8 Best Paint Colors for Kitchen Walls to Revamp Your Space

Whether you’re a passionate baker or limit food preparation to the microwave, we all spend time in our kitchens, so they must be practical.

But kitchens are often where family and friends congregate, so creating a welcoming, warm space means choosing a paint color that expresses your personality. What are the best paint colors for kitchen walls?

The best paint colors for kitchen walls are inspired by nature. For cooler, lighter shades, sky blues, spring and sage greens, and cream are trending. Buttery yellow and pinky terracotta are warmer hues, while dramatic navy, moss green, and chocolate brown create a cozy kitchen sanctuary.

8 Best Colors to Paint Kitchen Walls

A complete kitchen renovation happens only every decade or so in my house, so I keep the space fresh and inviting by changing up the wall color. A coat of paint can transform the mood of a room and update the feel of even the tiredest walls.

Let’s look at the best paint choices for kitchens – and what’s trending in kitchen paint colors.

#1. Sky Blue

Color trends continue to draw inspiration from the natural world, infusing our homes with the tranquillity of a summer sky or the brooding peace of a forest lake.

The most significant color trend for 2024 is blue. It’s no surprise that blue reflects our obsession with sea, sky, and soft clouds, reflecting the desire for serenity, clarity, and contentment.

As a kitchen color, sky blue evokes both the calm and the freshness of a spring morning, an ideal combination for a busy, practical space where you begin and end your day.

Choose sky blue for a family kitchen, sending kids off to school comfortable and full of energy. Sky blue is also spa-like enough to suit a serious cook’s kitchen, where a cool head remains unbothered by a multi-step recipe.

The versatile color suits English and French country-style, cottage-core, or vintage kitchens. Combine sky blue with white or gray cabinetry for a light-filled, airy room or with navy blue or charcoal features for drama.

The following stunning sky blue paints are all colors of the year for 2024:

Thermal by C2 Paint
Bluebird by Krylon
Upward by Sherwin-Williams
Renew Blue by Valspar

#2. Dark Blue

The adage that painting a small room white is your best option no longer applies. There’s a strong movement in kitchen interiors towards dark and moody shades for walls, creating a cozy sanctuary of a kitchen.

Darker shades like navy, indigo, and midnight blue are gorgeous and create a dramatic, contemporary effect if you drench the entire room in a single inky shade.

Another option is to keep the walls moody and go for contrasting cabinetry. Go bright with navy and white or retro with a bottle green or orange.

Here are some options for bold kitchens:

Hale Navy by Benjamin Moore
Deep Dive by Clare
Hague Blue by Farrow & Ball
Abyss by Ressource

#3. Moss Green

No list of natural shades would be complete without green. The myriad hues of leaves, stems, and flowers are burgeoning in this year’s paint colors and blossoming in trendy kitchens.

If you’re nervous that green may make your kitchen look like a kindergarten, rest assured that this season’s colors are more muted and sophisticated. Mossy, moody greens abound – think of ivy and French garden furniture.

Like blue, green is a soothing color associated with positive qualities of growth, health, and wellness. The color creates the perfect backdrop for any interior, working well with charming vintage, minimalist, and traditional looks.

Treat moss green as a neutral, pairing it with white, natural wood, or dramatic marble slabs.

Choose one of 2024’s colors of the year for your kitchen walls:

Ironside by Dutch Boy
Virdis by Graham & Brown

These are old favorites:

Forest Green by Benjamin Moore
Oakmoss by Sherwin-Williams

#4. Spring Green

The kitchen is a perfect room to have fun with colors. Introduce a fresh, cool element by painting your kitchen walls a brighter shade of green. Lean towards a fruity color rather than eye-aching neon or chartreuse.

Leafy green shades of apple or celery look beautiful with white and blue in a Scandi kitchen or sleek and sophisticated with warm wood and brass accessories in a traditional kitchen.

I love these edible shades:

Pretty Ugly by Backdrop
Royal Orchard by Behr
Avocado Toast by Clare
Gleeful by Sherwin-Williams

#5. Sage

Lighter than moss and more muted than spring green, sage is a gloriously restful color for a kitchen. This subtle shade nods to the past for vintage kitchens but is bang on trend for eco-chic styles as well.

I love sage with natural textures of wood, wicker, and pots of herbs. However, I can see the whimsical appeal of contrasting bolder shades of cobalt, teal, or terracotta against the muted walls.

There are many sage shades to choose from, but I’ve selected these:

Dirty Martini by Clare
Floating Lily Pad by Dunn Edwards
Green Smoke by Farrow & Ball
Evergreen Fog by Sherwin-Williams

#6. Terracotta

Not all natural colors need to be bright – wrap your kitchen in rich shades inspired by clay, soil, and stone (earthy colors).

The lush richness of terracotta has replaced fire-engine red. This paint color combines the energy of red with the softness of brown and is ideal for warm, welcoming family kitchens.

Traditionally used for tiles, terracotta lends itself to Mediterranean and South-West interior styles and rustic and country looks. Choose from paint colors that lean towards the pinkish end of the scale or embrace burnt shades with an undertone of brown.

Drench your kitchen walls in this lush shade to create an eco-inspired or Boho look. Add natural wooden accents, brick, baked tile, and colors from nature’s palette.

These are some of my favorite terracotta shades:

Wild Flower by Benjamin Moore
Tuscan Terracotta by Dulux
Persimmon by Sherwin-Williams (Color of the year for 2024)
Lush Peach by Valspar

#7. Brown

Forget the brown and orange kitchens of the 1970s – this is the luscious brown of chocolate. It’s warm, cozy, and delicious.

Brown has long been a neutral in winter wardrobes and has the same effect in interiors. Pair it with other neutrals like black and white for dramatic, modern contrast.

Vibrant brown walls can anchor an otherwise minimalist or Japandi interior. Keep the ceiling and floor light to prevent a cave-like feel.

These are the latest brown paint colors suitable for kitchens:

Mocha Latte by Behr
Chocolate Cherry by Rust-Oleum (Color of the year 2024)
Turkish Coffee by Sherwin-Williams
Chorizo by Valspar

#8. Off White

Neutrals are timeless interior design staples, and kitchen walls are no exception. If too much color gives you a headache when you’re drinking your morning coffee, never fear; there are beautiful neutral shades inspired by nature waiting to update your kitchen.

While white remains popular for kitchens, more designers are looking to warmer hues. Cream, beige, and ivory offer the same neutral lightness without the stark bleakness of pure white.

Cream has a pale butter-yellow undertone that works exceptionally well in traditional, heritage, and country-style kitchens. You can drench the walls and cabinetry in this buttery shade. Cream walls also provide the perfect foil for darker cabinetry. Consider blue, teal, or gray woodwork against creamy walls.

Beige adds a hint of brown to your light neutral walls. This shade anchors minimalist and Scandi interiors with subtle color and is ideal as a backdrop for warm palettes, including yellow, orange, and terracotta.

Try one of these warm neutrals instead of sterile white:

Harvest Moon by Backdrop
Like Buttah by Clare
Limitless by Glidden (Color of the year 2024)
Vallinin by Sherwin-Williams

Final Thoughts

Refresh your kitchen with colors drawn from the natural world. For a cool, bright effect, blue and green are perfect. Terracotta, yellow, and cream add warmth, while intense inky blues, greens, and browns add drama.

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