Ideas & Inspiration
Now is the time to put our kitchen color ideas on the menu! Refresh the busiest room in your house with the most popular Benjamin Moore kitchen paint colors.
Our favorite kitchen colors offer welcoming color combinations and enticing kitchen hues you and your family will love.
Best Kitchen Paint Colors
While “best” is always subjective, here are a few kitchen paint
colors homeowners turn to again and again. Which ones catch your eye?
Brighten Up with Bold Kitchen Wall Colors
For time-honored kitchen color schemes, white, gray, and neutrals provide a classic color palette. However, with typically less wall space in the kitchen, it’s a great room to play with brighter, stronger colors.
If you opt for bolder hues in your kitchen, be sure to add balance with softer, more neutral colors for design equilibrium.
We love the zing of playful energy that Banana Yellow 2022-40 adds to this small kitchen with predominant white cabinetry. Scroll to the bottom of this page to see this same kitchen, but accented with Ravishing Red 2008-10 and Patriot Blue 2064-20.
Other lively hues homeowners love for a smaller kitchen wall color include Smoldering Red 2007-10, Venezuelan Sea 2054-30 and Blue Danube 2062-30.
Classic white kitchen cabinets pair perfectly with any pop of color you choose in a kitchen.
Some of our favorite white paint colors for the kitchen include White Dove OC-17, Silver Satin OC-26, and seen here, White Heron OC-57.
Curated Color for Kitchen Cabinets
Cabinets tend to be the visual centerpiece in the kitchen, so choosing the just-right color is important.
Blues, greens, and pale or muted grays are very popular in today’s kitchen. Here, pale gray Titanium OC-49 on both walls and cabinets opens up this small kitchen space. This sleek, monochromatic look uses sheen to differentiate the surfaces: Matte on walls, satin on cabinets, and semi-gloss on trim.
Undoubtedly, painting kitchen cabinets is more affordable than replacing them. While doing it yourself may hold appeal, refinishing your cabinets can be challenging for even the most ambitious DIY-er. For example: Cabinets must fully dry between steps, making it a multi-day job.
We recommend hiring a professional painter for the best outcome. It’s also worth noting that professional painters prefer Benjamin Moore’s ADVANCE® Interior on kitchen cabinetry for its hard, furniture-quality finish. So be sure to put ADVANCE® on your shopping list, whether doing it yourself or hiring a painting pro!
Kitchen Island Colors Add Spice
Not quite ready for a full kitchen cabinet re-paint? Use dynamic hues to breathe a bit of your personality into your kitchen in small doses.Consider a fresh coat of paint color for your lower cabinets only. Or highlight a central kitchen island with bold color. Use color to creatively delineate different spaces in your kitchen—from a work area, to shelving insets, to furniture.
Here, a deep blue kitchen island offers high impact style in Oxford Gray 2128-40. The choice of a rich, semi-gloss sheen elevates it from practical to posh.
Other kitchen island paint colors that offer a major wow-factor include Aegean Teal 2136-40, Tarrytown Green HC-134, Kendall Charcoal HC-166.
A Refreshing Green Kitchen
From the soft sage of Gray Mirage 2142-50 to the muted jade of Herb Bouquet 460, green paint colors effortlessly bring the outside in to any room. Verdant hues provide a fresh, airy sensibility, whether in a sleek contemporary kitchen or a cozy cottage kitchenette.
- For lighter, warmer greens, we love Dune Grass 492, Pale Avocado 2146-40 and Fernwood Green 2145-40, all nice alternatives to neutral.
- Cool greens that work in the kitchen include High Park 467, Peale Green HC-121, and Flora AF-470, a mid-tone organic green.
Looking for green kitchen paint color ideas? Consider layering a slight variation of greens in your kitchen design.
Here, warm Fernwood Green 2145-40 feels fresh against a cooler green, Flora AF-470, while the deep blue Witching Hour 2120-30 grounds the space.
Rich brown paint colors like French Press AF-170, Fairview Taupe HC-85, and Gettysburg Gray HC-107 are also favorites in the kitchen for their earthy neutrality and depth.
Enhance Your Kitchen with Chalkboard Paint
Erasable chalkboard walls are available in every Benjamin Moore color, so the creative color possibilities are 3,500+ colors strong!
Use chalkboard paint in the kitchen to add some play to pragmatism: think to-do lists, recipes, and sports schedules.
Invite kids of all ages to write on the walls—and OFF digital devices—and spark a little creativity every day!
Consider delineating a dedicated section of your kitchen with a fun, bold chalkboard paint color, like Twilight Magenta 2074-30 or Newport Green 2050-30.
Or add a dash of drama with classic chalkboard Black 2132-10, seen here with these chalkboard-painted inset shelves.
Layered Blue Paint Colors in a Modern Kitchen
Light blues and greens set a relaxing mood: Why not bring that calming energy to one of the busiest places in the home?
Here, the layers of blue paint colors in this midcentury kitchen create a refreshing atmosphere and conjure blue skies—even on the rainiest of days.
Oxford Gray 2128-40 on the kitchen walls and cheery Blue Hydrangea 2062-60 on the lower kitchen cabinets create a soothing monochromatic color scheme.
