3 Small Apartments That Rock Uncommon Color Schemes [with Floor Plans]

Compact living spaces offer significant challenges when it comes to color planning, especially in the case of studios and open concept layouts. An open line of sight means that every accent interacts with the next – at once a restriction and a catalyst for creativity. Popular options include solid-color blocking, tertiary arrangements, thematic palettes, and of course, the always-reliable greyscale approach. Not only do these amazing apartments offer color palette inspiration in hard-to-find themes, the designers behind these spaces included helpful floor plans to help style seekers visualize the relationship between each room.

Visualizer:Maria Fadeeva

At just 30 square meters, this lovely little apartment boasts a huge personality with its super bold color theme. Bright red accents play across a pristine canvas of white walls and floors for a look that balances the best of simplicity and incredible energy. Black details add a touch of formality to the scene, sometimes even serving as a way to center the eye with its heavier visual weight.

The style itself is an interesting take on industrial – chic patterns bring a sense of playfulness to the strong urban elements that adorn the apartment.

And the planters are just too adorable! Chain link fence is a surprisingly durable medium in interior design, able to serve as a replacement for pegboards or corkboard for modular arrangements like this one.

Eames Wire Chairs serve as a wonderful compliment to the black metal fencing. They have an industrial attitude but they’re lightweight and subtle. Plus, their streamlined bodies allow sunlight to filter right past.

The kitchen is compact but extra cute. Red upper cabinets continue the color scheme without dominating the small space, while the rest of the kitchen remains white for a clean and open aesthetic.

While the designer could have taken a studio layout approach, the bedroom instead occupies a corner room outfitted with plenty of interior windows for sunlight. The other doors lead to a bathroom and closet.

This pair of Adnet mirrors certainly makes a statement against the colorful accent wall. Flat white tiles offer a modern yet neutral backdrop to unify the rest of the bathroom.

Paned glass tiles offer a unique take on the typical enclosed shower, embodying the urban/industrial apartment theme so well.

Visualizer:Svetlana Jurkova

Dark and classic colors are an unconventional choice for small apartments. The general idea is that light neutrals and saturated accents make spaces feel larger, but sometimes residents would prefer for their compact space to look just as intimate and cozy as it feels.

This home combines the best of modern and traditional elements, straddling the line between rural and urban aesthetics. The geometric dividing wall between the living and kitchen anchors one side of the stylistic influence, with the large skin rug contributing its huge character in turn.

Even the statement chair draws in the best of both worlds. It’s a tribute to the Arne Jacobsen Egg Chair, with rustic leather and an industrial riveted metal shell.

The kitchen and dining room peek around just on the other side of the freestanding divider. This allows someone having coffee at the breakfast table to chat with a partner watching the morning news from the sofa.

Around the corner from the entryway and running alongside the kitchen, the chalkboard wall is great for both “before you leave” reminders and ongoing grocery lists.

Despite its small size, the kitchen fits in a surprising amount of workspace. Removing two of the dining chairs extends that useful surface area even further.

The bathroom is another great example of modern and rustic influences. The tiles almost look like corroded metal, gorgeous and colorful without tying themselves to any specific theme.

The bathtub backsplash wall uses small rectangular tiles in brick-like shades to reference the materials used in the living room.

Everything else remains sleek and ultra-modern. These white fixtures easily stand out against their dark background.

And the space-saving techniques are pretty useful too.

There’s actually only space for one bathroom in the apartment, but the designer included another style to demonstrate how flexible even the smallest spaces can be.

This one maintains the same rugged industrial look but adopts a lighter greyscale palette with accents in bright orange. It feels larger, but loses some of the drama the darker scheme offered.

Visualizer:Studio Pine

Unlike many apartments its size, this 40 square meter apartment uses interior walls to separate functional spaces. To avoid seeming cramped or overwhelmed, the designers chose sleek natural materials to foster a fresh and cheerful environment. Houseplants provide vibrant pops of green but the dining chairs serve as the only permanent source of decorative color, a pastel seafoam that seems like a perfect match for the light wood that surrounds.

The rooms and living spaces are staggered for privacy yet maintain an open line of sight where it benefits the residents most.

