Points to Ponder When Planning to Give Your Kitchen a Fresh Splash of Wall Color
The kitchen is the busiest part of most Kansas City homes, especially during last year’s lockdown, as families had more time to cook and enjoy meals together. Although the renewed interest in cooking has somewhat subsided, many now have the urge to give their kitchen walls and cabinets a fresh splash of paint to make the area look more cheerful.
Several years ago, neutral hues like white, soft gray and creme were popular interior painting in kansas city, mo, Now that the kids are older, most homes are looking to have kitchen walls painted in brighter shades like yellow, red or blue. While you may think the colors are outlandish for your kitchen, these have actually been trending as popular interior wall paints not only in restaurants but also in homes.
The Psychology Behind Using Vibrant Colors for Your Kitchen
Actually, there’s some psychology behind the use of those cheery paint colors.
Yellow for one, is considered a welcoming color as it can brighten up a space at any time of the day. Red evokes intense feelings, including stimulating the appetite, which can lift up moods. If you’re not comfortable with yellow or red, shades of blue or green are also popular because they are generally regarded as calming colors.
Actually, these colors can still come out differently after the application of paint finish. Since the kitchen is the busiest section for having more human-traffic than the other rooms, the walls and cabinet doors are likely to have more smudges and scratches. That is why choosing the right type of paint finish for your kitchen is just as important because certain types of paint finishes are easier to clean.
Why Satin and Semi-Gloss are Highly Recommended as Finishes for a Kitchen
Paint experts give advice that when “scrubbability” is a major consideration, the general rule is that matte finishes are harder to clean. That’s the main reason why professional house painters recommend either satin or semi-gloss finish for kitchens. Now here’s the thing, while both are easier to clean, satin is much shinier than semi-gloss, a type best described as having a glass-like appearance.
While satin has an edge over semi gloss because it can stand its ground against dirt, stains and even mildew, its drawback is that it tends to reflect more light. So if you’re to decide on yellow or red as a kitchen color, a satin finish can make these colors look harsher and too intense for comfort. Moreover, satin’s reflective characteristic can highlight wall imperfections like dents, scratches or lumps.
The smarter choice therefore is semi-gloss since it’s also easier to clean and at the same time gives less sheen. Although it cannot hide imperfections like matte finishes do, it does not reflect too much light the way a satin finish does.
When it comes to choosing the type of paint to apply in your kitchen,consider using oil paint on woodworks mainly because it’s water resistant. Oil paint finishes however, are shiny, as opposed to latex paint, which comes with different types of paint finish suitable for kitchen walls.