Key Takeaway: Match brown kitchen cabinets with the right wall color to make your space feel like home. Think classic whites for a bright, airy vibe or warm neutrals for that snug coffee-sip feeling. Don't shy away from modern accents—navy or sage can bring in contemporary flair.
WARM NEUTRALS
If you have dark wood cabinets, try a color palette that brings out the warmth in the wood. We recommend that you choose lighter neutrals with warm undertones, such as creamy white, beige, taupe, warm-toned grays, linen, or a very soft blush pink.
Hardware for dark kitchen cabinets
Homeowners can choose from stainless steel, brushed nickel, gold, black or oiled bronze.
Greens and Blues: Timeless Favorites
Greens and blues remain at the heart of cabinet color trends, offering a timeless appeal. From serene sage to deep forest green, these colors echo nature's calming influence, fostering a nurturing environment.
Brown kitchen cabinets are a versatile and timeless choice for your kitchen. Of course, like any timeless trend, there are ways to modernize and keep the trend feeling fresh rather than outdated.
Let's start with the color of the backsplash for brown cabinets. The most preferred colors in a brown kitchen are white, blue, and gray tones. Because these colors create harmony and contrast with brown very well. We can often see gray tones in brown kitchens in contemporary design style.
An ideal choice for most modern dark cabinet kitchen, bright white countertops allows a solid combination that mainly focuses on building contrast. You might want to pick the best countertop material for this match-up, which is quartz.
Together, these colors bring a sense of balance and elegance to the kitchen. One of the key advantages of using gray and brown in your kitchen is their compatibility with a wide range of materials and textures.
Brown doesn't feature on a traditional color wheel, and is often shown as a dark shade of orange on contemporary wheels. Orange's complementary color is blue, making blue—or darker shades of blue—brown's complementary hue. Color wheel images adapted from contributor Antun Hirsman.
Brown might be a sophisticated choice, but sometimes those paler shades need a little help to shine. A splash of yellow is an effective way of bringing out the innate warmth and vibrancy of your favourite brown shade.
The opposite of a color on the color wheel is known as its complementary color. Complementary colors, when placed next to each other, create a strong contrast and make each other appear more vibrant. The complementary color of brown is blue.
60 – 30 – 10 Rule
Many designers utilize the 60 – 30 -10 rule. Where 60% of your space is a base color (for your walls, and large furniture) , 30% as an accent color (through accent chairs, and area rugs) , and 10% as pops of color (in art pieces or other decorum).
Introduce reflective surfaces. Shiny, reflective surfaces help bounce light around a room, just like light colours do. So, if your kitchen is too dark, cabinet handles, taps, light fittings and appliances with a shiny metal finish are a great choice. You can also brighten a dark kitchen with shiny surfaces.
To make a kitchen appear larger, use pale colours like white or light blue. If you prefer a more dramatic look, consider navy blue, dark green, or even black as your modular kitchen design colour. To create a warm, inviting atmosphere, opt for shades of yellow, orange, or red.
Blonde and mid-tone browns are classic choices that never go out of style. Bleached or super dark stains tend to wave with trends and can make a kitchen appear very dated when not in style. Avoid stains with a heavy undertone like red, orange, or grey as these will also wane with kitchen trends.
Typically, gray and white hardwood goes best with dark blue, green, and black cabinets. On the other hand, rich, natural hardwoods like oak and maple will complement dark brown, dark red, and rust-colored cabinets.
While a lot of kitchens in 2024 see white- or gray-painted cabinetry, I'm here to say that dark wood cabinets still have a place in modern kitchens, at least according to two design experts I interviewed.
After all, the Sherwin-Williams Color of the Year for 2024 is Upward, which is described as "breezy, blissful blue." This shade of blue is inherently calming, but there is also a playful element that will appeal to many.
White is the most timeless cabinet color of all, with popularity dating back over half a century. It's hard to beat the crisp, clean beauty of bright white cabinets. They lighten the entire room and lend a refreshing, airy feel.
So, if you're thinking about a kitchen remodel, remember oak cabinets are far from being a thing of the past. With their timeless charm, myriad color options, and the ability to incorporate updates, these might just be the perfect choice for your dream space.