The kitchen is an important room in a home: we cook for ourselves and our families, and we sometimes share meals and good times there. Exposed to humidity, it is used daily and is therefore particularly prone to dirt. If you are thinking of renovating your kitchen, it is important to choose the right undercoat and paint that will ensure impeccable results and an easy-to-maintain finish!
When you start your work, don't forget to thoroughly wash your walls and surfaces to be painted: everything tends to get greasy as it cooks and grease prevents the paint from adhering properly.
How and what should I paint in my kitchen?
Choose a washable and scrubbable paint
When painting your kitchen, don't just pick the first can you find: make sure you find a durable, washable paint that can withstand heat, humidity, and frequent splashes. This way, you can clean your surfaces with a sponge without worrying about damaging your paint. When it comes to finishing your walls and ceilings, avoid matte paint, which will eventually accumulate stains and develop a patina, as well as glossy paints, which will reveal even the slightest fingerprints. Instead, opt for a paint with a satin finish.
Prepare your kitchen walls
Before even painting, prepare your room properly and wash your surfaces thoroughly to remove any possible dirt and grease residue from cooking. For optimal results, make sure your walls are in good condition, well sanded, smooth, and covered with a primer. If you have any imperfections (cracks, holes, old coating, etc.), don't hesitate to take a look at our article to learn how to easily prepare your surfaces.
If you want to repaint over tiles, first apply an undercoat (also called a bonding primer) so that your paint adheres properly.
A paint that is also compatible with kitchen furniture!
If you wish, you can also use this same paint to repaint furniture, always applying a primer beforehand. Don't forget to prepare your furniture well before taking out your brushes, to dismantle the cupboard doors, to remove or protect the handles that you do not want to paint and of course to protect your floor using a protective tarpaulin.
Algo eco-friendly paints are particularly suitable for repainting a kitchen and are washable (category 1 finish in the Taber test). They can also be used on woodwork, but be careful with melamine, which must be prepared with a specific undercoat.
Green, gray, blue: the best color ideas from our color chart
When it comes to colors, anything is possible! You can choose timeless colors that go well with everything, such as white or neutral colors (light gray, beige, taupe, etc.), choose just one color for a total look, or play with different shades to use them more subtly on just a few cupboards, baseboards, or splashbacks.
Colors allow you to play with the notion of space in your room: if you want to enlarge your kitchen and bring light into it, neutral and very light colors like white and ivory will be ideal. To avoid results that are too cold, play with touches of color here and there to bring a vibrant side to the room. Conversely, dark and deep tones are suitable for large spaces and are often associated with sobriety and elegance. Black can help highlight reliefs, give an industrial look to your kitchen, or even create a black/white contrast between the walls and the furniture, which works very well.
Shades and neutral tones are a sure bet for creating a soft and cozy atmosphere in a kitchen and green is particularly trendy for its very chic and natural side, notably with restful or soft green shades.
Blue is also very popular with its navy shades or in aged shades that tend towards gray, like our marquise blue , which gives a very elegant look to a kitchen. You can consider painting only one wall in this shade to make it stand out more.
You can also energize your kitchen by highlighting one or more walls using bright, bold colors like orange , red , fuchsia or even a few touches of mirabelle plum yellow , which are welcome to brighten up the room.
To avoid the risk of getting caught up in unflattering combinations, limit your color choices to two or even three shades for the room. If you opt for a very bold shade with a lot of personality, balance it with a more neutral shade on the other walls, for example.
Our ideas for trendy color combinations for your kitchen wall decor
To create harmony in your kitchen, consider both the color of your walls and your furniture. If your kitchen furniture is neutral or white, you can go all out and this may be an opportunity to choose a bright color for the walls that will create a contrast that you cannot afford in another living room. For a natural and soft atmosphere, light and sober walls go well with light wood or white furniture, then giving you the freedom to create a modern or Scandinavian style for example. For something more chic, why not adopt a dark green on the walls or cupboards that you can combine with gold and copper tones in various places in your kitchen (handles, materials, decorative objects, etc.).
You now have all the keys to repainting your kitchen and making this room the place in your home you'll never want to leave! The secret to a successful job can be summed up in a few words: washable paint, a satin finish, a well-prepared room, and, above all, colors you like. The hardest part will be choosing them!
