What Color Should I Paint My Kitchen Cabinets?

What Color Should I Paint My Kitchen Cabinets?

Cabinets are a major part of any kitchen and often take up the most space compared to furniture and appliances. Therefore, choosing an appropriate color is not always as straightforward as one would hope. It is important to consider the style of the room overall, the size of the room and how much light the room gets on a regular basis. The appliances, wall color and the color of the backsplash are all important features of the room that can help a homeowner decide what would be the best color for their cabinets.

Small Kitchens

Some homes have very cramped or small kitchens in order to keep other living spaces more open. Even the most cramped of kitchens need cabinets and choosing the wrong color can make an already tight space look even smaller. Display kitchens in renovation stores and magazines often show dark colors against white floors for a dramatic effect. As great as this looks in the store, it is best to avoid dark tones such as navy blue or crimson red in a small space as it can make a room look smaller in no time. The best way to go with a small kitchen is to choose bright and light colors such as whites, dove greys, pale blues and pale yellows. These colors will reflect light nicely and can make a room feel much bigger than it really is. Use the white or light-colored cabinets as an opportunity to have brighter appliances or a more dramatically colored backsplash.

Colorful Kitchens

When a room already has a lot of colour, it is best to avoid adding more colors unless there is a way to coordinate them all together in a pleasant way. For example, if you have a colored fridge, stove and microwave along with a colorful backsplash and counters, then it is best to avoid anything drastic for the cabinets. If your heart is truly set on bright cabinets, then choosing white curtains and very plain kitchen furniture is a great way to offset the burst of color so that it doesn’t have a chaotic appearance.

Open-Concept Kitchens

Very spacious kitchens have a lot of freedom when it comes to color choice. Choosing more dramatic colors such as deep greens or purples is always possible if the rest of the room is kept fairly neutral. Light yellows and blues are another common choice as they can add a cozy, yet airy feel to a large space. Choosing a more vibrant color such as a light pink can work well for cabinets when they are low to the ground and the rest of the room is colored with greys or darker neutral tones. Choosing a pink that is more salmon colored than bright pink can be a nice way to use pink without it being overpowering to a room. The same rule goes for greens, where choosing a medium or minty green can be quite tasteful mixed with grey or darker neutral-toned walls.

Appliance Colors

When most of the appliances are white, then choosing more light neutral colors for the kitchen can work as long as the walls and floor are not also white. When everything is white, it is almost always best to choose a color that adds style to the room. Every color goes well with white, so the main issue to consider would be room size. Use a lighter color to accent your cabinets in a smaller room and use a darker or more bold color to accent your appliances in a larger room. If all of the appliances are black or are made of stainless steel, painting the cabinets a lighter color can be a nice way to accent them long as the color chosen goes well with neutral tones.  In other words, choosing an aggressively bright color would look too stark in any kitchen. “Greige” is a nice mix between green, grey and beige that suits any size of kitchen with darker appliances. It is the perfect balance between dark and light.

Once you are aware of the effects that your appliance color, room size and current style can have on the appearance of your kitchen cabinets, it is much easier to eliminate certain colors and to focus on colors that will benefit the style of your kitchen. Color choice is almost always easier for larger kitchens, since making the kitchen look small is not much of a concern. However, smaller kitchens can still have a pop of color when the surrounding décor doesn’t clash and if there is sufficient sunlight to keep the kitchen feeling bright. When in doubt, always feel free to ask a professional as they have seen many kitchens and are aware of which colors tend to work the best in any given situation.

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