OP here

Wow! Thanks everyone, keep 'em coming :)

We are starting with a blank slate. We bought a house that was a total gut job. I already have the layout done. We're going with shaker doors, no open shelves except small ones by the sink. I love MCM, but don't care for stark modern. We're pretty eclectic, a little boho-ish, colorful, artsy, but don't want it to be overwhelming.

We once lived in a house with steel yellow kitchen cabinets with a blue, yellow, red, and green confettti looking floor, green counters. . We really liked that kitchen, but don't necessarily want the same thing.

Given the costs and investments I think its reasonable to worry about resale. If you are in your forever home and retirement is 30+ years away go for it. Your estate will take the hit not you. We live in a world where our kids/grandkids will not likely afford their own homes they latest economic sources are saying...COST is a real thing not only for you but for the future of that home.

I'm just going to leave this right here...

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@sue Pedersen - OMG !

Sometimes you can do "standard finishes" for the cabinets but punch up everything around them. Then you can change things as you aesthetic changes.

Good luck and have fun! Be sure to post after pics so those of us who are tired of white kitchens can enjoy it too!

but this one….

@amystoller I love your kitchen!! 😍

OP, I can identify with tastes mellowing with age. I painted my first kitchen teal with lime green. It was cute tho! I was ahead of my time. 😁

This is the inspiration for my upcoming kitchen remodel. I have colorful accessories so the light blue is plenty of color for this stage of my life.

What a great question and I love seeing the colorful examples! I especially like how in some pics less colorful cabinets (e.g. white, grey, or natural wood) are paired with a bold and colorful backsplash. I think I'd be happy in nearly all of these kitchens, except for the padded cabinets - yikes.

Ours isn’t finished and may not be as bright or bold as you want for inspo. The paint is Benjamin Moore Olympus Green.

@amystoller, I just zoomed in and saw those are Charlie Harper birds on your backsplash!! ❤️❤️❤️

Since you've gotten a lot of color, I thought I'd mine the "eclectic kitchen" mine for additional ideas... This first one is a fave of mine!!

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(ok, that's a bit off-topic, but look at those cabinets!!)

HEre's the kitchen in a studio apartment we purchased last year as an ADU.

We have since remodeled! Was owned by an 82 year old artist and instagram influencer.

The colorful kitchens are definitely inspiring!

So refreshing to see someone want to use color!!!

Check out Allison Kandler's kitchens--they are a riot of happy colors:

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Tape, not paint, on the cabinets, but this and a butler’s pantry by Heidi Callier, which I can’t find at the moment, makes me want a yellow kitchen more than I’ve ever wanted anything.

The yellow and white isn't Heidi Callier, but is certainly bold. It is a DIY on Ikea cabinets in a south London flat and inspired by striped pool towels. Here's a link to the apartment tour. The rest of the rooms are really peaceful.

https://www.houseandgarden.co.uk/gallery/dorian-caffot-de-fawes-london-flat

Check out Exactly. MCM design firm. Their kitchens are fresh and bold without being garish. The color comes from tile, light fixtures, painted ranges. Yep, the cabinets are more neutral. Great that you could swap out the colored features without having to repaint cabinets in the future.

@beeboo22, thanks for your kind words. And yes, those are indeed Charley Harper birds on my backsplash, plus a few squirrels. I spent about 10 years putting together research and look-books for my whole-house (well, apartment) renovation, and now whenever I enter my kitchen, or any other room, I feel happy. It was worth taking the time to do it right (that is, right for me).

I love a lot of the other colorful kitchens posted here—even some of the ones I would never choose for myself. Thanks, OP, for kicking off a great thread. Best of luck with your new kitchen!

It's always such fun to see such bold choices. Not many would be so daring so one doesn't come across them very often. I know I am hauted by the advise of one of my favorite designers that the more DIFFERENT/bold the faster you will tire of it.... The yellows above are to die for!!!

I have a white kitchen but here are some inspiration photos I saved that are classic designs with bolder pops of color:

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Following.

