Pale green fascias would go well with the existing worktop and flooring.

Hi, your kitchen is lovely and I love your industrial style details

Is there any way you could add lighting to the ceiling or cabinetry?

A local electrician could quote - you would need miniature downlights which are relatively painless to install and would add another layer of lighting for you Add these to all the corners of the room if you can - beams allowing. They are tiny and if you get the small white ones so they almost disappear into the ceiling they work like a dream.

With your dark worktops, grey toned floor and the nice wall colour I'd be inclined to follow that industrial style and paint the lower cabinetry in a charcoal colour, and the upper cabinets and tall combined unit in a lighter colour. I was thinking a warm grey like a trade paint (Johnstone's for example) colour copy of Farrow's elephants breath or Ammonite would work really well. If you were to paint them in satin finish they would have a very subtle 20% sheen and help bounce the light around.

You could add some smoked glass as a backsplash to also help ping the light around too.

Then add a soft fabric blind with colour and mount it as high as you can above the window to make the window feel really tall and allow more light to come in from there so it just covers the top edge of that space - and that will help to lift the window area. and transform it into a lovely feature.

Lovely space to work with! Floor is lovely too.

Good luck!

Thanks for all your thoughts. I do worry about the durability but paint is the most affordable option I think. Sonia, it’s good to hear that the paint worked for your friend.

Sonia, when you say fascias do you mean just part of each cupboard?

Haysey there is lighting under some of the cabinets and in the plinths below but I didn’t turn it on for the photos. I can think about adding more to the ceiling
I quite like the idea of a two time design but I worry about charcoal making the space feel smaller. What do you think about blues? We have borrowed light farrow and ball copy in some rooms. I definitely think a fabric blind would be better. What colour were you thibking? What kind of handles work well with industrial style?

Fascias are the fronts, so drawers and cupboard doors but don't forget any end panels.

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I actually think the kitchen looks classic and stylish, I wouldn't repaint it. I would however paint the walls a warm colour from the floor tiles. The range of values (lights and darks) looks perfectly balanced so if you do repaint it, just think about this. If you paint the cupboards a pale colour (like the floor) I would look for a colour in the veining of the floor tiles.

From experience, a fabric blind above a sink isn’t a good idea, unless you want to replace it VERY regularly!

I would invest in replacing the single door for a wider sliding or bifold door. It would bring in more light and improve connection with the garden. Units are fine as they are but black metal handles might pull things together

@anneredduxblack if the fabric is in outdoor fabric - eg something by Sunbrella, and it's just to dress the window to soften the room it will be fine :)

My best advice with roman blinds generally, is always to hang them high - as close to the ceiling as you can to heighten the room and give the illusion the window is bigger than it is, which also means you allow maximum light into the room and the edge of the blind just covers the top edge of the window, again, softening the appearance.

Hope that clarifies/helps a little. :)

@kb101 If you try using Johnstones scrubbable matt that is really good endurance paint, as is Benjamin Moore paint and also Dulux Diamond in my experience. You can really wash it and it stays where it should. :)

Industrial style handle ideas for you : https://plankhardware.com/products/kepler-knurled-t-bar-pull-handle-industrial-grey although I think the handles you have a fine, really nice ones. :)

Once you've sussed out your colour scheme for the walls and cabinetry, including the handles, order some sample fabrics and lay out your colours (painted out on paper) - put it all together on your kitchen table or worktop to see what you love instinctually. You're looing for something that brings all your colours together or nods to a colour already in the room and brings in a second colour to lift the design a bit further which you are drawn to.

Interior Rule Top Tip - 3 wow factors in a room maximum to keep it from feeling busy - so if you're going for a heavy bold colour that will be one of them.

I tend to prefer to use paired back colours and textures fabrics at windows usually (depending on the project) so that the focus remains on the room features and the walls and windows provide a backdrop to it all. It depends on what you want to achieve - if you want this area to be a focal point, then go for it creatively.

Hope that helps! Good luck! :)

A paint job would transform the space. If it’s well primed and sanded it should be durable. I would consider repurposing one of the cupboards as a bin. Maybe the one under the sink. I would also consider removing the wall cupboards (not the fridge and cooker obviously ) and replace with open shelves especially in the corner at the washing machine. Your table and chairs are lovely but you could recover to fit into your colour scheme. Simple pared back colours and textures will make space feel much more spacious. In time, you might consider a built in seat at that corner where you have your table. Or you could just add a bench seat for when you want to dine.

I think your kitchen looks timeless, but the idea of dark handles to match the chair legs would pull it together and the Roman blind idea is also better.
The cabinets could be painted, but it’s important to have an excellent job done, otherwise it could easily be a bad decision.
I’d want to have my bin in a cupboard too.
The idea of a bigger glass door would be great, if you aren’t going to extend in the future, otherwise not worth the expense.
It might be good to have a cheerful cloth on the table, that echoes the Roman blind and possibly a rug under it, which would zone the area, but it seems a “busy” view into the hall, would it be possible to have milky glass doors to keep the two areas out of view from each other, without loosing light? The paint colours on the walls could be changed to zone the dining area from the working area too and more pictures/hanging plates always cheer up bare walls, but that’s just my views, whatever you do, it’s your home, nota show house and you’ve got to live in it, so whatever you choose, will be right for you.

Siobhan what colour would you paint?

Ukoap what colour blind do you think? I was wondering about sage green. I think doors wouldn’t work for us with little children around. I’ll accept the busy view

Sage green for the roman blind is a lovely timeless, warm colour - a brilliant neutral, great idea kb101

Try p-interesting some ideas, but here's a good one to start https://pin.it/7i8PiHT

https://pin.it/7H03xi6

I like the cherry colour of the cabinet fronts. Personally I think that particular wood looks higher end than painted cabinets and for that reason I wouldn’t paint the cabinets. But I do feel that the current pale green walls look insipid against this cabinet colour and you need either a colour that disappears (so similar to the floor). Or a stronger version of the complimentary colour….. which means if your cabinets are red (ish) then green is a good colour but I think a stronger version is in order. I like Farrow and Ball Vardo and Bancha, and Little Greene Mid Azure Green.

If you do decide to paint the cabinets then I think peoples suggestion to go green is influenced by the current colour and the wall colour. But in reality with a stone coloured floor and a black worktop you can choose any colour.

I also think the room is missing pattern so a rug or blind would be a super addition

The current wall colour is Dulux Egyptian cotton so a neutral colour.

Am finding myself agreeing that the kitchen seems a good quality and it would be a shame to paint and find the finish deteriorates. Try the smaller suggestions of changing hardware, adding more under cabinet lighting and thinking about wall colour before painting cabinetry. Another suggestion would be to consider the globes in the current lights. A brighter globe in the cooler white light could help. It may be that increasing the under cabinet lighting, or lighting overall, will help.