When choosing a color scheme for your kitchen, you must first decide what feeling you want to convey. Do you want your kitchen to seem casual and friendly or does it suite your personality better to have that area of your home, solely a serious work place where great culinary delights are produced? If you have a kitchen theme in mind, the theme itself may help you to choose the color. The color or colors you choose, should achieve what you desire the room to accomplish. Various color choices will definitely have an effect on the subconscious minds of all who enter the room.
An important thing to consider when choosing colors is what certain colors mean to you. How do they make you feel? Does the color green give you a feeling of the outdoors and peace or does it remind you of green peas which you detest? Is blue a soothing color reminding you of the ocean and pretty summer skies or does it bring your unstable blue car to mind which creates pure stress? Each and every color will affect you in either a negative, positive or neutral way. Before making important color choices, know your own mind. Once you have that figured out, then you can choose a color for your kitchen wisely.
One thing you need to acknowledge before you start, is if there are any colors that you don’t actually like. These colors should be removed entirely from the choices. Are there colors you love? Keep them at the front of your list. As you go through color samples from your local home improvement store, hang on to any that really appeal to you. Take these home with you to look at in the lighting of your own kitchen. Sometimes, colors will vary according to the lighting and location where they will be used.
To create an exciting kitchen area, choose more than a single color. Even if you pick a single main color, bring in multiple colors as accents. This will help to create an interesting environment. (A monochromatic room can seem to lack excitement.) If unsure of which colors compliment each other, search your local craft store for a color chart. This will assist you, as it includes a full color spectrum, and colors that compliment each other will be easy to spot. Once you select colors that you like, give yourself time to change your mind. If you still like your selections after a few weeks, you have probably found the winning color combinations for your kitchen. People will react in various ways to colors, so be sure since its your kitchen, you really like the colors and don’t be discouraged by the remarks of others. Know your own mind.
Choosing the type of paint is equally as important as choosing the color. Don’t necessarily go for cheap. Although, sometimes you can buy a reputable brand of paint on sale. This is ok. However, buying paint that is really cheap will normally create cheap looking results. It will be so watered down, you’ll have to paint many, many coats to make it seem like it covered the wall. Also, flat paint is not desirable for an area like a kitchen. Any room where adults and children gather much of the time, will do better being painted with a semi-gloss paint. A satin finish water base paint is ideal. Areas that take abuse can be lightly wiped down with a damp cloth or sponge. Also, a very wise thing to do, is to save a little of the remaining paint in a clear jar with a tight fitting lid. This can be used for touch ups or problem areas.
There are many books available at bookstores that describe how colors affect emotional responses. These are just standard examples as no two people will react identically to all colors. Dark colors seem to decrease the space of a room while light colors make it seem open and larger. Another helpful hint as you begin painting your kitchen is to have all the supplies you need on hand. Its terrible to be all excited as you finally open the paint, stir it and then realize, you forgot to buy a paint pan. You’ll need a drop cloth to protect the floor, a couple of good brushes for edging and a couple of paint rollers and paint pans. An edger is also a great tool to use around windows and in corners. And be sure to have a couple of clean rags to use to wipe up any spills. A roll of masking tape is very useful also, as areas such as woodwork may be taped off and not exposed to the brush or paint roller. If you have high ceilings, you’ll need and extension pole that your paint roller will attach to. Most paint rollers are disposable and can be tossed in the trash after use. However, brushes are more costly and can be cleaned after use for your next project. Before beginning, remove any outlet covers.
Before you begin, enlist the help of a friend or a family member. This helps the job go quicker and is a fun bonding experience at the same time. Make a date out of it. Shuttle the kids to Grandma’s house and have a free evening to paint the kitchen at your leisure. Be sure to air out the room by opening a screened window. Sometimes the smell from paint can affect the elderly, young children, people with allergies and house pets.
All in all, picking a paint color for your kitchen is both educational and creative. When the job is completed, you can take pleasure in the beautiful work of art that you have created. Now that you are an experienced painter, you’ll look at all the walls in each of the rooms of your house in a different way, imagining how the room would look, painted in a new exciting color.
