Black gloss kitchen - Am I mad? Will I regret it?

[ZombieHunter]

We are currently planning a new kitchen and had a couple of designers round. I have fallen in love with a black gloss kitchen. Matched with deep blue glass splashbacks and black sparkly worktops. White sparkly marble floor. There are two large windows in the room so it wouldn't look too dark.

It looks a dream, when the image of the design came up on the computer I knew this was the one.

But...

Am I going to make a big mistake? Will I be constantly cleaning it? Will every speckle show?

For info - It's me, DH and DS who is almost 6. We have two dogs. So, no toddlers, but DS and DH can be quite messy.

Other option would be cream or white gloss, but the blue doesn't 'pop' as well as with the black.

If you are thinking about selling in the future, white or cream would be a safer bet. But if you staying put long term that is less of a factor.

I would be less worried about the black units and more worried about keeping the floor looking clean - depends how patterned the marble is I think, if it is plain white it'd be a nightmare.

We are here for at least another six years, as the location is perfectly in the middle between mine and DH's commute. DH will retire then, so possible plan is to rent it out and move closer to my work. But that's still far in the future, so nothing set in stone. Other option is to stay put even longer, so we are definitely here for a long time, hence we are investing in it to make it nicer.

This is the floor It's quite patterened, right?

Not our design, but so you get an idea on the colour combo:

media.rightmove.co.uk/consumerservices/homeimage_33163606_max_304x254.jpg

The only time I have seen a black gloss kitchen on Rightmove it was paired with red tiles and just looked too much. I think it depends how big the room is and how much light there is. I would be very wary of putting such a light coloured floor in a kitchen - it is likely to look permanently dirty however diligent you are with cleaning. I'd quite like that sparkly look for a worktop though!

Sounds amazing! I love gloss kitchens, They can be divisive, people either like them or hate 'em.

Mine is cream gloss. A deep cream, not a white-ish cream iyswim so quite a definite colour. Mine always looks great even when it does needs cleaning. And it shines us beautifully. People say they're hard to look after but I don't find it to be and there are 5 of us (inc 3 messy teens).

One tip, if you do have a gloss kitchen, be v careful what you use to polish it with. I only ever use very soft microfibre cloths as any old tea towel or kitchen paper can scratch it. And get a polish called Vuplex to polish it with too. You can buy it on Amazon and EBay. It's especially made for gloss surfaces.

I've had a bright white one and it was great - easy to look after and didn't look dirty unless you dropped something really obvious like tomato sauce iyswim. I've now got a black one - inherited with a house move and I hate it. It's been cleaned previously with something scratchy and even the remaining shiny cupboards look fingerprinted constantly.

I'd worry the black gloss would show every little fingerprint. Maybe go and look at the door in a shop if you can, put on some hand cream and handle it a lot, see how it copes?

From a resale point of view and from your description, black gloss, blue splashback and black sparkly would be very off putting for me as a buyer, it sounds like a gloomy sci-fi dungeon. I wouldn't want to live with it and would want to change it immediately, which I'm fine with (work like that doesn't bother me) but I would be knocking a significant amount off my offer to accommodate it and whilst I'm fine with doing cosmetic work to property, a lot of people aren't and would just immediately write it off as a 'no' and go onto the next viewing.

Of course, houses and improvements aren't just about resale, but if you are having something that doesn't necessarily appeal to mass market tastes then you have to consider the potential knock on if/when you do decide to sell when you are making design decisions. It matters less in 'forever homes' but in short term homes it is more important, I think. However, that doesn't mean your design has to be generic and dull.

Thanks a lot for the tips.

Yes, fingerprints is my worry for sure.

Easy option would be go for cream gloss and the floor could stay as it's brown/beigy tiles and they barely show any dirt. DH would prefer it as it saves a LOT of money!

But not sure it would look good with the blue I love so much? Olive would look great with cream, but we got this colour combo in the living room.

I have purple with my cream kitchen.

Only time I've seen black gloss kitchen was on a bbc 2 tv show about amateur designers. It was the "before" and the "after" was a white kitchen. The after was just beautiful - the entire room looked so fresh and clean and non oppressive.

If you like dark, why not go for dark blue walls, dark blue splash back and White cabinets? Then both the cabinets and splash back will "pop" against the walls.