For example, this little reading nook occupies a hidden niche around the corner from the kitchen. It soaks up the sunlight but still feels guarded and cozy.

The kitchen and dining room serve as the heart of this unique home layout. They’re located away from the windows and disguise any cast shadows with dark herringbone floors.

Its central position allows the dining table to remain awash in warm sunlight. Smart recessed fixtures ensure the kitchen stays bright even without direct sun.

On the other hand, the bathroom revels in its moody atmosphere. Dark matte tiles come to life under directional lighting.

It’s a stark departure from the rest of the home. Whereas the main portion is a wonderland of light and layering, the bathroom serves its purpose as a thoughtful retreat.

Eclectic and oh-so-stylish, the Scandinavian theme stretches to most living , dining and bedroom areas – but the kitchen is where it really comes out to shine. A step inside the kitchens of these fifty homes shows the Scandinavian can be much more than just white walls, wooden floors and lined tiling. Here, bright mustard cabinetry and chequered floors meet dreamy pastels and block monochromes. Stencil frames and finer elements wind boxes around benches, and cubby holes around ornaments. Plant life hangs and hides simultaneously, a breath of fresh air in light and airy spaces. Take our tour to see.

Source:Stadshem

White brick and cabinetry open a light and bright space dotted with white accessories, a central wooden table, black stencil legs and lighting.

Visualizer:AM Studio

Lit by a camouflaged lamp, this kitchen adds to the Scandinavian with pastel blue cabinetry, light wood, plain white shelving and a classic SMEG.

Visualizer:Kanan Mammadov

Stencils create character in chair legs and differently-shaped drop lighting. Wide panes of white and wood form shapes, while traditional Scandinavian elements peek behind white brick.

Visualizer:Natalia Okolus

Bring black to Scandinavia with French cabinetry in a darker hue. A chrome fridge and oven make classic white and wood contemporary.

Visualizer:aTng 糖

Make thinly-lined tiles the feature in an urban jungle atmosphere. This kitchen mixes it up with a black SMEG and cabinetry, hanging plants and mismatching schoolboy chairs.

Visualizer:MSR

The Scandinavian is simple enough to act minimal. Wooden floors and a white tiled inlet meet a striped rug, wide-paned cabinets and a death star-style lamp .

Visualizer:Dark Room Studio

Housing ornaments in wood, this space exudes pure white space. A grey slingback, simple illustration and chiffon curtains sit to the side. Minimalist kitchen island lighting gels with the overall theme.

Visualizer:Mohit Sanchaniya

Go minimalist with wide, white cabinetry with pops of chrome. A French window and hanging plant introduce nature.

Visualizer:Anastasia Andryushchenko

Create a more natural feel with lighter wood tones. More potted plants drape and hide behind grey accents on large-format slate tiling.

Designer:Piotr Matuszek & Gosia Czarny

Form shapes in simple white, for the smaller space. This kitchen winds around an all-white stove, extractor fan and bench to add light to the room.

Visualizer:darstellungsart

Rough elements introduce a rustic feel. White benches, seating and flooring welcome textured walls, a rough wooden table and pillar. Dome One-Light is the dining pendant used here and Caravaggio, the kitchen pendant .

Visualizer:Filip Sapojnicov

Keep it sweet with honeycomb detailing, a point of difference for any Scandinavian kitchen. A light curtain billows into white block elements and careful warm-wooden edging. Two kitchen bar stools and a lantern play with stencilling.

Visualizer:Tyron Humphris

White and wood help features stand out. Potted plants, a black kitchen clock and wooden edging draw the eye.

Visualizer:Landusheva Nastia

Achieve practicality with class. This kitchen calls on a drilled wooden wall to juxtapose tailored French cabinetry and a charcoal window ledge dotted with concrete herb planters .

Visualizer:Zenit Design

Monochromatic hues find expression in this zen-themed kitchen. A striking tile design shows Asian influence; scattered books, pots, and potted plants Scandinavia.

Visualizer:Tomek Michalski

A blackboard wall is a simpler approach to monochrome. Block black and white are softened by light wood, while multi-colour chalk plans out the week.

Source:Muuto

Scandinavian backdrops are the perfect canvas for lighter shades. Stunning light-wood stencilling frames a milk-shed interior, as three teal kitchen pendant lights dangle through. The wooden bar stools you see here are the Nerd stools by Muuto.

