Kitchen Design
New This Week: 4 Kitchens That Stylishly Mix Tones
See how designers use a combination of colors and materials to create dynamic kitchens
Every time you introduce an additional color or tone into a kitchen, the design becomes a bit more complicated to manage. Each element has to complement or contrast the others, so the more elements you have, the more difficult it is to make them all work together. But the extra effort can be worth it. Here, design professionals share how they deftly composed kitchens with three or more main tones to create eye-catching spaces with elements that appear to have been collected over time.
Designer tip. “We keep coming back to raising the floor in the breakfast area as the turning point for this kitchen,” Irion says. “It’s hard to envision, but before, there was a short island and a small breakfast table, both competing for space where the island is now. Then the kitchen ended abruptly and the floor stepped down into an awkward square in front of the sliding door. There was a dark slate tile floor, and our client had no idea how to use the space. It was outside the box to suggest raising the entire floor, which meant raising the door and incurring the cost of changing the exterior elevation, and it was a tough decision for our client. We’re so glad she trusted our vision and went for it though. It allowed us to give her a spacious breakfast area for her vintage round table, and left the kitchen with tons more function and breathing room.”
“Uh-oh” moment. “It was the floors, hands down,” Irion says. “They kept us up at night. Our client loves the light white-oak look, but she had red oak floors. We decided to try to sand them to achieve the natural look, but we knew it was risky because of the pink and orange undertones inherent in red oak. Sure enough, after restoring them to their natural state, there was way too much pink for our client to live with them happily. We had to decide whether or not to forge ahead and experiment, or give up and stain them dark.
“All credit, again, goes to our client and her fortitude. Despite being told it couldn’t be done by our first contractor, we brought in an outside expert who was able to guide us through a bleaching treatment. I believe it was two or even three rounds of bleach. In the end, there isn’t a hint of pink and we got the look she was hoping for, but the process was not for the faint of heart.”
“Uh-oh” moment. “It was the floors, hands down,” Irion says. “They kept us up at night. Our client loves the light white-oak look, but she had red oak floors. We decided to try to sand them to achieve the natural look, but we knew it was risky because of the pink and orange undertones inherent in red oak. Sure enough, after restoring them to their natural state, there was way too much pink for our client to live with them happily. We had to decide whether or not to forge ahead and experiment, or give up and stain them dark.
“All credit, again, goes to our client and her fortitude. Despite being told it couldn’t be done by our first contractor, we brought in an outside expert who was able to guide us through a bleaching treatment. I believe it was two or even three rounds of bleach. In the end, there isn’t a hint of pink and we got the look she was hoping for, but the process was not for the faint of heart.”
2. Light Wood, Dark Wood, Cream and Red
Designers: Todd Wiley of TruKitchens (kitchen design), Deidre Remtema of Deidre Interiors (interior design) and Lorenz & Co. (architecture)
Builder: Insignia Homes
Location: Ada, Michigan
Homeowners’ request. A beautiful, functional kitchen for a couple and their three kids. They had lived in historic homes prior to this home, and wanted a similar look and feel.
Multitone elements. Maple island with a custom red paint. Walnut refrigerator panels, refrigerator surround and island baking station. Rift-cut white oak perimeter cabinets. Ivory-colored range. “The wife is a landscape architect, so her love of nature also drove the selections — natural colors, wood tones, natural stone, metals, textures, patterns,” designer Deidre Remtema says.
Shop for bar and counter stools
Designers: Todd Wiley of TruKitchens (kitchen design), Deidre Remtema of Deidre Interiors (interior design) and Lorenz & Co. (architecture)
Builder: Insignia Homes
Location: Ada, Michigan
Homeowners’ request. A beautiful, functional kitchen for a couple and their three kids. They had lived in historic homes prior to this home, and wanted a similar look and feel.
Multitone elements. Maple island with a custom red paint. Walnut refrigerator panels, refrigerator surround and island baking station. Rift-cut white oak perimeter cabinets. Ivory-colored range. “The wife is a landscape architect, so her love of nature also drove the selections — natural colors, wood tones, natural stone, metals, textures, patterns,” designer Deidre Remtema says.
Shop for bar and counter stools
Other special features. Hand-painted terra-cotta backsplash tile. Glass-and-aged-iron pendant lights (Lorford by E.F. Chapman for Visual Comfort). Soapstone island countertop. White quartzite perimeter countertops. “Aesthetically, the homeowners were open to ideas that were outside of the box, including cabinets built into the drywall around the range, minimalist backsplash tile behind the range, furniture-looking cabinetry, minimalist recessed lighting and the incorporation of reclaimed beams,” Remtema says.
