Four Ways To Get Colourful Kitchen Cabinetry In Your Home

There is something energising and uplifting about a kitchen with colourful cabinetry.

There’s a few ways you can go about achieving this look; but first, some advice.

Don’t start by choosing colour first. Maybe this sounds counterintuitive, but the actual colour should be the LAST thing you choose. Let me explain.

Think about how you want to feel when you’re spending time in your kitchen. Do you want to feel energised and inspired to create an exciting culinary masterpiece, or do you want the kitchen to be a calm haven that soothes you after a busy workday?

Once you’ve decided on the intended feel, you’ll need to consider other constraints — such as existing kitchen elements and your budget — that will help determine the best type of joinery for you. Only then you can go for your life and choose that perfect colour!

From laminate to two-pack, here are the four main ways to achieve coloured kitchen joinery.

Laminate

Laminates can get quite technical and there are a lot of options. Generally speaking, what laminate actually is, is a thin sheet of surface material made from laminated decorative / coloured paper, and a clear hard wearing top.

This decorative paper is laminated onto a thin base layer, resulting in a sheet material only a few millimetres thick, which is then usually supplied to a cabinetmaker to adhere to the kitchen cupboard exteriors.

Laminate suits kitchens with smooth cupboard fronts (no routed or shaker profiles). Since it is somewhat rigid, and cannot be wrapped around edges, laminate needs to be cut and applied to each cabinet surface separately, with joins on every edge.

Your cabinetmaker will either adhere your chosen laminate onto your kitchen surfaces after the cupboards are built, or, they might start with the laminate already adhered to a substrate board (either MDF or chipboard) and build the cabinetry using this material to start with.

Laminate is probably the most affordable way to create coloured kitchen cabinetry, and there are some really beautiful colours and an enormous range to choose from. Laminate is also one of the most hard-wearing and robust surfaces for kitchen cupboards – it doesn’t easily mark or chip, and is super easy to clean. Always a win!

Vinyl wrap

Vinyl wrap or thermoform cabinets consist of a vinyl film that is vacuum sealed over the doors.

Unlike laminate, vinyl wrap is a flexible substrate that literally wraps around the edges of doors and other surfaces, thus creating a seamless finish.  Your cupboard fronts don’t haven’t to be flat, this material also suits cabinetry with grooves and other details. Just keep in mind that vinyl wrap can’t be used for bench tops — vertical surfaces only.

With vinyl wrap doors, the film is installed from the front face right to the edges of your cabinet, so it’s quite seamless and looks similar to a two-pack painted finish. There are, however, a limited number of colours to choose from in high gloss, matte and satin finishes.

Vinyl wrap is a relatively cost effective way of getting coloured kitchen cabinets, and again, a very hard wearing option.

Two Pack

Two Pack (sometimes also referred to as 2 pac) is a hard wearing painted finish made from a combination of acrylic paint and hardener, that is sprayed onto MDF cabinet carcasses and doors. The result is a beautifully smooth and thick finish that looks seamless, and is available in almost any colour and finish.

Unlike laminate, no edge strip is required because the paint is sprayed on to every edge, thus creating a totally seamless finish.

The colours of two-pack are almost limitless and you can choose the gloss level you want. If you wish to match the cupboards to another paint finish in the house, then this option is ideal.

Two pack cabinetry is a speciality finish that usually involves being sent away to a specialised factory to be painted. For this reason, two-pack painting is one of the more expensive options for cabinetry, usually priced at around $120/sq metre of surface area (in a large kitchen that adds up quickly!).

Painted timber veneer

Painted timber veneer is an increasingly popular option for creating bold colour in the kitchen, whilst retaining a textural finish. These cabinet doors are painted in a distinctive feature colour, yet still retain a timber grain texture.

To achieve this look, a cabinetmaker will create kitchen cupboards using timber veneer, and then apply a light coat of paint over the top of the timber veneer using a spray gun. Your cabinetmaker will be able to test this first and show you sample swatches, to be sure of the desired finish.

There are also some pre-finished coloured timber veneers available.

Painted timber veneer cabinets require a cabinetmaker. It is generally a more premium option than laminate and vinyl wrap, but less expensive than two pack.