Whether you’re working with a classic country design or modern, minimalist space, these projects are all the inspiration you need for a sunny kitchen makeover. Take your cue from the designers who use the most uplifting of all colours to cloak walls, ceilings and even cookers to create a cheerful kitchen scheme that brings the sunshine all year round.
The Warsaw home brimming with colour and pattern
There are plenty of ‘kapow’ moments in this Warsaw home designed by Colombe Studio. Uplifting yellow takes centre stage in the open-plan kitchen, from the wall of gleaming zellige tiles to a vintage accent chair upholstered in a graphic Pierre Frey print and the ‘Boloh’ side table by Sklum.
The London home with a spicy palette
The starting point for this home’s rich colour choices was a russet shade that the homeowners loved. Working with design firm Retrouvious they paired it with a chalky mauve and turmeric yellow, creating a 1970s-inflected scheme that brings the warmth all year round.
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The factory conversion full of vintage charm
Yellow cabinetry lends instant cheer to the white tiling of this kitchen space, which is also a remnant of this building’s past. A former elevator factory, the industrial space has been reimagined by designer Stefania Passera of Nap Atelier to become her showroom and home. She sourced vintage pieces like the ‘Tulip’ table by Eero Saarinen for Knoll and decorative doors recovered from an old wardrobe to instill charm into the open-plan structure.
The reimagined California colonial
When homeowner Frankie Shaw and her husband Zach came upon this colonial-style home it was a bland white box. They turbo-charged the charm by installing a riotous combination of patterned wallpapers, rich wall colours and eye-catching fabrics. The egg-yolk yellow wooden kitchen (painted in ‘French Horn’ by Benjamin Moore) replaced anonymous white laminate units, while open shelving displays personal objects and colourful ceramics.
An artistic apartment in Poland
Designer Karolina Rochman treated this Gdansk apartment like a canvas and bathed it in ochre tones, from a vivid yellow (on the doors and wooden furniture of the kitchenette) to golden brown on the living-room furniture and wall decorations.
A compact flat with a canary-yellow kitchen
Designed by homeowner and architect Jenny Fleming, storage was key to maximising the 33-square-metre living space in this east London home. She created the bespoke cabinetry and opted for ‘Staffordshire Red’ quarry floor tiles from Ketley Brick rather than the original black to warm the space up. The kitchen island and worktop are topped with Calacatta Oro quartz stone and the oven and appliances are all by Smeg, with a bespoke brass rail by Swarf Hardware.
A spectrum of yellows for a Scottish retreat
Yellow is the perfect foil to the moody skies of the Scottish highlands, where this stylish lodge is located. Homeowners Andrew Keith and architect partner Roderick Murray used various hues throughout the home, choosing Little Greene’s ‘Giallo’ for the sunny morning room and ‘Middle Buff’ for the kitchen. The rich mustard picks up the warmth in the terrazzo countertop and honey-coloured oak cabinets.
The kitchen with a bespoke yellow cooker
‘It stimulates your senses and is a beautiful, sunny place to start the day,’ says designer Peter Mikic of the vibrant kitchen in this luxurious Chelsea home. Striking Biano Fantastico marble is the perfect foil for a custom-colour range cooker by La Cornue, which is finished in ‘RAL 1028 Melon Yellow’.
The Berlin apartment zoned with colour
These ‘No13 Yellow’ zellige tiles from Habibi Interiors were one of the starting points for the scheme of this Berlin home. Designer Kasia Kronberger used them as a splashback across the wall and to clad the island, which was curved on one side to break up the angular lines, and paired with two mid-century Danish bar stools. The black hardware on the oak cabinetry is from Buster + Punch.
The island home with a small but sunny kitchen
This suitably cheerful kitchen in a home on the Greek island of Kimolos combines bubblegum-pink countertops with zingy yellow cabinetry – it’s a welcome slice of colour in the otherwise mostly white-walled interior designed by Point Supreme.