A tinge of blue undertone in Patriotic White 2135-70 on the ceiling contributes to the color synergy.
A springy light green on the upper cabinets pulls in the greenery from outside using Guilford Green HC-116.
Other blue paint colors we love for the kitchen include Smoke 2122-40, Caribbean Mist 2061-70, and Woodlawn Blue HC-147 from our Historical Collection.
The Kitchen Backsplash
Can you paint a tile backsplash? While the answer is “yes,” there are several important considerations:- Grout lines will be covered up and the individual tiles will be less defined. If you’ll miss those grout lines, repainting may not be a great option.
- Painted tile may not last as long as unpainted ceramic tile
- Frequent exposure to water will likely cause the paint on the tile to blister and peel.
Looking for the right wall paint color to synch with a kitchen backsplash? Here are some ideas—however keep in mind there are endless possibilities, so take your time!
- White subway tile backsplash: Any bold color works with the popular, hip look of white subway tile, including Caliente AF-290, Hale Navy HC-154 and Mallard Green 2053-10. Choosing big, splashy color contrast to use alongside white tile is easy, given our 3,500 colors: Find a paint color family you like, then start browsing.
- Terracotta tile backsplash: Use the muted, earthy tones of a terracotta backsplash as a base for happy kitchen colors like cerulean blue Yarmouth Blue HC-150 and Schooner AF-520, and teal greens like Casco Bay 2051-30 and Aegean Teal 2136-40.
- Artisanal, textured backsplash: A matte-painted wall is a great finish to ensure kitchen walls don’t “compete” with an opulent backsplash. Select a prominent color from the backsplash and explore paint colors in a lighter shade to find the right color pairing.
- Considering white walls? Don’t forget to take warm and cool undertones of white paint colors into consideration when looking for the perfect pairing for your backsplash.
Peruse color pairings for your backsplash in person at your local Benjamin Moore® retailer! And buy one or more color samples to help finalize your choice of color—and ensure peace of mind.
Kitchen Cabinet Color
Everyone gathers in the kitchen. From cooking to socializing, keeping your kitchen cabinets looking beautiful is a design essential for discerning homeowners.
Extending the life of your existing kitchen cabinets is a lot easier than replacing them. Painting kitchen cabinets with Benjamin Moore’s ADVANCE® in any one of 3,500+ colors gives your kitchen bold new character and a smooth, furniture-like finish. It’s time to bring the high impact of color to the heart of your kitchen.
Enrich Cabinets with Color
When considering new color for your cabinets, look to materials like the countertop, backsplash, fixtures, and flooring. Let these color cues inspire new color for your cabinets.
Consider bringing some drama to your cabinetry with a deep color, like Char Brown 2137-20, seen here in Satin finish.
A more saturated color on your cabinets in any level of glossy sheen can maximize shine and create an elegant look.
You can select just a portion of your cabinetry to highlight with a deeper color, while balancing the combination with more classic kitchen hues like off-white or putty.
Sheen: A Key Ingredient
Be sure to consider sheen when selecting color for each surface you are painting in your kitchen.
You can create a subtle–yet striking–effect with color by choosing one hue, but using that color in different sheen levels on each surface.
For example, use a low sheen such as matte or eggshell on the walls, then opt for a semi-gloss or high-gloss sheen on the cabinets.
The way light reflects off each surface will create understated contrast, even though you are only painting with one color.
A Family Adds a Dose of Color
We love seeing real life home design success stories.
This family of four reinvigorated their small kitchen by incorporating a soft blue onto lower cabinetry, enhancing a formerly all-white kitchen.
Their sleek, newly-painted cabinets are even able to withstand two busy little ones (with messy hands!), thanks to their easy-to-clean finish.
A Simple Kitchen Makeover
The all-white makeover seen in this maple kitchen lends an airy, contemporary new look to a corner kitchen.
This family worked with a painting contractor to refinish the cabinets.
The contractor started with ADVANCE® primer, which dried for 24 hours, followed by two coats of ADVANCE in Cloud Cover OC-25 satin finish.
The busy kitchen, that serves a family of five, was back in action after five days.
The result was a glowing update to a slightly dated space.
Even with existing countertops and cabinet hardware remaining the same, the results are striking.
Ready to Refinish Your Cabinets?
Whether you hire a professional to refinish your cabinets or do it yourself, this step-by-step video tutorial includes expert tips for the ultimate kitchen cabinet makeover.
You can also download our how-to guide on repainting cabinets with ADVANCE.
Critical Components
When looking to refinish your cabinets, look for the following features in a specialty cabinet paint:
- Exceptional application and feel
- Outstanding coverage and hide
- A hard, furniture-quality finish
- Low-VOC, even after tinting
- Availability in thousands of colors
Look for surface flexibility—the best kitchen cabinet paints are suitable for oak, cherry, mahogany, maple, and fabricated woods, Formica® laminate and other High-pressure surface materials.
As a waterborne interior alkyd–unlike traditional oil-based paints–ADVANCE is super easy to apply and can be cleaned up with soap and water.
These features and more make it truly unique.