Colors can be broken down into three basic types—primary, secondary and tertiary colors. Categorizing by types makes it easier to understand the colors and their relationships. Using solely colors of one particular type is one way to create an easy color scheme.

Primary Colors

These three recognizable hues—red, yellow and blue—form the primary colors. No colors can be combined to create these three colors, and all other colors include at least one of these hues. Using these bold tones with proper execution, a kitchen will make a dramatic design statement.

Tertiary Colors

Created by mixing a primary color with a neighboring secondary color, the six tertiary colors offer a wider range of possibilities with their six hues: red-violet, red-orange, yellow-orange, yellow-green, blue-green and blue-violet.

 

Color makes a huge impact on the space it fills. The right shade or texture can make your kitchen look bigger, smaller or even cheerier. Knowing how your color choices will affect your kitchen design can help you develop a color scheme that improves your room's overall design while also filling it with your favorite hues.                                                                                                                                         

Depending on what you want to accomplish with your space, the colors you choose can help you achieve it. The effects of color can create the illusion of a changed space. Cooler, lighter colors can help make a room feel bigger while warmer and darker colors can make a space smaller or bring a high ceiling down farther.

Similarly, the textures you choose will change the look and feel of your kitchen. The texture effects of stainless steel with its sleek visual interest will vary from the impact of wood's natural warmth. Meanwhile, a combination of the two will lead to an entirely different design.

Finally, nothing makes a big impact in your kitchen like bright colors. A splash of orange or turquoise brings a bold look to your design when done right. Discover where the best spots are for your favorite saturated shades.

There are many options for designing with color. There is not one way only. However, no matter the colors we choose, we must consider the following:

1. Will the scheme be memorable?

2. How will the palette meld with the building's architecture?

3. What kind of emotions will the colors inspire?

4. Will it leave a strong taste in the mouths of the occupants?

In the kitchen, the cabinets are the major color. Besides the cabinet finish, you also need to consider the appliance finish, the wall color, and the colors and materials for the floor and countertops. Think about how all these elements will work together. You can use the architectural style of the home as a starting point.

Choosing a white, chromatic, or natural scheme is one way to approach designing with color. Everybody is familiar with the white scheme: Almost everything is painted white and that which isn't white has meaning underlined by the fact that it's not white. The white palette says tasteful, modern, spare. You can introduce other colors through patterns and geometric shapes, which give nuance to the look.

The chromatic scheme applies color to every surface. Its effect is to create a stronger mood that's more stimulating and current.

The natural scheme is in right now. It uses neutral earth tones and saturated jewel tones and finishes like brick, concrete, wood, and metal. It communicates earthbound, honesty, and straightforwardness.

-Faith Baum, architect, part-time faculty member at the Rhode Island School of Design

What brings color to living? Everything from fashion to politics to transportation; always look for influences where you wouldn't normally expect to. Take note of car interiors, cosmetics, the names of fragrances. It's vitally important to keep your eyes open to inspirations. Embrace all that you see, taste, smell, and hear so the whole world can be your influence.

We seek sustainable gardens, architecture, and life through eco color. Organic in nature, this is the greening of products for the home, colors like yellow-greens, earthy tans and dewy blues.

The international marketplace brings stylized, romanticized looks. Look toward new directions in the coming years-colors based on Morocco's clay pots, Native American turquoise and countries like Vietnam will rise in popularity. In this time of patriotism, look for multiculturalism in color.

Metal is a huge influence on color. Transportation is sleek with silver exteriors and brushed aluminum interiors. When you strip away the glitz, the essence is color. Silvers and charcoals will be on the rise, with an increase in rust and deep yellow-coppers that remind us of home-cooked meals.

The search is on for a comfort zone-comfort from today's stress and sense of the unknown. Colors that are at once familiar and soothing-muted blues, reds, tans, and browns-still radiate with newness.

Neutral is taking a new stand. A neutral is anything that makes everything in front of it look good. But it isn't beige anymore, and these aren't wallflower colors. The introduction of stronger colors requires stronger neutrals. Colors like red, plum and grays will be the new neutrals; acting as a catalyst to give other colors a boost.

 

-Mark Woodman, Color Marketing and Design Manager for Duron Paints, and member of Color Marketing Group

A rule of thumb says to color a room with a 60-30-10 split between three colors: use one color on a majority of the space, a little bit less of another, and an even smaller amount as an accent color. In the kitchen, your major color might cover the walls or the cabinets; your secondary color the floor; and your accent color the countertops.

You can use color to influence how large or small the kitchen feels:

Because the cabinets typically represent your greatest expense and need to stand the longest test of time, you may be more comfortable choosing a style in a more neutral finish. Same goes for the countertops and flooring. But let yourself have some fun slapping the brighter, trendier shades on your accessories, small appliances and decorative items, including: