Choosing paint colours!

7 years ago

Hi,

We are currently coming to the end of a major extension work of our home and we seem to be finding it difficult to decide on what paint to use where! I would start with our kitchen and would be grateful for any advice on what to do.

Basically, our new kitchen/diner has gloss cashmere units and a quartz white (with specs of grey) worktop. We have 3 rooftop lights and a bifold door that gives us loads of lighting. I am tending towards a colour that is a little bit darker just to give the kitchen a bit of a contrast (without loosing the lighting effect)

but scared that I may choose wrongly! I am also not sure what kind and colour of dining I should get. Would be grateful for advice as we have just about a week before the painters turn up!

The flooring is engineered wood, a light natura sand oaks colour that also has a touch of grey in it.

Many many thanks

Featured Answer

PRO

Modus Kitchens

7 years ago

I've attached 3 pictures which may explain a little better the idea we had. The pictures show a white kitchen with light grey walls as your kitchen units are probably a warmer colour we would suggest going down the warmer grey tones.

As for a backsplash what material will this be in?

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Comments (18)

PRO
Modus Kitchens
7 years ago
Hi Hazel,

Lovely new kitchen! As you have said your flooring is going to be wooden which will warm up the room, we would suggest going a few shades darker than your kitchen cabinets. Your room is lovely and bright so can take a slightly darker tone. This will give some contrast between the walls and the units too. Also by going a few shades darker or lighter in the same colour as the cabinets you are not introducing another colour per se into the design.

We hope this helps,

The team at Modus
hazeloct2 thanked Modus Kitchens
hazeloct2
Original Author
7 years ago
Thanks for this! Do you have any ideas of what these colours maybe as per your suggestion? I forgot to add that we intend to put a splashback. What colour would you suggest for this?

Thanks
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@Carolina I like the colours in the photo you've shared, they look more neutral than grey which is what I want. Do you know what colours they might be? To give you more of an idea of the space this photo is taken from the kitchen end of the room facing away from the kitchen and I've added Amitco Blonde Oak added using their clever room visualiser (we want a wood effect LVT which brings warmth to the room) . You can see we do have the dark framed doors (anthracite grey) which might help tie in a dark island, although they are some distance away. Was also thinking of going dark blinds in the bay window, such as these double roller in iron grey. But maybe better going for Navy if we went with @Juliet Docherty's suggestion of Basalt 221 We're having Quartz worktops and wanted to keep it white with a subtle vein, so something like this. This was my attempt at a mood board which I put together many months ago when starting the project.
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hazeloct2
Original Author
7 years ago
Hi, this looks nice! We are looking at a glass splashback and just had a bit of a brainwave to get that in Olive and paint the walls grey using Dulux Egyptian cotton or Just Walnut?

What are your thoughts on this? I must add that the bifold doors are dark coloured too.

Thanks
PRO
Catherine White Interiors
7 years ago
Hi Hazel! We have used Dulux Egyptian cotton in several projects, and have been consistently happy with the results. It seems to be a good, hard working grey, and I think it would look great here. Best bet is to order a sample pot, and try it out in-situ. Best of luck with your project! Post photos when you are done!!
hazeloct2 thanked Catherine White Interiors
PRO
Amber Jeavons Ltd
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
Hello Hazel,

Consider the accessories when thinking about colour as this could give you a starting point. I love to add textural elements which really bring a scheme to life. It can take a 2D interior and make it visually exciting.

So add woods and other natural materials which will help too, things like chopping boards and marbles in the form of chopping boards and or serving slabs, pestle and mortars. Bespoke ceramic bowl as a centre piece or fruit bowl... Something artisanal and unique which will add to and enrich your kitchen beautifully..

Then add some foliage.. Lovely vase of something leafy for example. It's all the little things that add up to the complete look.. It can be real or faux as there are a lot of fabulous places now selling faux.. I make my own arrangements and offer this service to clients but it's rather a lovely way to complete a room...

For me and my choice of paint, I love the dense chalky finish - it would be a lovely contrast with the sheen of your cabinet doors.. Green greys are a fantastic alternative to grey..

