Gray kitchen in the interior: examples of color combinations, the best design ideas (105 real photos)

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Beitz is not just one type of coloring composition. This is a product that breathes life into old furniture, stairs, floors, doors and window sills that have long lost their presentable appearance. From this article you can find out what tinting abilities wood stain has: colors used to create an exotic interior, shades that imitate expensive species, as well as interesting combinations that allow you to achieve beautiful effects.

Stain is a tinting mixture that can be used to give any wood product the desired shade.

Gray kitchens: pros and cons of color

“Gray is the second beige.” This is the golden mean between black and white, but the versatility of this color is not always beneficial. Let's see what advantages and disadvantages there are in using gray in kitchen design.

pros

universal base: ideally combined with bright and pastel shades;
suitable for almost any style;
always in fashion.

In skillful hands, it can make almost any kitchen noble and harmonious. It is easy to work with and combines with all shades of the color wheel. That is why designers often use it as a neutral base for creating beautiful interiors in loft, high-tech and art deco styles.

Minuses

There are not many cases when it is better to refuse gray, but it is important to know them.

Dark gray is not recommended for use in a small kitchen (up to 8 sq.m.).

Light gray, on the contrary, can visually expand a small space.

Dark gray is undesirable when the kitchen has poor natural light due to small windows or a shady side.
A monochrome interior can look cold and uncomfortable.

Gray has a huge range of saturation and has many shades - graphite, platinum, marengo, etc.

The right shade and its intensity are the key to success. We’ll talk in more detail below about how to use gray correctly to reveal its best properties.

Layout features

Does gray color play a role in choosing a layout?

Designer tips

Irina

Irina Polyakova is the founder of an interior studio, architect and interior designer. The main area of work is kitchen design

Shade can really be important when the size of the kitchen is very modest. For example, if the design concept involves dark gray facades, which are undesirable for a small space, then eliminating the top row of cabinets may be a compromise. Thus, dark shades only in the design of the lower tier of the set will not affect the visual perception of the size of the room.

Another solution is a combination of a gray bottom and a light top for a corner, straight and U-shaped kitchen.

The idea of a two-row kitchen is difficult to implement, as it will require taking into account not only the size of the room, but also its proportions. To prevent the space between two dark rows of cabinets from turning into a narrow portal, decorate the apron in light colors.

Watch a review of a beautiful U-shaped kitchen in the video :

Kinds

Depending on the type, you can divide the material obtained from young or more mature trees. Young and light-colored wenge materials are used to produce veneer and furniture panels. More mature and older trees are already used to create luxury furniture, billiard tables and other interior items.

More mature and older trees are used to create luxury furniture, billiard tables and other interior items.

Matte or glossy - which facades to choose?

The choice of matte or glossy finish depends on the intensity of the color. Even minor dirt such as water marks will be more visible on the dark gray glossy surface of the facades, which is very impractical for the kitchen. But gloss can highlight light gray facades to their advantage and will not show fingerprints or stains.

Designer tips

Irina

Irina Polyakova is the founder of an interior studio, architect and interior designer. The main area of work is kitchen design

Complex, deep, and dirty shades look better on a matte surface. For example, gray-green, gray-blue and gray-beige color best reveal matte smooth facades

Color combinations

Is it necessary to dilute gray with bright accents? In fact, monochrome design can be not boring. Shades of different intensities can be used, but thanks to the combination of different textures, the interior will not be pale and boring. For example, smooth matte facades can be complemented by a floor with a marble pattern or a concrete apron.

Brickwork from light to bright red shades will perfectly complement a monochrome interior.

To make a gray interior more interesting, one small bright detail is enough - a tabletop, an apron, a chair, curtains and even one bright refrigerator, for example.

You can combine colors only within the facades. For example, blue top and dark gray bottom.

When combining facades of different colors, do not forget about an important rule: use dark shades in the lower row of furniture, and light shades in the upper row, so that the furniture does not visually overload the space.

The most spectacular combinations are with red, yellow, orange, emerald, and purple. Let's look at interesting combinations separately.

With yellow

Yellow and similar colors (turmeric, orange, mustard) are an ideal pair with gray as a bright accent.

Don’t get carried away: an abundance of bright details can be annoying. Add no more than 30% bright colors to the overall neutral background.

With brown and beige

Gray and beige work well together within the same room. Beige can have varying degrees of saturation, and its warmth will make the interior less formal and strict.

