"Life was so simple when the most desirable kitchen was a streamlined white room with stainless steel appliances and colour was reserved for the rest of the house. Now you can be happy with your kitchen area colour - and quite rightly so!

As a retail designer, when developing big outlet store, I was constantly taught to utilize colour to use the mind set of the consumer and what they associated various colour with. The fresh food dept, would use apple green colour for its walls or signs, the toy department - red, health and appeal- aqua colour and so on.

This usage of colour as an important part of an environment, I believed was great, I also think and a comparable method should be used for your own environment. The kitchen/dining space, we all understand is the 'flagship location' of your house and colour is a terrific method of communicating your character and style - the exact same method as those shops I create interact their items and brand personality.

Colour has constantly been vital in producing an unique, unforgettable style. I read recently that Max Aspect decorated three spaces for a photoshoot to deal with the hair and eye colour of of the designs, Pale blue for blondes, pink for brunettes, and green for auburn! Worth bearing in mind.

Here are my seven ideas on how you can add colour to your kitchen for the coming year - in the overall style and seven thoughts to include colour with your kitchen area accessories.

The Kitchen Environment ...

Dark and glamorous take a look at juxtaposing shiny stainless-steel with blacks greys and chocolate browns, use gloss paints, mirrors and dark shiny vinyl flooring.

Go natural and neutral, look at products like concrete, stone slabs, corks, plywoods or chipboard, just seal and leave the natural feel to dominate supplement or juxtapose with your own scheme

Make window frames a feature by painting them in a bright zesty colour.

Function and enjoyable - colour glass splashbacks give a contemporary, reflective technique to locations that were always tiled in the past.

Do not consider 'feature walls '- the idea of having one coloured/ wallpapered wall is a bit exhausted now, and usually looks contrived. It's finest the think colour obstructs for the entire space.

Attempt painting the ceiling a slightly darker colour than the walls, attempt gloss on low ceilings to produce impression of more area -it alters the feel of the entire space - you might be amazed.

Make a flooring function with a colourful carpet - kitchen area now incorporate soft furnishings as they are actually becoming a living space.

The Kitchenware and Add-on

Get inspired by your style! A designer good friend is absolutely motivated by all things Russian - red is the lead colour in her kitchen from Russian dolls to a red and chrome soda syphon. All things slavic motivate her from jewel encrusted, onion domed luxury of the Czars to peasant patterns and geometric floral shapes.

Look beyond stainless-steel - the surface of the moment is copper, from panels to sinks to devices - it likewise works well with the steel finish.

Paint walls in plain colours dark greys and putty colours, then offset with vibrantly coloured accessories; pink, yellow or orange pots pans or storage pots and produce a complementary zing.

Devices let you introduce various colours into your servery and tablewear set throughout the year. This summer our kitchen goes pale rich green with bamboo and natural materials as we present brand-new table runners, servers and bowls, napkins, glasses and whatever that moves that can have a colour!

Produce unexpected colour accent points and splashes of colour - now you can really think laterally as everything can be purchased in a large spectrum of colour; lampshades, blinds, clocks, bins and storage containers.

Fridges, freezers, cookers and cleaning devices are now colour declarations in themselves- you can even purchase a large frige freezer emblazoned with your national flag!

Lastly and really significantly - wall art. Cooking area now, more than ever, sport fascinating original art and bric a brac on the walls -no matter how small! Take a look at artists like Mark Rothco for pure expressionist colour.

Experiment! Life is too brief to have an uninteresting beige technique, mess around with colour splashes, accessories, tiles and fabrics establish your colour sense keep a colour scrapbook with vacation images, fabrics, postcards and anything you see you like for constant inspiration."