13 Color Schemes to Give Your Small Kitchen Big Style

Pack your tiny kitchen with personality using these small kitchen color palette ideas that create the perception of more space.

Cool whites, warming earth tones, beachy pastels, and even primary colors for small kitchens can add big time personality to your space. Before you pick wall colors, cabinet finishes, surfaces, and fittings, think about the mood you want to create and the amount of natural light the kitchen gets. Limiting your palette to two or three main colors will ensure your kitchen doesn't look too visually busy or cluttered. The best color schemes visually tie the kitchen to adjacent spaces, which in turn helps your small kitchen look larger. Try one or two of these small kitchen colors for a major transformation.

Wood + White + Green

You don’t often see two-tone cabinets like these—where the doors are stained wood and the frames are white—but they definitely make a statement, giving traditional wood cabinets a crisp and modern edge without sacrificing the warm and cozy look. Pairing all that wood with a forest green wallpaper makes the whole space seem nature-inspired, and the orange in the wallpaper picks up on the orange tones in the wood. Using wallpaper in a kitchen is affordable and can offer more color and pattern than tile backsplash does, plus it’s easier to change. 

Black + White + Metallic

Black cabinets always look handsome in a kitchen, but surrounding them with plenty of white is key to keeping the look light on its feet. Note how carefully the black and white are balanced here, right down to the black window trim and black-framed mirror on the shelf. Accents of brass and other warm metals make this high-contrast combo sparkle. In addition to the light fixtures, many of the metallic accents come from the display of utilitarian yet beautiful kitchen tools hanging along the backsplash.

Navy Blue + Brown

Having a small kitchen doesn't mean you need to stay away from dark colors, but they need to be used strategically. To avoid overwhelming a tight space, use deep tones sparingly and with plenty of white. This color scheme applies dark blue across the island and on select banks of cabinetry. Paired with a white subway tile backsplash and white appliances, the high contrast effect makes the space look bright and crisp. Leather barstools repeat the hue of the wood countertop and shelves, adding warmth and visual texture.

Turquoise + Yellow

Turquoise and white work well together because they are complementary, meaning they're opposite each other on the color wheel. White walls, ceilings, and backsplashes reflect light and make the perimeter of a small kitchen recede, which causes the room to appear larger. Choose a crisp white paint color for the walls and cabinets, then layer in color via blue powder-coated barstools and small touches of an accent color, such as the bright yellow cafe curtains and painted glass cabinet door.

Related: These BHG x Walmart Food Containers Keep Food Fresh and Organized for $8 Apiece

Off-White + Wood

If thinking about what color you should paint your kitchen always leads you to your dream white kitchen, then embrace it. Paint colors for a small kitchen don't have to be bold to introduce big personality. A white-on-white palette like this creates the illusion of a larger space, but a mix of different whites is key to creating visual interest. Mix crisp white, buttery white, and gray-toned white finishes to create a seamless but layered look. An island a floor in a warm wood tone take the chill off all the white surfaces and give your small kitchen an inviting aura.

Aqua Blue + Wood

A kitchen with a wall color that pops, warm wood cabinetry, and a bright accent color always looks welcoming. Whereas a room full of dark brown cabinets might have looked heavy, the modern two-tone look created by painting the upper cabinets white looks light and bright. The multihued tile backsplash brings not only color but a sense of visual movement and excitement to the space. Use the open shelving and banquette seating as opportunities to introduce a bold accent color, such as the yellow accessories and pillows, to energize the design.

Yellow + White

Yellow paint colors have been a long time favorite for small kitchens. It always looks happy and inviting, whether used on walls or cabinetry. Yellow offers a cheerful greeting in the morning and sets a room aglow once lights flicker on at night. If you have basic white cabinets, yellow walls will jazz them up. Conversely, if you paint your cabinets yellow, pair them with white walls for balance. Temper the bright yellow with a dark countertop, such as black marble or soapstone, and a rich brown wood floor.

Mint Green + White

Mint green cabinets make a small kitchen look colorful but in a subtle and fresh way. White appliances, chairs, and backsplash keep the look bright and breezy, while small doses of black on the hardware, light fixtures, and even the backsplash grout add needed visual punch. A mottled gray countertop combines and balances the black and white notes.

Gray + Green

Monochromatic color schemes are smart for small kitchens because they allow the eye to move freely around the space. When there is little difference between walls, countertops, and woodwork, a kitchen space reads larger than its actual dimensions. Here light gray cabinets and countertop plus stainless steel appliances create that seamless backdrop. The interest comes from the tile backsplash in subtle greens, and the lightest of those greens is picked up in the window shade.

Steel Gray + Copper

A few strategic copper accents warm up the cool background created by the blue-gray cabinets in this kitchen. Easy ways to bring copper into a kitchen include hanging copper pots, installing a copper farmhouse sink, or hanging pendant lights with copper shades. The floor and countertop are in neutrals that don't compete with the cabinet color but serve to visually lighten the space.

Related: The 5 Best Copper Cookware Sets of 2024, According to Testing

Olive Green + Wood

Colors pulled from nature make good color schemes for small kitchens. To make olive green, here seen on the refrigerator, work with the white cabinets and walls, a dark wood countertop and rustic wooden accessories bridge the gap between the very light and the very dark colors. The organic greens and browns add interesting contrast without making a small kitchen feel dark because they are balanced by so much white and a lot of natural light.

Green + Green + Green

Going all-in on one color can, surprisingly, make a room live larger. The absence of visual lines (created from jumping from one color to another, like from white cabinet to green backsplash) can help small spaces feel less busy. Here, interior designer Dabito's Los Angeles house features cabinets, walls, and range hood all painted in the same color of green (Behr's Royal Orchard Semigloss enamel) for its calming hue and durability. White countertops and sink are the only color diversion, keeping the space feeling fresh and bright.

Black + White + Wood

This tiny Washington, D.C. kitchen required clever storage and color planning to work. Interior Designer Shannon Claire painted the lower cabinets black with black hardware to blend with the countertops (again, avoiding too many visual lines), installed a white IKEA picture rail to hang hooks for mugs and tools, and replaced bulky upper cabinets with open shelving to allow in more light and create the illusion of more open wall space. Natural wood on the shelves and decor add texture and warm depth to all the black and white. Oversized white tiles with narrow grout lines counteract the black countertops to keep the space feeling fresh, clean, and bright.

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