Having a small kitchen can be difficult when you want a lot of space in which to work, but you can find ways to manage the size. But it helps if the kitchen appears a bit bigger, too, and you can do that through several methods. One is to physically open up the kitchen, but if you can’t do that, you can use color to make the kitchen appear bigger and more open.
Go Mostly Light With Small but Bright Accents
To visually open up a small kitchen, use lighter colors. You can use light blue, light purple, yellow, and so on; just make the shade you choose on the lighter side. With light colors, you can see more details and see more space. You’re not staring at a void made of dark counters and appliances, for example.
Even the floor should be light. Shy away from those darker browns and look at lighter browns, beiges, tans, and more. The light colors will also help you keep the kitchen cleaner; while dark colors can hide dirt, if you can’t see it, then you don’t know it’s there and end up not cleaning it up.
If you like bright colors, you can have those in your kitchen. But if the space is small, keep the bright colors as minor accent colors. Have a white backsplash with a small but colorful design placed on a few tiles, for example. Too much brightness can visually chop up the space and make it seem smaller again.
Neutral Bases Are Great
White or light neutral colors are great for the basic kitchen color if you want to open things up visually. Darker colors make spaces seem cozy but also small, and the last thing you want to do with a small kitchen is make it appear even smaller.
A neutral base allows you to change those brighter accents and other features easily without having a lot of trouble with clashing colors. Neutral colors like beige and white go well with just about everything. And remember, neutral colors come in many different shades. If there’s a shade of beige you want, for example, you’ll be able to look through lots of paint samples of beige hues to find that perfect match.
Blend, but Don’t Overdo It
Having too many sharp transitions between colors and features in your kitchen can make it seem almost chopped up, which isn’t helpful if you’re trying to make it seem bigger and more open. Smoother transitions that blend somewhat are best. You don’t want to overblend and make your kitchen look like it’s all one formless mass as that won’t help, either. All you’ll see is one color and not enough detail to make the kitchen look open.
For example, if you have smooth white cabinet fronts with white (or no) pull and knobs, along with a smooth white counter and smooth white walls, your eyes are not going to like looking at that. It will be hard to see much detail, even if there are shadows to help. Instead, you might try having a textured backsplash to break up the blend of white. Or, you might repaint the cabinet fronts a light color like pale blue or even light beige, just to have that extra detail become more visible.
When you can’t knock down walls, a small, closed-off kitchen can seem like a difficult space to deal with. But color can change that perception. If you’re not sure which colors would work best with your kitchen, look for a company that offers kitchen makeovers in Montgomery County, PA. Good Deal Remodeling can help you pick out new colors for your kitchen redesign in Bucks County, PA.