Choosing the Right Color Palette for Your Kitchen

If your kitchen remodeling project includes painting your kitchen walls and cabinets, choosing the right color palette can breathe new life into your kitchen. The right kitchen color palette will be fresh, clean, and timeless so that your kitchen will improve in value, comfort, and appearance. Even if you don’t have design experience, you can choose a flawless color combination that expresses your personal style and matches the overall aesthetic of your home. Here are a few things to consider when choosing a kitchen color palette that will look great for years. 

Consider Existing Features

Some of the features of your kitchen won’t change with your remodel, or you might already have certain fixtures and features picked out. You should use those as a starting point when picking a kitchen color palette. Your hardware, countertops, flooring, appliances, and backsplash might guide you towards a color palette that uses complementary or contrasting colors. For instance, if you have chosen a green tile backsplash, then you might consider a kitchen color palette in other shades of green for a coastal or seashore vibe. If your kitchen flooring is black and white tile, you might choose a more vibrant color palette for your walls and kitchen cabinets. If you have retro-inspired kitchen appliances, you might be interested in using classic color palettes from the same era. 

Explore Color Gradients

You can create a kitchen color palette that explores color gradients. You can use shades of color to create the illusion of space, light, and warmth. Using darker colors in the lower half of the kitchen can make the space feel taller. Darker wood or tile for the flooring, a medium shade for countertops, and lighter colors for kitchen cabinets and wall paint can make the room appear to stretch upwards. Using light, bright colors throughout your kitchen can make the space seem bigger. White tile floors, cream or gray kitchen cabinets, and granite or marble countertops will lighten the room and make it feel bigger and brighter.   

Complement Your Existing Decor

You should also consider your existing kitchen and home decor. You might even look to your favorite China set, curtains, kitchen towels, or artwork for inspiration for your kitchen color palette. Picking a few of your favorite colors from your existing decor or artwork will create the perfect foundation for your overall kitchen palette and design. 

Develop Your Own Design Style

Unless you plan on selling your home right away, you are the one who will be spending the most time in your kitchen. You should stay true to your own sense of color, space, and design so that you can guarantee you will feel comfortable with the result. If you don’t have a lot of design experience, don’t worry. You will get a gut feeling for what you like and don’t like as you proceed. Start by looking at photos online or in magazines. Look at profiles of celebrity kitchens, or the kitchens of famous chefs. Ask your kitchen designer to see a portfolio of past work. Check Pinterest for kitchen design boards. All these things will help you determine what appeals to you, and what you would rather skip. 

Know When to Use a Neutral Palette

If you do plan on selling your home in the future, or you just prefer a minimalist aesthetic, you should use a neutral color palette. Neutral kitchen color palettes use muted shades of white, cream, gray, taupe, and tan. Many people consider neutral color palettes to be timeless and classic, and they think that using these colors in kitchens and bathrooms will create an elevated aesthetic that allows other features to shine. A neutral color palette also makes it easier to switch out your decor, features, hardware, and other elements in the future if you want a mini kitchen makeover.

Use Light Colors to Make the Space Look Bigger

Even a small kitchen will look bigger and brighter if you use a light color palette. Look at a wide array of paint swatches, focusing on the lightest shades at the top of the swatches. Using pale yellow, cream, and blue can make your kitchen look spacious and bright while also creating a calming aesthetic. 

Develop an Inspiration Board

You can use free online design tools to create your own mood boards or inspiration boards. As you work with your kitchen designer or browse Pinterest, start saving images that speak to you. You can create a physical inspiration board, or just a collection of saved photos on your phone. When you’re looking at paint swatches, tile, countertops, and flooring, compare your selections with your inspiration board. This will help you make selections that are consistent and cohesive.

Choose Colors You Want to See Every Day

This might seem obvious, but you should make sure the colors in your kitchen color palette are colors you want to see every day. Don’t just choose trendy colors that you saw in a design magazine or that a friend recommends. You might get sick of them in a few months and have to start all over again. Using different shades of your favorite colors gives you some diversity and depth without risking a choice that you won’t love later. 

Ready to Remodel Your Kitchen in Vermont? 

If you’re ready to remodel your kitchen in Vermont, New Hampshire, or Upstate New York, come see us at Abatiello Design Center. Our interior design consultants can help you create the kitchen color palette of your dreams. We work closely with each client to develop a kitchen design that elevates the space, solves existing problems, and makes the kitchen more attractive, comfortable, and functional. Our design team has years of experience, and we love exploring different kitchen design and kitchen color palette options until we find the one that speaks to you. To schedule a design consultation or to learn more about our design and installation services, call us today at (802) 773-6300 or contact us online.