How To Design Your Kitchen (part 2)

The plan of my new kitchen (design by Antonia Mahon and Monsieur Rault, Cuisines Schmidt, Chaville)

Just because a kitchen is a hard-working space, with all that water, heating and chilling, doesn’t mean it can’t be beautiful!

In a previous article, I wrote about kitchen functionality and my strong opinions about how kitchens should actually work properly if you want to enjoy using and being in them. This time I want to discuss the ambiance of your kitchen - how to think about color and texture in this all-important room. 

First of all, as for in any room, ask yourself how you want to feel in your kitchen. I always ask my clients for description words, and, also, for images to show what these words mean for these clients. The word ‘elegant’, for example, can mean quite a different thing for each person, I’ve discovered! And even if you are using a professional kitchen supplier or an interior designer, you’ll need to be able to communicate what you mean by the ‘feeling’ words you choose. 

For the images, search the Internet! The idea here is not to make an exact copy of the kitchen in the photo that you like, as that would be plagiarism. And anyway, the kitchen in the photo has been designed for someone else, and not specifically for you. So it might not entirely suit you! As you’re renovating the kitchen anyway, you may as well go the extra mile, and spend some time up front working out what you really want! The objective is to choose images and explain your choice, for example, ‘I like the way the sunlight lights up the countertop in this image and makes the kitchen feel light and airy’, or ‘I like the colors in this kitchen and how it feels cozy’.

Now you know how you want to feel in your new kitchen, and you have some description words, some images and general inspiration. And you’ve already done the work of deciding what you want to be able to do in your kitchen (see my last article here). So you have both sides of the equation and the designing can begin! This is when the fun starts, in my opinion, but then this is one of my favorite parts of my job! At this stage, I go and see Mr Rault, my favorite kitchen supplier, and we start working on the kitchen plan and the colors. 

In terms of finishes, kitchens generally have wide expanses of cupboard facades, countertops and backsplashes, as well as the floors and walls. In order to avoid overwhelm, I recommend having a maximum of two facade colors, and a coordinating countertop color. Or, one facade color and a contrasting countertop color. If you have beautiful glassware, and it’s going to be stored in the kitchen, and it gives you joy to look at it, by all means add glass fronted cupboards! But this would count as one of your façade colors!

Choosing kitchen colors can be quite stressful, unless you have done your homework, as above, and have a good idea of the type of ambiance you want. Or perhaps one of the facades, countertops or backsplashes inspire you - which is why I always recommend visiting a few suppliers to get inspiration. Sometimes you might see a color or a way of combining different colored facades in a showroom that you really like and this will inspire your choices.

This is how I chose the colors for my new kitchen - about four years ago, when I was designing a kitchen for a client, I spotted a pale pink, iridescent façade at my favorite kitchen supplier’s showroom. It has such a pretty, unusual finish that I was very struck with it. In the meantime, I didn’t suggest it to any clients, as it didn’t seem right for their aesthetic. Now that I’m designing my own home, I’ve finally been able to choose it, and for myself, amazing!

In my new kitchen, the pale pearly pink is a very feminine color, and even though I’m the one who will be spending the most time in my kitchen in my role as family cook, a wholly pink kitchen would definitely be ‘un peu too much’ (pronounced in a French accent, because, yes les français actually do use this English expression!). 

So the pink needs to be balanced and ‘grounded’ by a darker color. I spotted a black countertop with sparkly bits in it, which I also love, and it looks great with the pearly pink. Then, again as I don’t want there to be too much pink, and to keep the number of colors to two contrasting colors, I’ve chosen a black mat facade. The way Mr Rault and I designed the kitchen, the black serves as a frame around the pink ‘pour la mettre en valeur’ (to highlight it - see visual). 

Once you’ve chosen the facade and countertop colors, you have to think about the walls and floors. I want to feel warm and cozy in my kitchen, and the space is north facing, which can be quite a cold light, so I want warm colors. 

In kitchens, the floor needs to be very hard wearing and resistant to heat and water - for spills etc. In my new apartment, the kitchen floor is currently vinyl wood-effect planks (no wood floors in kitchens! You really don’t want to have to worry about them buckling if a spill isn’t correctly wiped up!). This vinyl surface covers the original curved lozenge-shaped tomettes (terracotta tiles). So Mr Hamlil (my most-trusted and favorite contractor) is going to take up the vinyl planks and see if the tomettes are in good enough condition to be kept. They are a lovely warm color which should go well with the pearly pink - I’ll check with a sample pink facade once the tomettes have been uncovered.

For the wall color, if we can keep the tomettes, I’ve chosen a darker dusty pink to complement the pearly pink and contrast with the black of the façades. But that may change! I’ll keep you posted!

If you’d like me to design your kitchen in Paris, I’d love to! Let's Zoom!