How to choose your new green kitchen cabinets

Is Green the new Navy? - How to choose your new green kitchen cabinets

Green kitchens have been in our peripheral vision for a while now and whilst Navy has become such a classic colour I wondered if the perfect shade of green might pip it to the popularity post before 2019 is out? What do you think?

If you have recently swapped your comparatively relaxing weekends for marathon walks around your local kitchen showroom or taken to Pinterest like your life depended on it, then you will understand the headache of trying to choose the perfect kitchen cabinet colour.......and if green kitchen cabinets have also been featuring on your radar, I can totally empathise with you....trying to agree on the right TONE is another joy entirely! With so many kitchen elements to consider, getting the right collaboration can be difficult. 

Which shade of green should I choose for my kitchen cabinets?

If you have ever redecorated your house and tried to picture what a room might look like from a small sample painted on the wall, then you know how much imagination is needed to get the right shade. The varying pigments in each tin of paint can affect how warm, cool, grey or clean a colour is, and getting this right will affect the overall success of your project. 

Green is a particularly organic colour and can bring natural warmth to your room, but variations on the colour can completely change the personality of your kitchen.  

For instance, a pale grey-greenworks beautifully in a contemporary kitchen. Try samples in 'Cromarty', 'Mizzle', 'Blue Gray', and 'Pigeon' from the Farrow and Ball range. (left)

In a country cottage however, where the walls are thicker and the windows are smaller, try yellow based greens to enhance the light, such as 'Green Ground', 'Cooking Apple Green' and 'Ball Green', also from the Farrow and Ball range. (right)

Sidenote: I'm not on commission for F&B (honest!) but I do use their colour chart as a BIBLE in my life because all their colours come with really useful descriptions - (see previous blog post on How to choose the right paint.) 

If you fancy a vibrant, pop of colour then 'Yeabridge Green', 'Breakfast Room Green', or 'Calke Green' might be better options as these are cleaner greens and will inspire the liveliest of kitchen decorators. (below left)      

Finally if you are on a mission to add depth, mood and a taste of the industrial then try samples such as 'Card Room Green', 'GreenSmoke', or 'Studio Green' right.

You might already know what you want your kitchen to 'say'  and have narrowed your colours into a mere few choices, but before you finalise your decision, there is one more (boring, but) important question to bear in mind; How will the light affect my final scheme?'

How will the light affect the colour of my kitchen cabinets?

This is a vital question that you need to ask yourself when finalising your colour choice. Light can have a massive impact on colour, and choosing your perfect shade in a decorators showroom before trying it out on the walls of your own kitchen can be the difference between a 'perfectly chosen colour that suits your room entirely' and a 'colour that you would not have chosen had your life depended on it'.

As a general rule, in a well lit space your chosen colour will appear brighter and lighter than when dimly lit, so if you have a modern kitchen with lots of natural light then your colour choice should be quite simple. However, its always a good idea to also consider which windows the light is coming from (curve -ball?). For instance if all your windows are above your kitchen worktops on one elevation only, then the cabinets beneath your light source will appear darker. (left)

Alternatively, if your windows are on more than one elevation, opposite your kitchen cabinets or built into the ceiling, then your chosen colour will be well illuminated.

The type of light can also vary depending on its compass direction. A north facing light turns colours cooler and darker, so it is best to opt for a shade lighter and brighter than you may otherwise have chosen. A south facing light casts a warm glow, illuminating colours to their best affect but be careful when using yellow-greens as the yellow will appear more dominant in a south facing light. 

Other ways to install some green vibes

If you are desperate to jump on the green wagon but don't want to commit to a brand new kitchen, its easy to inject some green in other, smaller, more budget friendly ways. Have a think about whether you could install some new tiles to bring your kitchen up to date, paint some walls or even some or your kitchen panels...(I'll save these ideas for another post!)

I would love to know if you have made the leap already, please share your favourite shades of green with me.

Let me know in the comments below. 

Coming up in the NEXT post.........My plans for 2019 including a monumental (read scary) overseas move and some big changes to business (including a total website overhaul coming soon).

See you there! 

Kerry. 

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