Home decor trends, including kitchen cabinet colors, have come and gone over the years. And while adding a fresh coat of paint to your bedroom for a quick update might not be a huge project, replacing or changing your kitchen cabinets can be an expensive and time-consuming task. But there’s no need to embark on a full kitchen remodel if your budget doesn’t allow it. Instead, you can opt for alternative methods to revamp and refresh your space.
The kitchen is one place in the home with a color palette that offers a lot of wiggle room! Your appliances and plumbing fixtures alone can come in a variety of colors and finishes. But, the last thing you want is for your kitchen to look like you dropped it into your house with no regard for the colors in the rest of your home. These are four of our favorite timeless kitchen cabinet color palettes that will give your space a classic air and beautiful look for years to come, no matter where the trends lead.
Wood kitchen cabinets offer a warm and timeless look
Within the past five years, we’ve seen everything from blonde bamboo to dark mahogany trending. There’s no getting around the timeless nature of wood — it’s warm, and it brings a comforting organic quality to your design. Wood pairs well with earth tones, like the colors of rocks, stones, pebbles, trees, marble, and granite.
So how do you pick a wood finish? What color the wood is in the rest of your house? Do you have wood doors? Are the baseboards and trim wood? If so, you want to pick a finish that is either high contrast or close to the other woods in your home. A high contrast color works best if you have lots of light in your kitchen. If you have hardwood floors, wood trim, and wood doors, your cabinet color should be in the same color family to make them look seamless.
Whether you are picking a wood tone or a color finish, consider buying a cabinet door in the color you choose so you can see how it looks with the other colors in your kitchen. People often make the mistake of only checking how a cabinet color looks next to their wall paint. Keep in mind that the cabinet color will play off colors from the floor, the countertop, adjacent doors, and trim, and you want to be sure that everything pairs nicely together.
Traditional white kitchen cabinets are classy and clean
Bright white or cream kitchen cabinets never go out of style. Paired with a simple shaker-style door, they can be dressed up with glass inserts or be part of a color palette that includes bright countertops and an artsy backsplash — the options are pretty much endless.
Again, the amount of light your kitchen gets has a lot to do with which shade of white you pick. Cream cabinets in a subdued light can look yellow, and depending on how the light hits, it might end up looking like you have a mix-match of colors rather than the seamless look you are going for.
So, be mindful when you select your shade of white. Too much white with a blue undertone can make an area look sterile and not very inviting, and white with a green undertone can leech the color out of an area. A crisp white looks fabulous with wood baseboards and wood countertops, and an off-white looks great with colored countertops and a backsplash with a little color. Experiment a little and find which shade works best for your kitchen.
Gray kitchen cabinets create endless options for your design scheme
The beautiful thing about gray cabinets is that there are so many shades to choose from. From blue-gray to rich, nearly charcoal grays, these tones are inviting colors that pair well with bold colors and muted colors alike.
When pairing gray cabinets with the rest of your kitchen, stainless steel or matte black finished appliances look ultra-modern and cool. A subway tile in a soft white will complement both the cabinets and the appliances, and a veined white countertop will finish things off brilliantly. Hardwood flooring in an ash tone throughout the house and neutral walls would bring the color story together nicely.
Bolder colors can be fantastic for the more adventurous
Navy, red, yellow, and dark green or teal can do wonders in kitchens where those colors show up in other parts of the home. If you are thinking about using a bold color but are wary of doing an entire kitchen, consider painting your island in a bold color. Wood-finished cabinets in the surrounding area (or a more muted version of that color) are a great way to give that splash of bold without being overpowering.
If you have a hutch or pantry cabinet, you can use a bolder color there and treat it as an art piece in the kitchen. Incorporate that color in the backsplash (you can intersperse a bold color here and there with white subway tiles), and use it in your accessories. For example, if you have red cabinets on your island, get smaller red appliances or a red canister set.
That being said, only use bold colors in your kitchen if it is your forever home. If you plan on selling your home in the future, a classic, timeless color is your best bet. Incorporating color into your kitchen cabinets does not have to be daunting. Take these tips and have some fun with kitchen cabinet colors!
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