Bold and beautiful
Give yourself permission to break away from monotonous design
Q My husband and I just closed on a condominium in a 1980s highrise. Nothing has been updated since it was built and our first project ( before moving in), is to renovate the kitchen. We’re moving from a large home that has traditional cabinets and I want to go in a more contemporary direction. Nothing fussy. What is your opinion on colourful cabinetry? I like the bold-coloured cabinets I’ve been seeing in magazines and my husband is on board, but reminds me daily that we’re not changing them should we tire of the colour in two years. Basically he’s putting all the responsibility on me. What do you think? A It sounds as if your husband would love to take the design leap along with you, but is setting you up for the blame should either of you tire of your colourful cabinets. I can tell you this from my years of working with clients: Seldom do people tire of the design “showstoppers” they’re drawn to but are hesitant to use. More often than not, they love and adore the patterned sofa their friends cautioned against or the crazy tiles that mother said weren’t practical. Once we give ourselves permission to break out from the world of monotonous design, we rarely look back. And considering your husband has voiced his approval (in a roundabout way), I say go for it. My inspiration photo this week comes from architect Matt Garcia (mattgarciadesign. com). His clean-lined European style cabinetry is by Poliform, though you can find similar styling from Scavolini, Ikea and other manufacturers, according to your budget. Instead of using an accent colour on the kitchen island, Matt chose to keep the island neutral white and the upper and lower cabinets brilliant blue. If you don’t want this much colour impact, keep the upper cabinets neutral and only introduce colour to the lower cabinets, achieving a more subtle overall effect. I think your starting point for introducing colourful cabinetry is to first determine whether you want the final result to be light and bright or a bit darker and moodier. Like me, you probably respond to both looks, but consider that the rest of your decor will help determine what direction is best suited for your kitchen makeover. And remember, even if you decide against cabinets painted in the latest “magazine blue” you can always add colour with your chairs, window coverings or even cookbooks. Good luck with whatever you decide.