The Best Paint Colors to Open Up a Small Kitchen

Redecorating a house always presents a lot of hard choices, and your kitchen color is one of them. This is especially true if you have a small kitchen—the wrong colors can make the space seem cramped and suffocating, while the right colors will open it up and give the illusion that the area is larger.

These are the best small kitchen paint colors if you’re stuck on what to do. Each of them works great, so pick the one that suits your tastes or matches the rest of the house.

Why Choose Carefully?

If you’re not particularly big on interior design or just burned out, you might feel like you don’t have the energy to think through the colors and pick the right one. While it can be tempting to choose any neutral shade and slap it on the walls and cabinets, this might be a mistake—paint colors change the entire feel of the room, and taking those few extra moments now will benefit you for years to come.

Most people with a small kitchen don’t want to make the room seem even more suffocating. Instead, you can pick a color that makes the space appear airier and larger, proving you don’t need much physical space to have a great design.

The 10 Best Small Kitchen Paint Color Ideas

Now that you feel motivated to pick the best color for the room, here are your options. These are the best kitchen paint colors, and you won’t regret taking the time to read through them and find the one that speaks to you.

1. Calming Blue

Picking a light and slightly muted shade of blue is an excellent idea for your kitchen, as it will create a calming color that shines through, even on gloomy days. Blue also has a variety of accents that match—pick slightly darker blue borders or appliances, or brighten the room further with a touch of white.

2. White

Speaking of white, you could always use white as your primary color. If your goal is to make the room as bright and light as possible to offset the size, you can’t go wrong—and there’s more than one option. Instead of a bright, solid white, try off-white or cream to soften the appearance but keep that same glow you’re aiming for.

Imagine how good white looks with marble countertops.

3. Beige

If white is too light for you, but you love the idea of those light, neutral tones, try beige! The subtle warm hue will make guests feel invited and welcome. Remember that since beige is a warmer color, you may need to choose accents and appliances more carefully to keep that same cohesive tone throughout the kitchen.

4. Gray

For a cooler neutral, try gray. You could even combine gray and calming blue for a very sleek look that brings together a neutral and brighter color for the best of both worlds.

One of the best things about gray is that it’s not tricky for appliances and cookware to match this tone.

5. Orange

If you’re naturally a bolder person who gravitates towards bright colors rather than muted neutrals, how about orange? It’s one of the more unusual paint colors for a kitchen, but people are sure to comment on it when they come into your home, and even in the dead of winter, it’ll be the brightest and cheeriest room in the house.

6. Light Pink

Another bold and unusual color (but not as bright) is light pink. How about light pink walls with white cabinets, creating a warm tone that isn’t dark enough to bring the walls of your kitchen in?

7. Olive Green

If you’re looking at all the colors to widen the room and can’t bring yourself to get on board with bright, light colors, never fear. You can incorporate some dark colors into your kitchen—how about having white walls but painting the cabinets olive green? Green is one of the small kitchen colors that people tend to avoid for fear of making the room seem smaller, but, when done right, it can keep the space open while making specific attributes pop.

8. Mint

To make things just a touch brighter, how about mint? This combines the perfect tones of green and blue for a seafront look that automatically gives the illusion of the room being brighter. There’s also a variety of accent shades that would work well with this because it has hues of both green and blue.

9. Navy Blue

Maybe you’ve looked at all the light colors and been unable to convince yourself to like them. There’s nothing wrong with that—some people just aren’t into the brighter tones, and that’s okay. There are ways to incorporate the darker colors you crave without closing off the kitchen. For example, navy blue cabinets can look great if you pair them with bright silver handles and lighter wall color to offset the darkness.

10. Sunshine Yellow

The boldest color of all to make your kitchen seem larger is sunshine yellow. Use it sparingly—you don’t want the cabinets and walls to be the same shade of yellow! But when combined with an off-white or even a darker yellow accent, it might just be the best color to open up the room.

Remember to Choose Combinations Carefully

When looking through the best kitchen paint colors and trying to decide what’s right for you, remember to be true to yourself and choose combinations carefully. While a bright color like orange or yellow may open the space more than a beige, overdoing it may make the room feel like too much. Combine brighter accents with more neutral colors (or vice versa for a bolder look) and allow the shades to offset each other to create the perfect kitchen for you.