@L Hamilton, are all these ideas leaning you in a direction? I shared my aqua kitchen earlier, but these two I found I would do in a heartbeat. DH wouldn’t have handled them well, lol. I do have a good bit of magenta mixed in to the adjacent room and working on some for kitchen now that we’ve been in house awhile

@S M your kitchen is absolutely fabulous! Are all of your room filled with bold color? Magenta is a color that I am drawn to. I love rooms that make you curious about what is around the next corner. Your kitchen does that!

ilikefriday, Thank you! Most are ( a couple still in the works.. have only been moved in a year so still deciding on them). Open concept so living room across from kitchen is teal/green/magenta and gold. Hall bath is pink/green/black. Laundry has Delft blue cabinets, mud room cabinetry is dark teal. My bedroom and office are still “snowman in a snowstorm” until I figure them out, lol. Do have a couple paint samples for our small entryway with views to kitchen/living room..will probably be in some shade of purple or magenta 😊

Following. And loving all the colorful kitchens! Having trouble with Houzz and posting a picture of my favorite colorful kitchen- will try again later.

I just came across this jewel on Pinterest. It's absolutely lovely with Personality Plus! Being an analyzer, I ask myself, "What do I like here?"

- Balance, for starters. It's "full" -- full of things to catch the eye, but those things are all very simple. The cabinets are a simple Shaker, the color is a solid. But it has the touch of whimsical wallpaper up to the ceiling.

- Lots of natural light. Almost without exception, the best kitchens are filled with natural light.

- Oddly, I note that the busiest parts of the kitchen -- the wallpaper and the floor -- are on the top and the bottom, leaving the middle to be simple. Again, this is balance.

- We can't see it at night, but it appears to have ample lighting.

- The checkered fabric curtain is reflected in the checkered floor, but it's not repetitive.

- It's not over-done /not stretched to the max. For example, the window over the sink could've been a bit larger -- and I personally probably would've made it larger -- but note that a larger window woud've cost that bit of wallpaper and the prints by the sink. What they did is better.

- Note that all of the trends people chase are missing -- not even stainless steel appliances.

@S M Would you be willing to post photos of your living room and hall bathroom? I would love to see them! Magenta is a color that I have been trying to incorporate in every room of my home. I love it.

here are couple of living room

and here is the pink bath..

here is kitchen/ dining

SM it's eye candy! There are so many elements to love about your space! The light fixtures, especially in the kitchen, the fireplace surround is fabulous, the bathroom color combo. I love it all!

Thanks for sharing these.

thanks so much , ilikefriday. It’s still a work in progress, but I have had fun with it. And DH always said he hated pink, go figure. guess he loved me more than he hates pink

^thank you, ilikefriday! duh, sorry I called you by wrong name. Must’ve been thinking of another post I was reading 😊

Lol. That's no problem. I knew what you meant.

I can't share pictures of mine yet - it won't be renovated for another year and a half, but I planned my whole home color palette from the purple red and green slate flooring in the foyer.

The cabinets will be a mid toned grayish purple. The countertops will be Cambria Bentley and I am debating on the wall color - leaning toward a red. The two rooms are not right next to each other - the living room and dining room will be between them, but the same colors are throughout the home in the art and décor.

@Jennifer Hogan, please post pics when you do your kitchen. I’d love to see it!

A favorite of mine that is inspiring me in my own kitchen reno plans... by Mark Sikes...

I will definitely post pics.

Atticmag has a number - https://www.atticmag.com/

I'm finishing this one right now:

This is the laundry room in the same house:

Ready for styling....

Beautiful, Kristen.

Our last kitchen (we did a studs remodel on a circa 1969 townhouse):

Our current kitchen (in a house we built last year):

Yes, I like green

so pretty!!!

I found my people! I love all these kitchens. 😍

this is our laundry, but it might be pretty in kitchen. Color isn’t quite as bold as others we’ve been tossing out there though 😊

@S M What colour are your laundry cabinets? They are so calming

they’re Sherwin Delft

@theotherjaye

What is the material of that green floor in the kitchen you posted?

Love it

Here's my kitchen. I kept the cabinets neutral but incorporated color in the wall paint and art. And the range. You can't really see in the 2nd photo, but the pantry is purple.