Time to paint the kitchen—yes! You’ve been planning this project for a while, and now that it’s time to go ahead with it, you want to make sure you get it right. And that means starting with the right paint color combo. Seriously, the first thing you’re likely to do is look at paint swatches until your eyes are spinning in your head. In fact, according to a well-known home décor website, your eyes can distinguish nearly seven million different colors. Of course, you don’t want to look at that many paint swatches, now do you?! So how do you go about determining which paint color or colors are right for your kitchen? Here are some tips from residential painters on how to narrow down just the right colors for your kitchen.
The Cabinets and Countertops
Look at your cabinets and countertops first. Because the cabinets, and often the countertops too, are everywhere in your kitchen, you need to make sure everything’s coordinated with them. If you’re thinking of staining them, choose that first. Then you can decide what paint colors to choose for the walls, based on the stain you’ve picked. One of the hottest stains these days is ‘natural.’ If you’re painting your cabinets, you’ll still want to choose that color or color combo first, and then decide upon what colors will go with them for the rest of your kitchen.
The Appliances
If you’re replacing any of the appliances, mesh the cabinet stain or paint colors you’ve chosen with the color and style of the appliances. If you have stainless steel appliances—you’re in luck. Stainless steel appliances go well with nearly every color. If your appliances aren’t stainless steel and you find you’re having a tough time matching up kitchen paint colors with them, consider contacting a residential painter near you for inspiration. These folks know how to match up colors.
Flooring
Many floors have a number of different colors throughout, which can make it a little more difficult to match up colors. Conversely, all those different colors can also make it easier to find one that works! So—which is it—harder or easier? It’s a dilemma that isn’t easily solved, but it can be done. Get yourself a color wheel. These handy little artist’s gadgets show relationships between colors, with those that are directly across from each being complementary colors. Be sure to also consider the texture of the floor if you’re considering painting any of your kitchen’s walls with a textured paint.
Additional Tips:
- If your kitchen is a little dark and cold for your tastes, some paint colors can help. Consider painting with warm, bright colors such as yellows and oranges. You can even add in some red if you’re going for a look that’s a little more dramatic.
- If your kitchen is extra sunny, try adding in a little coolness. Purple, blue, and some shades of green and gray are cool colors that a bright, sunny kitchen can handle with ease. They can even make it a little more on the romantic side, if you’re looking to change things up a bit.
- Black is hot this year, even for kitchens. Black accents throughout your kitchen will help to dress it up, giving it a chic look and feel. Try black accents on chair rails or on cabinet door accessories for something totally unique.
Your home is your showplace. It’s central to the happiness of you and your family, and its kitchen is, well, happiness central! No other room in your house sees more lively activity, and that’s why it’s so important that you choose the right paint colors for your new kitchen home improvement project. The bad news is—there are so many colors they can make your head spin. The good news is—if you follow the above streamlined methodology, you’ll easily find just the right shades, tints, and hues for your kitchen. Start by eliminating all colors you hate. Then look to your kitchen’s cabinetry and countertops. Then look at the colors of the appliances. Next consider the flooring colors and textures. Finally, move to the accents such as backsplashes. After all this, you should be able to nail down just the right color palette that will transform your kitchen into a stunning living space.
