IN PICS | In colour: Ten of the best hue-filled kitchens

TRUE BLUE

Renowned for her penchant for bright colours, an interior designer took the use of bold shades and combinations thereof to the next level in her home. First off, she painted all the walls of the dining room, kitchen and lounge in a vibrant forest green (inspired by the colour of a ceramic beer mug she’d found in an antique store!), then splashed dashing blue on the kitchen cabinetry. “Once I start, I can’t stop,” she smiles. “White just looks blah.”

Tip: The kitchen was all white before interior designer Sarah Ord (sarahord.com) put her colour sense to work here. The walls are painted in Hunters Prairie (G4-C1-1) by Plascon (plascon.com) and the cupboards in Granite Falls (B4-C1-2) by the same manufacturer. The artwork of a seated woman viewed from behind is a Picasso print on chipboard, unearthed at Cape Town’s Milnerton Market (milnertonfleamarket.co.za).

CUT THE MUSTARD

Those behind the restoration of a modernist suburban house took care to honour its original primary palette via playful pops of colour, such as the bright-yellow tiles used for the kitchen splashback. This eye-catching element combines with stone countertops, a whitewashed, arched brick ceiling and oak built-in shelf above the counter to make for a contemporary update that also gives a knowing nod to mid-century colour palettes and design.

Tip: Adding loads of easy, sunny charm to the kitchen, as well as an authentic modernist feel, the 130x130mm tiles used for the splashback were sourced from Tile House (tilehouse.co.za).

MY BLUE HEAVEN

Since it’s owned by an art dealer and collector, it feels appropriate that the kitchen of an austere urban abode should feature a wall of built-in cupboards painted in a shade as close to Yves Klein blue as this one. The colour offsets the cast concrete structure beautifully and complements the mid-century furniture and contemporary and tribal African art that the owner has been collecting for more than 20 years.

Tip: The kitchen is open-plan to the dining room and leads to an open courtyard space. The vintage runner provides a touch of complementary colour, as do the artworks, while the industrial lights date from the late 1930s and originally hung in an old German warehouse.

JUST PEACHY

This open-plan mountainside home is filled with natural light year round, so the bold decision to go with a pale coral shade for the kitchen walls, combined with plenty of dark, rich, iroko wood, has paid off handsomely. The result is a warm and genuinely inviting space. The skylight window inserted above the open shelves means the plays of light on the wall — and the items displayed on the shelves — change throughout the day.

Tip

Tip: For a similar paint colour, try Terracotta Teas or Lovely Papaya, by Dulux (dulux.com). The kitchen joinery was custom-made by Kitch Inc (kitchinc.co.za) and the concrete countertops are by Stoneform Concrete Studios (stoneform.co.za).

POP HEART

“I didn’t want to feel like I was living in a small space with really small appliances,” says this homeowner, who accordingly designed his very compact kitchen (the entire apartment is just 68m2) to accommodate a full-sized, much-used cooker. To add character to the all-white small space, he added smaller appliances, cookware and artworks in a range of ultra-bright primary colours that really make this interior scheme sing for its supper.

Tip: The colourful cast-iron pots and measuring jug are all by Le Creuset (lecreuset.com), as is the stovetop kettle. The Coca-Cola bottles on display in front of the poster artwork are collector’s pieces that speak to the homeowner’s work in the world of branding.

IN THE NAVY

Featuring grandly proportioned rooms and a park-like garden, this house is also home to a tribe of six children, including pre-tween triplets. As a result, it’s essential elegance be combined with family friendly practicality, as seen in the kitchen, where fitted cabinetry was previously painted turquoise and is now a much more sophisticated navy. The light oak counters were stained dark too, and the result is a space that’s savvy and smart.

Tip: Interior designer Simone Hirsch (simonekatherineinteriors.com) selected the paint colour and contrasting patterned splashback wall tiles, as well as choosing Zimbabwean black stone countertops to add a further dimension of practicality to the prep areas.

OLIVE GARDEN

In a real old grande dame of a house, the ground-floor kitchen leads out onto the garden and a covered patio, as well as an adjacent casual dining space and sitting area. The traditional-style joinery is painted a beautiful deep green reminiscent of park benches and leafy trees, and is smartly complemented by vintage light fixtures and patterned encaustic floor tiles that add to the room’s old-school appeal.

Tip: The cabinetry is painted in Garden Seat by Plascon (plascon.com), the cooker is by Bertazzoni (universal.bertazzoni.com) and the white, glass light fitting is from Gilles de Moyencourt Haute-Antiques (instagram.com/haute_antiques/). The contemporary sculpture just seen through the doorway is by salvage artist Philippe Bousquet and made from old car parts. It was sourced at Southern Guild (southernguild.co.za).

PARTY CENTRAL

The all-white island and cabinetry in this family kitchen are designed to fade into the background, enabling one’s attention to be focused on the plethora of colourful artworks and objects on display. What’s more, by night, the lighting can be switched to a colourful “disco” mode, transforming it from domestic hub to strobe- and colour-filled party zone at the flick of a switch. “I love the notion that we are having a regular family dinner, but have disco lights on too. It’s all about being playful,” says the homeowner.

Tip: A series of eye-catching photographic prints by homeowner Kirsten Goss’s (kirstengoss.com) husband, Clive Will (clivewill.com), as well as objects and artworks collected from artists, craftspeople and markets across Africa, are showcased here and throughout the home. 

PURPLE HAZE

In small city spaces, there’s often a tendency to eschew colour in favour of neutrals, but the owner of this apartment has instead applied shades of green, cobalt blue, red and even electric pink, among others, to the walls of his home. Far from making it seem cramped, his graphic colour-blocking tendencies bring individual rooms to life — and define them. The brilliant lilac kitchen walls, for example, create a sense of separation from the hallway leading directly into it, as well as the adjacent living room.

Tip: The homeowner describes his use of colour in the kitchen as “completely instinctive” and designed to add a sense of drama. The countertops are made from cast concrete and the carved wooden stools were made by an Afro-French artisan in Paris.

IN THE PINK

“I am naturally drawn to colour,” says the interior designer and owner of this petite, but perfectly formed family home. And from the bright blue and green ikat wallpaper in the guest cloakroom to the fuchsia pink seen in the open-plan dining and kitchen space, joyfully vibrant shades meet the eye all over the house. Asked where her affinity for colour comes from, she simply says: “Colour makes me feel happy and brings interiors to life.”

Tip: Homeowner and interior designer Kim Stephen (kimstephen.com) decided on a chic monochrome “backdrop” in the open-plan kitchen and dining area of her home. Onto this, she layered subtle texture, as seen in the dining chairs from Sika Design (sika-design.com), and eye-catching colour accents such as the bright pink rug from Gonsenhausers Fine Rugs (finerugs.co.za).