The best colours for a shabby chic kitchen: let’s find out!
The Shabby Chic style originates in Great Britain, in particular in the elegant Victorian countryside mansions, in which the high society used to spend their holidays.
Actually, the style it’s not only British, but it also has influences from France and Sweden.
Every mansion was enriched by prints, fabric sofas and lavishly carved wooden furniture.
The country was facing a crisis at the time, and from this came the will to restore and reuse every kind of item.
The definition “Shabby chic” has been used for the first time by the interior design magazine “The World of Interiors”.
Over time, the style modified and varied, incorporating elements from country and vintage styles.
What do you think first when you think of shabby chic?
We think about the kitchen and the living room. We immediately imagine not only the furniture, but also the ornaments, accessories and appliances.
And what about the colours?
Well, although shabby chic is an international style, it has specific features depending on the country and the place in which it is applied.
Therefore, there is a geographical personalisation, and yet there are common trends like the use of white or bright and light pastel colours.
Let’s do a short list about what we’re going to talk about:
- Find out what colours are most used in shabby kitchens
- Green, and its history within shabby chic
- Choosing light blue to brighten a shabby chic kitchen
- Create a delicate atmosphere thanks to pink
- Grey harmonises romantic shabby style to industrial
- How to make a modern kitchen more shabby chic
Shabby chic kitchen: which colours are most used?
The colour palette is a key element in a shabby chic kitchen.
Main nuances are necessarily light, ranging from white to beige and pastel shades.
Fabrics and coverings must also follow this scale of colours, adding, if you want, laces, crochets and fantasies.
Recently, one of the most trendy colours is light blue, and it’s used either on decorating items and the furniture itself, painted with a decoupage effect.
The star material is undoubtedly wood, never perfectly painted, to maintain that vintage feeling which is perfect for this style.
You could also use stone, earthenware tiles to recall the good old countryside flooring.
Say yes to glass and ceramic, jars, lamps, and small decorating items to put here and there.
For pastel shades lovers, we thought of writing this article to inspire them to decorate their shabby chic kitchen.
Colours are an important part of our lives, and we believe that a bright and coloured kitchen, with soft shades, is always a good choice for happiness and fine living.
Take this advice, with shabby chic it’s easy to create kitchens with a principal chromatic line and details that enhance combinations.
A practical example is the choice of white as a base and coloured accessories like panels, shelving, tables and chairs. By doing so, if you get tired of one colour you could just replace the decorations and change the kitchen’s mood entirely.
Green shabby chic kitchens.
Pastel green is very appreciated for its versatility and also because, compared to light blue, it has a “warmer” note.
Green kitchens are very common also in the Provencal style.
Mind you, there is also the possibility that this colour might darken the room a bit.
That’s why we always suggest a room with many windows or well lit spaces.
Otherwise, the risk is to create a kitchen that is too dark, and less functional.
Light blue for a bright kitchen.
Like we said earlier, perhaps light blue doesn’t have the “warmth” of green, but it gives a very pleasant lightness to your kitchen.
You’ll see, a colour like this, alternated to the usual white, generates a lovely romantic effect, and it’s definitely shabby chic.
Like in every shabby kitchen worthy of its name, let’s put cups, mugs, jars and teapots to make everything more according to the style we’re talking about.
Pink shabby chic kitchens: romantic atmosphere is on the menu
We don’t like our rooms to be too mushy and schmaltzy, but with a white base and some pink details, even a shabby chic kitchen with this tone of colour becomes elegant.
I love this kitchen.
The furniture and the white glass are perfectly designed and put in place.
The wallpaper adds that little touch that makes it so special.
Also in this case, ceramic decorations like mugs, cups and dishes contribute to create a romantic shabby atmosphere.
Shabby chic kitchens with grey elements.
We like dove-grey, we like delicate pearl-grey shades and bolder charcoal ones.
Even in a delicate context like shabby chic, some details in these colours can lighten the redundancy of accessories and fabrics, making everything more elegant.
This proposal is between shabby and country style.
We wanted to present it anyway, to those who love this mood.
We’re talking people who love white items mixed with glass cabinets and ceramics, but don’t like too sugary colours like pink, green or blue.
This “intermediate” proposal includes charcoal-grey chandeliers and wicker baskets.
These elements make the room less shabby and yet romantic and refined.
Some other colours usually found in a shabby kitchen or dining room are yellow, blue and lavender.
These colours recall a romantic style with little flowers decorations and so on.
How to make a modern kitchen more shabby chic.
If you purchased a modern style kitchen some time ago and you fancy a bit of change, why not convert it into a shabby chic style kitchen?
You’ll be surprised by the final result, and you’ll get a new and romantic space.
Obviously, a total conversion is not always possible, but with a bit of creativity, you could get some refined changes.
If you have got wooden furniture, they could be repainted choosing from the many shades of pastel colours with an antique effect.
You could also add some shelving, maybe from a second hand shop, to replace the old ones.
Remember that is the general mood, full of details, to give a shabby chic touch.
If it’s not possible to radically change furniture, you could always have fun changing accessories and fabrics.
Chair coverings, pillows, towels, curtains and lovely aprons are just a few examples of the items that, combined together, will change the look of your modern kitchen,
Another idea is to modify the handles, or enrich your walls with iron or copper hooks.
To sum up, these are the shades of colours and the touches that we think are more suitable for shabby chic kitchens and you could find them all available for sale.
What are your favourites?
