5 Smashing Black-and-White Kitchens in Different Styles
The classic high-contrast palette works with everything from traditional to contemporary style
Becky Harris
7 January 2020
Houzz Contributor. Hi there! I live in a 1940s cottage in Atlanta that I'll describe as "collected."
I got into design via Landscape Architecture, which I studied at the University of Virginia.
Houzz Contributor. Hi there! I live in a 1940s cottage in Atlanta that I'll describe... More
The black-and-white colour palette suits every kitchen style. From traditional to Scandinavian modern, transitional to contemporary chic, the black-and-white combo provides a versatile base for a variety of textures and finishes. Here’s how five designers used the high-contrast pairing to create beautiful kitchens in a wide range of styles.
1. Fresh Transitional Style
With their three boys “sorta moved out,” these homeowners had the time to give their dated kitchen a complete renovation. They enlisted designer Jennifer Grey to help them renovate while staying within the kitchen’s original footprint. Her clients’ request for something bolder and brighter, as well as the dining room’s black-and-white wallpaper (back left), inspired the colour palette.
The largest swath of black comes in on the island’s base. The dark finishes on the light fixtures pick up on the colour from above. The tones of the grey grout between the herringbone tiles and the veining in the marble-like quartz countertops fall somewhere between black and white.
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With their three boys “sorta moved out,” these homeowners had the time to give their dated kitchen a complete renovation. They enlisted designer Jennifer Grey to help them renovate while staying within the kitchen’s original footprint. Her clients’ request for something bolder and brighter, as well as the dining room’s black-and-white wallpaper (back left), inspired the colour palette.
The largest swath of black comes in on the island’s base. The dark finishes on the light fixtures pick up on the colour from above. The tones of the grey grout between the herringbone tiles and the veining in the marble-like quartz countertops fall somewhere between black and white.
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It’s not all stark contrast, however. In addition to the wood counter stool seats, matchstick blinds add warmth and texture. And clear-glass cabinets allow the homeowners to switch up the accent colours with their personal collections.
Takeaway: Use a big swath of black for a graphic punch. The size of the island base makes it a powerful modern element.
Takeaway: Use a big swath of black for a graphic punch. The size of the island base makes it a powerful modern element.
2. Classic White With Black Contrast
Soon after their last child left the nest, these homeowners were ready for a lifestyle change. Not wanting to leave their beloved neighbourhood, they decided to make their existing home new to them. Their biggest desire was to transform their dark and dated kitchen into the classic white room of their dreams. Designer Liz Schupanitz brought their vision to life.
Cabinet paint: Capitol White, Benjamin Moore
Soon after their last child left the nest, these homeowners were ready for a lifestyle change. Not wanting to leave their beloved neighbourhood, they decided to make their existing home new to them. Their biggest desire was to transform their dark and dated kitchen into the classic white room of their dreams. Designer Liz Schupanitz brought their vision to life.
Cabinet paint: Capitol White, Benjamin Moore
Before, the microwave was over the range, but the couple wanted to replace it with a vent hood that could serve as a focal point. So she designed an appliance-and-storage wall that could accommodate additional ovens on the left. The vent hood was painted to resemble zinc.
Adding strong dark contrast to the room’s traditional white keeps it fresh. Black-and-white buffalo-check stool fabric, dark iron lanterns, an almost-black paint on the vent hood and black granite countertops that resemble soapstone add just the right doses of darkness to the light, bright kitchen. Farrow & Ball’s Stony Ground paint adds warmth on the walls.
Takeaway: Using shades of grey to ease the stark contrast can lend a more traditional look.
Adding strong dark contrast to the room’s traditional white keeps it fresh. Black-and-white buffalo-check stool fabric, dark iron lanterns, an almost-black paint on the vent hood and black granite countertops that resemble soapstone add just the right doses of darkness to the light, bright kitchen. Farrow & Ball’s Stony Ground paint adds warmth on the walls.
Takeaway: Using shades of grey to ease the stark contrast can lend a more traditional look.
3. Contemporary Chic With a Heavy Dose of Brass
This couple was moving from a traditional home to a newly built contemporary one. Black and white provided a great base for designer Sarah Kahn Turner to give her clients the sleek contemporary kitchen they desired. A pair of brass Lindsey Adelman chandeliers set the tone for the design. When Turner showed them a wallpaper with similar lines, they knew they had to have it.
Uncover the Magic of Black and White
This couple was moving from a traditional home to a newly built contemporary one. Black and white provided a great base for designer Sarah Kahn Turner to give her clients the sleek contemporary kitchen they desired. A pair of brass Lindsey Adelman chandeliers set the tone for the design. When Turner showed them a wallpaper with similar lines, they knew they had to have it.
