The kitchen is often the place in our home with whose color design we are least concerned. Most of the time, we only deal with the furniture and technical devices’ functionality without really coordinating the color selection.
However, if the wall color and the tile color of your kitchen are also important to you, you will find some practical inspiration and information about designing your kitchen colors in this article.
How do I decide on the color scheme for my kitchen?
Before you decide on a color or color combination in your kitchen, you should first consider various essential aspects of your selection.
Personality
The most important factor is your personality, that is, your personal preferences. Do you prefer it simple and natural or fancy and flashy? Your kitchen should also exude a bit of your personality because that’s the only way you can really feel comfortable at home.
Rest of the house
Your kitchen should also match the rest of your home, of course. If the rest of your interior design is in a natural wood tone, a completely colorful kitchen may seem a bit out of place. Therefore, the easiest decision is when you are moving or renovating the entire house. Because this way, you have the opportunity to completely reinvent yourself and bring a new style into the house by designing a unified color scheme for the whole house.
Furniture
The furniture you have in your kitchen should also match the chosen color scheme. Of course, you always have the option of giving your furniture a new coat of paint to match the color you would like for your kitchen. However, if you have old antique wooden furniture, for example, a new fancy color might not fit so well.
Size of the kitchen
An important factor in the design of your kitchen is the size of your kitchen. Unfortunately, this aspect is all too often forgotten by many when designing their kitchen. If you only have a small kitchen, color plays an even more significant role in space’s appearance. More on that later in this article.
Style
Of course, your kitchen’s color should also match the style of the kitchen and the rest of the house. For example, as mentioned before, fancy and extremely bright colors rarely go well with antique wooden furniture. However, if your home is decorated in a modern style, a few eye-catching color accents usually go great.
What color combinations and options do I have to bring color into my kitchen?
Kitchen furniture color
When we talk about our kitchen’s color, we usually refer to the color of the kitchen furniture. In fact, the furniture’s color is usually the first thing that catches our eye when we enter the kitchen. Therefore, if you want to make your kitchen especially colorful, you should pay special attention to the color of your furniture.
Wall color in the kitchen
The wall color also influences the color perception in your kitchen. However, it all depends on how much of the wall is still visible between the furniture and your kitchen’s tiles. In many kitchens, the wall color is therefore kept rather subtle.
Tile color in the kitchen
Most kitchens have tiles on the wall. Especially on the stove and countertop, this is mainly practical because the tiles are easy to clean after cooking. Also, the tile color can change the overall impression of your kitchen. Compare, for example, the typical kitchen tiles of a kitchen from the 70s or 80s.
Color of kitchen utensils
Even if you don’t change your kitchen’s overall color, you can quickly and easily add color accents by playing with the colors of your kitchen utensils or technical devices. Such can be dishes, pots, and kitchen devices like kettles or food processors. Another way to set color accents in your kitchen is decorative elements.
Kitchen color ideas – Colorful inspirations
Classical white
Many people first think one thing when a classic white kitchen comes to their mind: “Boring.” However, a white kitchen is usually anything but boring. On the contrary, a white kitchen often looks energetic and clean because of its bright colors.
But if a completely white one somehow seems too monotonous for you, there are a few fantastic ways to add color accents.
White kitchen with a colorful wall paint
If you add a colorful background to the white kitchen, you automatically bring some color into play. However, the kitchen still does not look overly colorful and can even maintain its overall classic style. Despite everything, the white kitchen with colorful wall paint looks modern and slightly playful without appearing too extravagant.
White kitchen with colorful tiles
If, between the kitchen, cabinets, and tiles, not much of the actual wall color shows through, you can also bring a bit of color into your kitchen by adding colorful tiles. If you like it more eye-catching, you can definitely fall back on strong colors. However, sometimes cream or pastel tones are enough to give your kitchen a little more expression.
White kitchen with colored elements
Another great way to add color elements to your white kitchen and give it more personality is splashes of color in the form of kitchen appliances, dishes, kitchen utensils, or decorative items. Basically, almost all colors go well with white, so there are no limits to your color choices. The only important thing is that the colors of the different elements should match each other. Therefore, it is usually enough to focus on one color or one shade.
As in the example photo above, popular colors are strong colors, such as red, because they set strong contrasts. However, if you focus on light blue or similar hues, you can also create a kind of beach house atmosphere. Therefore, this color combination is trendy for vacation homes.
Single-color
Another option to color your kitchen is a single-colored kitchen. Besides the just discussed classic white, especially gray, brown, and cream tones are popular options. These colors fit color-wise into almost any home and don’t draw too much attention to themselves. Solid-color kitchens tend to look clean, neat, and classic.
Unicolor with colored accents
Like white kitchens, there is also the option to set colorful accents with colorful tiles, wall paint, or colorful kitchen utensils. However, it is important here that the colors should match each other. A great kitchen color combination idea is gray and yellow. The yellow sets impressive splashes of color without appearing excessive.
Natural kitchen tones
One of the most important factors of a kitchen is that it should match the rest of the house. If you live in a wooden house, for example, or if the rest of your interior is based on wooden furniture and natural tones, this should also be reflected in your kitchen. Bright colors somehow don’t fit at all. Therefore, many kitchen owners continue to rely on classic wooden furniture and natural tones for their kitchen.
However, wooden furniture doesn’t always have to look old. On the contrary, depending on the cut and finish, it can have a modern and high-quality effect or spread a cozy atmosphere. It is therefore hardly surprising that wooden furniture is a timeless trend.
Bold colors
If you like it a bit fancier, you are well served with strong colors. Such colorful kitchens fit especially in modern and colorfully furnished apartments. However, make sure that your new kitchen’s strong colors do not clash with the other colors of your house. It’s best to pick a color scheme for your entire house to follow.
