4 inspiring and stylish kitchen colour schemes
03.2022
4 broad colour combinations to help you match the colour of your kitchen floor and cabinets
How to match the colour of your kitchen floor and cabinets
When it comes to interior design, one of the most challenging rooms is the kitchen**,** whether you are working on a new build or renovation**.** There are so many practical aspects to take into account in terms of layout and whiteware, from bench height to type of stove, from flooring to cabinetry, that it can be a minefield. Then, once those elements are dealt with, there’s the fun (and challenge) of thinking about colours. Dark or light floor? Muted or colourful walls? Should the cabinetry match the walls or create a contrast? The list goes on.
We’ve put together some ideas that we hope will inspire and help you if you’re thinking about changing your kitchen colour scheme. In the interests of space, we’ve gone for 4 broad colour combinations that you can follow as a reliable rule of thumb in most situations, unless, of course, you have something particularly extreme or theme-based in mind!
The most popular kitchen flooring trends
At Salvatori we have long been fans of the understated approach, opting for timeless, elegant design that will be just as relevant in ten years as today.
That said, however, certain styles, trends and even materials have their moment in their sun and right now the kitchen floor solutions most in vogue are:
- Wood parquet
- Resin and cement
- Natural stone
- Cementine tiles
All four share three traits that make them ideal, in varying degrees, for use on a kitchen floor:
- Hardwearing
- Easy to clean
- Water resistant
Before we talk about colour, it goes without saying that whatever surface you choose for your floor, it must be easy to clean, but nowhere is this so important as in a kitchen. This is also the room in any home where water and all sorts of liquids are going to end up on the floor, which is why water-resistance is such a key factor. And, of course, a floor has to be tough because inevitably, it is going to be prone to bumps, scrapes and hard wear and tear – after all, the kitchen is, in many ways, a kind of workshop!
Now, onto colour, an element that can also play its part in disguising dirt, dust and even the various scratches and “souvenirs” of a hard-working kitchen floor. Surprisingly, dark floors will show up fluff, crumbs and the like, more than a lighter shade. Aside from this practical aspect, however, you need to think about how the colour of the floor will work with that of the cabinetry. The wrong choice can completely distort the look and feel of the kitchen, and, given it’s a room where you generally go to “work” rather than “rest”, creating an inviting environment can make a big difference to your mood and state of mind!
We could talk about all sorts of combinations of colour and material, but to avoid writing ‘War and Peace’ we’ve opted for the material from our list above that most delivers on the three key characteristics of a kitchen floor, ie wearability, water resistance and easy cleaning. It doesn’t hurt, either, that it’s also no slouch when it comes to aesthetics. In short, we’re putting the focus on natural stone so let’s take a look at 4 failsafe colour combinations for your dream kitchen.
The 4 best kitchen colour combinations
We’re going to take a long at 4 stylish kitchen colour ideas that are easy to achieve and will result in a space that will have you feeling inspired to create fantastic culinary delights (we’re an Italian brand, of course we have to mention food!).
As we said, there are a host of combinations when it comes to choosing the colour scheme for your kitchen, but we’ve done the hard work for you and narrowed it down to 4 timeless, but contemporary, solutions:
- Light cabinetry with a dark floor
- Dark cabinetry with a light floor
- Grey cabinetry and flooring
- A neutral colour palette
Let’s get down to business and take a look at each in more detail and discover just how the right colour combination of a floor and cabinets can help create a wow kitchen.
Light-coloured kitchen cabinets, dark flooring
If you are a fan of modern design, this will hit your sweet spot. The contrast of light-coloured cupboards with a dark stone floor is not only striking, but also minimal and clean-looking. The floor creates the canvas, allowing the cabinetry to stand out. Add plenty of light, whether that’s natural or artificial, and you create an almost theatrical environment, as shown in this photo.
Dark cabinetry, light flooring
The exact opposite of our previous combination, the pairing of dark cabinetry with a light-coloured floor is just as popular and stylish. The dark vertical surfaces are not only extremely contemporary, but they have a decluttering effect on a kitchen, making the space seem cleaner and sleeker.
Creating balance, a lighter coloured floor makes the kitchen environment seem larger and more spacious, however on the down side, scratches and scrapes can be more visible than on a darker surface. If you are opting for a pale floor, to avoid a bland, washed-out look, ensure that not only the cabinetry is dark (whether that is brown, blue, green or even black), but also pieces such as tables and stools.
An all-grey kitchen
Another way to describe this is as a total look and this all-grey colour scheme is very popular right now. Maybe in the past, grey was considered drab, but these days it is the epitome of elegance and perfect for a kitchen where you want to have both the floor and cabinetry in the same colour, although of course, there are plenty of shades to choose from, graduating through the palette of greys.
The look is slightly industrial, but retains elegance and is oh, so stylish. A grey stone floor is great for disguising the inevitable scrapes and scratches that accumulate over time, which we fondly think of as the “mementos” of a much loved, lived-in room. And, given that a kitchen is somewhere you don’t want to have to be fussing around, worrying about every speck of dust or the slightest mark, we are fans of the philosophy of just embracing those “flaws” and remembering the great party or lunch when they happened.
A kitchen in neutral tones
Last, but not least, we come to our neutral-coloured kitchen, often a safe choice but no less valid, because after all, there is a reason it is so popular. By “neutral” we mean subdued tones such as beige, brown and cream, which is why stones such as our Crema d’Orcia limestone is so often chosen for kitchens, as in the photo above.
Combining these types of shades for your floor and cabinets, choosing from a palette ranging from pale cream through to chocolate brown, creates a warm, welcoming kitchen that strikes the right note between too oppressive (all dark) and too bland or sterile (all light).
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