Kitchen Color Trends: Refacing Your Cabinets and Remodeling Your Kitchen for 2010

by Melissa Bullard
Face Your Kitchen Columnist

If you're about to embark on a kitchen cabinet reface job, it's a good time to figure out which colors are going to be the focus of your kitchen. Choosing the new surfaces for your cabinets may mean that other areas of your kitchen need updating as well. Color sets the mood and can have a dramatic impact on the overall feel of your kitchen, so if you're interested in updating according to the latest trends, read these tips about what colors and combinations are going to be hot in 2010.

• Gray: This color's smooth, sophisticated look and ability to match a variety of other colors make it versatile in the kitchen. Gray looks sharp on stainless steel appliances and can blend quite well into the background in the sleek modern kitchen. You can use gray as a balance, lending a cool touch to warm earth tones such as dusty green, or a bit of calming relief from the jeweled intensity of a color such as deep purple. Either way, the color gray is making a comeback in 2010.
• Earth Tones: The browns and greens of Mother Nature are coming back as more people seek to be ecologically responsible. Darker, natural wood cabinets are coming into fashion, as are sustainable cork floors and bamboo countertops. If you're looking for a wall or countertop color that is neutral and yet trendy, consider the beige, tan, brown, and green colors found in abundance in nature.
• Think Subtle: Too much of an intense color can make you feel overstimulated. While oranges, yellows, and reds are good for the appetite, 2010's kitchen trends suggest you go for more dusted, subtle shades of these colors. Think Aztec golds, Indian oranges, rusty reds. The effect is warm, homey, and cheerful.
• Bold Color Combinations: Color trends for 2010 feature tastefully bright contrasts here or there. If you are refacing to have dark wood kitchen cabinets, consider accentuating them with a bright green vase or a few hot pink inlaid tiles here or there. It doesn't need to show up everywhere; again, tasteful subtlety is important for the color trends of 2010.

Of course, make sure to choose your color combinations carefully, match them with the color you've chosen for your kitchen cabinet reface, and don't be afraid to try something new. After all, considering color trends can lead you to a look you never would have thought of on your own.

About the Author

Melissa Bullard earned a Bachelor's degree in English Literature, then a Master's Degree in Spanish Language and Literatures from the University of Nevada, Reno. She has taught writing, literature, and Spanish classes, and is currently working as a fre