Designer tip. “Early on, we mapped out how the family works in the kitchen and recorded every kitchen item that they store,” Remtema says. “This allowed each appliance to have a home and keep the everyday look of the space clean and beautiful.”
Cabinets: Grabill Cabinets; project photography: Werner Straube Photography
Designer tip. “Early on, we mapped out how the family works in the kitchen and recorded every kitchen item that they store,” Remtema says. “This allowed each appliance to have a home and keep the everyday look of the space clean and beautiful.”
Cabinets: Grabill Cabinets; project photography: Werner Straube Photography
3. Wood, Blue, Black, White and Gray
Designers: Victoria and John Dale of JD Creative Environments; they are also the homeowners
General contractor: Zac Archuleta of Well Done Building & Design
Location: Huntington Beach, California
Homeowners’ request. “While the kitchen and living area had recently been opened up and the general layout worked for us, it felt like a standard flip by the previous owner,” homeowner and designer John Dale says. “We wanted something more modern and custom-feeling that fit our style and fixed a few issues.”
Multitone elements. Wood cabinets. Black cabinets. Black appliances. Blue accent wall with fan, or scallop, tile. Backsplash wall tile in shades of white. Concrete floor. Black quartz island countertop. White quartz perimeter countertop. “While searching for inspiration, we saw a lot of new all-white kitchens and wanted something different,” Dale says. “We realized we could modernize our existing cabinets by painting only select units, which gave our appliances a built-in look and reduced cost.”
Other special features. “Hideaway dog bowls and an appliance garage achieve a major goal of reducing clutter, while hidden outlets in the drawers and cabinets increase the functionality of the island and appliance garage,” Dale says. “The brown leather stools added some formality while softening the kitchen.”
He adds: “At the risk of making the feature wall too dark, we went with a dark grout, which avoided making the blue fan tile feel like a bathroom tile had we gone with white grout. The white tiles were flipped vertically to give the appearance of added space below the cabinets, while matching the lines of the cabinetry.”
Designers: Victoria and John Dale of JD Creative Environments; they are also the homeowners
General contractor: Zac Archuleta of Well Done Building & Design
Location: Huntington Beach, California
Homeowners’ request. “While the kitchen and living area had recently been opened up and the general layout worked for us, it felt like a standard flip by the previous owner,” homeowner and designer John Dale says. “We wanted something more modern and custom-feeling that fit our style and fixed a few issues.”
Multitone elements. Wood cabinets. Black cabinets. Black appliances. Blue accent wall with fan, or scallop, tile. Backsplash wall tile in shades of white. Concrete floor. Black quartz island countertop. White quartz perimeter countertop. “While searching for inspiration, we saw a lot of new all-white kitchens and wanted something different,” Dale says. “We realized we could modernize our existing cabinets by painting only select units, which gave our appliances a built-in look and reduced cost.”
Other special features. “Hideaway dog bowls and an appliance garage achieve a major goal of reducing clutter, while hidden outlets in the drawers and cabinets increase the functionality of the island and appliance garage,” Dale says. “The brown leather stools added some formality while softening the kitchen.”
He adds: “At the risk of making the feature wall too dark, we went with a dark grout, which avoided making the blue fan tile feel like a bathroom tile had we gone with white grout. The white tiles were flipped vertically to give the appearance of added space below the cabinets, while matching the lines of the cabinetry.”
Designer tip. “Specific colors and textures — blue, brass, leather and concrete, for example — were used to varying degrees in the kitchen, dining, living and outdoor areas to tie these four spaces together,” Dale says.
“Uh-oh” moments. “Thanks to a last-minute design change, we ran out of tile and were being driven crazy by spots of bare white drywall on our feature wall. We filled in those bare spots with blue color-matched paint while we waited six additional weeks for custom tile,” Dale says. “Another was that the exact black island countertop of our vision proved nearly impossible to find, and when we finally found it, we ordered too little. So we had to match it, doubling cost. Then it was cut incorrectly, so we had to wait some more. We then used the excess quartz to top our backyard fire pit, which promptly cracked due to the heat of the fire. We replaced that with concrete to better match the floors and dining area shelves, so this actually was the silver lining to our issues. And of course, throughout the process, each time the wall or floor was opened up, we found subpar electrical and plumbing done by the previous owner that needed to be brought up to code at great, unplanned expense.”
