5 Bold Ways to Brighten Your Kitchen With Color
Use these tips and images as inspiration to add a dose of color to your kitchen
Kitchens are one of the most functional spaces in the home, but that doesn’t mean they need to be bland. While there is nothing wrong with a sleek and neutral kitchen, as a designer, I believe a colorful kitchen can be a lot more fun.
If you long for a kitchen space that’s more vibrant and inviting, try one or more of these five bright ideas in your kitchen.
1. Make Your Island a Feature Piece
An island is an ideal design focus for any kitchen space. If your kitchen is neutral, adding color to the base (or cabinet section) of your island is a fabulous way to add some vibrancy and visual interest to your kitchen design.
An island is an ideal design focus for any kitchen space. If your kitchen is neutral, adding color to the base (or cabinet section) of your island is a fabulous way to add some vibrancy and visual interest to your kitchen design.
A simple coat of paint on this central piece can completely transform the feel of the room. When choosing a color for your island, pick a few (varied) shades that you love and do a patch test to see which one looks best and gives the space the feel you are going for.
Both bold and muted tones can have a big impact, so take your time and choose the right one for you. As a designer, I recommend choosing the shade you feel will make you happiest when spending time in your kitchen.
Pro tip: Picking colors can be tricky, so here are a few of my favorite color picks to get your creative juices flowing. If you’re working with white cabinets (and a mostly light kitchen), I love using fresh and vibrant color, such as Benjamin Moore’s Jamaican Aqua, Coral Pink or Good Morning Sunshine.
If you’re working with medium to dark wood floors, you can use jewel tones to amp up the richness. A few shades that I find particularly lush are Benjamin Moore’s Adriatic Sea, Gentle Violet and (one of my favorites) Gypsy Pink.
Inspiration: The choice of vibrant red for this island design creates a fun and contemporary feel in a mostly neutral kitchen. By balancing the white cabinets, white walls and gray floor with a brave and bold red, this island really makes a design statement in this bright and beautiful kitchen.
7 White Kitchens That Make the Case for Painting the Island
7 White Kitchens That Make the Case for Painting the Island
2. Seating That Inspires
Infusing color into the kitchen with chairs or bar stools will bring energy and character to the room and create a more relaxed and happy vibe. Colorful chairs give your kitchen an approachable (and even family-friendly) feel.
Infusing color into the kitchen with chairs or bar stools will bring energy and character to the room and create a more relaxed and happy vibe. Colorful chairs give your kitchen an approachable (and even family-friendly) feel.
Colored stools will freshen the look of the space and give your kitchen a more contemporary vibe. They are a great way to make the best of your kitchen without changing the design or spending too much.
Pro tip: Mixing styles, shapes and colors gives an eclectic and playful feel. l recommend choosing colors with similar color temperatures (pastel, bright, deep or jewel). The colors can vary drastically but keeping a similar intensity is key. You can also tie the kitchen design into the rest of your home by featuring color(s) in your stools that already exist in an adjoining room.
You can paint some old chairs from a dated breakfast set or buy some fresh ones to add into the mix.
DIY Project: Sit Pretty with Mismatched Chairs
DIY Project: Sit Pretty with Mismatched Chairs
Inspiration: This sleek and contemporary kitchen is given a unique and colorful boost with these mix-and-match bar stools, accentuating the focus on this cool and unconventional sitting space.
Find chairs and barstools
Find chairs and barstools
3. Find a Fabulous Rug
The use of rugs in the kitchen is a relatively new design trend, and as a designer, I’ve hopped right on board. As someone who spends lots of time enjoying my kitchen, I just love the feel of a comfy carpet under my feet when I’m doing my daily kitchen prep.
The use of rugs in the kitchen is a relatively new design trend, and as a designer, I’ve hopped right on board. As someone who spends lots of time enjoying my kitchen, I just love the feel of a comfy carpet under my feet when I’m doing my daily kitchen prep.
Rugs not only bring color and character to your kitchen, but they also infuse a feeling of relaxation and comfort into an otherwise practical part of the home.
