Sensible Style: Winning Color Combinations

Sensible Style launched last July to answer your questions about how to get the most out of your kitchen. ... Among the most commonly asked are which colors and finishes work best together.

That's what we'll be looking at this time around, using the most popular cabinet finishes as our starting point.

Maple Mastery

Maple is a wood species, of course, not a color, but it's most often associated with golden or light to-mid brown-toned stains. These give you a ton of versatility in flooring, appliance and countertop combinations. Here are a few options to get you started...

Classic combinations: Dark gold and rich tan cabinets work well with black or stainless steel appliances and dark countertops such as black and dark green natural or engineered stone. Select a floor about two shades lighter or darker in the same gold or tan/brown family as the cabinets to coordinate.

Contemporary combinations: Dark gold and rich tan cabinets can also work well with grey tops - especially concrete and matte-finish quartz - for a more updated look. I would suggest pairing them with stainless appliances and a slate or slate-look floor. You could also opt for a bamboo in a coordinating gold or tan about a shade or two lighter than the cabinets.

Praline finish on Putnam door style pairs well with stainless appliances, grey tops and flooring. Courtesy of Masco Retail Cabinet Group, manufacturers of Kraftmaid Cabinetry.

Cherries Jubilee

Cherry is one of the most popular wood species on the market, and ranges from natural, with a strawberry blond finish to ruby to cinnamon and chocolate finishes. I have found the last two to be the most requested among my clientele, and the ones I've seen the most often in kitchen publications.

Classic combinations: Cinnamon and chocolate finished cherries work beautifully with natural stone tops in pale golds and creams for an elegant look. I would pair these with paneled or stainless appliances with minimal black accents for the richest look. A light tiled floor that picks up on the gold or cream tones in the tops will work the best. Because cherry tends to have stronger graining, I generally don't love wood floors with it, as the grain pattern in the cabinets and the graining of the floor can get too busy together.

Contemporary combinations: These cinnamon and chocolate-colored cabinets paired with monochromatic white tops give a very strong and updated look. Again, I'd opt for stainless appliances with minimal black accents, or paneled appliances, for the best match. A nearly white terrazzo, tile or stained concrete floor would compliment the contemporary look.

Cinammon finish on Mandolay door style coordinates stylishly with stainless hardware and fixtures, white tops and off-white flooring. Courtesy of Masco Retail Cabinet Group, manufacturers of Kraftmaid Cabinetry.

White Album

White cabinets run the gamut from builder laminates to high-gloss European lacquers. The most common whites you'll find are painted maple - my personal favorite - and foil-based synthetics that have a bit of a plastic look to them. I would suggest the painted finish for your white selection, as they have become more widely available in affordable stock cabinet lines and will give your kitchen a more timeless look.

Classic Combinations: White cabinets pair beautifully with white, paneled or stainless appliances. You can use black with them, but then the appliances get more of a focal point emphasis than they probably deserve, in my opinion. I adore white cabinets with black or dark green stone tops and mid-toned or dark stained wood floors. Another stunning, albeit less neutral, top is blue pearl granite. White marble or granite tops with white cabinets and medium to light wood or stone floors are another great traditional combination.

Dove White finish on Lindsay maple doors pair elegantly with stainless appliances, white stone tops and light wood flooring. Courtesy of Masco Retail Cabinet Group, manufacturers of Kraftmaid Cabinetry.

Contemporary Combinations: High-gloss lacquer finishes in white give a sharp, contemporary look to a kitchen. They work best with paneled and stainless appliances, though sleek white ones can also work. When going modern with a kitchen, you can go bold with an orange quartz or multi-colored recycled glass top or go sleek with grey or white. You could also add updated details like stainless toekicks and stainless and glass doors, but be forewarned: the more trendy you get with your accents, the quicker your kitchen will date itself.

Paint it black

Black cabinets have become increasingly popular in recent years, especially as accent cabinets, though you'll often see entire kitchens in black. If you have wood cabinets that you really dislike, painting them black can be an easy, affordable update.

Classic combinations: If you're opting for black as a hood or island focal point, it will work really well with stained cabinets highlighted with a black glaze, or mid-toned stained cabinets. It will also work well with white cabinets, but only in larger spaces. (It will make a small kitchen seem more cramped.) Too keep a space from getting too busy, I'd keep the countertops all one color -- ideally a light, natural stone -- if you're adding black cabinets as an accent, though I have seen wood tops on a black island in the same color family as the kitchen's wood floors, work well with this combo. Stainless and paneled appliances will work best with this grouping. Wood floors, as mentioned, are a winner here. If all of your kitchen cabinets will be black, I strongly suggest a light-colored stone top and light wood or tiled floors, tying into the countertop's main color theme.

Contemporary Combinations: Sleek black cabinets can work very well in a contemporary kitchen with solid white or other light-colored single-tone stone or concrete countertops and light or dark wood, terrazzo, concrete or tile floors. Stainless and paneled appliances will work best in this look.

This contemporary Allmilmo Wave kitchen in black and white works great with its light tops and dark wood floors.

Crayola kitchens

Color can really personalize a kitchen. It works in both contemporary or classic kitchens and is most often seen as an accent color. You can use it throughout if you're confident that you'll love it for years to come, and that future buyers of your home will like it, too. (Or you can use it just in paint and fabrics that are easy to change later.) If you're looking to make a dramatic statement with a strong cabinet color, it's best to go neutral with your other finishes. Stainless appliances will work with dark and dramatic colors. White appliances will work with pastels. Here are some fun classic and contemporary combos to spark your color imagination.

