25 Ways to Add Color to Your Kitchen for a Happier Cooking Space

By Jessica Bennett
Updated August 27, 2020
Credit: Annie Schlechter
Color can make a kitchen brighter, happier, and more reflective of your personal style. Try a big dose of color with painted cabinetry, or layer in small touches with fun accessories. These ideas for adding color to a kitchen will help you introduce your favorite hue to the hardest-working room in your home.
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Choose Colorful Cabinetry

Credit: Anthony Masterson

Cabinetry typically accounts for about 60% of your kitchen's surfaces, so installing cabinets in your favorite shade will inject a huge splash of color. Be sure to choose a hue you'll love for years to come, such as a favorite shade of blue. If you're worried about the color overwhelming the kitchen, balance cabinetry with plenty of open storage space and bright white walls.

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Install a Colorful Tile Backsplash

Credit: Kim Cornelison Photography Inc.

A colorful backsplash adds texture and personality to an otherwise blank kitchen wall. Easy to install and keep clean, tile also provides a highly durable backdrop. Install just a few rows of tile below upper cabinets, or extend your backsplash all the way up to the ceiling for an impactful wall treatment.

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Paint Kitchen Cabinetry

Credit: Annie Schlecther

If buying colored cabinets is out of the question, try painting existing cabinetry. It's an economical choice that allows you to add a personal element to your kitchen. In this bright kitchen space, the lower cabinets are painted a minty green, a sweet color that's tempered by black hardware and a boldly patterned floor.

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Apply Wallpaper in the Kitchen

Credit: Annie Schlechter

You often see wallpaper in living areas and powder rooms, but this pretty wall treatment works well in kitchens, too. Choose a colorful pattern for your kitchen walls, backsplash, or even the ceiling. To ensure your kitchen remains easy to clean, avoid fabric or highly textured wallpapers that can't be simply wiped clean.

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No-Fuss Ways to Add Kitchen Color

Follow these simple ideas for incorporating small pops of color throughout your existing kitchen palette.

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Install Colorful Light Fixtures

Credit: Edmund Barr Photography

For a quick upgrade, replace basic light fixtures with colorful counterparts. A new ceiling fixture can add a pop of color to an area of the kitchen that doesn't usually garner much attention. You can also hang pendants with brightly colored shades above an island to boost task lighting and personality.

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Paint the Kitchen Island

Credit: Ed Gohlich

If you're not ready to go all-in on colorful cabinetry, try painting your kitchen island an accent color. This allows you to experiment with a smaller dose of color (and it takes much less time than painting all the cabinets and doors). Be sure to choose an island color than complements the other colors or wood tones in your kitchen.

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Lay Down a Colorful Rug

Credit: Laurey Glenn

Introduce color to a neutral kitchen with a vibrant rug. Area rugs are great for kitchens with more open space, while runners work well between islands and perimeter countertops. Go for a material that's easy to clean and can withstand plenty of foot traffic. Be sure to use a non-skid pad to keep the rug in place, a safety must-have in a busy kitchen.

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Paint Lower Cabinets

Credit: Brie Williams

For a balanced application of color, try the two-toned look on your kitchen cabinetry. Choose one shade for the lower cabinets and leave the upper ones white or with their natural wood finish. This high-contrast look provides an opportunity to try out a bold paint color on cabinetry without coating the entire space.

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Add Character with Color

Credit: Anthony Masterson

Nothing highlights a unique collection like color. Frame a treasured grouping of glassware, ironstone, or china inside a glass-front cabinet painted in a bold shade. Alternatively, store your collection on open shelves with a colorfully painted wall as a backdrop.

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Line Cabinets with Color

Credit: Tria Giovan

In an all-white kitchen, painting the interior of glass-front or open cabinetry makes a dramatic background for dishes and collectibles. Choose a color that will make your kitchenware pop. Here, a bold shade of blue is the perfect backdrop for the red, white, and blue dishware.

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Color a Kitchen Door

Credit: James R. Salomon

Turn a kitchen door into a statement feature with a fun, fresh color. Paint the door between your kitchen and pantry or mudroom with a standout color to give your space a custom look. Plus, a darker color hides dirt and grime better than standard white.

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Create a Colorful Focal Point

Credit: Edmund Barr

For dramatic effect, apply a large expanse of tile to one wall. Here, a wall tiled in vivid apple green divides the kitchen from the living room. This helps draw eyes to the small galley kitchen area and sets off the sleek stainless-steel vent hood and range. Modernist chairs, covered in coordinating green fabric, bring the color into the dining area, tying the two spaces together.

