With Kitchens, is Anything Simply Black or White? It's all in the eye of the beholder and designer
A KITCHEN IN BLACK OR WHITE
PHOTO CREDITS:
Beauty and the Beach photo credit
Brad Nicol; Park View Pied a Terre photo credit
Chas Metivier
We like to think of ourselves, modestly, as kitchen aficionados ever since we wrote two kitchen tomes, first The Kitchen Bible, followed by Kitchen Conversations (both from Images Publishing).
The kitchen (and we know you’ve heard this ad nauseam) is the heart of our homes. In recent years, that heart has been beating even stronger. After the pandemic, for most homeowners and apartment dwellers, it became the go-to place for families and pods to gather to cook, eat, socialize, do homework, pay bills, drink wine and hang out. This continues unabated.
When kitchen trends come across our desk or more accurately in our emails, we are all eyes and ears. Such was the case with a post from CopperSmith®, a leader in highly customized architectural metalwork, which cites a new trend: After analyzing millions of Google searches, it found that Americans are moving away from safe, neutral kitchen designs in favor of darker colors, richer materials and interiors that reflect their personality.
But there can be a darker side: darker kitchens. Will the next buyer of your home buy into a black versus a white or lighter kitchen? Interestingly, more homeowners are making choices based on their preferences rather than worrying about what the next buyer might want. It’s part of the live-in-the-moment mindset: our homes are OUR castles, not someone else’s, and we shouldn’t automatically worry about resale. It’s also recognition that we can never know what the next buyer will desire; you do white, they want black or maybe even red.
After reading countless other surveys and articles re: the trend toward darker colors, we’re not sure that they’re really taking over. In the past, white kitchens were the preferred choice, a safe choice with a timeless, clean look. However, for the first time, black kitchens are trumping white ones in online searches, generating 803,000 monthly Google searches versus 684,000 for white kitchens.
According to Ryan Grambart, founder and CEO of CopperSmith®, “Black cabinetry works exceptionally well alongside copper, brass, natural timber and stone. These materials introduce warmth and texture while allowing homeowners to create kitchens that feel timeless instead of following short-lived trends.”
The report also states that if black is too much of a visual stretch, a retro avocado green might be for you—yes, that color of long-ago 1950s kitchens. It’s experienced the largest increase in demand, with searches rising by an extraordinary 4,028% year-on-year!
Back to our concern about whether black kitchens are really replacing white kitchens when homeowners remodel. Rather than just relying on Google Trends, we wondered whether this dark segue would continue. Do homeowners really want to live in moody, Gothic, dark surroundings? Obviously, this decision isn’t all yes or no, black or white.
We like to remind trend watchers that geographic location may affect the dark or light kitchen choice based on an area’s sunlight or lack of it, and the mood it helps to create. A setting with little natural light and a black interior or even lots of black choices may be a bit gloomy, even ghoulish.
You are the decider, not some pundit telling you what is trendy. For example, the summer issue of House Beautiful magazine, which it refers to as its “kitchen issue,” shows countless dark and partially black kitchens, with a proliferation of black ovens, cabinets, islands, backsplashes and dark paint colors. In that issue, even an ad for Sherwin-Williams paint says dark neutral “creates an atmospheric backdrop that’s perfect for letting key design moments shine.” Is this for you?
Keep in mind, kitchens are expensive to redo. A national kitchen remodel averages between $28,500 for a minor cosmetic refresh and more than $164,000 for a major upscale renovation. One of us would love to add some bright yellow in her all-white kitchen but knows the best, affordable way to do so most likely is with accents such as yellow hand towels, utensils and a few yellow dishes.
To weigh in on the black or white issues, we consulted a small group of kitchen experts.
