How to Choose Kitchen Cupboard Colors

Cupboards are a prominent feature of every kitchen, and their color can go a long way toward making your kitchen a cheerful and relaxing place to be. Picking a color for kitchen cupboards is not simply a matter of going with your favorite hue; you need to consider the existing features of your kitchen and coordinate with them, to avoid selecting a color that clashes or one that is too bright or oppressive.

• 1

  Look around your kitchen and note what colors are already present. Cupboards make up a large part of the visual effect of a kitchen, and should complement rather than clash with the colors of walls, flooring, countertops and even window and door frames.

• 2

  Examine the size and style of your room. If you have a small kitchen, colors that are too vivid can make it feel cramped and crowded; if your kitchen is not well-lit, dark cupboards will make the problem worse.

• 3

  Obtain a color wheel -- available online and at arts and crafts stores -- to help you decide whether you want to introduce some contrast by using complementary colors or remain within the tonal family of the colors that already exist in your kitchen. Complementary colors are those across from one another on the color wheel -- such as red and green or orange and blue.

• 4

  Obtain color swatches from a paint store, bring them into your kitchen and spread them out on a table. Discard colors that don't seem to fit or that you simply dislike, narrowing down your selection to a maximum of five possible colors.

• 5

  Return to the paint store and obtain paint tester pots for these five colors. Paint a piece of cardboard with each color and attach it to a cupboard with masking tape. Leave the cardboard pieces up for a few days and examine them in all types of light, both natural and artificial. Select the color that looks best for your cupboards. Or, consider using two different colors rather than a single one: Paint the upper cupboards one color and the lower ones the other; or paint the cupboard doors one color and the cupboard boxes the other.