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Use Your Collections

Credit: Alex Hayden

Easily add personality to your kitchen with colorful dishware and collectibles on display in open cabinetry. This kitchen color idea allows practical elements to provide a starting point for the room's color palette. Here, a mix of yellow, orange, and blue brightens this charming country kitchen.

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Swap in Colorful Kitchen Seating

Credit: John Granen

Swap out basic island stools for a livelier seating option. With plenty of vibrant options on the market, you can introduce color through seats upholstered in brightly colored fabric or metal stools in a powder-coated finish. Pick up a few accessories in a matching hue to tie the room together.

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Consider Subtle Kitchen Colors

Credit: John Granen

Punchy brights and rich jewel tones are impactful, but muted colors can be just as eye-catching in a kitchen. Soft pastels, used in paint colors or on a tile backsplash, maintain the elegant feel of a white kitchen while adding subtle interest. To set off these light colors, wood tones add texture and read as higher-octane neutrals.

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Choose One Kitchen Color

Credit: Tria Giovan

An infusion of a single color creates a high-energy, impactful kitchen. For example, this kitchen, with its fiery red wall and windows accented with patterned Roman shades, instantly grabs your attention. The color scheme comes full circle with red knobs on the island and matching shades on the pair of chandeliers.

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Use Colorful Fabrics

Credit: Laura Moss

With so many hard surfaces, kitchens don't typically contain as many fabrics as living spaces or bedrooms, for example. However, there are still a few opportunities for layering in colorful fabrics. Add pretty patterned pillows to your banquette, cover dining chairs in a fresh fun pattern, or hang eye-catching wall art.

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Pick Colorful Kitchen Appliances

Credit: James R. Salomon

Look to appliances, both large and small, to infuse your kitchen with color. Manufacturers continually add new tints to their appliance palettes. If you're not in the market for new appliances but want an update, numerous companies offer both pre-tinted and custom kits that can transform your boring or beat-up fridge with a blast of saturated color.

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Make Creative Color Choices

Credit: Michael Partenio

Consider adding visual contrast in unlikely ways. One opportunity for color that's often overlooked: the ceiling. In this kitchen, spaces within the coffered ceiling received a dose of gray-blue paint, infusing the space with color without overwhelming the senses or altering classic styling.

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Decorate with Natural Color

Credit: Brie Williams

When adding color to your kitchen, don't overlook the beauty of nature. For the price of a pound or two of apples, oranges, limes, or lemons, you can surround yourself with vivid and fragrant color. If your grocer has a florist's stand, add fresh flowers, too.

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Hang Colorful Artwork

Credit: Kim Cornelison

Jazz up your kitchen with lively artwork. If a professional painting isn't in your budget, consider vintage posters for a large yet economical splash of color. For a more personal touch, hang a grouping of family photographs, or frame some of your children's more colorful artistic productions for a vibrant and charming display.

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Add Color to Kitchen Walls

Credit: Anthony Masterson

If you want to experiment with an unusual color in your kitchen, limit yourself to surfaces that can be altered easily so you can make changes later. Painting walls, for example, is much easier than re-tiling a backsplash. A bold wash of citron green covers the back wall in this cottage kitchen, adding a fresh spin to the classic white scheme.

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Use Wallpaper on Kitchen Cabinets

Credit: Rick Lew

Even in small doses, wallpaper packs a punch of color and pattern. Try lining the back of glass-front cabinets or open kitchen storage with wallpaper for an unexpected pop of personality. Pull out colors from the wallpaper and use them as accents in accessories, fabrics, light fixtures, and more.

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Pick Colorful Countertops

Credit: Ed Gohlich

For a more permanent splash of color, look to your countertops. Manufactured countertops made from quartz-surfacing or recycled materials can be produced in any color imaginable. Add a splash of color to a serving area or island with a colorful countertop.

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Dress Kitchen Windows with Color

Credit: Jean Allsopp

Accessorize your kitchen windows with treatments in fun colors and patterns. Keep in mind that complex window treatments, like Roman shades, might need to be professionally cleaned. Cafe curtains and valances, on the other hand, can typically be tossed in the wash to eliminate cooking smells and the inevitable kitchen splatters.

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By Jessica Bennett