Boston-area designer Jodi L. Swartz Gordon, CKBR, UDCP, KitchenVisions, agrees with the report’s assessment but isn’t throwing away the idea of a white kitchen either. “Yes, classic ALL white kitchens are not as popular. They are warming up with wood tones, neutral paint colors, black and deep tones of charcoal, navy, greens, teals and maroon paints. Cherry and walnut are being mixed in.” She adds, “We look around corners, which allows us to blend colors with the other rooms. In addition, it gives the spaces some individuality and personality. Sometimes inspiration comes from a favored painting or family heirloom. Charcoal, deep greens & teals, black/navy & maroons are getting popular. But still with some whites. The case for white remains. White is not going away; it's just not as 'blinding.’”
Baltimore-based designer Audrey Rothschild of AR Interiors, says the adieu of white kitchens and entrance of black kitchens is not at all new, but has been going on for the last three years. Whites were replaced with combinations--white with colors, white with wood and woods,” she says. “Woods of one type and woods mixed with other types of woods. Black cabinets have sneaked in there for a couple of years as well, especially in very contemporary kitchens, but I am finding that this year traditional kitchens are making a comeback, which proves that what goes around comes around…. especially in the design world!”
Nancy Jacobson of Chicago-area Kitchen Design Partners is among those who take a stronger position on white and other light neutrals maintaining their place at the top of kitchen color choices. “People are still wanting light kitchens. In our geographic area, they don't want an all-black kitchen. Perhaps, a black island, but more often than not, they want light finishes, with natural wood mixed with paint. Maybe not stark white, but light taupes, soft whites, etc.,” she says.
Sharon McCormick, CAPS, NKBA, of Hartford, Conn.-area Sharon McCormick Design, takes a middle ground. “The pendulum on kitchen cabinet colors has swung from white to gray to today’s trend, black. White is a classic and will never go out of style. Black is powerful, chic and has long represented a sense of luxury and elegance.”
But to use blacks McCormick offers some caveats. “They can go from formal black lacquer to matte country and farmhouse styles. As with a little black dress, the jewelry is what makes it special. Adding hardware in more sophisticated styles like European cremone bolts or footrails in brass or polished chrome really stand out and glisten against black. Other distinctive hardware choices for pulls and knobs catch the light and move the eye around the room. Lighting is also all-important in a predominantly black kitchen. Task lighting, ambient lighting and accent lighting all have a place, but higher wattages and more fixtures need serious consideration. Pools of light can be dramatic, but the room still needs to be functional for a serious cook,” she says.
And another piece of advice McCormick offers, if going with black, is to contrast the cabinets with light countertops and backsplash tiles to ensure that the kitchen won’t feel gloomy. “Metal range hoods are another perfect counterpoint and reflect some light around the room,” she adds.
Her bottom-line prediction is that she doesn’t see black replacing white, at least in traditional New England, adding, “I haven't done black kitchen cabinets yet, but I have done bathroom vanities and they're pretty sharp. Here we're still doing navy blue--on our way to black, maybe. People here are still concerned with resale value, even if they have no plans to move, so white is definitely the top choice.”
Designer Sarah Barnard of Sarah Barnard Design, Los Angeles, who weighs in from the opposite coast, is not convinced the black trend is taking over. “It's unlikely that black kitchen cabinets will become the new baseline standard in design. While white kitchens are an undeniably classic approach, there are aesthetic benefits to considering more saturated tones for cabinetry,” she says. “When clients have an existing white kitchen, repainting the cupboards is almost always an early consideration in our design process.”
If black appeals, Barnard thinks one of the more interesting ways to approach the look is by choosing almost black colors. “The most saturated charcoal grays, deepest chocolate browns and forest-green hues mixed with black create a scene where the cabinets read as black from a distance and reveal a depth of color as we approach.” She also likes matte black for kitchen cabinets when combined with warmer natural materials like hardwood floors, limestone countertops and copper fixtures.”
As always, nothing in life is simply black or white, and we’ve learned that applies to kitchen design as well. It’s whatever the buyer wants because, like almost everything else in society today, anything goes. Go for what you like and will enjoy while you can, even if a pink, yellow or navy kitchen; all were googled by other homeowners, according to the CopperSmith® report.
What’s your dream kitchen palette? Let us know.