HELP with kitchen design please please please!

[GrumpyMcGrumpFace]

Hi, I'm in the lucky position of being able to put a new kitchen in our house, and the space is massive. But (there is always a but!) it's quite a dark kitchen and north facing. The current trend for grey and dark colours would look funereal at breakfast time, I think.... but equally a very white kitchen in the cold north light would be a bit hospital.

I just cannot find a picture of a kitchen that makes me think "oh yes, I'd love that" - even taking no account of price! If you have any links to pics that might inspire I would be very grateful.

I'm not a fan of shaker, I'd really like slab if I can manage it without looking too antiseptic.... I like colour.

TIA ever so!

What about a blue and white kitchen? I think it's gorgeous. Lots of examples in the link.

donpedrobrooklyn.com/blue-kitchen-cabinets/

I think the pic with the blue cabinets below with white cabinets above is a lovely mix. With a blue island it would be incredible and so useful.

Thank you Aquamarine1029. That first kitchen is really pretty. However, we have a cornflower painted door sample in our kitchen currently, and in the light (or lack of it) it looks really dingy. The windows in our kitchen are north facing and into a courtyard, so it's not super light at any time. It's problematic - especially with the current trend for greys and dark colours.

Tho what you suggest, with the island a warmer colour and a floor that has warmth (most likely a wood, I guess) could work, but I just cannot find an example in all that internet of what that might look like!

North facing is ideal for a kitchen. Less likely to get too hot when cooking. I didn’t appreciate the north facing kitchen I had until I moved to one that was south facing, and permanently too hot to work in.

In regards to the lighting/lack of sun issue, there are many ways to install natural-look lighting which would really change the look and feel of the entire room.

Similar set up here. We have grey cupboards on the bottom and white on top. Looks good, better than it sounds.

Beaverlac I can confirm that our kitchen never gets too hot. Most of the time it's bloody freezing! I am really hoping a new kitchen will also mean less draught. It's a high ceilinged large room.

Aquamarine1029 would that be with the lights on? (Sorry if that is a very stupid question!)

Nonsenceagain that is interesting - what sort of grey do you have on your bottom doors? And what sort of doors?

This may sound daft but would asking a professional kitchen designer or an interior architect to have a look be worth it? It would, imo. Especially if there are light issues, thats exactly what they are trained to work with.
I redid a room a couple of years ago (not usual for me at all) but I did mood boards, fabric swatches, colours, the lot, and also used Pinterest. THEN I asked a RIBA architect who is a friend to take a look to check the lighting etc. And that room was nowhere as costly as a kitchen! Consider 10% of the budget as design cost is a good rule of thumb, especially in such an important space as a kitchen.
Ps I believe grey has been overtaken by navy, according to Pinterest and my wealthy neighbours 😂.

I completely agree with @justforthisnow. Hiring an expert would be worth every penny.

@Aquamarine1029 thanks! It made such a difference to my small room, I wouldnt consider not asking a professional if I ever did another refurb.

We already have... they were the ones who have sent us the samples. None of them really work in the kitchen (IMO, obviously, someone else might love them) and I was really wanting to be able to show them a picture and say that "this" is the look we want to go for.

Who exactly assisted? Our previous kitchen "designer" was just out of school and could only measure in imperial 10 years ago. Anyway, Pinterest good if colour inspiration is what you need 🌝.

Last post (I'm overinvested in this as it happened me!). If they dont do a site visit, they're not professionals.

Very plain doors and handles, not shaker or anything like that. The grey is like pewter.

Something along these lines? www.sncollection.co.uk/real-kitchens/real-kitchen-projects/tomba-fineline-interiors.html

We have a dark east facing kitchen OP.
Refurb plans are for plain white semi matt units round walls, with navy central island. White marblely quartz worktop on both.
To stop it looking too cold and science lab, I am having light oak flooring and plan on using wood accessories. Blue and white, wood and sand work wonderfully in bathrooms so I thought there's no reason it can't work in a kitchen

Google White Kitchen Blue island wood floor, choose images and you get hundreds...

I've just had a lovely local cabinet maker design and build a new kitchen . I have chosen farrow and ball colours darker on the bottom and lighter on the top units .. I have a quartz sparkly counter and we have led lights all around .. it's not quite finished but I can take some pics when it is ..

Introduce wood and colour to warm the space. Have you had a look at the Plykea website?

Thank you everyone, much food for thought.

Believe me, I have spent hours on bloody Pinterest. I thought I'd find a pic and be able to say, oh yes something like that.... but no!

I really think we have to stay away from blue. The sample door we have in the kitchen atm is showing it as being dark and dingy looking, despite it looking fine when I unpacked it in the front hall. It is really a cold light.

ANOTHER Q: people with white quartz tops. They look lovely, but I'm worried about staining (I use turmeric etc a lot, and with the best will in the world, I will sometimes put a spoon down or drip sauce on a surface). Are you having any problems (especially if you're a cook who makes lots of tomato based sauces and curries!)/?

@gubbsywubbsy that would be brilliant, if you don't mind!

@floppybit I just had a look now. It's a good idea, but not really the look I'd want. I'm probably biased by spending years shopping at Ikea by necessity, and now I'm in a position to spend a bit more for a "forever" kitchen, I don't want it to look ikeaish....

Sure .. quartz is fine , I had it in my old kitchen and it's great . Better than granite and wood in my opinion ..
I will send some pics when it's done .

When I had a north facing kitchen, I had BRIGHT yellow paint and white and bright yellow tiles. It went quite well with light oak veneer wooden shaker style units (just so happened they were not yet in fashion, but I got the doors cheap as they were old Imperial measurements, cut them to size and ironed on matching veneer to the cut sides, and I got the units cheap separately). Everybody else had shades of white paint, earthy coloured tiles and dark wood cupboards at the time.
For work surface we had heat resistant fake quartz which barely stained but I did have a sheet of heavy duty heat resistant glass with stick on feet to the side of the cooker for the tumeric spoon etc, and that worked quite well.
The yellow certainly warmed and brightened it up.