Visualizer:Vitaliy Chubko

Tight on kitchen space? This design has the answer in a varnished wooden floor, wall-hugging white cabinetry and marble LED-lit inlet.

Visualizer:Zrobym Architects

Accent your kitchen with art deco tiles. This space uses squares and stencils in wood and black, to add just enough character to a busy floor.

Visualizer:Fırat Bekiroğlu

Pops of yellow shine on a Scandinavian canvas. A sunshine-yellow storage frame hangs over a grey-lacquered benchtop, exposed grey brick and mint-and-mesh stooling.

Visualizer:Int2 Architecture

Art offers a focal point for any kitchen. This space drapes the lady in stencil lanterns and exposed white brick, foregrounding in a wooden inlet and dipped stools.

Visualizer:Volkan Kaçar

Enter a modern jungle with hanging plant life, dark wooden chest benching and grey wooden floors. Chrome-look pans and exposed brick add the urban.

Photographer:Jonas Berg

Make monochrome art-deco with distressed black benches and alternating coloured switches. A gold-rimmed clock and tap watch afront classic tiling.

Visualizer:Victor Naumik

Plan your rooms with this alternative view of a kitchen space. Lightly-patterned wallpaper greets white, black, grey and wood to help integrate scattered elements.

Visualizer:Kaan Kılıçay

Love clean lines? This kitchen is after your own heart in a crescent extractor fan, chrome splashback, and black wooden cabinet in the simplest of detailing.

Visualizer:Wiktoria Ginter

A darker kitchen adds a factor of surprise. This black-and-white beauty pops off silver drop lighting as it forms cylinders, black boards and Venetian blinds.

Visualizer:Vladimir Prichina

Alternate wooden panelling with a striking recycled-wood floor. A six-piece painting draws the eye to white cabinetry housing dark wood.

Source:Svenskfast

Make the lightest room a corner, with this space for inspiration. A gorgeous French window opens up to white cabinetry, beige inlet tiling and wooden-topped eating and cooking spaces.

Visualizer:Level Archviz

The little elements can make all the difference. A golden cobweb chandelier sits over a beachy wooden table. White chairs join the party with different-coloured wooden legs.

Visualizer:Daniel Reuterswärd

The Scandinavian achieves a more contemporary look in grey-panelled cabinetry. Wooden floors and white walls add the traditional, while a teardrop light and potted plants lure visitors in.

Visualizer:Oleg Sidorov

Break the mould with wooden features that extend to the ceiling. This wooden ceiling box stores plates, houses ornaments and hangs black dome lights. Patterned grey tiling lurks beyond in an inlet, while a table, rather than bench, opens up the space.

Visualizer:Akshay Yaravalli

A kitchen can look stunning with a feature wall. This charcoal matte beauty is matched by a grey-patterned counterpart, as a wooden stencil table frees up more room.

Visualizer:Lyudmyla Dumin

Feature walls can be functional. This kitchen boasts wooden cubby holes as a living wall, while grey beehive tiling and white-and-grey cabinetry offer a background.

Visualizer:Kul Design

Why not let white be the feature? This kitchen uses wood as the background, white as the wow factor in an LED-lit inlet, tables and chairs. Monochromatic aspects compare and contrast, culminating in a geometric black-and-white floor.

Visualizer:İbrahim Ethem kısacık

The tiles do the talking in this black French kitchen with light-blue inlets. Matching walls and an amber light add the regal to floored potted plants.

Visualizer:Bora Evgar

A dramatic twist, a chequered floor is a perfect match for mustard cabinetry. White provides a canvas in a bench, walls and dining area, while six monochrome prints bring them together.

Visualizer:Mockup Render

The seventies become contemporary in this wood-laden space, resplendent with living wall. Long drawer handles and a boat steer are afforded space by white matte walls.

Visualizer:Mockup Render

This black-and-white kitchen is a hipster’s heaven. Black dome lighting over a wooden table and chair sit beside a chalkboard wall, bike, and opaque cabinet doors.