Another way to add texture to your scheme is to consider glass metro tiles for a splashback. Or you could consider transparent sheet glass and paint the wall the desired colour. See how the chosen colour works throughout the day with the light and so paint onto A4 paper and move it round the intended areas. This way you'll really get an idea of how it's going to work..

It's coming along and so really it's just a few finishing touches.. : ))
hazeloct2 thanked Amber Jeavons Ltd
hazeloct2
Original Author
7 years ago
To add a bit of a twist to the plot, I am including more pictures of the open plan living room/lounge which flows through to the kitchen/ diner I posted earlier. I would appreciate paint ideas that would flow through seamlessly.

The flooring has just been laid as seen in the pictures. Grateful for any ideas or suggestions.

Thanks in advance
Sal Pigott
7 years ago
Hi Hazel, just finished my Cashmere kitchen & thought I'd share results as experienced EXACTLY same colour/splashback dilemmas!
I went for similar unit colour in end (Dulux Mellow mocha) with a contrast colour (copper blush) & added splashback texture with slate split face effect tile to offset against shiny gloss units, which we also featured on island too. There were a lot of test pot tones of cashmere tried. In fact Mellow Mocha actually looked lilac without units and was replaced with 'Polished Pebble' which (once units installed) looked baby blue so was changed back again gah!!
Think we got it right in end and we're really pleased with results but test try your cashmere/complementary tones - they really can look different in situ!
Enjoy the process - great colour choice btw
hazeloct2
Original Author
7 years ago
Sal,

Your kitchen looks beautiful! Its such a pain having to choose colours but I guess its definately worth it at the end. Going to order some test pots today and try as suggested.

I like the feel mellow mocha gave to your kitchen - bounces back light and the contrast on the other side of the wall - the copper blush! Looking at doing something similar but want whatever colour I choose to flow through our lounge (its open plan) without 'breaking' the feel- if you get what I mean!

Thanks, will defo post pics once done.
k11agl
7 years ago
Try gentle fawn if you like the looks of mellow mocha but without the baby lilac look. I used it in my kitchen with cashmere units and they were almost identical in colour. Changed recently to F&B's shadow white and a charleston gray accent wall to make it same as our lounge directly above. Otherwise gentle fawn is a colour id use over and over again.
hazeloct2 thanked k11agl
PRO
Pat Oliver Interior Design
7 years ago
Your kitchen has a neutral scheme, so why not inject a splash of bright colour such a orange? You could use orange glass for a splashback at the hob and under the units at that end, then bring orange into the dining end through chairs or pendant lighting over the table. Cushions on a neutral settee in orange and another colour like yellow or lime will give the living end of your open plan some kick.
hazeloct2 thanked Pat Oliver Interior Design
A S
7 years ago
Hi, where are these Cashmere units from?
hazeloct2
Original Author
7 years ago
Hi, we got them from wickes
hazeloct2
Original Author
7 years ago
Hi all, thank you so much for your suggestions and idea. I thought I would share what colours we eventually decided to go for. We chose Intense truffle and Mellow mocha ( dulux range) as they are tonal blends. We used Intense truffle for the kitchen area and mellow mocha for the living room area. We decided to splash on colours instead of sticking with neutral tones. I have attached pictures (pardon the mess!). Any suggestions on what colour of splashbacks we should go for? We want to use glass for these. Many thanks.
A S
7 years ago
@k11agl
hi, would you have any images off how gentle fawn looks in a room?? I don't think testers capture the essence off how the colour looks in a full room, many thanks.
k11agl
7 years ago
Hey there! Trying to find a couple of gentle fawn photos for you here. Hope it helps. Do bear in mind it might not come out very similar as your intense truffle is a lot darker than mine. It used to be almost dark lavender in my bedroom!!
hazeloct2 thanked k11agl
hazeloct2
Original Author
7 years ago
We have now used mellow mocha and Intense truffle for our living/Kitchen area
PRO
Woodpecker Flooring
7 years ago
Hi, we think a mid to dark shade of ashen-blue would look great in this space and make a lovely complement to the grey tones in your flooring.

A shade like Denim Drift: https://www.dulux.co.uk/en/colour-details/denim-drift

Or this darker number from Farrow & Ball: http://www.farrow-ball.com/stiffkey-blue/colours/farrow-ball/fcp-product/100281

How fun having a space to paint up from scratch :)