{"id":1061063,"date":"2026-07-01T04:29:22","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T04:29:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1061063\/"},"modified":"2026-07-01T04:29:22","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T04:29:22","slug":"2026-kitchen-color-trends-designers-say-are-replacing-all-white-kitchens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1061063\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 Kitchen Color Trends Designers Say Are Replacing All-White Kitchens"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Estimated3 min read<\/p>\n

\u201cKitchens have become so much more than functional spaces\u2014they\u2019re where people really want to express themselves,\u201d says interior designer Amanda Sinistaj of Ellwood Interiors<\/a>. It\u2019s now mid-2026, and designers are finding that this self-expression is showing itself in kitchen color<\/a> selection. Clients are leaning towards hues that are warmer, moodier, and a tad more unexpected. <\/p>\n

That applies to indoor and outdoor kitchens. In our report on 2026 outdoor kitchen trends<\/a>, ELLE Decor A-List designer Laura Kehoe noted a move toward appliance suites, durable, natural materials, and fully outfitted covered structures \u201cas precise and polished as any indoor kitchen.\u201d Indoors, color is doing similar work, making kitchens feel cocooning and connected to the landscape. Rather than chasing short-lived trends, homeowners are asking for schemes that feel specific to them and that will age gracefully.<\/p>\n

Here are the kitchen color trends designers have been spotting this year.<\/p>\n

Warmer Neutrals\"kitchenPatrick BillerIn this kitchen<\/a> designed by ELLE Decor A-Lister Montana Labelle, decorative painter Jeanne Shemilt coated the custom range hood in Venetian plaster, and the backsplash is in blue Michelangelo marble.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m seeing clients move away from bright white kitchens and white oak cabinetry in favor of warmer, more nuanced palettes,\u201d says interior designer Valerie Helgeson<\/a>. \u201cRequests for creamy whites and deeper brown stains are showing up more often, which still deliver a classic feel, but with more depth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sinistaj is also noticing this shift: \u201cWe are seeing a strong pull towards soft, velvet-like taupes which have proven versatile to work with and much cozier than a sterile white,\u201d she says. Jacqueline Goncalves of Moksa Studio, who has designed spaces for Soho House locations worldwide, noted that this trend is playing out across project types.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn contemporary and transitional homes, we\u2019re seeing a strong shift toward earthy browns and rich taupes,\u201d she says. \u201cBrown adds depth without feeling cold.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been seeing the all-white kitchen slowly go out of popularity over the past two years or so, but lately so many of our clients are starting to request warmer kitchens,\u201d says designer <\/strong>Grey Joyner<\/strong><\/a>. \u201cOne of my favorite ways to achieve this is through natural wood custom cabinetry\u2014stained rather than painted. Introducing even a section of natural wood creates depth and warmth without requiring a full overhaul or a major budget stretch.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Deep, Moody Colors\"michaelNicole FranzenThe kitchen of this Manhattan loft<\/a> designed by Michael Ellison, custom cabinets are painted in Benjamin Moore\u2019s Black Beauty.<\/p>\n

Some clients want their kitchens to feel dramatic. \u201cDeep, moody tones are having a real moment,\u201d Goncalves says. \u201cWe\u2019re seeing rich purples, mahogany hues, and near-black greens appear more frequently.\u201d<\/p>\n

The trick is balancing the deep tones carefully: \u201cWe\u2019ve been working with colors that nearly read as black, but when balanced with warmth, they feel inviting rather than heavy,\u201d she notes.<\/p>\n

The appetite for drama shows up in many ways. Helgeson describes working with a client who already has a bold kitchen\u2014it\u2019s Art Nouveau-inspired with Barbie pink cabinets, turquoise, and black. But instead of scaling it back this year, the client wants to lean in further, requesting \u201call drama, with obsidian tones paired with polished walnut.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMuddy\u201d Pastels\"aGiulio GhirardiThe custom cabinetry in this kitchen<\/a> designed by Pierre Yovanovitch is paired with a backsplash in tiles hand-painted by artist Matthieu Cosse\u0301.<\/p>\n

Designer McKenzie Milhousen of By George Collective<\/a> describes clients gravitating toward what she calls \u201cmuddy hues that are almost a dirty version of soft pastels.\u201d She recently completed a large kitchen in Farrow & Ball\u2019s Dead Salmon \u201cwhich turned out beautifully,\u201d and she\u2019s using other muddied shades like Farrow & Ball\u2019s Hay and Borrowed Light in current projects.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese muddied pastels feel bold and fresh compared to the neutrals that have dominated the last few years but still make spaces feel storied. They add a layer of warmth that juxtaposes their functionality,\u201d Milhousen explains. These shades work particularly well when renovating an older home\u2014slightly grimy, imperfect tones feel right in a space with history. But they\u2019re adding character to new builds, too, giving them a sense of age and story they wouldn\u2019t otherwise have.<\/p>\n

Pockets of Bold Color\"Wooden<\/p>\n

Clients are getting braver about color, but they are being strategic about where they use it. \u201cWe are getting a bit more adventurous and confident with pockets of color\u2026 navy laundry rooms, Merlot-colored bars, and playful grassy green pantries,\u201d Sinistaj says. These smaller, contained spaces are where clients feel comfortable experimenting, especially if they\u2019re not ready to go all-in on moody cabinets or muddy pastels in the main kitchen. A pantry or butler\u2019s pantry is the perfect testing ground.<\/p>\n

Interior designer Laura Medicus<\/a> is seeing a similar shift toward unexpected color. \u201cMy clients are embracing warm buttery yellow in their kitchens right now. We\u2019re looking at medium-toned, warm yellow with touches of brown or green in them,\u201d she says. \u201cThis look is surprising and delighting me after all of the white kitchens I\u2019ve done the last 10 years.\u201d She\u2019s also noticed clients interested in wallpaper in their kitchens \u201cfor the first time in a while.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Headshot<\/p>\n

Julia Cancilla is the social media & news editor at ELLE Decor, where she oversees the brand’s socials and covers design, pop culture, and emerging trends. She also authors the monthly ELLE Decoroscope column. Her work has appeared in Inked magazine, House Beautiful, Marie Claire, and more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"3 min read \u201cKitchens have become so much more than functional spaces\u2014they\u2019re where people really want to express…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1061064,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3939],"tags":[4021,4020,2083,291253,4022,1331,77,258961,1381,232364,291252,291041,290052,16,15],"class_list":["post-1061063","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-content-type-default","tag-contentid-c729e1f7-70e2-4fd3-a453-fd2a2d88e906","tag-design","tag-displaytype-standard-article","tag-entertainment","tag-issyndicated-false","tag-locale-us","tag-read_time-4","tag-shorttitle-the-top-4-kitchen-color-trends-of-2026","tag-sponsored-false","tag-subsection-trends","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116842842655941590","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1061063","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1061063"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1061063\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1061064"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1061063"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1061063"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1061063"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}