Paint color can define the mood and breathability of any room. In the kitchen where friends and family gather, converse, and snack, it’s especially beneficial to take the time to learn what’s in style for kitchen cabinets and what you like. 

Maybe you’re finally renovating your kitchen after 10 to 15 years, in line with the average timeline of kitchen renovations. Or maybe you’re purchasing a new home.

Whatever the case, use this article’s tips and trending cabinet colors to help you narrow down the paint options you like.

Ultimately, remember to be creative and enjoy the process!

How to Pick a Kitchen Cabinet Color

When selecting a color for your cabinets, your choice should be the intersection of your taste and the physical limitations of your kitchen. 

Consider How You Want Your Kitchen to Feel

The next time you’re in your kitchen or someone else’s, note how the cabinet colors make you feel. 

For example, if you want your kitchen to feel light and cheerful, opt for a lighter color that opens up the space. Meanwhile, bright colors will serve you well if you want your kitchen to stand out with a strong personality. 

If you want your kitchen to reflect nature—as has been the trend post-quarantine—direct your attention toward earth tones. 

Consider Your Kitchen’s Lighting and Size

The size and orientation of your kitchen limit what colors you can choose for your cabinets. In general, colors that reflect light make a room feel more spacious, while darker colors that absorb light help fill the space. 

The direction your kitchen’s windows face determines how much light your kitchen receives. In the northern hemisphere, north-facing windows receive the least natural light throughout the day, while south-facing windows receive the most. 

So, for relatively small kitchens with north-facing windows, the best kitchen cabinet colors will be on the lighter side. Conversely, a larger kitchen can afford darker cabinets because your eyes have more surface area for viewing the color. 

Consider Your Walls, Countertops, and Backsplash

While your cabinets occupy the most space in your kitchen, you want to be mindful of the other structures in your cooking space. 

Walls painted a light neutral color pair well with any other color, so your cabinets will fare well with walls painted beige, pale gray, or white. If you have less wall showing in your kitchen, experiment with brighter colors for the walls and lighter colors for the cabinets. 

Countertops and backsplash are also important elements of your kitchen that should coordinate with your cabinets. Determine the color and pattern of your backsplash before your countertops since the backsplash is on the same vertical visual plane as your cabinets. 

Consider Your Home’s Resale Value

Depending on your situation, you may want to keep future homebuyers in mind when choosing new kitchen cabinet colors. 

If you live in your forever home, you don’t have to worry too much about appealing to buyers. But if you see yourself selling your home in the near future, the color decisions you make for your kitchen cabinets matter more. 

Neutral colors like whites, grays, and browns are more attractive to buyers. Light or white cabinets are best, as they convey an easygoing and joyful atmosphere. Bright and dark colors are more likely to steer buyers away from your home because it’s more difficult for them to envision themselves living in the space.

Pro Tip: After you make these considerations, directly test your paint choices with sample paint swatches. For example, use Samplize or Lick Home to peel and stick large paint patches on cabinets to gauge how a paint color will look in the context of your kitchen. 

In the following section, we discuss the top trending kitchen cabinet colors for this year. Keep in mind that these trends are just that—trends. When choosing the best color for your kitchen cabinets, always prioritize your preference. 

Pro Tip: Test out different paints with the Sherwin-Williams ColorSnap Visualizer as you read on for kitchen cabinet color ideas. 

As it has for many years, white stands its ground as the most popular kitchen cabinet color in 2023. 

White is a timeless color, easy to complement, and easy to paint over if you grow tired of it. As a light neutral that’s universally appealing, it’s a smart choice when reselling your home as well.

It’s important to note that the trend this year swings toward off-white or warm white paints. Meanwhile, stark white-on-white cabinets with white counters, walls, and backsplash are out of style, as it may cause the kitchen to feel too sterile. 

With its refreshing look, a warm white cabinet set liberates small kitchens, increases breathability, and maintains a welcoming feeling. Small kitchens with warm white cabinets feel bigger, while large kitchens feel more luxurious. 

Compare, for example, the warm white Benjamin Moore White Dove with the cool white Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace. Though Chantilly Lace is out of style according to the warm whites trend, it may still serve your personal tastes. 

No matter what you pick, take the time to test the colors in your kitchen so you can feel confident you’ve made the right decision for you. 

The 6 Top Kitchen Cabinet Colors for 2023

Beige

Otherwise known as taupe, eggshell, or mushroom, beige is sprouting up in this year’s trends as a calm but remarkable cabinet color. 

While not the best cabinet color for resale, beige tends to turn heads while maintaining the unassuming appeal of white. This neutral color can be paired with other muted colors when selecting accent colors. 

Look to Behr Creamy Mushroom or Sherwin-Williams Kilim Beige as references. 

Coordinating Colors: In terms of countertops and backsplash, white or black contrasts nicely with beige. Dark wood hardware, including knobs, handles, and hinges, also pulls out beige’s earthy excellence. Exercise your creativity and experiment with dark, light, and muted colors for decor. 

Natural Wood

If your heart is set on wooden cabinets, 2023 is your year. Natural wood is growing back in style as homeowners look to nature for inspiration.

The trend generally leans toward lighter stains, like white oak with a clear finish, rather than orange oak or darker cabinet stain colors like espresso. Light natural wood cabinets are most popular with sharp, clean-cut edges that create a pleasant overlap between modern and natural style. 

Whatever you choose, natural wood has the potential to make your kitchen feel cozy and welcoming while staying in style. 

Black

Just like white, black transcends trends as a timeless kitchen cabinet color, although it can be less versatile. 

As the darkest color, black absorbs the most light and can make small kitchens feel smaller or even suffocating without proper lighting. 

That said, it can also tie together cabinets of varying shapes and add gravity to brighter colors within the kitchen. And as we discussed earlier, darker colors like black can ground your cabinets and add sophisticated weightiness. 

Try Farrow & Ball Pitch Black or the less intense Farrow & Ball Off-Black. 

Coordinating Colors: If you’re a fan of the classic black-and-white combo popular in all fields of design, you can accent all-black cabinets with white appliances, countertops, and backsplash. If you want to go the route of more modern kitchen cabinet colors, accent black cabinets with light shades of beige, gray, green, and blue or metallic hardware. 

Navy Blue

Navy blue is a versatile cabinet color choice that can send you out to sea or the royal halls of a palace. It has both a calming effect and an air of establishment. 

Try Benjamin Moore Hale Navy or Sherwin-Williams Naval to see if you can imagine your kitchen cabinets with this bold color. 

Coordinating Colors: As an earth tone, navy blue can work well with other neutral earthy tones like brown and green to reflect the richness of our natural world. On the flip side, navy blue can be paired with white countertops and appliances or gold hardware to create an instantly elegant appearance. 

Earthy Green

Just as navy blue adds a pop of color while maintaining a desirably serious tone in your kitchen, so can earthy greens. 

In the same vein as the trend back to natural wood, darker green as a kitchen cabinet paint color reconnects you to nature. An earthy green cabinet set can transport you into a calming forest and offer a brave variation to traditional kitchens. 

Despite being on trend, however, green can feel risky as the color for an area of your home that commands so much attention. Try Behr Laurel Tree or check out these kitchens to explore some earthy greens in action. 

Coordinating Colors: As with navy blue, pair earthy green cabinets with whites, lighter colors, natural wood, and metallic hardware.

Blush Beige

Sherwin-Williams announced its 2023 Color of the Year: Redend Point, launching this “blush beige” or “dusty pink” into the realm of home improvement. With hints of brown and gray, this color is in step with the trend toward nature, as it evokes imagery of muted-red desert sand, clay, and sunsets.

Coordinating Colors: For your kitchen, pair this blush beige with other warm earthy tones like green, charcoal, brown, or beige to round out its relaxing abilities. Combine blush beige cabinets with white countertops and backsplash to create a balance of cool and warm that’s easy on the eyes. 

Exploring Color Combinations

If one color for kitchen cabinets doesn’t capture your style or personality enough, two-toned and tri-toned kitchen cabinets are also on trend. Adding an extra color or two to your cabinet set opens up your creative freedom and adds an extra flair that your kitchen might otherwise lack.

For two-toned cabinets, contrast your upper and lower cabinets to offer balance to your kitchen, and match your countertops and backsplash with your upper cabinets. 

Some beautiful and eye-catching two-toned combinations include:

  • black and white
  • blue and white
  • dark wood and off-white 

Darker colors on the lower cabinets contrasted with lighter colors on the upper cabinets can ground the kitchen and offer stability below the counter. If you have pets or kids, darker colors on bottom cabinets also make scratches and stains less noticeable. 

Tri-toned cabinets offer even more complexity to your kitchen by taking the two-toned concept and adding a third element to the mix. Experiment with a different-colored countertop, backsplash, island, or even another section of your cabinets. 

This trend applies most effectively to larger kitchens, as smaller kitchens may suffer from visual clutter with too many color contrasts. 

Remember: It’s Your Kitchen

After wading through hundreds of color choices and extensively researching cabinets, you may feel more overwhelmed than ready to make a decision. You’re not alone. 

In the end, the only people who see your kitchen cabinets every day are you and your family. Regardless of trends and resale recommendations, only your preferences matter. 

That said, use this article as a guide to ensure your color preferences work well within your space. Everyone deserves a kitchen where they feel comfortable, inspired, and happy.