10 ways to add color to your kitchen without a big renovation

Colors have made a comeback in kitchens alongside neutral tones. With color, you can express your personality, create a cheerful atmosphere, and make the décor more interesting. You can start your kitchen refresh by picking a color or pattern you love.

If you want a calm look, your safest option is to choose one main hue and use it tone on tone. On the other hand, contrast can be appealing, and you can balance a bold color choice with something like wooden surfaces.

You don’t need a full renovation to introduce color into your kitchen. You could paint or have someone paint your cabinet doors, or refresh a backsplash wall with wallpaper or paneling. Or maybe retro jars, vintage chairs, or a new rug would give you the color pops you’re looking for?

1. Lace flowers at the window

The color scheme of this garden allotment cottage was inspired by vintage candy wrappers. Base cabinets from Ikea were painted in bright hues. The upper cabinets were found secondhand, and painting them yellow tied everything together. All the hardware was replaced with porcelain handles. White serves as a fresh contrast to the colorful furniture and objects.

2. Dark surfaces and wood

Due to rot issues in this old log house, the kitchen needed a complete renovation. Inspired by English interiors, the owners chose a herringbone tile layout. The tiles were handmade in Spain. Oak shelves are a natural fit for this Shaker-style kitchen with no upper cabinets.

3. Subtle sage

In a log house from 1888, the owner built a new kitchen himself, including the wooden countertop, and painted it in a sage-like gray-green using the Cover Story shade 026 Agatha. The finger panels were found in the home's storage.

4. A coastal blue theme

In this 1920s house, the residents discovered a plank floor in good shape under the vinyl, so they kept it and painted a checkerboard pattern on it. Since the home is near the shore, blue feels natural and continues from the floor onto the double doors and wall.

5. Black is also a color

Moody shades can be added subtly, too. In this 1970s cabin, wood surfaces and natural materials bring warmth. A black finger-paneled wall frames the small kitchen. The Ikea cabinets feature a handmade birch plywood countertop and leather pulls. The window offers a constantly changing view of Lake Saimaa.

6. Soft pastels

In this 1800s house, the kitchen displays hues that were common in city homes of that time. Ilmari Tapiovaara’s Pirkka table is paired with spindle-back chairs from Grandma’s, painted in a dusty rose shade. The soft pink accent continues behind the light gray panels and cabinetry.

7. A place for brass

In this 1940s house, the color palette is anchored by earthy greens and browns. The kitchen cabinets were repainted with Otex Aqua primer and Helmi 30 furniture paint in the shade L447 Verholehti. The countertop is covered with a sheet of brass. The check-patterned vinyl rug is from Beja Flor.

8. Sunny energy

If yellow has been your favorite color since childhood, it’s only natural to let it shine in your kitchen, too—here, it appears in various shades on the wallpaper, cabinet doors, and even the fridge. Built in 1936, this home’s small kitchen has a 1950s feel. On the elm shelves, the homeowner’s Aarikka tin collection adds even more brightness. The wallpaper is Lukko by Pihlgren & Ritola.

9. Crisp in blue and white

The patterned wallpaper behind the dish shelf echoes the blue details of the vintage tableware. Duro’s Börsjö design dates to the late 1800s, making it a perfect fit for a classic style.

10. The star of the kitchen

In the main room of this nearly hundred-year-old cottage, there’s a refurbished hostess cabinet painted mint green with traditional paint. The red accent on the cabinet is repeated in the rag rugs.