Kitchen Cabinet Painting: How to Change Dark Cabinets

Dark colored cabinets give a manageable cabinet front that hides messes and creates a sophisticated appearance. The drama in the room can quickly be sucked out if the paint color you choose doesn’t work. With the amount of cabinets in the room taking up a majority of wall space, choosing a color poorly can make the room feel dark and heavy. Create balance with kitchen paint for dark cabinets.

Color

Dark cabinets can read as stuffy and uptight. Try using a bold pop of color behind the dark cabinets. The darkness tones down the bright and the bright warms the room. Try a bright orange or yellow matched with a natural furniture palette. It’s an unexpected choice that reads as fun and frivolous. The color will lighten up the darkness of the cabinets making the ambiance of the room welcoming without being overpowering.

Bright White

If your cabinets are black or nearly black, go modern with a bright white wall. This works particularly well if there is little wall left between cabinets, appliances and back splashes. Kitchen paint requires more sheen to allow for easy cleaning without damaging the finish. Bright white in glossy finish can cause a lot of light to bounce around the room. Having limited wall space allows the light to be appropriately distributed.

Monochromatic kitchens are very stylish. Try matching really dark or black cabinets with white walls. In the backsplash, use a combination of the two or greys to achieve this effect. Take the palette a step further by using black or white chairs, table, stools or appliances. This simple color scheme stands out against a potentially dark, dreary room.

Warm Neutrals

If you have stained cabinets that are on the dark end of the spectrum, try a color to bring out the natural warmth of wood. Creamy white with warm undertones is an easy addition. Other options are beige, taupe, warm grays or a blush pink. Accent colors with deeper versions of the warm paint on the walls. For example, if you have pink undertones, use a darker pink for accents. For creamy white, use some yellow accents.

Cool neutrals

Cabinets in espresso or nearly black may call for a cooler toned wall. Use colors that fall into the blue or lavender families like dark blue-gray, sage green, greige or lavender toned gray. Lighter or brighter versions of the colors create a good accent for the room. Use the highlighting colors to create a room that doesn’t feel cold. For example, if your walls are gray with blue undertones, use a brighter blue to make the color really stand out.

Still not sure where to begin? Ask our team for a color consultation and estimate for your kitchen painting.