How to work with darker tones in a kitchen

At Mayfair Kitchen Studios, we often see many customers across the Cheshire area who want to create a luxury bespoke kitchen with the latest on-trend colours in mind. Our aim is to make your dream kitchen come to life, whatever the colour or design. We’ll make sure that your kitchen is beautifully designed perfectly to suit your needs and lifestyle. We’ve seen an increase in customers asking for darker tones and more contemporary unit design in their kitchen, especially as the minimalistic industrial trend continues to rise in popularity.

It is often assumed that dark colours instantly overpower a room and are a quite risky look to choose for your kitchen. From our experience however, dark tones work really well when paired with lighter tones, or mixed together to create a double-dark design. Using dark hues in this way can look very dramatic and modern.

In order to make dark tones work, it’s often recommended to throw in a little white here and there to ensure illumination. This is especially important in smaller spaces, which can look even smaller if too much dark colour is used. Incorporate a section of slim white cabinets, a white feature wall, some LED lighting and white worktops, a white island, or soften the space with white marble counter-tops and a splashback. The gentle marble veins on the worktops will balance out the darker hues you have used elsewhere in the room.

Another tip for a dark kitchen is to place more focus on an island or peninsula (if you have room for one). Generally speaking, we’d advise that you use darker colours for larger spaces. If you are worried about taking that leap into the unknown and turning your entire kitchen dark, why not try the look in one small area. One idea is to try a dark kitchen island, balancing this with lighter colours and wooden surfaces in the rest of the kitchen. Plus, the darker island will create a nice focal point for the room, helping it to stand out. Don’t be afraid to get creative and mix up your materials. Combine dark black and charcoal tones with ceramic, wood and marble surfaces to simplify a space, making it look more modern, minimalistic and uncluttered. This look works especially well in kitchens with an open-plan design.

If you’re after a more bold design, why not pair deep-coloured worktops with dark units? Gold and copper accessories, handles and taps add to a very striking and luxurious look. You’ll need to be careful with this more experimental design though, because if you do not have enough natural light, the style may become too oppressive. Our expert kitchen designers can offer advice on this if you are unsure.

The benefits of a darker kitchen

There are many benefits to incorporating bolder, darker hues and black to a kitchen. Many of our customers visiting our showrooms in Chester or Wirral are wowed by how many alternative looks there are on offer when you start experimenting with darker colours. Some of the positives of a darker kitchen include:

• Making a space contemporary and cosy. This especially works if you want to create a kitchen with a more intimate feel.
• Lighting can create a warm glow over darker surfaces (as the light doesn’t reflect as much as it would with white and lighter surfaces).
• Cabinets and worktops in darker colours generally don’t show signs of wear and tear as much as those in lighter shades. Food for thought if you have young children and want surfaces that are a little more forgiving of those scratches and knocks.
• Black and darker tones work well with bright colours, making them a great way to showcase bolder hues.
• A black kitchen can look very sleek and luxurious, and can also be a great way to make your kitchen look centralised and grounded in an open space.