Trying to decide what to paint your kitchen can be a nightmare. There are so many colors to choose from, and visiting a paint store to browse the paint samples might actually make it worse. In addition, that floor-to-ceiling wall of rainbow can feel overwhelming, and you might end up just walking out. However, you shouldn’t give up on your quest to find the perfect color for your kitchen walls. Alternatively, equip yourself with the tools you need to make the best decision, and narrow down your choices by learning more about why color choice matters.
Why Color Choice is Important
It might come as no surprise that choosing a color for your kitchen isn’t just about aesthetics. While it’s crucial that you choose a color that you enjoy and that will flow with the rest of your design ideas, color plays a huge role in our minds and bodies. The psychology of color is a widely recognized topic that you can read books and articles and watch TedTalks about it. Although quickly in your research, you’ll find that you might naturally have known these things without even realizing it. So before you go perusing paint samples, let’s quickly go over some of the ways color affects your brain and your body.
Red
Most shades of red are known to increase blood pressure and metabolism. This makes it an excellent color for kitchens since you’ll want your metabolism to kick in while working to digest your food. You might notice that many restaurants pick red as their primary color. McDonald’s and Wendy’s are famous examples, and it’s not a coincidence.
Orange
This is a bold color that people either love or hate. It promotes health and creativity, which might work out perfectly as an option for kitchens. However, this is a bold color, so be sure to accent it with something to tone it back and not overwhelm your senses.
Green
Green is the most diverse color when it comes to how its different shades affect people. It can range from calm to ambition and even sickness. It isn’t chosen often for kitchens and might be considered a unique and bold color to choose. Just be sure to steer clear of yellow greens and stick with pale greens and maybe even emerald green.
Blue
It’s been suggested that blue is America’s favorite color. It’s friendly and calming, and we love it on our clothes, cars, and homes. Every shade is pretty and suitable for a kitchen, and even its brighter shades could be a fun way to bring a modern pop to your kitchen.
Yellow
This sunshiny color can be a dangerous choice. While it might make you think of happiness and energy, there are shades of yellow that have been proven to make people physically ill. A study showed that where a nursery was painted yellow, the child got sick more often than children with other colors. While you can take that with a grain of salt, it is worth noting and choosing your shade of yellow wisely.
Purple
Since the beginning of time, purple has been a symbol of wealth. It was a hard color to come by, and only royalty could afford to purchase clothing made with purple dye. To this day, it’s perceived as luxurious, and even preadolescent children choose purple 75% more often than any other color. It’s a unique color choice for kitchens but could be the perfect color if you’re looking to stand out.
Pink
Pink is a color that makes us think of innocence and nurturing. So while you might think it’s only suitable for children’s bedrooms, it might work well in a kitchen as an accent wall or backsplash color.
Black
The color of power. Car commercials use black cars to give the viewer a sense that they will be powerful if they have that car. Likewise, accenting your kitchen with black can give the room a sense of drama and class. Recently it’s been a popular trend to paint your bottom cabinets black and accent with a more neutral gray, white, or lighter shade of colors above.
White
A whole room of white might make it feel like a clinical doctor’s office, but white represents cleanliness and purity. This makes it an excellent color for the kitchen because it feels clean and welcoming. All-white kitchens have been pretty popular in the last several years, but maybe consider accenting it with a deeper color to give the room some contrast and depth.
Gray
Gray is classic, elegant, and excellent accent color to mix with others. It’s a truly neutral color and can balance out the loudness of another color you might be too nervous to commit to fully. Maybe that hunter green sounds intriguing, but your anxious it might be too much; throw in some soft grays to tone it down while still having a statement color.
Traditional Kitchen Wall Colors
If you’re looking to stick with more traditional colors for your kitchen, you might want to look more into one of these. Take a few moments on Houzz and type in these colors and see if any photos stick out to you.
- pale green
- black and white
- pastel blue
- cornflower blue
- beige or sandy
- dark gray
- farmhouse red
- sunshine yellow
Unique Kitchen Wall Colors
You might be wondering how you can make a statement with your kitchen wall colors, and you want to steer clear of those traditional colors. Instead, below are some trendy and bold colors that might suit your kitchen perfectly.
- deep blue
- sage green
- soft blue-gray
- emerald green
- dark purple
- antique green
- mint
- magenta
Now that you understand how color affects us, you can take these lists of traditional and non-traditional kitchen colors and start collecting inspiration photos. These will help you see how others have used these colors and maybe give you the push you need to finally settle on the perfect color for your kitchen.