Gray can be successfully combined with both pastel and dark shades of brown. The most successful option for adding brown would be to use wooden surfaces in the design of the apron, countertop, dining table and chairs.

Taupe kitchen

Designer tips

Irina

Irina Polyakova is the founder of an interior studio, architect and interior designer. The main area of work is kitchen design

The mixture of these two colors gave the world a new complex gray-beige shade, which is now at the peak of popularity.

Gray-beige set

Light gray set on a brown wall with a brick apron

With blue and blue

Blue is as cold and strict as gray. But this does not cease to be an ideal match if the kitchen or kitchen-living room has large windows and a lot of natural light. To prevent the interior from seeming boring and faceless, dilute this duet with a bright accent or select materials with an interesting texture.

A dark gray set combined with a bright blue sofa. Light gray walls bring in more light

Blue top and dark gray bottom headset

When mixed, these colors also give an unusual, beautiful gray-blue hue.

Set with gray-blue bottom and white top

A bright and even shiny blue on the splashback can be a great complement to dark gray facades.

The blue tint will not add contrasts to the interior: when paired with gray, it merges and forms a monochrome interior. It is recommended to dilute this duet with white or beige.

And if you need to add mood, then you can use yellow, orange, coral or carrot colors in small quantities.

With pink and purple

Despite the fact that purple and its shades (pink, lilac) are ideal for placing accents, they must be used in very measured doses.

Gray reflects neighboring colors, and a kitchen that has too much pink or purple can give the impression of a solid bright spot.

With green

The combination with green and its shades - emerald, light green, malachite - deserves special attention. This combination is often found in nature. Therefore, green, like no other color, is able to balance the coldness and severity of gray.

Designer tips

Irina

Irina Polyakova is the founder of an interior studio, architect and interior designer. The main area of work is kitchen design

Bright green curtains in the kitchen-living room or a bright light green apron can change your idea of gray and appreciate it. Houseplants in white or black pots will help add some green color to the interior.

Mixing these two colors creates a beautiful gray-green shade that looks impressive in the design of smooth matte facades.

With white and black

White will always correct the severity of gray and will save you in any situation when you need to dilute an interior that is too dark or too bright. For example, a white countertop will refresh dark gray facades and create a beautiful contrast, while light walls can make the room more spacious.

Black will contrast effectively against a light gray background.

Paired with dark gray, it looks brutal, but darkens the room too much. For a spacious kitchen-living room with large windows facing south, this fact is not scary.

The combination of gray and black is most often used in the loft style.

A kitchen with a black apron and glossy dark facades is impractical, but impressive and beautiful

With a tree

Surfaces with shades and textures imitating natural wood soften the cold aristocracy of gray, thereby making the interior softer and more harmonious.

A tabletop, apron, dining table or floor can be made to look like wood.

With red

Red in large quantities and against a dark background can look aggressive, which is undesirable for the interior. But small inclusions in the design of chairs, flower pots or curtains can enliven the interior.

Pastel shades

Are you afraid that a bright accent will upset the color balance in the interior? Then combine pastel shades of yellow, red, blue and any other color with gray. The interior will be calm, without harsh contrasts, with soft color transitions.

Light gray is ideal for a small kitchen, as it visually expands and refreshes the interior.

Application methods

There are four main ways to apply stain:

Rubbing painting. The composition is applied to the surface, after which it is rubbed over the entire area. Recommended for use when processing porous wood species.
Sputtering. When staining wood by spraying, a manual or automatic sprayer is used as a tool for applying stain.
Processing with a foam roller. This method avoids the formation of streaks and helps to distribute the mixture evenly over the entire surface.
Processing wood with a paint brush. The method allows you to obtain a deeper and richer color of wood, but is not suitable for all types of impregnation.

Before painting a surface with stain, it is necessary to remove old coatings from it, and then degrease it better.
The surface made of coniferous species (for example, pine) must be deresined.
It is necessary to paint wood with stain and remove excess only in the direction of the wood structure.
It is recommended to cover the surface with 2-3 layers, while for the first layer a small volume of the mixture should be used.
After the first layer has dried, the surface must be sanded and the raised lint removed, and then, if necessary, apply subsequent layers (each subsequent layer is applied only after the previous one has completely dried).

The approximate drying time for oil-based impregnations is about three days, and for water-based and solvent impregnations - 2-3 hours (depending on how many layers were applied). It is recommended to divide large areas of the surface to be treated into small areas and paint them in stages. To avoid the possibility of defects forming on the surface, the composition must be diluted. A solvent is used for this.

