Color Ideas for Painting a Kitchen

   1.   Theme and Wall Colors

o   Transform your basic kitchen into a theme room with paint. Green and white creates a retro kitchen. You can even make a worn wood floor look like tile with a checkerboard pattern. Use blue and white checks for a cottage space. A black and white kitchen can have an Edwardian or modern feeling. Black walls with white cabinets create a striking effect. A country kitchen may include cream cabinets, yellow walls and an island painted in a different color like sage. Base the color palette around your favorite food like chocolate brown or tomato red.

Kitchen paint can work with existing features in the room. Bring out colors in your granite to showcase your favorite material. Black cabinets make stainless steel appliances stand out. A neutral kitchen in cream and taupe will appeal to a wide variety of people and work with different stone and wood elements. If you don't want to paint the cabinetry and walls, spice up a neutral kitchen with a red pantry door or sage French door.

2.   Cabinet Colors

o   Paint is an inexpensive way to salvage outdated kitchen cabinets. White is a traditional paint color for cabinetry and even works in a vintage style with a black and white checked floor. Try white paint if you have white appliances and want the fridge and stove to blend in and make the space feel bigger. Light colors can also be daring. Paint the cabinets a sunny yellow if your room doesn't get a lot of light. It will really make a dark wood floor island or butcher-block counter-top stand out. Paint yellow cabinets with an antique glaze to fit in a Tuscan room. If you want to make a statement with your cabinets, try blue. Pull the exact cabinet color out of Spanish tile for cabinets that pop.

Look to natural paint colors for an area that blends in with the outside. Try a slate blue or gray for muted cabinets that bring in modern color. Green cabinets can be pale and have a cottage feel or try a bright lime green for a contemporary space. If you want wood cabinets but need to work with your existing kitchen, try chocolate brown or taupe paint.