especially when you incorporate a matte finish. When using this colour scheme, it is essential to consider lighting, as this will help you make the room feel bright and welcoming rather than dark and gloomy. Matte black also looks incredibly elegant when accompanied by glamourous gold or silver finishes, along with a glossy worktop.

Kitchen Featured: Mornington Shaker & Beaded

Small Kitchen Colour Ideas

While we love dark and dramatic kitchen colour schemes, they do not always work for small kitchens as they can enclose the space. By designing your small kitchen with a lighter colour scheme, you can create the illusion of a brighter, more open and less claustrophobic space. Here are a couple of small kitchen colour ideas to get you started:

Dazzling White

White is a classic kitchen colour scheme that many of our clients love, especially when creating a contemporary look. White or light grey cabinets with a glossy finish are ideal for achieving a beautifully elegant look paired with a handless design. To take your design to the next level, incorporating a bright white marble worktop will look stunning against light cabinets, allowing you to add a pop of colour through your finishing touches. This is a great way to future proof your kitchen, meaning that should you want to experiment with a different colour scheme in the future, only accessories will need to be updated.

When adding marble to your kitchen design, you will be surprised at the number of options to choose from. While a traditional white and grey marble is often the most popular, our worktop suppliers, including, CRL Quartz, Dekton and Sensa, offer a vast range of other colours and materials. This includes everything from black marble to grey, forest green and dusty pink.

Worktop Featured: CRL Quartz

Cream With Golden Finishes

Cream kitchens have been a staple design for many years, able to create a calm, tranquil space while making the room appear bigger, ideal for smaller rooms. However, instead of opting for a plain white or cream kitchen, why not consider pairing your design with chic finishing touches?

Gold has hit the interior design scene by storm, and we love how a simple touch of gold can have a dramatic impact on the entire look and feel of the kitchen. Gold handles stand out beautifully against cream cabinets, and it couldn’t be easier to make this a consistent feature through gold taps, light fixtures and more. Even the innovative Quooker Fusion tap, which is popular amongst our clients, is available in a gold or patinated brass finish!

Kitchen Featured: Hunton

Kitchen Colour Combinations

When it comes to designing your kitchen’s colour scheme, there’s no reason you should stick to just one shade! By choosing several main colours to base your design around, you avoid overwhelming the space with a single shade and can create depth and striking contrasts, helping your kitchen stand out. Here are some of our favourite kitchen colour combination ideas:

Bold Orange And Neutral Shades

If you are looking for a complete kitchen overhaul and are brave enough to go bold, then you cannot get more daring than an orange theme. Due to the vibrant nature of this shade, we recommend limiting it to just one element or feature wall and pairing it with neutral shades to avoid creating a headache-inducing space! You could even incorporate this fabulously energetic shade into features such as your splashback, appliances or shelving!

Kitchen Featured: Almond Milbourne Kitchen

Grey Shades With Silver & Black Finishes

As a timeless combination, grey shades with silver and black finishes will never go out of fashion and will continue to look modern for many years to come. The nature of grey tones means that you can choose to go light or dark, depending on your preferred aesthetic and the size of your kitchen. For those using more than one shade of grey, consider creating a gradient from the worktop down, choosing a lighter worksurface, darker cabinets and an even deeper tone for the flooring. This helps each section stand out and stops the eyes from being drawn to one specific area, allowing your kitchen design to blend seamlessly. In fact, the gradient technique can be used for many colour combinations – find a host of fabulous examples over on Coolors!

Kitchen Featured: Porter

Muted Blue And White

If you’re after a crisp, fresh kitchen aesthetic but want something a little more exciting than plain white, why not incorporate a muted blue shade into your design? With connotations of peace, calmness and tranquillity, lighter shades of blue are great for opening up space and creating a kitchen that you can use as a retreat at the end of a busy day. They also work well with many other shades, such as grey and pastel pink. The project pictured below is just one example of how muted blue can be incorporated into a fresh, white design.

Kitchen Featured: Second Nature Ellerton

Kitchen Cupboard Colour Ideas

When it comes to selecting a colour for your kitchen cupboards, don’t be afraid to think outside the box! Practically any colour and finish can be seamlessly incorporated into your kitchen design through clever pairing and the use of tasteful fixtures and accessories. Here are some of our favourite the kitchen cupboard colour ideas from our kitchen designers in Milton Keynes:

Pastel Purple

Although an unconventional colour for a kitchen, incorporating muted pastel purple cupboards into your kitchen adds an effortlessly luxurious touch to your design, offering the ultimate wow factor. When incorporating any unconventional kitchen colour into your design, it is essential to balance your colour scheme. For example, combining this statement shade with white and grey will help your kitchen stand out without becoming an eyesore! We absolutely love the stunning 1909 in-frame kitchen we designed and installed for our client, which is pictured below. It is just one example of how thinking outside the box can prove hugely successful!

Kitchen Featured: 1909 In-Frame Shaker

Neutral Wood

Although many of our clients opt for a sleek, glossy finish when designing their contemporary kitchen in Milton Keynes, this isn’t the only method of creating a super chic aesthetic that reflects the modern era. The past few years have seen the return of natural finishes and the combination of neutral shades with wood effects to create a subtle yet striking design. By opting for neutral wood cabinets paired with white, grey and black surfaces, you can create a delightfully luxurious, earthy feel in your kitchen.

If you wish to create a more traditional look in your kitchen design, using different shades of wood with a classic design can add a modern touch to the kitchen while maintaining a vintage look. An easy way to achieve this is by installing a darker colour wood and then pairing it with brass or copper handles. You can complete this design with stunning wooden stools, tables and chairs to create varying textures of wood.

Kitchen Featured: Alpina

Which Colour Scheme Will You Choose?

Deciding upon a colour scheme for your kitchen takes a lot of consideration, so it is essential to take the time to shortlist various options to determine your favourite. The colours used in your space can dramatically impact the overall feel, whether they open up the room to create a spacious atmosphere or make it appear busy and lively.

If you are unsure which colour combinations suit your personal preferences and home style and would like some first-hand inspiration, please feel free to visit our team at our kitchen showroom in Milton Keynes. Here you can find a range of beautiful kitchen layouts, styles and accessories to help you get inspired and create the perfect bespoke design!

Our team have extensive experience designing traditional, contemporary and modern kitchens in Milton Keynes, so we are more than able to bring your vision to life through premium quality products. If you’re after more kitchen design inspiration, why not check out our previous article for our top renovation ideas?