5 Paint Colors That Will Make Your Kitchen Look Cramped, Say Designers

No one wants their kitchen to feel tiny and cramped – after all, we spend so much time in our cooking spaces, be it preparing meals, cleaning up, putting away groceries, and the like.

So if you have a small kitchen at home, you should pay special attention to the colors you use in the room, professionals advise. By choosing certain colors, your cooking space will appear even smaller and narrower.

“Bold or bright colors require a thoughtful approach to the kitchen,” says Sydney Katz, founder of SDK Architecture. “The wrong shade or intensity can dominate the room instead of enhancing it.”

Here, learn about five specific bold and bright hues that Katz and other design experts say are best to avoid in small kitchens.

Black

While the concept of a black kitchen may seem elegant and moody, you should avoid the color when working in a small space, says Katz.

“A true, rich black lacks depth and makes a room feel closed in, especially when applied to both upper and lower cabinets,” she says.

Opting for one or two black appliances is probably fine, but the color is not the color you want to cover all the walls and cabinets.

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Pure white

Since it's on the completely opposite end of the spectrum from black, white seems like a safe choice for a small kitchen. However, Michael Winn, founder and CEO of WINN Design + Build, advises against using it in such a space.

“In a room without strong natural light, it can appear grayish and clinical, highlighting the lack of dimension,” he says.

Aside from these points, many professionals are moving away from all-white kitchens entirely – so by eliminating this shade from your cooking area, you're actually taking a trend-led approach to your design!

Sage green

Greenery, particularly sage, has become a popular choice throughout the home in recent years as people look to bring the outdoors indoors. However, Winn doesn't recommend using sage green on walls or cabinets in a small kitchen.

Colors like sage “are calming, but when combined with limited natural light or dark furniture, they smooth out depth and shadows,” he says.

Red

If you've always been interested in choosing a bold shade of red in the kitchen, you may want to reconsider that choice. Kelly Emerson, senior designer at Aidan Design, says red is just too intense for a small kitchen.

“We're looking for more calming and calming color palettes that better suit everyday life,” she says of her thought process when designing these spaces.

If you absolutely must incorporate red into your space, she recommends using it as an accent color, perhaps incorporating it into the backsplash tiles or bar stools of your choice.

Yellow

While yellow is generally a sweet, sunny color, it's best to avoid it when painting a small kitchen. Katz explains that this is because of the way yellow reacts to lighting throughout the day.

“Undertones have a dramatic impact on how it reads in different light,” she says. “A strong yellow can reflect too much light or create visual glare, making the room appear busy or unbalanced.”

Emerson expresses similar views on yellow, also citing the glare it can cause as a major problem.

“It’s a strain on the eyes, especially when the preparation and cooking take a lot of time,” she says about its use, especially in the kitchen.

Again, if you're particularly drawn to yellow and can't imagine going without it in the kitchen entirely, it's best to use it as an accent piece, the designer adds.