Choosing the Right Mylands Colour for Your Kitchen

Choosing a paint colour for a kitchen is one of the most consequential decisions in any kitchen commission. Get it right and the room feels composed and deliberate. Get it wrong and no amount of beautiful joinery will save it.

We use Mylands of London paints on all our furniture and fitted kitchens, and we’ve seen how transformative the right colour choice can be. Here’s what we’ve learned.

Why we use Mylands

Mylands have been making paints in London since 1884, originally for the theatre and film industry. Their formulations are extraordinary — rich in pigment, durable, and with a depth of colour that’s hard to achieve with mass-market paints. Their eggshell finish is our choice for all kitchen joinery: it’s tough enough for daily use, cleans easily, and has a subtle sheen that picks up light beautifully.

The full Mylands range runs to over 200 colours, grouped into collections that make it easier to navigate. For kitchen furniture, we tend to work within a few key areas.

The off-whites and creams

Mylands’ off-whites are exceptionally well calibrated for period homes. Whites with too much blue in them look cold and clinical in Victorian kitchens; Mylands’ off-whites have warmth without going muddy.

Colours to consider: Linen (a warm, creamy white that works beautifully with wood worktops), Skim Coat (a slightly cooler option for south-facing rooms with lots of natural light), and Stone Ground (the warmest option — closer to a pale stone than a white).

If in doubt, an off-white is rarely wrong. It makes the room feel larger, reflects light well, and provides a calm backdrop for worktops, tiles, and hardware.

The greens

Green has become the defining colour of the well-made British kitchen, and for good reason. The range of greens in the Mylands palette is remarkable — from the palest sage through to deep, inky forest tones.

For a classic period look, we return often to Mylands Racing Green and Marble Arch. For something lighter and more contemporary, Trident and Malachite are beautiful in kitchens that get a lot of natural light. For bold, confident rooms with good light, Off The Scale is extraordinary — a deep, saturated green that looks almost black in certain lights.

The blues

Blues are less forgiving than greens — they can read cold in north-facing rooms or shift unexpectedly under artificial light. But in the right conditions, a Mylands blue can be spectacular.

Our recommendations in this range: Knightsbridge (a sophisticated mid-blue with a hint of grey) and Grosvenor Square (deeper, more decisive, excellent in large kitchens). Avoid very pale blues on kitchen joinery — they tend to look unfinished.

The greys and charcoals

A well-chosen grey is timeless, and Mylands has a strong selection. The key is to avoid greys that go purple or blue under artificial light — always test with the lighting you actually use, not just in daylight.

Knightsbridge Way and Elephant’s Breath (available under Mylands’ mixed range) are reliable performers. For something darker and more dramatic, Mylands Charcoal is hard to beat — it’s the colour we use on all our dark sample pieces.

How to choose

Order sample pots — at least two or three options — and paint A4-sized patches on card that you can move around the kitchen. Look at them at different times of day, especially in the morning light when the room is most used. Look at them under your artificial lights in the evening. Live with them for a week before deciding.

And bring us in. As part of every kitchen commission, we spend time on colour. We carry Mylands colour cards, we know what works in period homes, and we’d rather spend an extra hour on this decision than have you wish you’d chosen differently.