Thoughts on kitchen

[blinkbonny]

We are redoing our kitchen, see attached photo. We are happy with the design/layout but can’t quite finalise on colour. The colour we have chosen, and shown in the image, is “fossil grey” but we are also considering doing the island and the top row of cupboards in white instead. We don’t want the whole kitchen in white, but DH is concerned that the grey throughout will be too dark.

Other points of consideration are whether to use the worktop material as the splashback - in the current design we’ve got a mirrored section but would worktop be better?

Then we have to start thinking about flooring - so I’m looking for any input! What is shown in the attached was just how it came out of the kitchen designer’s software.

thanks in advance for any thoughts and comments from all you clever people!

The 7 most popular Farrow & Ball paint shades in 2025 | Ideal Home
not grey

I think grey can look lovely and like the previous poster said when it’s mixed with wood and warm natural materials it’s a great neutral backdrop, like these pictures.

I haven’t thought of a wall colour yet. And for the fridge/freezer, it’s the full height unit at the far right - so yes, next to the oven!

We have off white cabinets, and a light grey worktop and floor. So like your colours switched but the grey shade is much lighter. We did it 8 years ago and it does still looks fab and we get lots of compliments on it. We do get lots of sun on it though which warms it. Our kitchen looks similar to yours…I like minimalist interiors…some may say it has no personality but personality gives me a headache most of the time. You go with what you like. Totally agree with no mirrors though.
You could go with dark titles but if so, do dark grouting due to the sink being there.

Not wedded as such but I like the smooth modern look

I have mid grey in my kitchen. We love it as our room is big with dining and sitting area in it. It has lots of natural lighting so needs to have a darker colour to balance it out. I personally would hate cream, beige or white so my advice is go for what you want. I personally wouldn’t put the sink directly opposite the hob, unless only you cooks or the space between the two is more than standard width.

I have chosen a completely smooth melamine for my cupboards because I so loathe housekeeping that I wasn’t having anything that could play at being a grease trap. Easy to wipe down and I have never regretted it.

However, all that grey. It looks like a Stalag prison. My brain would not survive. Surely there is something else you can choose.

We have a kitchen going in as we speak, we have cashmere for all the wall runs, and a dark browny red for the island. Quite warm without being over powering

Skimming Stone, Pigeon and Railings are all grey. And since that list was publish in March last year it's not actually based on whole year statistics. And I can't actually find any verified stats on best selling paint.

I've found other lists of 'popular shades' from independent shops that include the following greys: Ammonite, Elephant's Breath, Cornforth White, Shaded White, Strong White. One of the reason F&B are so popular is because they use a lot of grey in all their colours to soften them and add depth. You might think it's no longer fashionable but it's only certain greys used in a specific way that look dated, the rest are all neutral colours that are liked by lots of people. And anyway, following trends is no way to live your life. My architect PILs house hasn't changed for decades but it still looks good because it contains things they loved that reflected their lives.

It's all effing grey. Your monologue won't convince me that grey is anything but dreary.

Personally I would go for a green kitchen with a warm wooden floor

I'd lose the mirror and sink opposite the hob @blinkbonny. I'm not a fan of sinks - or hobs, for that matter - in islands as I prefer them to be clear prep spaces.

Grey is very much a personal choice and wouldn't be mine for a kitchen (with the caveat that we painted the hall of a previous house dark grey and bright yellow in the mid 90s!)

But we've - quite unintentionally - chosen a very much on trend pairing of colours for the kitchen we're currently doing (two shades of pink/red - Edward Bulmer Nicaragua and Pompadour, the walls being the latter too), which most people would probably advise against due to it dating!

However, we don't follow trends and like @FruAashild's architect PILs we just decorate with colours/stuff we love...

So, if you love grey, who gives a fuck what anyone else thinks 😉

Well then don't make your own kitchen grey but if @blinkbonny likes a cool minimalist look then grey is a good choice for her. No point following trends blindly and for something as expensive as a kitchen she should choose what she loves and never mind if some random on the internet thinks it's 'dated' or 'dreary'.

Railings is almost black with a blue undertone.

Pigeon is a green/blue.

Skimming stone is griege, so you're right on that one.

Our kitchen is grey, it has been "in fashion" 5 times now since it was fitted in 1980 by Magnet. The ceiling and work surfaces being white really lift it, keep the room bright and airy.

I loathe grey. But I love green and have always had it in my home. I still will even though it’s becoming fashionable again. Op have whatever colour you want. But I would lose the mirror too. And definitely take the cupboards to the ceiling.

I don’t like hobs in islands. The ones I’ve experienced have greasy worktops
around them.
I’m not sure about the bit in the corner. It looks like it could be annoying to access.
My integrated fridge freezer is rubbish, really small. We had to get a second one in the utility room.
You don’t seem to have any drawers. I love drawers!

I also think that it's just too much grey. It would make me feel like I was cooking in a battleship.
It's definitely not so popular now, and I think it would definitely put off any potential buyers in the future.
The mirror is also something that's great in an empty/showroom kitchen, but would soon hack you off with water marks and doubling the appearance of any dishes etc there.
I think you definitely need to have the L shape wall units and the island in another colour, as it'll break up the sight lines and make the whole kitchen more interesting rather than blank?

But ultimately it's your kitchen, your choice and you need to get what looks good to you? Everyone has different taste, you do what makes you happy?

If you love grey go for it!

Grey really isn't for me at all and I think it makes your kitchen look very cold and clinical. If I was buying, in 10 years, that won't have changed and I'd be factoring in redecorating.

Too much grey which is on its way out so will be very dated in a couple of years.

I’d definitely not include mirror. It will double up clutter e.g everything in front of it will show twice. Will also show every splash, not easy to maintain etc. consider glass instead. There are a number of colours available.

we currently have white glass which is light and neutral. I’ve lived with cobalt blue and also raspberry

The mirror looks out of place. It’ll show every splash double because of the reflection.

i don’t see any drawers in the photo. Giant drawers are much more accessible than cupboards and hold more.

Thanks for all the input. I’m hearing the grey hate, however intend to stick with it because I like it and it really is the only colour that will work in the space, imho. We do have drawers round the back of the island: we didn’t put them in the front as they didn’t look right facing out to the rest of the room. Your input has made us decide to ditch the mirror or glass and we are currently experimenting with different splashback ideas including tiles, and also maybe a different colour (probably white) for the top bank of cupboards. For those who mentioned floors, what’s shown in the picture was just a neutral mock-up from the kitchen designer’s software; we are probably going with a warmer oak wooden floor.

Really appreciate all the feedback. You have made me nervous about the grey but I can’t come up with an alternative that will work for the rest of the room, which includes a dining area and a small seating area.

I'd look for a colour that is grey-ish but not cold-looking.
A greige like cashmere or something not a bluey-grey.

There's nothing wrong with going with your own taste.

A friend put in a bright red galley kitchen when nobody had a bright kitchen. It looked great.

I really like it OP. They always look cold and clinical on these computer images. By the time you have wood floors, plants, decor, people etc it'll be lovely. Stick with grey if that's what you like.

Our is similar, done two years ago, and to be honest sometimes making things like a cooked breakfast is a pain because it's hard to fry/boil stuff whilst also keeping an eye on things in grill/oven. Have to keep walking from one place to the other. So although induction hob looks nice on island, I do miss it being right next to cooker.

Definitely have sink, bin and dishwasher right next to each other.

We have an inbuilt ff right next to oven and it's fine. But we also have another ff in utility which we mostly use for drinks/parties (family of four).