Kitchen designers say they should ditch kitchen colors in 2025

In a world of seemingly endless color trends and palette predictions, it can be difficult to tell which colors are in and which are out. Will painting your kitchen cabinets a darker shade of forest green be a lasting look? Or are you happier with a nice, warm neutral?

When redesigning what is, for many, the heart of the home, it can be easy to get lost in the abundance of kitchen color ideas. To save you from endlessly wading through a stack of peel-and-stick paint swatches only to end up in a stalemate, I asked designers what they think are the kitchen color trends we’re sure to get bored of in 2025 become. Patrick O’ Donnell, brand ambassador for paint company Farrow and Ball, says that deciding on the right kitchen color “isn’t so much about what’s on trend or not, but rather about avoiding confusion in the color palette.”

Kitchens are social places where many of our memories take place. Therefore, you want them to be finished with a color palette that reflects comfort and resonates with you. Below are all the colors designers should avoid, as well as a few tips on what to look for instead.

1. Gray

(Image credit: Neptune)

Gray is one of the most talked about and controversial colors when it comes to interior color trends. Interior designer and founder of Custom Home Design, Nina Lichtenstein, claims that “the reign of cool grays is coming to an end.” Once popular for their sleek, modern aesthetic (remember the millennial gray phenomenon?), they now apply them as too cold and impersonal for rooms as inviting and sociable as the kitchen.

Nina further explains that “grays with blue or green undertones often lack the emotional depth that kitchens now crave and can make a room feel disconnected from natural elements that are becoming increasingly important in modern home design.”

Decorating with gray has never been for the faint of heart, but now it’s something better left in 2024.

2. Muted blues and greens

blue kitchen cabinets and tiled backsplash by Melinda Kelson O'Connor

(Image credit: Melinda Kelson O’Connor Design/Wendy Concannon)

Likewise, blues and greens with gray undertones are the next colors on the 2025 chopping block. French grays (which lean heavily toward green) and soft, neutral blues once dominated the modern farmhouse kitchen look. But while blue and green are classic kitchen colors, kitchen trends appear more cheerful and less sober.

While Patrick doesn’t rule out blues and greens entirely, “it’s about taking a different approach to these shades, such as opting for an acidic, bold olive green instead of the harsher French gray, or a clearer blue instead of traditional classics,” he advises Patrick.

A white kitchen with a built-in cupboard with great paneling and modern hardware

(Image credit: Julie Soefer. Design: Marie Flanigan Interiors)

3. Strong whites

It doesn’t surprise me that much that there’s a stark white at the end of the color list. Sometimes a kitchen that looks too crisp and clean can take away from the purpose of the room: cooking, hosting and becoming a bit messy.

Tash Bradley, color expert and founder of Lick Paint, says: “For 2025 we see a move away from the all-white, clinical, minimalist-style kitchens. Because in these rooms there are a lot of reflective surfaces if you want. If you have white or gray, the room can seem cold. Cold is exactly the opposite of what you want from a place as busy as the kitchen .

Of course, white is still a beautiful neutral color when done right. So if you can’t get the classic white kitchen ideas out of your head, remember to think about how to make a white kitchen look better. First, opt for a warmer off-white to balance out the brightness of the pure white tone. “The trend in 2025 is for softer, warmer whites that feel more organic and pair effortlessly with natural textures and earth tones,” says Nina.

Instead, embrace kitchen colors

Image of a cozy off-white kitchen with a touch of buttery yellow in the window trim

(Image credit: Farrow & Ball)

Now that we’ve revealed which kitchen colors will no longer be on our mood boards in 2025, let’s discuss what we should consider instead.

The key is to find a kitchen color that you won’t tire of from one season to the next, even if you spend a lot of your time there. As Tash says: “What people are realizing is that they still want to see their kitchen as the centerpiece of their home, where friends and family come together and spend time together, regardless of shape or size.” Rich, warm and bold tones fit the bill just together.

Butter yellow has become the color of the season lately and these yellows are a must for kitchen cabinets (or a window insert like in the picture above). “In combination with warm white tones, they radiate a certain joy and an uplifting mood – who wouldn’t want that day and night?” asks Patrick.

Another honorable mention is the moody crimson red that Livingetc style editor Julia Demer recently coined “Cabernetcore.” Tash describes this move toward deep reds as a shift “toward bolder, earthier, but still nature-inspired colors that are super inviting but give them a little more character.”

a burgundy kitchen with a marble backsplash

(Image credit: Christopher Stark. Design: K Interiors)

There’s a lot to consider in the world of color trends. The most important thing to keep in mind when designing your cooking space for 2025 is choosing colors that reflect your style and create an inviting backdrop for all the memories you’ll create in your kitchen.

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