North-facing kitchen colours

[iwantabreakfastpantry]

We have a north-facing kitchen, which even on a bright sunny day, can be dark. We really like dark blue/grey kitchen cabinetry (or even a pale grey on the top half and darker bottom) and wood accents to add warmth but it seems that is not a good choice for north-facing rooms. Not keen on yellows.
Any suggestions of a colour scheme? Photos of lovely north facing kitchens are welcome!
TIA

Our kitchen is north facing. We have maple wood doors/drawer fronts, and I paintd the walls Dulux Borrowed Blue ( a pale-ish subtle blue, not too violet, more on the green side of blue). Everyone who has seen it seems to think it works well. I think the warm colour of the wood means it doesn't feel chilly having blue, and the blue makes the wood look warmer.

Large north facing galley here, horribly dingy even in summer. We put in pale sage green cabinets with black granite worktops, limestone floor and Dulux Timeless walls 10 years ago and we've hated it since day one, it's all so bloody sludgey and grotty and always looks a bit grubby😣Take the doors outside in natural light they look lovely but inside, grim.

We are planning to redo the lot and I totally agree with pp who said focus on lighting and also streamlining cupboards and tiling etc. Fwiw at this early stage we are thinking oak floors, dark blue cabinets, white worktops and tiles, bounce more light around, as anything with yellow undertones just looks grubby.

Thanks so much everyone - I am cheered by the accounts of your navy/grey north facing kitchens. We will definitely have a light worktop.
I have been eyeing up green kitchens too and PP’s photo of theirs is lovely.

Interesting that colours with yellow undertones looked sludgy - googling suggests yellow-based paints to add warmth to north facing rooms but I am not feeling it and now have found a good reason to justify my decision!

Yes, yes to lights - I am thinking pendants over island, spot lights everywhere but zoned. Probably floor lamps in the dining area so we can move the table without affecting the lighting.
Not sure whether we will have wall cabinets (other than full length ones) but if we do, was thinking of having lights under the cabinet as well as along the base of the floor cabinets.

We currently have white metro tiles from the upstand to cabinets above. I don’t understand what is meant by paint as well but we have no painted sections.

Our ceilings a v v high (3m-ish) and our current cabinets don’t go to the ceiling. It never occurred to me put things on top but can’t reach anyway plus hopefully will have more/better storage in our new kitchen.
We are planning on having high windows above the kitchen cabinets to allow some additional light in.

re spotlights, ours have I think three settings - warm, cool and daylight - and those settings can make a lot of difference to how darker colours appear. The different tones brought out tones within the cabinet colours that we hadn't realised were there, if that makes sense?

our kitchen is 9ft high - approx 2.4m - and our full height cabinets have top boxes as well and so go right to the ceiling. No more greasy cabinet tops 😀

In our north facing kitchen we have matt painted red base units (RAL 3000), white wall cabinets, white tiles, white quartz worktop, wood breakfast bar. Red, white and wood make it feel really warm and bright. Just thought I'd throw in a completely different option from greys/blues!

Red doesn't seem to have been in fashion in my lifetime, so can't really go out of fashion. Obviously it's not a good, neutral choice if you plan to sell and move on from the house though!

Cabinets go almost to ceiling and gap is boxed off with trim so I won't find a horrible greasy, dusty mess on top of the cupboards in 5 years time! Not sure if it makes it feel lighter, but much better from a cleaning point of view.

Good luck choosing your kitchen!

@iwantabreakfastpantry
Tiles between the upstand and cupboards can look quite busy in modern kitchens. We have a fitted mirror behind the sink to reflect light and the hob is on the island, so no greasy tiles at all. The rest of the kitchen is just painted. The paint with a light sheen which is wipeable is fine. My sink unit base is also 800 deep. This gives an area behind the sink for your Fairy etc. It breaks the line of straight somewhat identical cupboards.

Three-tone spotlights are definitely going on my list of must-haves!

Good shout re: boxing off the top of the cabinets, although I have been blissfully unaware of and unaffected by the state of ours for the past 7 years.

Red kitchen - interesting! Will have a look online for examples but maybe a step too far for DH.

I can PM you some pictures if you want. I originally thought blue or green, probably because lots of really nice ones on Houzz at the time. DH suggested red as he thought blue would look cold and I did a lot of googling pictures. Apparently according to the internet, it's supposed to make you feel hungry, but I'd take that with a pinch of salt! Did feel a bit scary choosing it though and it limited options as IKEA/benchmarx etc don't it, need DIY kitchens/Howdens etc.

Warm spotlights I'd also second.

Hi, new here… first post ☺️
I’ve had a new kitchen extension built (7m by 8m) and I just found out about kitchen direction vs paint colours.

Our kitchen is NE facing (looking into the garden). We’ve got two massive roof lanterns (2.7 x 1.2m), with 3m bifold doors and a 60cm wide window looking into the garden.
We’re getting our kitchen from Wren and the DH doesn’t want white cabinets as he thinks it looks very clinical. He’s suggesting cabinets in BUCKINGHAM GREEN (a darkish green - sample pic attached).
Our worktops and backsplash will be white with a subtle marble effect- Calacatta Grand Imperial (pictures attached).
Island is 2.8m by 1.4m.
I plan on having the walls painted in either Skimmingstone / Wevet/ Ammonite by Farrow and Ball,

I am a professional baker, so I will be having lots of videos shot in the kitchen using natural light, hence why I need to get the colours right.

Please advise on what colour cabinets, colour of floors and walls would be best?
Any advice and pictures of your lovely kitchens would be much appreciated (especially north facing ones) so I can get an idea.

Thanks in advance ☺️

@TheResearchMom I think those green cabinets are too dark. Love the countertop, but I'd be looking at more of a sage green if I were you.

@mjf981 thank you. My thoughts as well, I think it will be too dark. I’m not a big fan of green either, but OH, wants anything dark. Now to convince him to change his mind…, but omg, the decision fatigue 😅

I have these over working area
Theyre great. But have high ceiling.

Firstly, from what I have heard (no personal experience), avoid Wren.
In our north-facing kitchen, we have dark grey kitchen cabinets (carbon from DIY kitchens) And it doesn’t look dark and imposing. Having said that, we don’t have a full bank of wall units but only along half the length of the wall with an open shelf along the remainder. the room is painted in Dulux white mist.
Dark green is a lovely colour for the kitchen.

We have a north facing kitchen/family room. We have pale grey kitchen units with a paler grey flecked worktop, wood effect LVT and walls are painted Dulux Cotton White. It’s lovely and bright, having said that it’s a big room opening out from kitchen area to a vaulted ceiling with windows on the west and east too. Lots of zoned lighting.

We have a similar dark green (not Wren, wouldn't touch them with a barge pole) which looks amazing! BUT in a very different sort of room to yours. Not a kitchen extension but we have a lot of normal windows (not bifolds or French doors, normal windows above worktop) so there's a lot of light in and there aren't any corners away from the light.

Worktops wood effect laminate.