Today's Hot Kitchen Design Trends Prove One Comforting Color Is Here To Stay

Having shown increasing popularity over the last few years, earth tones are now dominating kitchens. Dark greens, neutrals, and rich jewel colors have their place, but browns will be a highly utilized color selection going forward. Wall and cabinet color paint trends like mushroom, burnt umber, and earthy clay shades will all be in the mix. Olive and tamarind tones can work as accents to complete the calming effect of earthy brown hues. Could brown could be the new replacement for the ubiquitous gray tones of the last decade? While that may be a stretch, brown as an "it tone" seems to be a sure thing — and may instantly create a welcoming space in your kitchen.

Some folks seem to be of the mind that earth tones, especially browns, are an outdated home trend from the '90s. But whereas the earth tones of the late 1990s were a corrective response to the neon extravagance of the early '90s, today's colors seem to be the continuation of a long current trend line toward natural colors. In the '90s the idea was to mute an existing trend; now, it's about taking the earth tone trend to the next level. Creamy mocha-like browns are popular with chocolate accents and tans, which also work well with forest greens and even the bold contrast of aubergine on occasions. The key is that you want rich (but not extreme) color saturation.

Earth tones are a calming influence in our environment and one that is well appreciated in our complicated world. Their revival is aligned with the uptake of popular house styles of the 1970s — plus, bell bottoms and vinyl records anyone? It's true: from clothes to house design, these colors are definitely having a moment. The result is that these eerily reminiscent earthy color palettes are where we are trending today.

Cabinets, countertops, walls, floors, and backsplashes in versions of brown and tans will be popping up all over kitchens, but let's not forget about the appliances either. You used to be able to get a burnt umber stove or an avocado green refrigerator. Luckily, appliances are again available in more colors. The ever-present stainless steel appliances remain, but you may start to see them available in, you guessed it, earth tones — greens, browns, and even dark reds. Samsung's Tuscan Stainless Steel collection has appliances with a graphite appearance and bronze highlights, which look perfect surrounded by rich chocolate or reddish clay hues. But blue-gray and even black ranges and refrigerators can also complement browns and tans as part of a larger color scheme. 

If you want to add a pop of brown in the cooking space of your home, it might be worth it to speak to an interior designer about how to add this earthy shade into your kitchen depending on your budget and how much you want to change. From the paint color of the cabinets to the type of countertop material you choose, it's brown that will be dominating design trends.