Building a new home is the perfect opportunity to create the kitchen you've always wanted. But it can be hard to know where to start when choosing the colour scheme. Here are some tips on creating a space that you'll love spending time in.

Choose Shades You LIke

With all the different colour schemes on offer—what shades work and what don't—it can be easy to get lost and forget what you like. If you're stuck for inspiration, you need go no farther than your wardrobe. Open the door and look inside; what colour clothes do you have? Your wardrobe will most likely be full of hues that attract you, so they will make great options for your home. After all, colour is about what you prefer and like being around. Another easy way to pick colours is to turn to a pattern that you love; this could be a rug, painting or book-cover design. Use the hues from that to create your kitchen.

Turn To A Colour Wheel

A colour wheel provides another avenue to narrow your selections. Your kitchen will first need a neutral base to start with, whether that be grey, beige, greige or white. Then use the wheel to choose which hues to add. An analogous colour scheme combines colours that are alongside each other, such as blue-green, blue-violet and blue or yellow-orange, yellow and yellow-green. Looking at nature, you will notice these types of combinations are common—in the different blues within an ocean or the range of tones within autumn leaves. Choose one main hue, then use the others as accents which you can distribute around the kitchen in lesser amounts. 

A complementary scheme combines opposite shades on the colour wheel, such as blue and orange or red and green. In a predominantly blue kitchen, you could add bright orange accents in the form of light fixtures, for instance. Remember that you can use shades and tints of those colours; they don't need to be at full brightness. So you could use muted blue or pale orange.

Decide On A Mood

Your kitchen's colours can affect your daily feelings. Do you want it calm and tranquil or vibrant and energetic? Deciding what you want will help you choose the right colours. To liven up an area, use warm hues, which include all colours on the wheel from yellow to red-violet. For a quiet, relaxing place, pick cool colours. Include neutrals such as white, beige and grey to generate a calm, relaxing feeling. For added drama, use dark hues like navy, black and charcoal grey as neutrals. Other colours that help induce a sense of excitement include gold and red. For more ideas on kitchen colour combinations, simply ask your custom home builders for their help.