22 colourful kitchens that will convince you to whip out the paint brush

Anyone with timber kitchen cabinets has thought about lashing some paint on them at one stage or another. Maybe it’s starting to yellow and you just can’t get on board, maybe it’s scuffed beyond repair from too many scooter crashes as little ones race around… or maybe you just need a change.

We’ve been speaking to the experts on how exactly to get the perfect finish on your painted cabinets. And now that you’ve got the technique down, it’s time to settle on a colour.

While white, muted hues, natural finishes and navy are by far the most popular palette for kitchens, some of the IMAGE interiors team’s absolute favourite kitchens have been the bright and colourful ones.

So what are you thinking? Red? Pink? Green? Blue? We’ve got a round-up of colourful kitchens inspiration to get your creative tastebuds flowing.

Yellow

Yellow is a surprisingly popular choice for kitchens but when you see a few in real life, you start to understand why. The yellow kitchen, below, is in the Limerick home of Amanda Sawyer. Bright and cheery, it brings some life to her return kitchen and makes you want to relax and cook in it all day.

Amanda Sawyer‘s Limerick home, photographed by Al Higgins

The home of Geoff Kirk, photographed by Mark Scott

If you’re looking for something a bit more retro, then this beautiful butter-yellow kitchen in the home of Geoff Kirk is the one for you. Without the kickboard and those mid-century feet, it looks like it’s about to rocket into space.

Pluck London kitchen design

Pink

Pink doesn’t need to be all soft and sweet – although it can be, as the cotton-candy tones of the 2LG Studio kitchen below can attest. If you feel like going all out it can be punchy and fun, while a muted dusty pink will look demure and mature.

2LG Studio London house

Neptune kitchen in Northern Ireland

New York kitchen in Farrow & Ball’s Setting Plaster

Pulling off a punchy pink takes guts, but if you don’t fancy going all-out, create a flash of the colour in a pantry or countertop, like the hot pink resin countertop below, designed by Sarah Maier.

Sarah Maier kitchen

Farrow & Ball Rangwali No.296 pantry

Blue

Navy is a popular kitchen cabinet colour and as a result, we’ve left it out of this list. From ocean blues to icy sky colours, these kitchens prove that blue can be anything but chilly.

The two-tone of this Rhatigan & Hick kitchen gives it an added depth, while the brass elements add a lightness to the overall feel.

Rhatigan & Hick modern farmhouse kitchen

DeVol St John’s Square Townhouse kitchen

Greens and creams are the colours you would typically associate with country kitchens, but these blues are really adding some extra zing to these two country-style cupboards, above and below.

Neptune kitchen in Flax Blue

This Farrow & Ball kitchen, below, adds a playfulness to the imposing high ceilings and grand period features.

Farrow & Ball’s Oval Room Blue kitchen

Red

I searched long and hard to find some red kitchens, it’s not a colour very many go for, probably because it can quickly venture towards twee, especially when coupled with shaker-style units.

However, when done right, it can be an absolute cracker, as in this stunning kitchen below. I love the complimentary peach wall colour with it too, it really emphasises the warmth of the room (the pug also helps).

The Milan kitchen of JJ Martin

Highgate Villa kitchen by Plain English

Green

Green is easily the most popular “colour” choice for kitchens (i.e. not white, black, neutral or navy). You can go for a primary smack of grassy green, a sumptuous woodland colour, or a pale minty hue. Whatever you choose, you really can’t go wrong with green.

Kitchen designed by GRT Architects

Greek kitchen, photographed by Christian Shaulin 

The kitchen above, on the Greek island of Karpathos, is one of the Image Interiors & Living team’s all-time favourites. The colour was matched precisely to the grassy hills outside, cool and fun with a hint of warmth in it.

Green kitchen with Corian countertops

Emma Persson Lagerberg‘s kitchen, photographed by Petra Bindel

Photography of kitchen in Farrow & Ball’s Duck Green.

Metallic

Not strictly a colour and no, you couldn’t do this at home, but while we’re on the subject of unusual kitchen cabinets, this brass kitchen in the Dublin home of Edward Coveney and Esther Gerrard is simply stunning. Its patina changes over time, taking on the history of the kitchen and its inhabitants so it’s not for someone who loves a super shiny surface, but it’s definitely a statement.

An Elements of Action-designed kitchen with brass door elements fabricated by Wabi Sabi, photographed by Al Higgins

So what do you reckon, are you going to give it a go?

This article was originally published in November 2021.