The kitchen is the hub of the home. Everybody uses the kitchen multiple times a day to grab a drink, prepare meals and stop for a chat. Renovating this space is usually expensive and very inconvenient. That’s why kitchen upgrades need careful consideration and planning. You have all kinds of options when it comes to your new kitchen, and one choice you must make is the color of the cabinets.

These days there are hundreds of different shades available. From deep, dark tones to light, airy hues, your next kitchen can be any color you dream of. So how do you pick the right one? You need to ask yourself the following questions:

How long do you plan to live in this home?

This might sound like an odd question when talking about kitchen cabinet colors, but it can influence your choice. If you don’t plan on staying in the home for long, then it is better to choose a more contemporary color. Future buyers could be put off by a kitchen that isn’t to their taste.

You can devalue your property if people think they’ll have to replace the kitchen immediately because it’s too bold. It is safer to go for a neutral color such as white, cream or wood. If, however, you are modernizing your forever home that’ll grow with your family, you can pick any color you want. Go for a vivid shade if that’s what you like, you’ve only yourself to please.

How big is your kitchen?

With a smaller kitchen, you should go for lighter tones to help create a feeling of space. This applies to the cabinets, countertop, flooring and backsplash. Choose pale grey or white cabinets with light oak or stone flooring for instance. It’s amazing what the right tones can do.

If you have a large kitchen, you can afford to choose darker shades of blue, grey, green or red. With high ceilings, darker cabinets provide a feeling of coziness. You can also choose to have the wall cabinets in a different color than the floor cabinets to create a bespoke look. Different combinations can give you stunning results.

Do you have a style in mind?

If you have a specific look in mind, the color you pick will help achieve it. To give your kitchen a beach-house feel, chalky blue mixed with white and cream are the ideal colors to choose. For a country kitchen style, scrubbed pine countertops with sage green cabinets give you the perfect combination.

A retro kitchen requires fun colors such as bubblegum pink, soft turquoise or one of the other pop-art colors from the 50s and 60s. If you want a futuristic, high-tech vibe then black, grey and white with stainless steel features is the color palette for you. Choose heritage shades such as dark teal or burgundy to create a period or traditional feel in your kitchen.

For all of these styles, you don’t have to strive for authentic shades, just a hint of the right color here and there will help you obtain the overall feel.

What do you want your kitchen to say?

Nowadays, we tend to use our kitchens for many reasons. Families congregate in this room and friends drink coffee in there too. Do you want your kitchen to be the fun hub of the home? If so, go for lively colors like terracotta, mint green and lavender. For a calm space, choose soft green or dusky blue. To add drama to cocktail night with the gang, go for spicy red, navy blue or matte black with splashes of gold here and there.

Decide on your floors and tiles

If you are leaving existing wall tiles or flooring, think about what compliments it. Equally, if you want a specific pattern or color on the backsplash, keep it in mind when choosing the kitchen cabinet shade.

You don’t want too much going on with tones fighting with each other. You might have to live with a mistake for a long time if you don’t get it right. Don’t forget, colors on paper aren’t always the same as the real thing so try to get samples to make sure you know what you are ordering.

Do you like to change accessories regularly?

Changing the color of the kitchen cabinets or the worktops is expensive to do regularly, but you can alter the way to room looks by refreshing little things in the kitchen. You could swap out the window blinds or reupholster the stools; buy a different fruit bowl or add color with new tea towels.

If you like to do this sort of thing often, make sure your cabinet color is flexible enough. If you pick red, for example, you are limited on new shades to introduce. With cream or light grey, however, you can add new pieces in a wide range of other colors or patterns.

To sum it up

You only get to choose a new kitchen a few times in your life so have fun deciding on your next one. There are lots of things to think about, but a little understanding of how colors affect the final style will help.

Consider all the factors before settling on the final shade. You can mix and match two or three colors if you want, there are no rules to follow. The colors you pick will give you a unique kitchen that you’ll love spending time in. To help with all your home design projects, check out our huge selection of other ideas.

Author:  Ray Brosnan is the co-owner of Brosnan Property Solutions, a property maintenance and facility management company based in Ireland. Brosnan Property Solutions also offer domestic services such as plumbers, electricians, rood repairs, and much more.