You might worry about leaning into kitchen cabinet color trends when remodeling a space — after all, you want to design a kitchen that's not going to fall out of fashion in a year's time. However, just because these colors are trending in design right now, that doesn't mean they're going to be a flash in the pan.
Some color trends have a timeless quality to them, while also moving on the design conversation to ensure you don't just create a new kitchen that looks like everyone else's right now. The cabinetry colors I think we should be looking at for our homes in 2024 are ones your not going to be sick of in a few months' time, but that have a freshness and a touch of unexpectedness to them.
I've forecast the 5 kitchen color trends I think people will actually choose in the coming year, and found designers who are already using these colors in their designs to show us how they should be used.
1. Light blue
If you pay any heed to color trend forecasts, you'll already know that light blue is the one to look out for in design in 2024. It was named as Color of the Year by a number of paint brands, and how it's being used in the kitchen is even more interesting.
This shade has, in the past, felt like it belongs in more traditional style spaces — think classic cornflower cabinets with chintzy accessories. However, designers like Emily Taber-Moore of Studio Henree have taken a more modern approach with this kitchen color.
Before it's remodel, this kitchen was stuck in a classic 1990s style bubble. 'The space suffered from lack of natural light, prompting our initiative to brighten and modernize it, departing from the initial all-cherry wood and beige color palette,' Emily tells me. 'The cabinetry color in a kitchen plays a pivotal role in defining the overall design aesthetic. Purposely selecting a light blue color instilled the space with a newfound sense of freshness and tranquility, while gracefully contrasting against the warmer tones of the material palette.'
It's a kitchen that feels undeniably modern, but I don't think this is a color that's going to date the space, meaning you can take confidence in choosing it for your own cabinetry. 'This particular color remarkably transformed what was once a dim and outdated space into a dynamic and elevated 'Cali-cool' kitchen,' Emily adds. 'The incorporation of this dreamy blue seamlessly merges playfulness and sophistication in a way that feels fresh but not trendy, ensuring a design that transcends time for years to come.'
2. Yellow-tone neutrals
Beige tones aren't exactly breaking news for cabinets when it comes to kitchen trends, but I'm predicting a shift away from the "greige" hues that have dominated so far to neutrals with more uplifting undertones.
I have the sense that some people have been frightened of beiges which stray more to the yellow side of the spectrum, but when used in the right space, it can give an all-neutral scheme that touch of energy and joyfulness that can transform a space.
This kitchen by Kristin Hildebrand, founder of KH Interiors, is the perfect example to me. 'For the perimeter kitchen and pantry cabinets for this project, we went with Benjamin Moore Pale Oak,' Kristin explains. 'We wanted something that would give slight contrast to the white ceilings and walls that would ultimately, give depth and warmth to the space and this color achieves that perfectly!'
3. Plum and burgundy
When it comes to kitchens with dark cabinets, it's the warmer, enveloping shades that designers are choosing for 2024 projects. These come in different forms — the safer, neutral bet is browns and variations of richer, deeper beiges, but if you've got a bit of color confidence, it's the reds that are really going to come into their own this year.
'We are trying to push more rich and warm colors in our kitchen designs such as variations of browns, burgundy, plum and dark beige,' interior designers Mélanie Cherrier and Laurence Pons Lavigne, founder and partner of Blanc Marine Interieurs tells me.
San Francisco-based designer Kristen Pena of K Interiors agrees. 'You can expect to see kitchen cabinets being bolder and more saturated in 2024,' she says. 'Expect to see deep rich plums and burgundys, warm beiges, and browns.'
4. 'In-Between' Neutrals
If a neutral kitchen cabinet colors are more your speed when it comes to design, I'm seeing designers play with shades that have an 'in-between' quality to them that make these spaces feel so much more interesting. Neither this, nor that, ever-changing in the light at different times of day and from different aspects, these colors have a depth to them, and can be taken in one direction over another depending on what you surround it with.
'I love chameleon colors,' says designer Monica Stewart, founder of The Misfit House. 'They allow so much flexibility when decorating. They can lean in different directions and transform with surrounding textiles and art. This flexibility allows for changes and additions to a space.'
Kitchens like this one designed by Monica create a talking point when guests come over, too. In some lights it's a deeper, rich olive, while at other times of day, it can read almost grey.
5. Colorful wood stains
'We always love to integrate wood in our kitchen designs,' Mélanie and Laurence of Blanc Marine Interieurs tell me. 'It is a timeless material which we will continue to use.'
There are different types of wood kitchens that are trending thanks to their color - think pale, blonde oaks right now for example - but even more exciting is the idea of applying colorful stains. These retain the wood grain, while introducing color to the space.
Monica of The Misfit House did exactly that in this intriguing kitchen design, color matching the stain to the wall covering. 'I’m a big fan of wallpaper in the kitchen and I think it’s making a comeback — and it’s a wonderful way to choose an unexpected paint color or stain,' Monica says. 'Tinted stains allow for the personality color brings to a space but offer the durability the kitchen requires.'
