Zoe Ball's colourful kitchen island shows how easy it is to create a characterful cooking space - here's how she did it

When scrolling through Instagram with my morning coffee a few days ago, the algorithm handed me a photo that made me verbally utter 'oh wow'. The source, you ask? Zoe Ball's warm and colourful kitchen.

Every time I see an inspiring kitchen colour scheme in a real-life home, I'm instantly impressed. It can be hard to veer away from neutral schemes, particularly when it comes to big investments, but choosing an invigorating palette instantly makes a kitchen feel like the heart of the home.

Working with Arior Design, Zoe Ball's kitchen and living room came to life, resulting in a cosy yet on-trend space that you just don't want to tear yourself away from. Plus, she didn't even need to rip out the original kitchen. This is how they created it.

1. Choose multiple shades

If you're wanting to breathe new life into a space then colour is the easiest, and often most affordable, way to do it. Green has been a huge kitchen trend in recent years and continues to be popular, but by combining it with the orange kitchen island, it makes it even more stylish.

'The Howden’s kitchen was already in place, very well arranged and practical, the only thing we wanted to change was the colour. The house was very nice, but everything painted white with the grey kitchen it just wasn’t Zoe and it didn’t reflect her colourful personality, having worked with Zoe on a previous project I knew her style and love for colour. This is a great example where the use of paint really changes a space and enhances any original features,' explains Catherine Smith, director of Arior Design.

'It was important to pull the colours through both rooms, using the lovey Little Greene Paint company Masquerade pink on the walls, skirting boards, built in cupboards, shelves, doors and frames – we chose to paint the ceiling and window frames in a soft white – Slaked Lime Mid by Little Greene – because the living room bay window had white shutters that Zoe wanted to keep,' she adds.

2. Work with the layout

When Zoe bought the house, the layout worked well for her needs and it was just the style that wasn't to her taste. The 'before' was a very pared-back palette, which hugely contrasts the rich scheme Catherine was able to bring in.

As Zoe has an open plan kitchen layout, it's important for the colour scheme and style to flow naturally between the cooking and living spaces.

Not only did Catherine match the wall colour in both rooms but she also subtly pulled through feature colours like the green armchair which parallels accessories on the island and art on the kitchen wall.

'I wanted to make sure the fabulous Jules Et Jim framed poster would be set off against the wall colour and be complemented in the new kitchen paint colours,' Catherine explains. 'It made sense to combine these tones and she was brave enough to go bold on the island, giving a glowing warmth. I pulled everything together with beautiful curtain fabrics, in both the living room and kitchen, new green armchair and lamps to ensure it all made sense throughout both rooms.'

Considering your kitchen layout comes down to the small details, too. Think about how you are going to use the space on a daily basis to really dial into whether it will work on a practical level.

'One thing to mention is that we wanted to add curtains for warmth, pattern and to soften the edges, however with the oven so close to the right hand curtain, we had a bespoke curtain pole and rings made to ensure this curtain can be pulled right the way over to the left when cooking is in progress for safety,' adds Catherine.

3. Add the finishing touches

Once you've decided on a colour palette and layout, the finishing touches are what bring the entire look together.

'Zoe had the same pendant light over the island in her last kitchen and loving it so much she wanted to have one again. It is a beautiful traditional style by Devol Kitchens,' says Catherine.

'We also changed the handles to update the look, they are from Corston Architectural, I love their hardware, really reasonably priced when you need so many. The finish we used is Antique brass – it is what they call a “living finish” meaning they will darken/change tone with use over time.'

Shop Zoe's Kitchen

Zoe's kitchen is a perfect example of how to breathe new life into a space that is lacking character and doesn't feel like 'you'.

Trying out a kitchen colour scheme with three core shades adds so much dimension to a space and actually makes it easier to form the core of your design. Which shades would you put together?