How To: Add Color to Your Kitchen

As I mentioned in last week’s post, there are plenty of ways to add color to an all white kitchen.  This is my favorite way to do a kitchen.  Just like with any room in your house, it’s easiest to start with a neutral back drop and add color and interest through accessories.  This easily altered approach to interior design appeals to my indecisive nature.

Let’s start with the easiest way to add color first.  Bring in fresh fruit and/or produce.  Nothing spices up a kitchen like a colorful bouquet or a bowl of fresh fruit.  Non-committal and cheap, this kind of color arguably gives you the biggest bang for your buck and you definitely won’t suffer from any decorator’s remorse.

Dishes and towels last a bit longer than flowers and fruit, but they are also relatively inexpensive and a great way to liven up a white space.  Remember those open shelves we talked about? They present a great opportunity to put your personality on display.  Fill them with all sorts of super bright dishes for an energetic, eclectic feel, as seen above, or try colorful Pyrex dishes if you prefer the retro vibe.  Keeping most objects white with one bright accent color, like turquoise or hot pink, will always strike that perfect balance between classy and fun.

The next level of color comes with the addition of colorful accessories.  A bright runner, fun light fixtures, and painted chairs all do the trick.  While more expensive than buying a bag of bright orange clementines, these semi-permanent accessories give you a lot more impact.

Bring in color through a surface – like a back splash or flooring.  I mean, look at this gorgeous blue-grey back splash.  Do you even notice that all the cabinets are white? It’s certainly not the first thing I see.  That over the top, sky-high tile draws you in and the crisp white cabinetry (and hood!) serves as the perfect backdrop.

Finally, paint your cabinets! Yes, you can still have a white kitchen with colorful cabinets.  Look at the island above – that bright chartreuse island really shines and brings some vibrancy to the space.  They’ve picked up the color in the window blinds and in citrus accessories throughout the room, which ties the color of the island into the otherwise white space.

Finally, do it all! This kitchen has bright floors, a bright island, bowls of fruit, a yellow KitchenAid, and gorgeous multi-colored light fixtures.  Even the ceiling has turquoise!  And yet, the overall tone is still white.  Crazy how that works, isn’t it?