Visualizer:Anastasiia Andreichenko

A chalkboard can beautifully blend black and white elements. White cabinetry and chairs sit amongst a black bookcase, stove and wooden table, while white-on-black chalk creates harmony between the two. Do check out our feature on similar black and white kitchens if this theme excites you.

Visualizer:Mockup Render

A blackboard can also extend a space. White cabinetry with a black inlet looks spacious enough to house large calligraphic writing, chairs and a bike. A black wall plays the same trick with large, square windows.

Visualizer:Sergey Prudkyi

Chalkboards don’t have to be a feature. A yellow SMEG steals its thunder, while wood-topped floors and benches play among industrial white lighting.

Visualizer:Vüsal Abbasov

Sitting on a marble floor, this Scandinavian-inspired space brings elegance with curved white chairs, thin-stencilled tables and a simple white light. A chalkboard panel hints at rebellion.

Visualizer:Denis Krasikov

Take the industrial route with a kitchen clad in steel. This kitchen-come-burger-bar features a chalkboard menu, light-wooden bench shelving and white-and-black idea lights.

Visualizer:Linee Studio

A Scandinavian kitchen can line a room. This kitchen wows in all-white, while simple prints and a patterned splashback show its function.

Visualizer:Alex Dorokhin

Take a trip to the country with a wooden chest bench. Plates hide in the drawer, while black stools, drop lights and honeycomb tiling play to Scandinavia.

Visualizer:Tung Le

An exposed brick wall and floor-to-ceiling French windows make this space inspirational. White cabinetry and wood-feature benches extend to a potted plant to the side.

Visualizer:Miiguel Luque

Show off your kitchen space with a brightly-coloured inlet. This kitchen frames it in white, leaving the living room to add counterparts.

Visualizer:Salih Gocmen

Primary colours add the kitsch in this Scandinavian space. Bold block lighting meets with a pea-green chair on a wooden floor, as white and chrome hold the ornamental.

Visualizer:Ilkin Gurbanov

Mix up the colour palette in hues of mustard, charcoal and red. This space holds them all with white wooden brick tiling and square shapes as a background.

Visualizer:Tigran Hakobyan

Make your kitchen look like an eatery. This-yellow segmented kitchen offers cabinetry in black, a dining area in wood and intermixed white elements to make a restaurant at home.

Dark isn’t the first theme that comes to mind when designing a kitchen. Stereotypical assumptions are of white and bright kitchens matched by light wood—something like the color of breakfast pancakes. Have you ever thought otherwise? Perhaps something like a modern dark kitchen?

We’ve got a collection of stunning spaces sure to switch up your vision. This black kitchen design inspiration is the sexiest interior design can muster. All divulging in shades of black, navy, or dark brown, they add what white kitchens cannot—a seductive allure that says sleekness and sophistication at the same time. Take a peek at some brilliant interiors on the darker side to see if a modern luxury black kitchen could be for you.

Modern Dark Kitchen Design Ideas to Inspire Your Next Renovation

1. Make it an All Black Kitchen

Visualizer:Design At Sketch

Almost completely covered in black, a few minor elements shine in chrome and wood in this kitchen interior. We love how the textures do the talking, especially through the matte table under black wood-panelled walls. But having an open approach like this means that every one of your accessories on display—including knives, wine glasses, mugs, cutting boards, teapots, cookie jars, etc.—need to be on point.

2. Add Wooden Elements

Visualizer:Bogdan Tovstyy

This black beauty edges towards wooden elements. We see a speckled floor, a white wall, and a central bench. Rounded black lamps hover over the island, providing functionality and style. If you’re wondering how visual intrigue is added to this modern black kitchen… a huge credit goes to the abstract art!

3. Complement the Black Kitchen with Orange

Source:Vancouver House

A bit of curve rounds out the hard edges—adding some much-needed warmth. This wave-design bench leads up to an orange-hued enclave in this black-and-silver interior. The burnt orange sure makes a design statement (apart from the unique central island).

4. Keep Your Dark Modern Kitchen Simple

Visualizer:Panda Fox Studios

A simplistic look makes this black kitchen a winner. We see the basics: a light floor, a black minimalist island, and sleek cabinetry. But the contrast between light and dark keeps the ambiance interesting, while the large window welcomes plenty of natural light.