Classic combinations:

CWP's country blue cabinets stand out in an otherwise neutral room.

Sage Mocha and Cherry Caramel Java finishes pair well in this traditional Wellborn kitchen.

Contemporary combinations:

Orange delivers a citrus punch to this otherwise neutral St. Charles kitchen.


Seaglass sparkles in this St. Charles kitchen.

Racing Red revs up Snaidero's otherwise neutral Pininfarina kitchen.

Visit the Sensible Style box on the right column for links to all the posts in this ongoing series.

New York Design Trip Report

Visiting New York City as a designer is a lot like visiting Disney World as a child...Exhilarating, energizing, overwhelming and not a little exhausting. Oh, but so worth it!!! Here were some of the Gotham goodies I encountered on my trip there last week -- including some exciting new releases from your favorite brands.


KILLER CABINETRY

I was not familiar with Boffi, an Italian line, before visiting their showroom in the Architects & Designers Building on this trip. I'm glad I stopped in, though. The stand-outs for me were its sliding doors in the Zone series and its handle-free Xila tall units that just melt into the wall.

If, on the other hand, you're looking for cabinets to rev up your kitchen, you can't do better than Snaidero's Pininfarina-designed series in Racing Red. It's like having one of his Ferraris in the heart of your home.


Porsche, too, has parked itself in the kitchen, bringing racing style to Poggenpohl's line. You've probably read about this series in the last year, but maybe didn't realize how extensive the line actually is. Designed to be a turnkey solution for the ultimate pachelor pad, the P'7340 comes complete with appliances, faucets, sinks, dining furniture and entertainment system. Not having my own Y chromosome, none of this really revved my engines.


The Poggenpohl offering I really, really liked was its Teak Dekor Lava laminate finish. Yes, you read correctly - laminate!!! In a stylish European response to our global recession, Poggenpohl and Siematic have both introduced strikingly handsome laminate door options with textured finishes that allow their fans to save a few dollars while enjoying their style points.



APPLIANCE UPDATE

Bosch was holding its 2009 product release party while I was in New York, so I got a chance to peruse the firm's new offerings. Among them was the programmable AutoChef Induction Cooktop I'd written about in my KBIS Kitchen Spotlight posting, as well as a freestanding countertop-depth fridge, stackable washer and dryer set and a coffee machine.


Besides the cooktop, the Integra 800 Plus dishwasher was my favorite product release of the group. I've always been impressed by Bosch's energy- and water-saving commitment, as well as its leak protection system. Though their marketing and engineering team's focus was its quiet operation, the feature I like best is the built-in water softener. My region has such hard water that glasses inevitably come out with spots on them. This is a dishwasher I'd consider for my own home, as well as my clients' projects.




FIXATED ON FIXTURES

The trend I've been observing this past year or two is the flattening of the vessel sink from its earlier bowl-like existence to a more contemporary, close-to-countertop style. This trip largely took things in the completely opposite direction. The first showroom I visited in New York was Hastings Tile & Bath, also in the A&D Building. Right in its entry was a gorgeous lav called the Grande Ceradur Basin. I could definitely see incorporating this into a spa bath project.


Another tall vessel I spotted is Duravit's Bacino, not a new release, but notable for its shape and size, nonetheless.


What is notable, however, is that Duravit just introduced its first-ever kitchen sink, now available in the U.S. market. I love the shape, the optional cutting board and drain board sections and the Anthracite, Chestnut and Pergamon color additions to white that you can choose from.


Its Starck 1 barrel lav is now also available in high glass black and white finishes, in addition to the woodgrain look.

The company's popular 2nd Floor series also grew with a white lacquer finish option, an ultra-cool revolving mirror and a mobile storage base. The ebony finish is pretty cool, too. I especially love it on the tall storage cabinet with sliding mirrored door.




I also really liked Duravit's upcoming PuraVida lavs with their "pillow-style" concealed drains. (PuraVida also includes the option to add the coordinating faucet by Hansgrohe.) The series is scheduled to launch in the U.S. in October.




TILE STYLE

I've always loved tile, even when I was an NYU student studying Greek and Roman antiquities. Here are some of my fave tile finds in New York.

Artistic Tile's Effervescence adds fun and flair to your roomscape.



Always an old world enthusiast, I enjoyed Country Floors' collection of Pedralbes terra cotta tiles from Spain.

Hastings Tile & Bath featured a large selection of Casamood tiles in traditional and contemporary styles. Lovely collection, including this Iki thin tile.


Seeing Bisazza samples on a display board is one thing. Visiting its glittering, mosaic-encrusted Soho showroom was another experience altogether - sheer bliss! This is just the restroom.


Sicis, another art tile company, has a spectacular four-story showroom in Soho. The Italian firm not only offers floor and wall tile, but also mosaic tubs and its brand-new pendant lights.



FINAL NOTES

There were other great stops on my NY design odyssey. Worth checking out when you're in the Apple are Jonathan Adler's eponymous decor boutique in Soho, (check out the awesome wallpaper and bath accessories); Manhattan Center for Kitchen & Bath -- a wonderful showroom suggested by my fellow designer and design blogger Paul Anater; Artemide lighting, also in Soho; or just walk through the city's incredible neighborhoods for sidewalk finds.

My next trip report will be shorter: Miami's Design District in August. Stay tuned!