Short answer
Three colourways do most of the work outdoors: the standard light finish for a garden that is already busy, a dark finish for a run that should recede, and two-tone where the cabinets sit under a house that has a colour of its own.
The standard light finish
Light is the safest choice and it is what most clients choose. It reflects the garden rather than competing with it, and it stays visually cool in full sun.
The trade-off is that it shows dirt. On a working outdoor kitchen with a grill, that is a real consideration.
Dark
Dark makes the run recede. On a terrace where the planting is the point, a dark run reads as furniture rather than as a kitchen, and it does not fight the greenery.
It absorbs heat in full sun, which matters for a fridge bay and for anything you touch. Under cover it is the more interesting choice.
Two-tone
The wall leg in the house colour and the return or island in a second tone. It reads as designed rather than as bought, and it is the option people notice.
It also constrains: colour is matched per batch, so both tones have to be ordered together for an exact match.
The one decision that cannot be undone
A custom colour carries a one-off charge because the line has to be set up for it. That is not the issue — the issue is that a later addition in the same custom colour is a second set-up.
Where a run is planned in phases, choose a standard colour, or order the whole footprint at once.
Choosing between the three, in practice
Start from what is behind it
A dark run against a pale wall reads as an object. The same run against dark brick disappears. The wall decides more than the swatch does.
Brushed stainless is the safe middle
It picks up whatever is around it, which is why it suits a garden with a lot of green and a lot of weather.
A custom colour is charged once
Standard card finishes carry no extra. A colour mixed for you has a one-off tinting charge, quoted before it is ordered.
Order a physical swatch
The colour card is one render repeated in several colours, so it is a guide to relationships, not a colour reference. A swatch is the reference.
Check it in the light it will live in
A colour that reads warm in the showroom reads cold under a north-facing pergola. Take the swatch outside, at the time of day you cook.
Questions we get about this
What colours are available?
A standard colour card, supplied as images when you enquire, plus custom colours on request. A custom colour is a one-off charge per colour.
Does a dark colour get too hot?
In full sun, yes, and it matters for the fridge bay specifically. Under cover it is not a problem.
Can I see them before ordering?
Yes. Small sample cabinets can be ordered and credited against the order, and physical samples can be sent, with postage paid by the customer.
Before you order anything
Send the grill model and the run length. You get the aperture, the module list and one itemised price back in writing — freight shown separately, valid 15 days.