“Uh-oh” moments. “Thanks to a last-minute design change, we ran out of tile and were being driven crazy by spots of bare white drywall on our feature wall. We filled in those bare spots with blue color-matched paint while we waited six additional weeks for custom tile,” Dale says. “Another was that the exact black island countertop of our vision proved nearly impossible to find, and when we finally found it, we ordered too little. So we had to match it, doubling cost. Then it was cut incorrectly, so we had to wait some more. We then used the excess quartz to top our backyard fire pit, which promptly cracked due to the heat of the fire. We replaced that with concrete to better match the floors and dining area shelves, so this actually was the silver lining to our issues. And of course, throughout the process, each time the wall or floor was opened up, we found subpar electrical and plumbing done by the previous owner that needed to be brought up to code at great, unplanned expense.”
4. Charcoal, Wood, Gray and White
Designer: Kristianne Watts of KW Designs
Location: Solana Beach, California
Homeowners’ request. “The client was looking for a completely different look and orientation from the existing home and wanted to incorporate timeless midcentury modern elements with minimalist living in the new design,” designer Kristianne Watts says. “Being a full-demolition, new-construction project, there were several challenges with interior details that brought innovative solutions, like an integrated hood in the cabinetry that created a seamless kitchen with appliances and hardware.”
Multitone elements. Walnut cabinets in a custom finish. Charcoal cabinets (Iron Mountain by Benjamin Moore). Dark concrete-look island countertop. Raised walnut slab countertop on island. Light concrete-look perimeter countertops. White hex backsplash tile.
Designer: Kristianne Watts of KW Designs
Location: Solana Beach, California
Homeowners’ request. “The client was looking for a completely different look and orientation from the existing home and wanted to incorporate timeless midcentury modern elements with minimalist living in the new design,” designer Kristianne Watts says. “Being a full-demolition, new-construction project, there were several challenges with interior details that brought innovative solutions, like an integrated hood in the cabinetry that created a seamless kitchen with appliances and hardware.”
Multitone elements. Walnut cabinets in a custom finish. Charcoal cabinets (Iron Mountain by Benjamin Moore). Dark concrete-look island countertop. Raised walnut slab countertop on island. Light concrete-look perimeter countertops. White hex backsplash tile.
Other special features. “The classic Heath Ceramics backsplash and unique midcentury modern chandelier elevates this impeccable kitchen design,” Watts says. “The matte and gloss finish of the stone white ceramic backsplash perfectly complements the Fresh Concrete Caesarstone countertop, as well as adds contrast to the dark cabinetry.”
Designer tip. “The contemporary minimalist aesthetic for this space was the perfect backdrop for statement elements, like the midcentury chandelier in the center of the kitchen,” Watts says.
“Uh-oh” moment. “There were several challenges with interior details on the cooktop and hood wall that brought innovative solutions,” Watts says. “The client wanted to incorporate some open shelving, which was a challenge in creating clean lines with upper cabinetry that runs with the integrated hidden hood.”
Light fixture: Synapse nine-light chandelier, Elk Home
More on Houzz
Read more kitchen stories
Browse kitchen photos
Hire a kitchen remodeler
Shop for kitchen products
Designer tip. “The contemporary minimalist aesthetic for this space was the perfect backdrop for statement elements, like the midcentury chandelier in the center of the kitchen,” Watts says.
“Uh-oh” moment. “There were several challenges with interior details on the cooktop and hood wall that brought innovative solutions,” Watts says. “The client wanted to incorporate some open shelving, which was a challenge in creating clean lines with upper cabinetry that runs with the integrated hidden hood.”
Light fixture: Synapse nine-light chandelier, Elk Home
More on Houzz
Read more kitchen stories
Browse kitchen photos
Hire a kitchen remodeler
Shop for kitchen products
Sponsored
Designer: Laura Irion and Laura Peacock of Laura Design
Location: Barrington, Illinois
Homeowner’s request. “Our homeowner has a very modern, minimalist and streamlined style, and the architecture of her home is beautifully traditional and classic,” says designer Laura Irion, whose client found her through Houzz. “Our goal was to bring her modern style into the kitchen while honoring the home’s traditional character. We raised the floor in the breakfast area, allowing for a more suitable central island, and we incorporated hidden appliances, like microwave and fridge drawers, to make the work zone much more functional.”
Multitone elements. Black cabinets (Black Panther by Benjamin Moore). White cabinets, walls and trim (Chantilly Lace by Benjamin Moore). Creamy white countertops. Rift-sawn bleached-walnut island and range hood. “A lot of credit here goes to our homeowner, who was super collaborative and confident in her own style,” Irion says. “She knew that she wanted a maximum of three colors in the kitchen, so we decided early on that the palette would be black, white and wood. From there it was all about the balance of how to use each tone and where. Renderings were critical during this stage of the process so that we could visualize different combinations. We originally tried all-white cabinets, but seeing it drawn out, our client suggested trying black on the lower cabinet run. As soon as we saw it, we knew that was the winner.”
Find a kitchen designer near you