When working with a relatively neutral palette in your kitchen (as most people are), the incorporation of a rug or runner increases comfort and creates a more curated and designed look.
When working with a relatively neutral palette in your kitchen (as most people are), the incorporation of a rug or runner increases comfort and creates a more curated and designed look.
Pro tip: Rugs in the kitchen can require a little work. While luxurious rugs can look stunning in your space, I wouldn’t recommend using a wool, silk or high-pile rug. If you spend a lot of time in the kitchen, you might want to explore more low-maintenance options like a low-pile, easily washable rug. This way you can keep it looking good for a long time.
Inspiration: This patterned, geometric low-pile rug creates an eclectic feel in this playful kitchen. It also makes the room feel like a place where you’d like to sit back, relax and enjoy your surroundings.
Browse rugs
Browse rugs
4. Accentuate Your Kitchen Nook
As a designer, I just love a kitchen nook. Kitchens always seem to be the place where people naturally hang out. There’s something beautiful about the act of making food and eating it, and nothing brings people together in a kitchen more than a beautiful and comfortable sitting nook.
As a designer, I just love a kitchen nook. Kitchens always seem to be the place where people naturally hang out. There’s something beautiful about the act of making food and eating it, and nothing brings people together in a kitchen more than a beautiful and comfortable sitting nook.
A kitchen nook offers loads of way to personalize your designas well as options to infuse some vibrancy, character and comfort into your space.
Custom bench cushions and throw pillows — chosen in a fabric, pattern and color palette of your choice — can create a more colorful and comfortable space. Adding a rug into your nook can introduce even more character and vibe while further defining this fun and functional space.
Custom bench cushions and throw pillows — chosen in a fabric, pattern and color palette of your choice — can create a more colorful and comfortable space. Adding a rug into your nook can introduce even more character and vibe while further defining this fun and functional space.
Pro tip: If you don’t have a proper nook in your kitchen, adding a bench or cushions can give your traditional dinner table a nook-like feel, amplifying your comfort and enjoyment of the space.
Inspiration: These bright, bold and complementary fabrics chosen for this cozy kitchen nook make me want to curl up with my slippers and a hot cup of tea. The tropical and solid stripe fabrics go together well and create a beautifully balanced feel in this otherwise neutral kitchen.
5. Create a Happy Jolt of Color With Cabinets
Painting your cabinets or getting them custom made in a color of your choice is a big step in creating a more vibrant and energized kitchen. While incorporating color into your cabinets is one of the braver ways to make a color statement, you don’t need to go bright with your color choice to see a big and beautiful change.
Painting your cabinets or getting them custom made in a color of your choice is a big step in creating a more vibrant and energized kitchen. While incorporating color into your cabinets is one of the braver ways to make a color statement, you don’t need to go bright with your color choice to see a big and beautiful change.
Clients often assume that incorporating color means it needs to be bold but this couldn’t be further from the truth. When designing your home, it’s about choosing colors that speak to you, no matter how bright or pale the hue.
A soft, pale or light blue can make as much of an impact as a hot and glowing red, so it’s all about picking a color that feels right to you and trusting that it will look great simply because you love it. A well-chosen color will naturally capture exactly what you want it to in your design.
Inspiration: The use of turquoise on these traditional cabinets creates a unique and eclectic feel. By using this vibrant shade only on the top cabinets, this kitchen isn’t overwhelmed with color but balanced in its bright and more natural (wood) hues.
Pro tip: If you’re not confident choosing the color on your own, you can always hire a designer to help.
Your turn: Where have your added color in your kitchen? Tell us about it and share a photo in the Comments!
More
6 Ways to Get Over a Fear of Color
So Over Stainless in the Kitchen? 14 Reasons to Give In to Color
Pro tip: If you’re not confident choosing the color on your own, you can always hire a designer to help.
Your turn: Where have your added color in your kitchen? Tell us about it and share a photo in the Comments!
More
6 Ways to Get Over a Fear of Color
So Over Stainless in the Kitchen? 14 Reasons to Give In to Color