5. Make it Dark… Or Not?

Visualizer:Who Cares Design

If you’re eyeing a dark kitchen aesthetic but are hesitant to make the change, this is it. Introducing more light, this black kitchen is hardly dark at all. Black benches, cabinetry, fixtures and stools are intersected by large-panel windows, a white shelving stand and light flooring.

6. Make Use of Asymmetry in the Black Modern Kitchen

Visualizer:Visual Method

This modern black kitchen takes another angle on this kaleidoscopic space, breaking all spatial boundaries. Black and glass alternate in this chic kitchen as the interesting ceiling design keeps the space unconventional. We’ve also got to appreciate the cherry blossoms, doubling as decor even within the interior.

7. Factor in Some Warmth

Source:Modulnova

This warmer-looking kitchen makes a move to brown. It strategically achieves the purpose with the use of wood. This not only introduces natural textures but also makes the ambiance inviting. Talk about a modern style that’s equal parts welcoming!

8. Place a White Island in a Black Modern Kitchen

Visualizer:Jean Regauer

An instant way to brighten up a dark kitchen (we mean, get the best of both worlds)? This kitchen space shows us how by using a white island on a black floor. The backsplash further enhances this dark-and-light effect, while the cowhide rug adds just the right amount of coziness.

9. Make Marble Your Best Friend

Architect:Chamberlain Javens Architects

If you’re looking to create a modern luxury black kitchen, you know what you’ve got to do: Go big on marble! This natural stone adds the luxe factor to any space, especially as a large, central island, as seen in the kitchen above. You can also add it through the backsplash.

10. Make it Mysterious

Visualizer:Tomek Michalski

You can double the visual intrigue in your all black kitchen by adding some mystery. In this kitchen, mood-lighting sets the scene in black and grey, while a marbled bench acts as the hero. The back inlet and flooring create contrast and depth. Taken together, these elements make the space an interesting one.

11. Layer Gray and Gold

Visualizer:Mitaka Dimov

Black kitchens are cool, but what if we layer in gray and add accents of gold? This stunning kitchen space uses gray flooring to add diversity to the otherwise black palette. The thick gold panel is one way that makes the space look incredibly high-end.

12. Add French Style to Black Kitchen Design

Visualizer:Aeroslon

Make your kitchen both modern and French with traditional black cabinetry. In this space, standing armoires act as sinks, and all other displayed items remain black. The stark white clock can surely act as the focal point of the space!

13. Consider Soft Elements

Visualizer:Julia Sultanova

Rough, light wood and low-hanging white lights set this kitchen interior a world apart. You can also notice a layer of light gray cabinetry, adding variation to the otherwise dark color palette. These elements factor in softness to the black kitchen design.

14. Let the Accessories Do the Talking

Photographer:Mikko Ryhänen

In this black-and-wood creation, the accessories take center stage in adorning the interior. We love the houseplant, but the crockery deserves a special mention for doubling as decor. The light oakwood backdrop further warms the space up.

15. Consider a Matte All Black Kitchen

Visualizer:HDR Designer

Neat square panels perfectly line up to emphasize the stark black minimalism that is at play here. We love how the cabinetry is matte black with no hardware, adding a sense of simplicity. The herb planters are a healthy green addition to bring the otherwise simple space.

16. Add Some Stencilling to Black Kitchens

Visualizer:Julia Sultanova

Fine lines and stencilling set this monochromatic space apart. Lined by black magnetic lights, black stencils and glossy white facades, it makes its mark on a light wooden floor.

17. Build a Shape Out of Black

Visualizer:Huso

18. Create a Modern Dark Kitchen with Gradients

Visualizer:Mario Nogueira

If you’re wondering how the intrigue in this space is working… It’s the gradients from black, to charcoal, to light grey. White surrounds in the walls and a monochromatic hanging light. This clever design technique makes sure the space is anything but boring, even if it’s using mere neutrals (minus the stunning orange dining chairs, of course).

19. Leverage Black Textures

Visualizer:Nefeli Kallianou

One instant way to add interest to a black kitchen is with textures, as seen in this metallic matte kitchen. This accounts for decorative presence in the light and bright space, providing character to an otherwise simple room.

