The Regrettable Mistake To Avoid When Buying New Kitchen Countertops

Full-scale kitchen remodels are expensive. According to data from Forbes, the average cost is between $12,000 and $60,500, depending on the size of your kitchen, the materials used, and the changes you're looking to make. Even if your estimate is on the lower end of this price range, you're still going to be shelling out quite a bit of cash, so it's important to ensure you're making choices that will guarantee you're left with a space you love for years to come. It's common to take into account the durability, cost, and overall look of your countertop material, but many people make one crucial mistake when choosing countertops — not considering how their counters will pair with their desired color scheme.

When you're browsing the aisles at the hardware store, taking a look at options online, or even stopping by a distributor to find the perfect granite slab for your space, it can be difficult to visualize exactly how your selection will look when it's finally in your kitchen. With a bit of planning, however, you're sure to feel much more confident in your choices. Hiring a designer specifically to help guide your selections and ensure everything will look cohesive can certainly help with this process, but by taking a few pages out of their books, you can save yourself some money, avoid this common mistake, and create a kitchen that looks like it was ripped straight from the pages of your favorite magazine.

The hardest part of planning a kitchen color scheme is figuring out where to start. Take a look online for inspiration photos that you're drawn toward, note any pieces of your kitchen that you want to keep the same, and decide on one fixture of the kitchen that you'd like to build around. Things like wall colors, cabinet colors, and backsplashes are great choices, but you could also begin by choosing your countertops to give you maximum flexibility.

From there, it's time to start pairing. Bring samples of the materials you'll use in your remodel while shopping to give yourself a better idea of how the colors and textures will work together. There are plenty of directions you can go in to ensure things match, from designing a beautiful monochromatic kitchen to experimenting with contrasting colors, but what you choose is, of course, totally dependent on your personal style. 

As a general rule of thumb, lighter colors and neutral tones will create a soothing space, while saturated options and more vibrant colors will make the room fell more energetic and eye-catching. It might feel intimidating to build an entire color palette on your own, but as long as you take the proper steps to plan out your space, you won't be left with any elements that feel mismatched or out of place once you're finally able to see the results of your hard work.