Doors are the easiest feature of a kitchen to change. Make sure you buy a kitchen with a range of doors that can replaced.

Personally I wouldn't go for black, nor for shiny, but that's just personal taste, no other reason.

I'm a nanny and spend my working day in a kitchen with a white floor much like the one in your picture - don't do it!

If I empty the dishwasher, or splash water from the sink and then tread on it it creates marks on the floor (I wear house slippers). It shows up every single hair or speck of dust, and scuffs and heavier marks are a real nightmare to get off. I often wonder what possessed them to choose that floor. It needs hoovering and mopping everyday to look good.

White gloss (not black gloss) cabinets on the other hand are fab, and a black sparkly worktop looks amazing.

Yy, I have a white bathroom floor...Bain of my life! Looks nice, though. Nice, but grubby, 90% of the time, inevitably.

What about selecting dark blue wood (not glossy) for island bottom cabinets and matching it with white/cream cabinets on top, which you usually use more and also see more. Wood floor to warm it up or patterned tiles? (The first one has dark cabinets around oven, which I think would be a cleaning nightmare)

Habitat is doing German kitchens now, they have dark blue gloss.

Like your ideas, Hey

Thanks all.

I'm am really starting to think it's better to stay away from black gloss and white floor. I don't want to spend thousands and then regret it because I'm scrubbing like crazy every day. This is why I asked wise MN fist

So, as current tiles are easy to clean, I'd probably go for cream now or another one I've been eyeing up. I'm off on holiday tomorrow, but afterwards a Wickes guy is coming to our house to design and quote me for the Esker range It's beautiful in real, so that is a definite contender. And it's blue! What do you think? It's nice, isn't it?

Ooooooh. Very pretty. Lovely shade of blue

As much as the black looks dramatic and fab, I think you're making a good choice to steer clear. It will only look fab if it's kept pristine and to do that will necessitate way too much time de-smearing and buffing up those cupboards. The blue or white or cream will be far more forgiving and won't be as labour intensive to keep looking smart. I chose a plain terracotta floor for nearly all the downstairs of my last house. It looked beautiful but I resented the sweeping and cleaning involved in keeping it looking that way. I'd not choose something again that needed massive effort to keep up to.

Ooo, I love that - it's got a lot of neutral grey in it so you can make it dramatic with orange accessories or make it look more greenish with dark purple accessories, or go all trendy and warm it up with a copper fruit bowl.

Check out design seeds for wonderful colour inspiration. You can search by colour and get a palette of colours that compliment or contrast it. It's usually inspired by a photo and you can also submit one.

I would absolutely hate a black kitchen. It would make the room too dark, and a kitchen is where you need good lighting and light coloured surfaces to reflect the light.

UPDATE

My new kitchen has been ordered, there is no going back so please tell me it will look beautiful

Decided to ditch the blue Wickes kitchen and went to a kitchen specialist, local family business. They came up with my ideal kitchen for a fab price and great quality.

It's going to be all very cream on cream, but I'll add colour on the walls.

It's these cabinets which have a lovely wavy effect with a cream sparkly worktop to this and the same sparkle as splashbacks.

Am thinking deep red walls as accent colour, to bring colour in. I took your advice and will keep the main carcass clean, fresh and bright and have easily changeble things full with colour (kettle, toaster, walls etc...).

What do you think? Attached is the actual kitchen plan for my kitchen, eeek!

love your new kitchen- fresh and modern. When you sell in 6 years , whatever kitchen you chose , is going to be changed. Enjoy yours!

Thanks, amarmai. If I sell that is, we are over-doing the full house at the moment, so looks like we'll be here for a while. But it will be the perfect home once done and I can see myself living here for a bit longer than planned.

I've bought my colour already. It's called Hot cherry, a deep cherry red. This will be the perfect vavavoom on the wall where the wall cupboards are.

I hope it's ok to ask one more question:

I had the idea of making the left-over worktop into a dining table (there is still a dining area from the view this pic is showing). Spoke to kitchen people and we have plenty left. They could do it by adding four legs and done - dining table matching to the worktops. DH is not convinced though he says it will be naff? Not sure, what does MN think? I trust your advice I think at the end of the day a table is a top with four legs, so why not make it fully matching to the rest?