20. Work on the Functionality of the Modern Dark Kitchen

Visualizer:İbrahim Ethem KISACIK

This dark modern kitchen makes sure it’s as functional as is stylish. The central island is paired with a black dining table, while all necessary appliances are fixed into the cabinetry. We also see pendant lights and lighting under the hood providing just the right illumination.

21. Create a Modern Classic All Black Kitchen

Visualizer:A&L Interior Design

Folks seeking an inviting all black kitchen can look towards this modern classic space. It merges contemporary elements (through sleek black cabinetry) with traditional ones (as seen in the wooden backsplash) to bring together the best of both worlds.

22. Put Essentials on Display in Your Modern Black Kitchen Interior

Visualizer:Polygon

Yet another kitchen that uses black and wooden elements to create a dark-themed interior. What sets this one apart is the hanging pans. They do offer easy access as the residents cook, but they also double as decor! (Note how the pans also use black and wooden elements to stay coherent with the theme).

23. Add the Industrial Style to the All Black Kitchen

Via:Emotion School

Industrial style lovers, rejoice! This is THE inspiration to set up your favorite interior design style, the dark way. This kitchen uses rustic wood and exposed elements for the ceiling to create an industrial black kitchen interior.

24. Make a Statement with Black Chunky Lamps

Via:HomePicture.in

All eyes on the two chunky lamps hanging in this monochromatic setting. They do add focus but also allow the contrasting white inset to shine. Not to forget the central island, providing plenty of storage space.

25. Make Room for Keepsakes

Visualizer:Maxim Goryachev

There’s nothing like personalizing your space to who YOU are. This kitchen serves the purpose by adding keepsakes and heirlooms. Also, black leaves room for details, so it’s one of the best colors to use if you’re hoping to display knick-knacks.

26. Use Black to Add Intimacy

Visualizer:Helen Bank

Who says dark colors make small spaces feel smaller? We only see black adding luxury to this compact space (with some credit to the white flooring adding brightness). This kitchen—with black marble backsplash—speaks opulence, and for all the right reasons!

27. Enhance Black Kitchen Design with Patterns

Visualizer:Ksenia Lenski

This black kitchen interior makes a design statement with the patterned marble island. Its sleek metallic legs lift it off the floor, creating an illusion of space. Simultaneously, the textured inset makes sure visual interest is added.

28. Don’t Forget a Black and White Rug

Visualizer:Nada Aboelrous

If you’re not in for a complete kitchen renovation, simply painting your cabinets black and adding a black-and-white patterned rug will achieve the purpose! We love how this kitchen keeps sets the base with white and tops it with black.

29. Let the Lighting Make a Statement in the All Black Kitchen

Architect:Artpartner Architects

When everything else is understated, letting the lighting create a statement is a good idea. This matte black kitchen interior uses rod lighting to do the talking. It sticks to the all black kitchen color scheme, though!

30. Tone it Down

Visualizer:Valeria Mosolova

This open floor plan uses dark gray throughout, showing us that black can work in more spaces than the kitchen 😉 It sure makes a design statement for those cooking and dining—or lounging!

31. Consider a Black and Wooden Bar

Visualizer:Amir Emami

This is the ultimate modern luxury black kitchen! After all, what’s better than displaying your favorite collection of beer right behind the black kitchen island? The low-hanging pendant lights also add to the black kitchen design.

32. Add the Gothic Vibe

Visualizer:Sebastian Lorio

This dark-gray kitchen is super simple with its sleek, hardware-less cabinetry. Well, except the far left end. Here, we see a statement piece of art and intriguing layered lighting created a focal point.

33. Stick to the Minimalist Style for Black Kitchens

Visualizer:Miguel A. Ramos

This compact kitchen space follows the simple rule: white walls paired with black cabinetry and an island. Even in this nook, the space is able to make a style statement while providing optimal functionality. The window here gives a contrasting element of light to the otherwise dark modern kitchen.

34. Layer Lighting in the All Black Kitchen

Visualizer:Tatiana Durnescu

We see shades of gray and black coming together to bring this modern dark kitchen to life. What we especially love is the multiple types of lighting, all layered together to bring visual interest to the space.

35. Set the Backdrop For Your Living Space

Visualizer:Sasha Zolotukhin