Two tone kitchen cabinets - what do you think?

[snowgirl1]

We're just starting to plan a new kitchen and, having looked round a couple of showrooms, the trend at the moment seems to be to install kitchen cabinets in two colour tones. For cost reasons, we're going to have to design ourselves and buy units on-line. I'm unsure whether to go two-tone or play it safe and stick to one colour. What do you think of two-tone kitchens? Is there anyone out there who's got an eye for design who could suggest how we'd decide which cabinets should be the same/different colours?

I think they'll date very quickly. So it depends if it's for a long term property or not.

I always think anything in a show home is very "now", not particularly stylish and will date very quickly. Therefore I would avoid. I have seen a lot of walnut effect and cream type ones. Is it that kind?

I think that kitchen cupboards being matchy matchy is 100% finished. In a few years time it will be a "what we're we thinking?" thing.

People are increasingly tired of uniformity in kitchen design. Curves and inconsistent woods, colours and shapes is the way forward.

Block colour kitchens, particularly shiny ones, will look to us as all that black furniture of the 80's looks, ie very pseudo sophisticated.

In fact, the truth is, kitchen design has gone hipster and will be that way for quite some time ahead, once the chains catch up.

We fitted our kitchen four years ago and have pale blue on the bottom and cream on the top. We are very happy with it.

Just sold our house at open day and got over asking price. The kitchen got lots of favourable comments from the 12 sets of people that viewed.

I've seen lots of walnut and white kitchens, but I was thinking more white and greeny-grey units.

this sort of idea

I know what you mean about it looking very 'now' and therefore dating quickly, but I do think it help a kitchen not look like quite such a 'block' of colour.

I have two different colours on doors irregularly laid out. Did before in our new kitchen 1996 along with two different worktops. Looked ok but maybe not everyone's taste. Agree that anything on trend now is likely to look dated soon-ish though.

my advice is go with what you like - you can always paint/update it if you want to.

Ooh, thanks for the encouragement Emeline and CanISay

I think that there's a risk that if I do go matchy matchy that it could look dated even more quickly than two-tone. Decisions, decisions...

I like the kitchen you linked to. Having the island a different colour to the other units looks good.

I agree... Too matchy looks dated. Do you have an ikea near you? Looking around their kitchen showroom gave me lots of inspiration when I went a few weeks ago.

I Love the idea of two tone and I'm grandmother age. I also like the island to be different, such as a very old, strong table or dresser, although maybe the two together would be too much.

My son and wife had a mundane kitchen which had room for an island. I could not get them to go for a marvelous, clunky island I found on Craigslist.

And, as someone said, it can always be painted.

We are going for two shades of grey in our kitchen, a darker grey for island and lighter for wall/base units. Same as on oic but Matt not high gloss

In pic even

We're doing ours next year and fancy throwing in a different colour (I fancy cream and champagne, dp likes cream and black)

If we do it it would only be for a few deep drawer fronts or an island... I thought about buying extra fronts in the same colour as the whole kitchen and storing them to change later if we get fed up (Although I'm still at the 'scroll through pinterest and drool' stage rather than the 'work out the cost and budget' stage. )

We did ours in high gloss (sorry but it's practical) with the base cupboard in White and the 150cm high cupboards in dark grey. The wall cupboards in our utility are a different colour too.

We are doing light grey on the bottom and white on top. German matt handleless. Felt it was a risk worth taking as I didn't want my w/machine and f/f which are too new/good to replace to be a different white to the units next to them, making them look grubby.

I need inspiration for flooring and splashbacks now.

I think they can look great. I would go for it if you want to. I think 'playing it safe' and putting in a kitchen 'that will not date' sometimes leads people to put in kitchens that are already dated! Who knows where fashions in kitchens will go in the future; the mis-matched look might be around for a long time.

I did it last year, dark grey base units and larder units, and white wall units.

We wanted to be all dark grey but the kitchen is north facing so we needed some lighter units and I didn't want all white which I felt was too clinical.

Work for us, we love it. I don't care if it dates because this is my forever house so we won't be selling it any time soon.

This is the problem where people are convinced they need to update things very quickly. We fitted a new bathroom in our old house over 8 years ago but I would still have kept it to this day.

My friend has a very quirky design sense but it is totally her, I love it but it wouldn't be for me. My house is me and Dh, we are doing it for us, not anyone else. Do what you like.

I have moles breath base cabinets and white top cabinets with maple worktops and a maple island ! So that's three colours I guess !! But last year it was blue - and the year before it was all white !! I have paintable cabinets !!!

We've done this just last year. We have bone white along the walls, with wooden worktop, and an olive green/grey island with a white-ish quartzform top.

The doors are wooden so if we get bored with the colours, we can paint them.

I really like having the different colours, having it less matchy gives me more flexibility in the rest of the room (it's a kitchen-diner, bit of room for a sofa).

Contented and anyone else with the white/grey contemporary combo can I ask what colour/type of splashback and flooring you have gone for?