Two-tone cabinets are a beautiful and easy way to add some spice to your kitchen. They add depth and contrast — and an extra sense of style — to a space that can often be defined by appliances and furniture.
If you’d like to add some color to your cabinets, take your inspiration from these designer look, which can all be adapted for DIY projects.
Two-Tone Tips
- Create a focal point
Painting your island or the bar off to the side of your kitchen is a great way to incorporate a fun pop of color. Be bold and use reds, forest greens, or even black for your kitchen island. After all, the island is often the gathering place in the kitchen, and a bright color can add some pizazz to an otherwise monotone room.

- Contrasting top and bottom cabinets
Choose two contrasting colors for your top and bottom cabinets for a new and trending look! If your kitchen is small and needs the illusion of more space, use a lighter color on the top cabinets and a darker color down below. If you have high ceilings and want to make the space feel a little cozier, paint the upper cabinets in deep and warm colors to draw the space in.
- Match the cabinets to the wall
Try this trick to open up your space and make a clean and beautiful line. Matching the wall color often works best with lighter walls as seen in the photo below. The white upper cabinets look clean and streamlined against the white walls. The gray lower cabinets create a solid base.
- Contrasting wood stains
This isn’t your grandmother’s kitchen. Instead, it’s a warm, yet modern take on the two-tone look, with natural wood on top, and darker tones below.
- Colored cabinet frames
There are two ways to do this. Paint the frames and doors different colors (below), or paint the outside one color and the inside of the cabinet a different one. This works best with glass doors to show off the contrasting colors.
Stop by Hirshfield’s today to explore our paint and stain selections to make your kitchen the entertaining gathering place you’ve always imagined.
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