Daily Record Wednesday, October 28, 200916
Ingredients fo
stylishhomes
819169 HOLMS MR NORMAN
10 cm x 3 col C
819170 CRABB MR ALASTAIR
10 cm x 3 col C
819202 SALTIRE HOME SOLUTIONS
10 cm x 3 col C
Having a mix and match
design is one of the hottest
trends for modern kitchens the
F
OR most of us, a new
kitchen is a major
investment and not one
that we'll be in a hurry
to repeat for a few years.
The interior designers whose lovely
homes feature in glossy style magazines
may be able to update their kitchens as
regularly as clothes boutiques change
from summer to winter collections, but
the rest of us know that whatever we
choose is what we're going to have to live
with for quite some time.
It's understandable, then, that kitchen
design is not necessarily the most fashion-
forward aspect of home renovation.
The safe choice is to go neutral and
stick to the most bland, basic look � which
may be boring but is unlikely to be
instantly regretted. All-black kitchens or
that lurid shade of lime green everywhere
may seem an exciting alternative, but do
you really want to be looking at that while
you're eating your cornflakes every
morning for the next five years?Yet going
too safe is also a danger. For most of us,
the kitchen is now the heart of the home, a
room where families come together and
spend quality time.
It should be a room we want to be in �
not a bland box but a homely, welcoming
place full of wonderful smells and pretty
objects. But it must also be practical,
designed around the way you live, cook
and eat.
As the experts on property shows are
always pointing out, often it's the kitchen
which sells a house, so it's important to
think of the potential"wow factor" if you
may be putting your home on the market
in a year or two after renovating.
Even if not, it's often the room where we
entertain � and surely everyone wants a
knockout kitchen to impress guests?
So although they may not be as
sweeping as the trends in other areas of
interior design, there certainly are
fashions in kitchens and it's important to
be aware of them when considering a new
installation � not to follow them slavishly,
but so that you can adapt them to make
them work for you.
One of the hottest trends this year is the
pragmatic, yet innovative, new wave of
mix and match kitchens. Traditionally, this
style was seen as a hotchpotch for those
who couldn't quite manage to replace all
their kitchen units and appliances at once,
instead adopting a piecemeal approach.
But designers are now preaching the
appeal of deliberate mix and match as a
way to give a kitchen character without
overloading it with gimmicky touches.
The effect can be less clinical than
wall-to-wall matching units, which can
sometimes seem overpowering. Interior
decorator Joss Malik says:"One of the best
ways to give a`pop' to a room is to use
bright, vibrant colours � raspberry is very
big just now and also deep corals and
yellow-orange hues.
"But a lot of people don't want to splash
anything too bold throughout, so I tend to
just pick up zingy accents of colour
against more neutral backgrounds.
"It keeps the look modern and fresh,
but without overwhelming it."
Some choose to use these bright
colours as accessory highlights � with
bowls, kitchen chairs or bright glass
splashbacks. Others go for plain cabinet-
style units and hand-paint the doors in
contrasting colours.
Another way is simply to keep the
design of door fronts the same but choose
different colours from the same range.
There are a few key rules to follow here:
don't overdo it � two colours are about the
most that an average-sized kitchen can
take as any more will look messy.
Obviously, the colours should work well
together and both should be
complemented by a neutral worktop and
splashback or tiles. The effect aimed at is
quirky and eclectic, not confusing.
One important caveat to the mix and
match style, though, involves wood
finishes � don't try to combine different
types or textures of wood.
With regard to appliances such as
fridges and dishwashers, either make sure
they all match, whether white or chrome,
or hide them behind cabinet fronts.
Finally, consider the lighting scheme in
the kitchen carefully and make sure that it
`A lot of people
don't want to be
too bold,so I just
pick up zingy
accents of colour'

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