Black Kitchens - Dramatic but Neutral
by Majjie | Wed, 27/02/2008 - 18:53
Many people are a bit scared of the highly patterned or brightly coloured kitchens that are currently trendy ... but would still love a kitchen which looks very up-to-the-minute.
The answer might be to use black kitchen units. I've always been very wary of black, in the past. I can just imagine coming downstairs on a cold and dismal winter morning, only to be confronted with a dark and depressing kitchen. Used carefully, though, I think black might be just the finish to give you a very contemporary feel to your room whilst still being fairly neutral, as far as colour is concerned.
The kitchen that made me warm to the idea was PWS's Avant Black:
(Can you tell that I've just worked out how to add pictures to this blog?)
Curved doors used to be the sole preserve of bespoke kitchen suppliers but they have appeared in a lot of more affordable kitchens in the last year (presumably due to improved automation techniques) and this one looks very classy.
The pictures show high gloss black doors, teamed with dark timber ... which isn't a combination I'm particularly fond of ... but it can look good when used (as here) in a living kitchen setting (rather than in a small functional kitchen). These pictures also show another feature of black, high gloss doors ... which makes them more suitable, in a modern kitchen, than the gloomy picture I had in my mind's eye ... and that's reflection. A high gloss surface will reflect light and appear much brighter than would a matt black surface.
PWS kitchen doors are sold under the trade name "Second Nature". As far as I know, though, PWS only supplies the doors. If you're going to buy a Second Nature kitchen you need to check on the quality of the carcasses that the doors are going to be attached to. It can vary between retailers.
Almost all kitchen suppliers have a high gloss black door available at the moment, which means, of course, that they are trendy. Being neutral, though, means that the look of a black gloss kitchen can be changed quite dramatically, using different accessories, tiles and wall colours. The overall look of your kitchen could be changed in the future, according to your taste ... or changing trends.
Have a look at this Wickes Casablanca kitchen.
The difference is striking, isn't it? This one is startlingly bright with timber worktops and trendy vivid orange walls ... but the walls could easily be painted a different colour in the future, pale green say, to cool things down again.
This Lucido gloss kitchen from JJ Ormerod (Colonial Kitchens) also has orange walls but in a more muted shade. The trendy thin worktops are also orange, though, so it would be less easy to change the look of this room in the future.
A second picture showing the same Lucido door, has a much more muted look with paler worktops and a cool green glass splashback. This could be made to look much more trendy, on a temporary basis, by painting the white wall in a brilliant colour - imagine it in raspberry pink! But the look needn't be permanent.
An alternative to painted walls, of course, could be the trendy patterned wallpaper that featured in my recent newsletter. Crown Imperial kitchens have gone for this look in a big way for their latest publicity material. Have a look at their Rialto kitchen here. It's not to my taste but, once again, it could be changed in the future without having to swap all the kitchen unit doors.
The answer might be to use black kitchen units. I've always been very wary of black, in the past. I can just imagine coming downstairs on a cold and dismal winter morning, only to be confronted with a dark and depressing kitchen. Used carefully, though, I think black might be just the finish to give you a very contemporary feel to your room whilst still being fairly neutral, as far as colour is concerned.
The kitchen that made me warm to the idea was PWS's Avant Black:
(Can you tell that I've just worked out how to add pictures to this blog?)
Curved doors used to be the sole preserve of bespoke kitchen suppliers but they have appeared in a lot of more affordable kitchens in the last year (presumably due to improved automation techniques) and this one looks very classy.
The pictures show high gloss black doors, teamed with dark timber ... which isn't a combination I'm particularly fond of ... but it can look good when used (as here) in a living kitchen setting (rather than in a small functional kitchen). These pictures also show another feature of black, high gloss doors ... which makes them more suitable, in a modern kitchen, than the gloomy picture I had in my mind's eye ... and that's reflection. A high gloss surface will reflect light and appear much brighter than would a matt black surface.
PWS kitchen doors are sold under the trade name "Second Nature". As far as I know, though, PWS only supplies the doors. If you're going to buy a Second Nature kitchen you need to check on the quality of the carcasses that the doors are going to be attached to. It can vary between retailers.
Almost all kitchen suppliers have a high gloss black door available at the moment, which means, of course, that they are trendy. Being neutral, though, means that the look of a black gloss kitchen can be changed quite dramatically, using different accessories, tiles and wall colours. The overall look of your kitchen could be changed in the future, according to your taste ... or changing trends.
Have a look at this Wickes Casablanca kitchen.
The difference is striking, isn't it? This one is startlingly bright with timber worktops and trendy vivid orange walls ... but the walls could easily be painted a different colour in the future, pale green say, to cool things down again.
This Lucido gloss kitchen from JJ Ormerod (Colonial Kitchens) also has orange walls but in a more muted shade. The trendy thin worktops are also orange, though, so it would be less easy to change the look of this room in the future.
A second picture showing the same Lucido door, has a much more muted look with paler worktops and a cool green glass splashback. This could be made to look much more trendy, on a temporary basis, by painting the white wall in a brilliant colour - imagine it in raspberry pink! But the look needn't be permanent.
An alternative to painted walls, of course, could be the trendy patterned wallpaper that featured in my recent newsletter. Crown Imperial kitchens have gone for this look in a big way for their latest publicity material. Have a look at their Rialto kitchen here. It's not to my taste but, once again, it could be changed in the future without having to swap all the kitchen unit doors.
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Comments
The answer to your question is yes.
Seriously, though, I never recommend plain black shiny worktops (such as Nero Assoluto granite) because it shows up every speck of dust, every smear of grease and every fingerprint.
On doors, though, plain black isn't such a disadvantage ... as long as they are glossy. Vertical surfaces don't pick up as much dust as a horizontal worktop would and any dribbles or smears are very easily wiped off ... because of the very smooth finish.
Fingerprints could be a problem ... especially if you have lots of little fingers in the house ... but they will, once again, be easy to wipe off. And adults should use the handles!
I remain unconvinced about handleless doors, though. I think they might be a bit of a nightmare, as far as fingerprints are concerned.
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