8 Great Kitchen Color Schemes | Kitchen | How-To Tips

23 Aug 2012

8 Great Kitchen Color Schemes

" There are no bad colors, just bad color combinations," said one of my interior design mentors many years ago. At first I disagreed with him, since there's a certain shade of brown-mustard yellow that I definitely wouldn't want slathered all over my walls. But after I chewed on his statement for a bit, I realized that I had seen that color used in ways that were quite beautiful. It's definitely possible to make any single color work in your home — it's all in how other colors and materials are incorporated with it. But how do you develop a cohesive color palette?

Spend a few minutes browsing through the thousands of kitchens showcased on Houzz and you will quickly see they come in all shapes, sizes, styles and colors. Colorwise they can run the gamut from eye catching, bold and bright, to light, tranquil and airy. Featured here are some of the many delightfully colorful kitchens on Houzz, along with examples of color palettes inspired by the kitchens

Warm Color Palette

If you love lots of bright and bold colors but don't want your kitchen to appear as if a rainbow exploded inside of it, consider working with analogous colors: colors next to each other on the color wheel.

A simple way to think of this is warm versus cool colors. This kitchen features very bold splashes of warm oranges and red. The space feels exciting and energetic — great for entertaining.

Example palette: This potential palette features warm, analogous colors, plus a grounding neutral.

Cool Color Palette

This kitchen also features bold analogous colors, but it's on the cool end of the color wheel with shades of green and blue. It has a sophisticated and serene feel.

Example palette: Clockwise from top left, these cool analogous colors.

Bold Wall With Neutral Accents

A great strategy for incorporating bold colors into your kitchen is to keep the expensive items — such as the countertops, cabinet fronts and flooring — neutral in color and save the bold colors for things that are easy and affordable to change out, like wall paint.

Example palette: Here is an example of a palette featuring one bold color used with supporting neutrals.

Blank Canvas With Bold Accessories

Here's another kitchen that smartly features bold colors in a way that's easy and relatively affordable to change at any time. You could give this kitchen a completely different look just by swapping out the carpet tiles and counter stools.

Example palette: This potential palette features deep colors that pack a punch and are best utilized in small chunks.

Splash of Green

An unexpected splash of color can be truly captivating. To prevent it from crossing the line to overwhelming, however, take a tip from this fresh and airy space by keeping all the other elements in the space neutral.

Example palette: Here's another example of a palette that features one bold color with supporting neutrals.

Bold Traditional Palette

Eye-popping colors aren't just for contemporary kitchens. This handsome kitchen features an oversize bold red range set in rich, dark chocolate cabinets. The tile backsplash has an intricate pattern to it but, because of the neutral colors used, it complements rather than competes with the range.

Example palette: This potential palette features a luscious, saturated red and a rich chocolate brown.

Splash of Yellow

This appealing, light-filled kitchen sports a band of color at the backsplash and via the dining chairs. This is a great option for someone who wants a very light, soothing and restrained palette but with a little twist.

Example palette: An example of a palette for a light and bright kitchen, with a kick of color.

Warm, Rich Kitchen Palette

This kitchen makes me want to eat! And definitely drink some wine. The color red is said to be an appetite stimulant, which is why most fine dining establishments are painted shades of red rather than, say, green or blue. Red can be tricky to work with, though, because it tends to suck all the light from a room. Instead of painting your walls red, try using red in smaller chunks, such as the red range featured in an earlier kitchen, or as used here, in these beautiful cranberry-red cabinets.

Example palette: A potential palette to stimulate one's appetite.

Courtesy Sharing by Houzz

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