It's crucial to pick a color that creates an illusion of space, light, and airiness to make your kitchen look and feel more spacious. Consider lighter colors such as white, cream, light gray, pale green, and blue, as they reflect light and create an expansive feel.
If you have a small kitchen, white and neutral paint colors can be a lifesaver. White paint reflects light, makes walls recede, and increases the sense of space.
Yellow, White, and Black. Yellow has long been a favorite for small kitchen wall colors. Whether used on walls or cabinetry, the soul-warming hue makes a pleasing splash. It offers a cheerful greeting in the morning and sets a room aglow once lights flicker on at night.
Go with Light Colors
Light blues, greens, or pale yellows are other great colors to make your space look larger than life.
Even though light colors work better in small kitchens, you can still use dark cabinets. Dark colors tend to dominate a space, making it feel cramped. To make the room feel brighter and more inviting, balance darker cabinets with lighter colors throughout the rest of your kitchen.
A common question most homeowners ask is, “Should countertops be lighter or darker than cabinets?” Well, it depends on the look that you choose for your kitchen. Classically, one could use darker countertops than cabinets. Today, the trend is using lighter countertops than cabinets to improve the kitchen's appeal.
White cabinets evoke a clean and sanitary look, while creating a light and airy feel to your kitchen.
Arguably, the most timeless kitchen cabinet color is white. Bright white cabinets suit a variety of beautiful kitchens, including modern, contemporary, and farmhouse styles. Brilliant whites work to give kitchens a light and airy feel, and off-white options, like the White Dove shade, provides warmth.
She says light neutrals are generally the best colors for resale because they appeal to most people, but she advises against painting cabinets taupe or beige. “There's the tendency for people to accidentally go too warm—with golden or tan overtones—and then that would be a mistake that's hard to correct.”
Most real estate agents will tell sellers that neutral colors will appeal to the widest audience. While white is a very popular color for kitchen cabinets, other neutrals like gray, black, and beige are also good. Stained wood cabinets have an appeal, especially if they are of high quality.
To better give an feeling of space, create contrasts in colors and luminosity. Don't hesitate to play with materials like brick, glossy paint, wood and plain white. If your kitchen is very small, you can use built-in furniture and appliances and make the dining zone in the main room.
If you're working with a small kitchen, it's best to keep your space light and bright (we suggest true whites or subtle grays). Mossy green, sage and creamy whites pair well with wood cabinets and accents, while earthy reds and browns can be great for a Feng Shui kitchen.
White is perhaps the most classic color choice for minimalist kitchens, but bolder hues can also pair beautifully with modern designs. The key is to limit the palette to one saturated color and incorporate neutrals or wood tones for balance.
Install a backsplash with strong horizontal lines, like shiplap or subway tile laid in a bond pattern. Those horizontal lines make the kitchen feel wider than it really is.
On top of X-ing bright reds, steer clear of bright green, bright yellow and pink. Zillow's study found that kitchens painted these colors hurt buyers' intentions to purchase and overall decrease the likelihood of offers. The biggest takeaway here: Red and other bright colors might read too loud for buyers' taste.
Use lighter colors.
A light color on the walls and cabinets instantly brightens a space making it look larger and in turn, more expensive. Light colors reflect light and hide a multitude of sins, including those scratches, dings and dents in your old cabinets.
Think about the mood you want to create
What kind of vibe are you looking for? Kitchen cabinet colors should also express your personality. Bright colors like yellow create a perky ambiance, while dark shades look intense and dramatic. White, greys, and blacks are ideal if you want an elegant, minimalist feel.
He also says to avoid cherry-colored cabinets because they look dated. Plus, Chastain says, traditional cabinetry shapes and sizes are quickly being outpaced by space-saving shelving systems and larger pantry-style cabinets.
Blackband recommends sticking with white or, if you don't like white, a neutral color, such as tan, beige or ivory. Go with a subtle pattern and low veining for a longer-lasting look.
White is still the most popular kitchen cabinet color in 2023 and beyond. However, we are seeing a shift towards warmer and more natural tones. We cover the best colors for cabinets from Benjamin Moore and Sherwin Williams like Simply White, Dove White, and Chantilly Lace.
Oil-rubbed bronze, satin bronze, polished nickel, brushed nickel and white hardware are the cream of the crop as far as easy maintenance goes. Choose the look that best suits the style of your kitchen. They may be windows to your kitchen's soul, but they're also extra surfaces to clean.
What is the most popular color for kitchen cabinets? Though trend reports may show that white is falling out of favor, interior designers say that, generally, homeowners are still most drawn toward white kitchen cabinets. “It's classic and great for resale value,” says Hattie Collins of Hattie Sparks Interiors.