I'm not the person you need to convince on the beauty of a beige kitchen. My own kitchen? A shade of taupe-y beige. My Pinterest boards? Filled with beautiful warm neutrals. However, even after a renaissance as a color trend in interiors in recent years, some people still view beige as a little too safe; a little dreary.
When wielded right, a beige kitchen is anything but. I also believe it's a color that brings something much-needed to a kitchen scheme, which can sometimes feel a little cold, with its tiled surfaces, stainless steel and black appliances. 'Having taupe tones in a kitchen brings a warmth that is sometimes hard to integrate otherwise,' interior designer Ashley Montgomery agrees. 'It gives a kitchen a lived-in look, which we always strive for.'
Whether you're a natural beige-lover like me, or are tentatively considering embracing this neutral tone for your remodel, I've pulled together some varied beige kitchen inspiration to show just what you can achieve with this kitchen color idea.
1. Use it as an alternative to white
Beiges come in all sorts of tones, from colors that feel like a dark taupe to those that are just a little off off-white. This kitchen, designed by Kristin Hildebrand of KH Interiors, is a light creamy beige that keeps this space feeling bright and open, yet adds that little bit of depth that would lack in a purely white kitchen.
'We wanted something that would give slight contrast to the white ceilings and walls that would ultimately, give depth and warmth to the space and this color achieves that perfectly,' Kristin tells me. 'For the perimeter kitchen and pantry cabinets, we went with Benjamin Moore Pale Oak.'
2. Pull from your countertops
Choosing a beige color for your kitchen cabinets can be a tough choice, but there are certain elements that can lead you in your decision-making. 'One thing to consider is your countertop material,' says interior designer Ashley Montgomery. 'A natural marble has veining which your cabinetry color can be influenced by.'
In this kitchen, a warm, deep beige for the cabinets ties in with darker veining on the marble kitchen countertops. The color continues onto the oversized extractor hood to tie the whole scheme together cohesively.
3. Go Greige
There was a time when gray kitchens were ubiquitous, however, now designers are turning more to warmer neutrals that riff off a classic gray. 'I think cooler grays can feel cold and a bit lifeless, so I tend to prefer warmer grays, or "greiges" (gray + beige) as they are commonly called,' says Johanna Lyle, founder of Jo Lyle & Co, as seen in her design, above.
'We chose a lighter, neutral color for the perimeter cabinets because this kitchen is relatively small and the lighter color helps broaden the space,' Johanna adds. 'This floor plan is also relatively open, so it was important to consider how the cabinetry and backsplash integrated with the color throughout the first floor. In this case, the backsplash married the white wall color to the cabinet color.'
4. Pair it with color
Beige kitchen ideas don't have to mean all neutrals — it's a color that can be paired with almost any color successfully, whether you want something bolder or to keep things more subtle.
This kitchen, designed by interior designer Audrey Scheck, shows that beige is a color that goes with green well. 'We wanted to infuse some color into the timeless design of this kitchen while remaining relatively neutral,' Audrey says. 'The dark olive green pairs beautifully with the creamy mushroom cabinets without overpowering the space.'
5. Use beige to add contrast to countertops
If your kitchen cabinet color choice is between white and beige, you may want to opt for the latter if you're choosing white countertops, too. 'We find all white kitchens fall flat especially if you have lighter countertops as well, which is why taupe cabinetry is such a game changer,' says interior designer Ashley Montgomery.
In this kitchen, designed by Ashley, a green-toned beige brings a lot of character to the space — it feels like a classic color combination with white walls and countertops, the cream range, and the darker wood of the kitchen island.
6. Bring warmth with the new 'magnolia'
In recent years, people have been a little afraid of yellow-toned beiges — they can call to mind that outdated paint color "Magnolia" that most of us would rather remains in the past.
However, we're seeing beige colors trend back to these yellower tones in 2024 for spaces that are a little less overplayed than the more popular "greige" tones. At Livingetc, we're calling it "Magnolia 2.0" and it might just be the color secret to spaces that feel warm, comforting and surprisingly modern. 'It might take a leap of faith, but these tones are going to be the new way to do neutrals before too long,' says Hugh Metcalf, editor of Livingetc.com. 'This kitchen, designed by studio Pernille Lind, is a brilliant showcase of what this color idea can achieve.
7. Make it feel modern
So far, this kitchen inspiration has been for classic-leaning Shaker style kitchens, and to be honest, I didn't find a huge amount of slab front doors in beige tones outside of natural woods. However, there are still designers taking this color trend to more contemporary places.
This kitchen designed by Sarah Sherman Samuel uses a slightly more contemporary version of a Shaker door. Made by Semihandmade, it's called the "Quarterline" cabinet — a slimline Shaker that feels modern. 'The thin perimeter gives a real built-in look while the large middle surface is smooth and shows off the the color or woodgrain that a standard Shaker frame might obscure,' says John McDonald, founder of Semihandmade. 'And it gives a clean, modern look without taking it all the way to a fully flat slab front.'
8. Choose beige finishes across the kitchen
Of course, there are other ways to introduce beige into a kitchen other than the cabinets. For Susannah Holmberg, founder of Susannah Holmberg Studios, this owner sought to keep the original black kitchen cabinets, but the designer found other ways to introduce the color that would help this kitchen color feel less harsh.
'We paired a beige glazed zellige with the existing black cabinets which softened the look,' Susannah explains. 'The result is a playful kitchen that works with the color palette of the rest of the space: maroon, red, dusty blue and cream.'
9. Use beige to highlight features
Using beige as an accent in a white kitchen is much more subtle than almost any other color, but it can still be used to accentuate your space's most interesting details. In this Chicago home, Pernille Lind Studio used a charming beige color for a run of wall cabinetry with a distinct curved door front, as well as for the kitchen pantry and laundry room doors with their reeded glass inserts.
It's a simple but clever way to add interest to this space, using beige to help guide your eye around the room.
10. Think about wood stains, too
Light, blonde wood kitchen cabinets bring a natural neutral tone that might be one of the biggest kitchen trends right now, so it shouldn't be overlooked even if you have your heart set on a "beige" kitchen.
You can also make choices beyond the type of wood that will affect the color of your kitchen. In this kitchen by Nicole Hirsch, the cabinet stain was painstakingly chosen to best complement the overall scheme. 'This is not a paint color, but the perfect blend of multiple hand-rubbed stains to achieve the perfect combination of wood grain and finish,' Nicole says. 'We had to evaluate each round of stains in the space to make sure it married perfectly with the light streaming in.'
