If you’re sick of staring at cracked, drooping wallpaper as you chop onions and do the dishes, then it’s time to update the look of your kitchen. And, with Integrity Painting of Winnipeg, that couldn’t be easier. We can peel off that old paper and apply a couple of layers of fresh paint to give your kitchen a new, warm look. You’ll love the updated look of your kitchen, and so will your guests. After all, everyone tends to end up in the kitchen anyway — so you may as well make the most of this gathering space. So, how do you settle on the right colour options for your kitchen? How do you make everything (from the cupboards to the countertops) match with your new wall paint? Well, we have a few tips that you can employ to make the most of your space. Here’s our two cents:
Start With Lighting
Your lighting should be the first consideration when you’re updating your kitchen. Ask yourself: Do you have plenty of light? Is it warm light? Is it natural light? Are you content with the amount of light in your kitchen as is? Now, if you have plenty of natural lighting, and plenty of lights that you can flip on as the sun goes down, you can opt for either light colours or dark colours throughout your space — at this point, your options are endless with a well-lit kitchen. If, however, you don’t have much natural light, or you have dim lighting throughout your space, you should be wary of paint colours that are too dark or too light (we’ll come back to this ladder bit in a second).
You don’t want to use paint colours that are too dark, or they’ll make your kitchen feel smaller and a bit cold. Instead, opt for cheerier colours that make the most of the lighting that you have. Go with a tan colour over dark chocolate brown. Or opt for a seafoam green instead of an evergreen.
You’ll also want to shy away from colours that are too bright if you have a kitchen with little lighting. Take pure white, or even eggshell white, for instance. If you’re coating your walls with bright tones, shadows will be obvious as they’re cast across the surface, and that can make for a jarring composition. Instead, make your paint colour a few shades darker or more muted than their most vibrant tone. Your kitchen will have fewer stark contrasts across its surfaces, which will prove more welcoming. So, instead of going with a baby blue, you can dial it back to a pale blue.
Consider Your Space
We’ve already touched on this one a bit, but you should consider the amount of space that your kitchen has. If you have a large kitchen, you have plenty of space (literally) to play with. That provides you with extra opportunity. You can get creative by opting for an accent colour or two, in addition to the main colour for your kitchen walls. You can also use darker colours, since your space won’t feel smaller, even with these heavier hues.
If you have a smaller kitchen, you’ll want to open it up with lighter colours. Lighter colours make a space more breathable and comfortable, which can transform even the most cramped kitchen into an airy space. You can still get creative with an accent colour in a small kitchen as well. Fortunately, most smaller kitchens have interesting wall shapes, where the walls meet windows, countertops, and cabinets at odd angles. These interesting wall spaces can be accented with a bit of colour to draw the eye. Or, on the other hand, you can make these walls your main paint colour to keep the eyes of onlookers moving throughout the kitchen. Just be cautious not to overdo your accents, or the composition of your kitchen can appear muddled or hectic.
Consider Your Surroundings
Next, take a look at the appliances, cabinetry, and countertops in your kitchen — and don’t forget the tile and floors. These features of your kitchen are an inevitable part of its composition, so you shouldn’t ignore how your upcoming paint colour (or colours) will interact with the surrounding items in the kitchen.
Let’s start from the ground up. Take a keen look at your floor. If you have a lighter floor, you can opt for a light wall colour to continue the theme. On the other hand, a bold eggplant purple accent colour will truly pop if you have light wood floors. There are really no hard rules here, just be sure to compare your colour swatches with your floors before you have us lay on the paint. Your floor is a great place to start, since it’s likely the last thing that you’ll change in your kitchen. After all, you can tear out the oven, replace the countertops, and install new cabinetry in a renovation, but you might keep that old hardwood around.
When it comes to the rest of your kitchen, the same rules apply. Weigh your colour swatches against the appliances, cabinetry, tile, and countertops to determine a few colours that work well with all of these components. You might find that a burnt mustard yellow works well with white cabinetry, but it looks odd against your stainless steel stovetop. Perhaps you’d better consider that robin’s egg blue instead.
If you have tile in your kitchen (perhaps as a backsplash behind the sink and stovetop), then this is a good place to start as you’re narrowing down your favorite colour options that work well with the staples of your kitchen. You can opt for a colour that is similar to your tile, to add continuity. Or, on the flip side, you can go with a complementary colour (a colour on the opposite end of the colour wheel) to give your walls and tile a bit more of an exciting interaction.
What About Fixtures?
If you have fixtures throughout your space, they shouldn’t go overlooked. Perhaps you have a wood and steel chandelier with Edison bulbs. Or maybe you have a copper pot rack hanging from the ceiling of your kitchen. While these fixtures are secondary to the components that we just mentioned, they still hold weight in the overall aesthetic of your kitchen, so don’t neglect to compare your colour swatches side by side with these components. And remember, if you can’t settle on a colour that works well with all of the components of your kitchen, it may be easiest to swap out these less permanent fixtures if you’ve settled on a paint colour that simply won’t work with all of the elements of your kitchen as well as that new coat of paint.
Accent Walls
Once you’ve settled on a colour palette for the walls of your kitchen, it’s time to consider its accent walls. Now, you don’t have to paint accent walls in your kitchen. In fact, it’s often better to stick with one colour throughout the spaces of your kitchen. Accent colours may overwhelm the composition of your kitchen if you have little paintable wall space throughout your kitchen. In addition, accent walls may not be the best idea if you already have a kitchen full of varying colours and textures. In these instances, a contiguous paint colour will serve as a good backdrop for the rest of those features of your kitchen — the components of your kitchen will end up serving as its accents and the foci of the space.
If your kitchen is suited for accent walls, you should still keep it rather simple. Often two colours will be plenty for an entire kitchen. Three can prove to be too many. When you’re selecting an accent wall or walls, consider smaller walls throughout your kitchen first. After all, these walls will prove to be an accent — instead of overwhelming the composition. When you’re considering colour options for the accents of your kitchen, we often recommend going with colours that are similar. Pull a few swatches that are on the same side of the colour wheel if you’re thinking about painting some accent walls. You can even go with the same colour, yet change the tone. For example, you could go with a daisy yellow for the main colour of your kitchen, and then a burnt yellow or grey-yellow to give your space an accent.
Kick Off Your Project Today!
Have you settled on the best colours to make the most of your kitchen? Well, we’re eager to help you paint your space. If you live here in the Winnipeg area, we’d be happy to help you to paint the interior of your home. We can also help you to settle on a colour palette if you’re still stuck — after all, we’ve painted hundreds of homes, so we have a bit of expertise on the matter! Feel free to give us a call if you’re ready to paint the interior of your home, or if you need a bit of help deciding on the ideal colour scheme for your kitchen!
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