Many modern house remodels are a bit reserved in the colour department, but not these two by A Lentil Design . Despite the small size of these Taiwanese homes - each being under 100 square metres - the homeowners have not shied away from piling in the colourful accents. Balance is achieved by throwing plenty of white and wood tone into the mix, so that the brights do not become a headache. Furniture is neat and belongings are kept organised so as not to overwhelm the limited space. The pared back approach leaves room for the homeowners to stretch out and live life in joyous surroundings, instead of being lost in the debris of it all.
The first colourful remodel is a 40 year old family home, located in one of Taipei’s most expensive districts. The 92.68 square meter home had been renovated just a few years earlier by family elders but the original house had a poor layout that did not meet the needs of its newest generation.
The couple felt that the layout was not conducive to their family life with a young son. Small rooms and dim lighting made living troublesome and inconvenient. The designer took down the walls of an existing study in order to blend the square footage with the main living area. This created a spacious open plan environment, which was then filled with colourful accessories and green indoor plants .
Ultra-wear-resistant wooden floors have been brought in to handle busy family life. A fold out dining table means that more space can be made for play when needed. A mint blackboard wall in the living room encourages the child to showcase his creativity.
A large dining pendant light helps the little dining spot to appear more substantial. The original walls of the dimly lit kitchen are gone and replaced with sliding glass doors. This welcomes in additional light even whilst sealing in cooking smells. It also enables the parents to see what their young child is up to in the lounge whilst they are busy cooking.
Continuous windows were added to make the most of the views and natural light. This bright free-flowing room has became the perfect space for laid-back family life. Various portable storage furniture has been positioned around the room to comfortably catch the clutter, and provide flexibility.
An angled doorway leads into the bathroom at the junction between the living room and the entryway. The door has been relocated from the opposite side where it was adjoined to the kitchen. The new door location also improves family traffic flow. Lemon paintwork and floral motif mosaic tiles infuse the small bathroom with a sense of brightness and energy.
The storage units positioned behind the living room sofa act as a room divider. The space behind is utilised as a cosy reading nook. A designer table lamp straddles the two spaces, providing soft ambient light to both sides.
Tiny grey tiles cover the small kitchen backsplash. A plethora of young plants bring in some green.
A summer sky blue accent wall also colours the kitchen.
Pegboard walls provide hanging storage space.
The master suite has a cozy bedroom scheme, painted in a soft blue-grey and accessorised with warm orange bedding. The bedroom partition wall was pushed out 60cm, to run flush with the outer edge of two support pillars. This marginal change allowed the designer to incorporate built-in closets. The ensuite bathroom door was also repositioned to no longer face the bed.
An window was installed in position of the old bathroom door, to borrow light from the bedroom.
Even the dog bed had a colourful remodel.
A yellow accent wall brightens the small bathroom space. Patterned floor tiles mark the home entryway.
The master bedroom has an ensuite toilet.
The compact room is decorated in a fun breezy style, with sky blue walls and sunny yellow accessories.
Sliding doors simplify the space.
Floor plan before.
Floor plan after.
Home design number two is a 62.8 square meter space, located in Taipei Neihu District. It is a 10 year old house owned by a child-free couple.
“It bores me to tears if I live in an all white house.” laughed Cathy, the homeowner. From the first discussion, the design team found Cathy and her husband had bold ideas in terms of color combination. So a colorful, energetic - yet harmonious - interior was fashioned to fit their character.
An acid yellow area rug contrasts with an aqua blue sofa and red scatter cushions. A colourful coffee mug set rests on nesting coffee tables .
A house shaped cutaway breaks up a wooden storage volume in the entryway. Kitsch items add personality to the display.
The home plan originally consisted of two bedrooms, two living rooms and two bathrooms. The rooms were reconfigured by the design team to better suit the homeowners living habits, which meant combining the two living rooms as one free-flowing open plan space. The lounge area is simply furnished with wooden pieces, including a slimline console unit and matching wall shelves .
A simple home office area nestles by the window.
A large shelving unit acts as a catch-all.
Opening up the kitchen to the dining room created an airy space, and allowed the addition of a new kitchen peninsula.
Open shelves provide easy access storage, and create casual wall decoration in the yellow kitchen .
A dining table is placed right up against the kitchen peninsula to leave a walkway around it.
The designers arranged the kitchen in a clean and simple layout.
From this angle we can better see the limitations of the space.
Colourful artwork brightens the dining room.
The home plan still holds two bedrooms, though one is currently used for storage.
The bedroom decor is colourful yet peaceful in beach hues.
The new dressing aisle in the bedroom is a point of fluid movement in the home, with one exit leading straight towards the dining area, and another door exiting right to the lounge. There is also a small home office area in the bedroom, accessorised with a unique table lamp .
Recessed shelves store all the paperwork.
The two original bathrooms were amalgamated into one.
The old ensuite became the new home office area, and a built-in closet.
As the main bathroom is located just outside the bedroom and the couple live alone, the extra bathroom was surplus to requirements.