Bold colors in your kitchen will make it look modern and add personality. However, when choosing your kitchen appliances and other utensils, this will require some skill to avoid an over-the-top color scheme in your kitchen. If you don’t have any experience with combining colors yourself, you can also ask a professional designer for advice. However, the rule of thumb to follow here is usually “less is more.” Therefore, rather resort to monochromatic elements, such as black, gray, or white.
Black kitchens
Another classic kitchen color is black. Similar to our clothes, black gives your kitchen a touch of elegance. For example, you can opt for black modern furniture or go for black wooden furniture. Black is great to combine with almost any other color. However, the only drawback here is that some colors will go down next to the eye-catching color.
However, if you decide to go for a black kitchen, you should definitely make sure that there is sufficient lighting because black furniture darkens the room visually. Therefore, black kitchen furniture will look best if your kitchen has a large window or another light source, through which a lot of light enters the interior.
Dark colors for small kitchens?
If your kitchen is small, you should probably rather do without dark colors like black. This is because dark furniture not only darkens the room but also makes it visually smaller. This can lead to a feeling of being cramped while you are in the dark kitchen.
Therefore, if you have a small kitchen or a small room in general, you should use warm colors if possible. Experience has shown that they visually enlarge your kitchen, which makes it feel more spacious.
Black and white
However, if you don’t want to do without the black shine in your kitchen, it is worth combining it with white elements. Such a color combination can be, for example, black kitchen furniture in combination with white wall and tile color. The white color not only sets an attractive contrast to the black kitchen furniture but also helps to brighten up the kitchen. Thus, the white contrast gives your kitchen more fullness and light.
Black and white can look classic, modern, chic, or elegant, depending on the combination of colors.
Pastel colors
Similar to bold colors, pastel colors can also give your kitchen a modern character. Pastel colors usually look very feminine. Such colors can fit great in the kitchen, as we like to associate them with cake baking. Therefore, playful decorative elements go well with pastel kitchens. However, be careful not to overdo it with the colors, as an excess of color can quickly become too much.
Combination of pastel colors and natural colors
Moreover, to avoid such an excess of color, you can also combine pastel colors with classic and natural colors. Wooden elements are a great way to combine them. This will make the pastel shades look less girly and give your kitchen a more cozy atmosphere.
Color combinations for your kitchen
It is important that the colors of your kitchen match each other and the rest of your home. If you are completely redecorating your place, it is worthwhile to create a color concept for your apartment.
When choosing colors, you should pay special attention to the fact that the selected colors harmonize. This can be done, for example, in the form of complementary colors. Complementary colors are the colors opposite each other in the color spectrum. Another possibility is to combine similar colors, e.g., pastel tones or berry tones.
In general, you should not mix too many colors. Usually, it is enough to combine two colors or shades.
To be on the safe side, you can get advice from a professional when planning your kitchen. In many stores, you can compare different colors and shapes using a computer simulation. This will give you an idea of the possible color effect of your kitchen in advance. Another option is to commission an interior architect or interior designer with your kitchen’s color selection and planning.
Colors and their effect
In the following table, you will find the conventional wall colors and their effect on us.
| Room Color | Effect |
|---|---|
| Brown and wood tones | - transmits comfort and cozy atmoshphere - simple and natural - timeless classic |
| Shades of gray, silver and metal | - modernity - Convey a feeling of longevity - Versatile and combinable |
| Black | - Timeless elegance - powerful - best used as a color element and not as the main color |
| White | - has a calming effect - perfectly combinable - looks clean and fresh - provides spaciousness |
| Red | - stands for passion and strength - Has an energetic and stimulating effect |
| Purple | - has a luxurious effect - has calming and creativity-enhancing properties |
| Blue | - Blue is mostly associated with the sky and therefore has a calming effect on us |
| Green | - is considered a cheerful color - due to its association with nature, green has a calming but at the same time invigorating effect on us |
| Orange | - is perceived as a very warm color - appears energetic and playful |
| Yellow | - Is mostly associated with the sun and therefore taken as a warm color - works as a happiness maker - best combined with other colors, as too much yellow or too strong shades can quickly appear oppressive |
| Pink | - is usually perceived as a very feminine color - promotes creativity and warmth |
FAQ about kitchen paint ideas and colors
What kitchen color for small kitchens?
For small kitchens, as for small rooms in general, you should choose light colors, such as soft cream tones. Light colors give the kitchen depth and thus visually enlarge the space. Dark colors, on the contrary, deprive the kitchen of light and therefore have a constricting effect.
Which kitchen color is modern?
Kitchen trends are constantly changing. However, gray tones are becoming more and more popular in recent years. Especially in combination with some colored elements. Moreover, timeless classics like wooden kitchens always go down well.
What is better for the kitchen – high gloss or matte colors?
Whether high gloss or matte shades depends entirely on the nature of the furniture and the selected color. However, in general, high-gloss furniture in the kitchen is considered to be easier to clean and maintain. The color should also match the overall style of the home.
What is important when planning the kitchen colors?
The most important thing, of course, is the functionality of the kitchen. The colors should match the style of the kitchen and the rest of the house. Also, the combined colors should be harmonious with each other – with simple and few colors, you are usually on the safe side.
What distinguishes modern kitchens from country kitchens?
While country kitchens are characterized by their cozy traditional or rural style, modern kitchens stand for fashion consciousness and trends. Country kitchens mainly use wooden elements and natural tones, while modern kitchens are usually designed in other colors.
What color would you like to have in your kitchen? Or maybe you have a great kitchen color combination for us? Feel free to let us know in the comments below!
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