Interiors >> Non All-White Kitchens

My sister Leslie is working on remodelling an old cottage at Lake Chautauqua in New York, and she's thinking about painting her kitchen in a dark color.  She saw this image above, and asked what I thought about dark kitchens.

I'd never really thought about it explicitly, so I started a hunt through my kitchen images, and here's what I came up with. 

Amazingly, out of hundreds of images, this represents almost all of the non-white ones I have!  I don't know if it's because I prefer mostly white kitchens, so I save more of those, or if colorful kitchens are actually less common...  Either way, Les, hope this is helpful!

  

By the way, these are in no particular order, and clearly many of them are not exactly cottage-y!  Just thought I'd throw them all out their for your consideration. 

  

A common thread in these images is that if people go for a color on the cabinets, they still stick with white or a neutral on the walls.   Although the very first image is all one color all over, and I think it really works.  The pretty millwork in that one helps, though.

..Or they just inject some color in the backs of the glass-front cabinets. 

  

This is a good way to do color on the cabinetry without it being overwhelming-- doing the uppers as open shelving instead of cabinets. 

More after the jump...

Again, color below, open shelving at top.  I actually love this combo of shiny black, wood, and white-painted wood walls.

The wallpaper on the inside of the cabinet doors is pretty cute.

Miles Redd's gutsy black kitchen, brightened by the mirrored counter and backsplash and white floor.

Painted beadboard below and white above is another way to do color without making the entire kitchen that color.

They went for it, with painted cabinets above and below, and honestly, I don't think it looks quite right.  Maybe it's just the angle, but the high white ceilings and light floor sandwiching a band of grey looks funny to me.  But at least the top cabinets are paned with glass.  I will say, I liked this kitchen a lot the first time I saw this image, but the more I've seen at it over time, the more it bugs me. 

They went for it with painted top and bottom cabinets too, and I think it's actually more successful like this, without the white floor and ceiling.  Usually I like a lot of contrast, but here I think it works better to have all the surfaces in this same moody palette.



Finally, love this dark green. 

So, if this post were a poll, it would seem the most popular colors for kitchens right now are light green, grey, and shiny black, but Les, I'm personally digging this hunter green for you...