Uncover the Magic of Black and White
Turner achieved the sleek look of the room by hiding the appliances behind white laminate doors. This allowed textures like the dark-stained cerused-oak island base, the hot-rolled steel of the shelves and the polished brass on the chandeliers, stools, hardware and faucets to stand out. That sleekness, combined with the dark bar side of the kitchen, truly makes the room something unexpected and different from the norm.
Takeaway: A dark wall facing a light wall will amp up the drama.
Takeaway: A dark wall facing a light wall will amp up the drama.
4. Bold Patisserie-Inspired Style
This homeowner, a graphic designer, had a vision of how she wanted to transform the kitchen she shares with her husband and their two children. “My client had a strong vision of the look she wanted – French patisserie-inspired style with subway-tiled walls, bright white cabinets, some open shelving and accents of black and metal – but needed help putting it together,” says kitchen and bath designer Alison Griffin. A black-and-white palette emerged, with walls of subway tile accented by marble with beautiful grey veins, silvery metal finishes and dark wood.
This homeowner, a graphic designer, had a vision of how she wanted to transform the kitchen she shares with her husband and their two children. “My client had a strong vision of the look she wanted – French patisserie-inspired style with subway-tiled walls, bright white cabinets, some open shelving and accents of black and metal – but needed help putting it together,” says kitchen and bath designer Alison Griffin. A black-and-white palette emerged, with walls of subway tile accented by marble with beautiful grey veins, silvery metal finishes and dark wood.
A wall covered in chalkboard paint gives the homeowners’ children a place to be creative and put their own stamp on the kitchen. The black stool bases, pendant lights and window sashes carry the colour across the room.
Takeaway: Black and white is a good choice when you want commercial kitchen style.
Takeaway: Black and white is a good choice when you want commercial kitchen style.
5. Scandinavian Modern With an Industrial Edge
Designer Laura Lakin took a crisp Scandinavian-inspired approach to a flat in this converted school building in East London. She played off existing features such as high ceilings, exposed ductwork and raw brickwork with industrial elements.
Because the kitchen is open to the living room, she had to think carefully about the views from one space into the next. A colour-blocked scheme lends a bold, streamlined look from the living room. “I wanted to play with the duality of light and dark,” she says. The patterned rug in the living room picks up on the boldness and black-and-white colour scheme in the kitchen.
5 Apartments With Black and White Drama
Designer Laura Lakin took a crisp Scandinavian-inspired approach to a flat in this converted school building in East London. She played off existing features such as high ceilings, exposed ductwork and raw brickwork with industrial elements.
Because the kitchen is open to the living room, she had to think carefully about the views from one space into the next. A colour-blocked scheme lends a bold, streamlined look from the living room. “I wanted to play with the duality of light and dark,” she says. The patterned rug in the living room picks up on the boldness and black-and-white colour scheme in the kitchen.
5 Apartments With Black and White Drama
A high-top dining table creates a transitional zone between the living room and the kitchen, serving both spaces. The light wood on the tabletop and modern light fixtures lend the Scandinavian feel, while the Tolix stools and black metal table base add an industrial vibe.
Takeaway: Light wood tones can soften stark contrast in a Scandinavian modern way.
Takeaway: Light wood tones can soften stark contrast in a Scandinavian modern way.
Tell us
If you have a black-and-white kitchen, what style is it and how does the colour palette work for you? Please share your thoughts and photos in the Comments.
More on Houzz
Browse more kitchen photos for design inspiration
Find a renovation professional in Singapore
If you have a black-and-white kitchen, what style is it and how does the colour palette work for you? Please share your thoughts and photos in the Comments.
More on Houzz
Browse more kitchen photos for design inspiration
Find a renovation professional in Singapore
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Soapstone counters. Couldn't decide on a backsplash and the wavy molding made it difficult anyways. With paint, I can change it to murals or ombre or whatever I feel like in the future.
To Altairj--I love what you have done to your kitchen! The paint color is great, as is the tree branch pattern in your cabinet doors. You don't need a backsplash, you already have the short one with the soapstone. I have always thought that it was a mistake to have both the countertop backsplash and another on top of that. A big "don't" , in my non professional opinion. Overkill, like wearing jeans under a skirt. You did a nice job.
A MOSAIC mural to coordinate with your black/white kitchen.... Any image can be recreated as a mosaic mural
https://www.mosaicsyourway.com