A dark kitchen offers endless inspiration for creating cosy, welcoming places to cook, dine and host. Choosing a statement hue for your walls or cabinetry can be daunting, not least because you'll need to know what the best paint finish is for dark colours.
Whether you're opting for charcoal, navy, emerald green or pure black with your dark kitchen ideas, you'll want to ensure you choose the right paint finish so that your kitchen looks polished and streak-free. A kitchen is a high-traffic space that endures a lot of fingerprints and scrubbing and this tends to show up more on darker colours, so the paint finish will have a big impact.
I asked paint pros exactly which finishes to look for when painting your kitchen walls or cabinets so that you can keep touch-ups to a minimum.
1. Choose matte for a bold look
If you're looking to create a high-impact look with a black kitchen colour scheme then a matte finish is the obvious choice. It's dramatic, moody and allows the statement shade to really make an impact with no distraction of shine.
'For dark colours in a kitchen, I always recommend a durable matt finish and right now, I’m loving our Supreme Ultra Flat Matt. You get that beautiful, super-flat, high-end look that makes darker tones feel velvety and rich, but with incredible stain resistance and durability built in,' explains Tash Bradley, director of interior design at Lick and author of Master The Art of Colour.
'Kitchens are hardworking spaces, and dark colours can show up marks if the finish isn’t right. That’s why Supreme Ultra Flat Matt is such a game-changer, it softens the depth of the colour, diffuses light gorgeously, and can handle everything from sticky fingerprints to cooking splashes. It gives you drama and practicality in one.'
Matte black does look great, but if you have young children with roaming sticky fingers a finish with slight shine will be best or a specially formulated matte finish, like the Lick version.
2. Go for a slight sheen
Eggshell is one of the most commonly used paint finishes around the home. As the name would suggest, it has an ever so slight sheen like that of an eggshell. It helps to reflect light around a room without looking shiny which is why it works particularly well with dark shades.
Kitchens in the UK tend to be on the smaller side and while dark colour palettes are great for creating a sense of cosiness and warmth in a space, you also don't want it to feel cramped and dreary. Therefore, an eggshell paint finish will give you the perfect balance of sheen.
'Eggshell is our go-to finish when using a dark colour on kitchen cabinets. It's the perfect balance between durability and style, offering a soft, subtle sheen that brings depth to darker shades without feeling too glossy or too matte. It’s also wipeable and hard-wearing, so perfect for busy family kitchens where practicality and aesthetics go hand in hand,' explains Emma Bestley, creative director and co-founder of YesColours
3. Add flair with gloss features
Dark kitchen schemes are all about creating depth and interest through texture so that it doesn't look flat. One way of doing this is by combining paint finishes in one space, particularly by using gloss paint on specific features.
Gloss isn't a finish you'll want to use on walls and cabinets that need a more hard-wearing paint, but it helps to bring attention to areas such as doorways or standalone storage pieces, like a pantry. This will make a focal point out of a specific zone, contrasting the paint finish used in a more practical part of the kitchen.
The paint edit
'Railings' is one of Farrow & Ball's most popular shades for good reason. It's a slightly softer black with blue undertones - perfect for a south-facing kitchen.
Lick's Supreme Ultra Flatt Matt is a newly blended formula designed to limit how fingerprints show up on dark surfaces - it's a gamechanger for family kitchens.
This specially formulated kitchen cupboard paint has a matte finished that's designed to be more hardwearing - no touch-ups required.
Burgundy has been a big trend in 2025 and looking ahead to 2026 - this take on the colour has lilac and grey undertones making it super easy to use.
A dark royal blue looks perfectly in place in a kitchen - it makes a statement but is still very liveable.
For a budget friendly paint option, go for this bottle green eggshell paint from Dunelm.
Choosing the correct paint finish is just as important as getting the colour itself right. Think about how much use the particular area of your kitchen will get as well as the amount of natural light before you choose between an eggshell or matte finish.