Blue hues and tones from the red colour spectrum come together in two modern home interiors, each designed by Nika Vorotyntseva & Dmytro Potomkin . By combining colours from opposite ends of the scale–one warm, one cold–an equal balance is achieved. The floor plans of these colourful apartments are both comfortably compact and of an open plan layout. The properties are two bedroom, with each featuring a kids bedroom and two modern bathrooms to facilitate the needs of a growing family. See how picking out a punchy colour palette that features contrasting colours can breathe energy and youth into a modern home, and how those tones can be tweaked to thread through every room of the house.
Photographer:Sergey Savchenko
Located in Almaty, Kazakhstan, the first apartment design has a floor area of 98 square metres. The interior has a lot of airy white space with some natural wooden elements. A sky blue feature wall provides the colour in the room, along with a couple of rouge accent pieces.
The kitchen has been designed as a hive of activity, with an L-shaped cabinet installation that works around a six seater dining set. The remaining wall of the open plan kitchen is busy with display shelving units, wall mounted from top to bottom.
The lounge area has its own open shelving design on a much smaller scale, though it is coupled with some white storage cupboards to hold more items. The sofa has been moved slightly toward the centre of the room to accommodate the storage units, making extra use of the wall space in the small apartment. Blue and red scatter cushions add a bright pop to the stone grey sofa, which is teamed up with an auburn colour accent chair .
The blue panels of the tv wall decor dominate the pale room. Their glossy surface helps bounce natural light into the long space from large windows at the far end.
The kitchen cabinets stand in a white finish along the baseline, with wooden cabinet doors covering the upper half.
The open shelving units on one side of the kitchen are spaced out to reveal a mosaic tiled effect. Their contents aren’t strictly pertaining to the kitchen or dining room but simply serve the living area in general, as this walkway is a thoroughfare into and out of the multipurpose room.
SIx white modern dining chairs line up along the sides of a wooden table. A square fruit bowl has been positioned as a centrepiece.
The L-shaped kitchen has a colourless glass backsplash and white countertops to keep the look simple. The small run of wooden wall cabinets work nicely in tying it with the white and wood dining set.
A blue-grey wall clock decorates the space above some open kitchen shelving, which stands straight on the worktop as one integrated piece.
Stainless steel appliances, a chrome faucet and grey edging trims the white kitchen .
A striped blue runner adds a homey touch to a plain hallway, which is lined from end to end with made-to-measure closets.
Modern terrazzo walls and ceiling create a pattern of multicolour inside of the kid’s room. Blue tones are picked out by the kids’ bed , and by some Ikea Mammut kid’s chairs . A beanbag chair brings in some red.
Narrow shelves hold knick-nacks and display favourite books on the opposite wall.
The kid’s closets are plain white but a great fun shape.
Decor in the master bedroom is a lot more peaceful, though red and blue tones do follow here too. Natural woodtone flanks each side of colourful wall art, with a white pendant light hanging in front. More bedroom pendant lights here.
Red bedside units stand out against a dark wall.
In contrast to the pendant light that equips one side of the bed, a bedside table lamp serves the other.
A small minimalist workspace has been set up using a custom-cut desktop and a simple desk chair .
Sloths swing in the kid’s bathroom.
The vanity mirror is on a wall of teal tiles, mounted above a red-orange vanity unit. Contrasting colour packs the decor scheme with punch.
Decor in the master bathroom is more subtle and refined.
A slatted panel adds interest to the pale grey and white scheme.
Apartment number two is located in Kiev, Ukraine, and has a floor area of 140 square metres. In this living room, our red feature colour has been diluted to blush tones.
A blush coloured modern winged chair is pulled up alongside a teal console unit at the tv wall. More gorgeous accent chairs here.
There is another blue feature wall inside this flat, but this time with a ribbed effect.
The feature wall runs the full length of the lounge and dining area.
A delicate Heracleum Endless Suspension Light crowns the dining room.
The door at the end of the dining room opens up to reveal a closet and a colourful design.
One white modern wall sconce extends from the blue feature wall, to softly illuminate the sofa. White marble floor tiles give the space a glossy luxe look.
Moving through from the dining room, an open doorway leads around to a galley kitchen arrangement with a teal accent wall.
Taller units on the other side of the walkway extend the culinary space.
A bright chartreuse stool marks the home entryway just off the kitchen.
We see a continuation of the colourful door design across one entire wall of the master suite. A comfy bedroom chair picks up on the blue hue from the mural.
The headboard is upholstered in red wine coloured fabric. Copper lighting descends to the bedside.
A mirror finish shines on small side table beneath the copper pendant.
The bedroom is accessed by a portiere, which is seen here on the left hand side.
At the back of the bedroom there is an ensuite behind a glass wall, which borrows natural light from the bedroom windows.
White marble tiles clad the bathroom walls and floor.
The kid’s room is coloured by a blue bed, and an accent wall behind the study area.
An interesting tile effect peps up a grey bathroom.
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
