So you want to design a new kitchen or renovate your existing kitchen? Great news! However, the biggest hang-up that homeowners often have is deciding on a colour scheme for their dream kitchen.

There are seven important steps to help you determine a colour scheme for your kitchen. These steps are in no particular order and can be followed in any order:

1. Pick a cabinet colour: Typically, kitchen cabinets can take up 50% of the budget and can occupy approximately 40% of your kitchen’s visual space. That’s why you should begin by choosing a cabinet colour that suits your personality as well as the style of your home prior to choosing the other colours for your kitchen. Real wood is and has been the most popular option for kitchen cabinets. Your kitchen colour scheme is determined by the natural grain and wood tone of the cabinets that you choose.
2. Pick a counter-top colour: Kitchen counter-tops occupy a very large part of the visual space of your kitchen. You should bring a sample of the cabinetry colour as this will assist you with choosing a coordinating countertop colour.
3. Pick an appliance colour: You need to know which appliances you will be purchasing prior to finalizing your choice of cabinetry. Your sink and appliances are focal points in your kitchen and will have an impact on the kitchen colour scheme that you choose.
4. Pick a flooring colour: The colour of your flooring should coordinate with your cabinets, countertops and appliances as well as the floors of adjoining rooms.
5. Pick a wall colour: The wall colour is just as important as the other elements of your kitchen design. Cabinets will often obscure the walls. Therefore, choose a colour that will balance well with the cabinets, floors, and backsplash.
6. Pick a backsplash colour: This can be chosen after many of the other elements in your kitchen design have been decided on. With so many backsplash options that can coordinate or clash with the colour scheme of your kitchen, don’t hesitate to seek the advice of a designer to help you select an appropriate backsplash.
7. Pick the hardware colours: Faucets and cabinet handles are often one of the last things installed during your kitchen renovation. Often homeowners will coordinate the faucets and handles colours, however, there is no hard and fast rule that you must do this.

Overall, the most popular kitchens today (nearly 40%) feature wood cabinets. Two-tone cabinets follow at 30%, antique white and white cabinets at 22%, with other cabinet colours coming in at 8%. If you choose wood cabinets the most popular choices tend to be medium stains, followed by dark stains, then light finishes and finally whitewashes.

Traditional kitchen colour schemes choose from cherry/red-tones, golden brown stains and brown walnut tones. For homeowners who opt for solid-coloured kitchens, the most popular paint colours include white and antique white. Gray, red and black are the next most often selected colours.

The bottom line in determining your kitchen’s colour scheme is choosing colours that you are willing to live with for a long time. Your kitchen is the heart of your home, so you should design a kitchen that feels like home.