The weekend project

Now, more than ever, our kitchens need to work seriously hard. Not only are they spaces for cooking and eating, but they’re spots for working from home and entertaining the kids, too. Whether open-plan or divided-up, there’s no denying they’re increasingly dynamic, and need to accommodate many different needs on any given day. Mid-week dinner prep and late-night Zoom call? You got it! After-school kids’ club and catch-up with friends? No problem! Luckily, a quick lick of paint can help to zone an area easily, using colour in savvy ways to define a multi-purpose kitchen. So, why not take your kitchen to task this weekend, from prepping everything on Friday to painting and decorating on Saturday and finishing-up on Sunday? Satisfaction, guaranteed. Here, we show you how a handful of kitchens can be transformed effortlessly in just a few days, whether using block-colour or clever techniques. Crack open a can and get the whole family to dip in – the promise of a cooked lunch at the end should do the trick.

Wrap up work early at the end of the week and get stuck into a project that will deliver real job satisfaction. In a single evening, we upgraded classic beige cabinetry with dark Ink Well™ to quickly create a more contemporary look, using Simply Refresh Multi-surface to avoid priming before painting. Stripes in Stonewashed Blue™ and Coral Charm™ were added on the Saturday morning to define the dining area, while the afternoon was spent putting leftover paint to good use on the vintage table and chairs. Elsewhere, a mural on the wall in Stonewashed Blue™, Coastal Grey™ and Faded Indigo was painted on Sunday morning, leaving the afternoon to (quite literally) watch paint dry (with the weekend supplements and a brew). Watch our helpful video to find out how to paint an arch. Alternatively, why not swap the swooping arches with a geometric pattern, such as a graphic check? Learn how to create a check effect here.

Sometimes, a kitchen acts as a gateway to the garden, so why should the boundary be so clearly defined? These days, it’s on-trend to blur the divide between indoor and outdoor, whether it’s extending the same flooring from the kitchen to the terrace, or simply installing seamless bi-fold doors. After all, the room can work even harder if you can watch the children play outside while you tend to tasks inside, or if you want to catch the sun on your face while sitting on your laptop. The good news is that the indoor/outdoor look can also be created using colour over the course of a long weekend – just check the weather forecast as you’ll be working outside, too! Here, we’ve painted the wall of the kitchen in a geometric pattern inspired by the intricate designs of Mediterranean floors, using a warm and summery combination of Almond White™, Caramel Latte™ and Nutmeg White™ against Rich Black™ cabinets in Simply Refresh Multi-surface. To cleverly bring the outside in – and vice versa – we’ve extended the palette and technique onto the outdoor wall with Sandstone and Gardenia™ in Dulux Weathershield Smooth Masonry, instantly making the spaces appear connected. Come Monday, you’ll be pleased as punch.

Whether it’s a technical skill or long recipe, cooking up a storm in the kitchen can require focus and concentration – have you ever tried to make a meringue?!  – in which case zoning the area around the countertops helps to calm the nerves. While the kids are noisily crafting at the kitchen table or a partner is on yet another loud work call, a soft and soothing shade around the worktops and hob can comfort and console, providing a cocoon of colour that’s conducive to productivity. Completely transformed over a rainy weekend, we painted the wall behind the kitchen units in quietly reassuring Tranquil Dawn™, offset against the more energetic Blush Pink™ elsewhere. Here, the cook is inspired to get creative– their imagination limited only by their ingredients – all while keeping a cool head. But the best bit? You can get it done quickly and easily on a single Saturday – leaving you to rest and relax on the Sunday. 

Storage can be stylish as well as practical, as this built-in shelving unit in a contemporary kitchen demonstrates, painted in chic and understated Wild Wonder™. Showcased against more neutral walls in soft and subtle Silver Lichen, the functional but fabulous spot is a design feature as well as a tidying solution, while the wall behind a singular shelf halfway-up is picked-out in a separate colour for a statement accent that can be achieved in just a few hours. While the green provides a backdrop for stashing-away useful pots and pans – as well as providing a platform for easy-to-reach herbs –– the yellow offers a space for displaying less-used items, from treasured cookbooks to covetable plates and pretty condiments. Start on a Saturday morning and it’ll be dry and ready for styling on Sunday. 

It can be tricky to give a narrow galley kitchen its own character, particularly if it’s part of an open-plan space and it’s small on proportions, but a simple injection of colour can turn a spot devoid of personality into a statement zone. Completed from start to finish on a Sunday, we’ve given much-needed style to a non-descript galley kitchen that previously blended into the white hallway, painting the cabinets in dusky Heart Wood™ using Quick Dry Satinwood and the splashback in vibrant Golden Sands. Not only has painting both given the slim kitchen its own strong identity, but it’s provided distinction from the rest of the rooms that can be seen thanks to the open-plan layout, creating a dedicated spot for cooking, dining and socialising.

Pick-up a copy of Let’s colour magazine in your local decorating store for more inspiration; or watch our how-to videos at youtube.com/duluxuk

Share your weekend projects on social tagging @DuluxUK – you could feature on our Instagram and Facebook pages.

Buy Dulux Simply Refresh; Dulux Weathershield Smooth Masonry Paint; Dulux Simply Refresh Multi-surface; Dulux Quick Dry Satinwood