Plywood stains perform a purely decorative function. Therefore, if you are in doubt about whether to choose stain or varnish, it is recommended to use them in combination. Before covering the surface of the plywood, it must be moistened, and it is recommended to heat the mixture itself.

After covering the wood with stain, it should be treated with varnish (layers should be very thin to avoid the possibility of smudges). The tool you can use is a brush, roller or sponge. Wood varnish will enhance the protective properties of the impregnation. By following these recommendations, you can easily stain wood at home.

Gray in different styles

The versatility of gray lies not only in its ideal compatibility with other colors, but also in its ability to decorate the interior in almost any style. There are certain areas where gray is most appropriate.

Loft

A gray kitchen set with both smooth and paneled fronts will fit perfectly into the interior of a loft-style kitchen.

Dark tones look brutal. But if the kitchen is small, then you should give preference to light-colored facades or dilute the dark bottom of the set with a white top.

Metallic facades against a red brick wall. An unusual and bold combination - just in the spirit of a brutal loft

Minimalism

Monochrome gray combined with white and black creates an ascetic space that does not need to be supplemented with bright details. Its only decoration can be complex textures like wood, stone, marble and other natural surfaces. In order not to disturb the order and rigor of a minimalist kitchen, it is better to give preference to facades with integrated (hidden) handles.

Gray wood kitchen

Neoclassical

Neoclassicism in gray tones is an excellent alternative to beige traditional interiors with massive furniture. A strict gray set will be decorated with elegant classic gold handles - antique brass, bronze, forged, etc.

Room tour of a neoclassical kitchen in the video below:

Provence

Pastel shades of gray are ideal for interior design in Provence style. Dusty and slightly faded tones in combination with lavender, olive or pale pink will become a style-defining color scheme.

American style

Another modern take on a classic. The traditional design of the set with facades with frames and panels in gray color will fit perfectly into a spacious U-shaped or island kitchen.

Gray kitchen interior design

The success of any interior design project depends on how harmoniously the finishing materials were selected in color and style. Let's talk about what finishing options for a gray kitchen will be the most successful, as well as what role curtains can play.

Decoration of walls, floors and ceilings

The design of finishing materials should be selected at the design stage. At the initial stage of planning a renovation, it is recommended to draw up a project that will indicate what color each interior element should be. This is the only way to create a harmonious color scheme.

Here you can consider the following recommendations.

Stick to a balance of dark and light shades . For example, if the set is dark gray, then it is better to decorate the walls in light colors. And vice versa. Do not use more than three colors at the same time in the interior. And at the same time, it is not forbidden to play with their shades.
Determine what kind of interior you want in the end : calm, in pastel colors, or brutal, bright, cheerful? Based on this, choose colors of appropriate saturation.
For very bright accents, choose non-volumetric objects - curtains, vases, chairs, etc.

A white matte ceiling is always a universal solution. If there is no need to highlight it from the general background, then you should give preference to the win-win option in all cases.

You can focus on the ceiling if the height of the room allows. You shouldn’t choose flashy bright shades for it, because even a gray textured concrete insert in a suspended structure, complemented by a beautiful lamp, can attract attention.

As for floor finishing, the following options will be most successful for a gray kitchen:

parquet, laminate, porcelain stoneware or PVC tiles in a natural wood shade;
gray tiles from light to dark shades;
light poured floor;
marble-effect tiles (natural marble is impractical for the kitchen);
tiles in pastel neutral tones.

Do not use dark gray shades for finishing the kitchen floor: they visually narrow the room.

For wall decoration, you can choose any color depending on the design concept:

Gray wallpaper or paint is an excellent overall background. Choose light shades for small kitchens or when you need to create contrast against dark furniture;

In a monochrome interior, wallpaper can be embossed, imitating decorative plaster. And from gypsum plaster, using simple techniques, you can make an imitation of concrete.

beige walls or white with a slight warm tint will add warmth and comfort;

You can make only one wall bright;

Yellow walls against the background of dark facades attract attention, and the absence of upper cabinets allows you to make a small kitchen visually freer

Wallpaper with a pattern is also suitable, for example, floral or with a graphic pattern.

Light gray set against a background of floral wallpaper. In the apron area the wall is covered with tempered glass

Tabletop

The ideal universal tabletop for a gray set is wood, light shades or snow-white.

An unusual option is a thin tabletop to match the gray-beige set.

And if you want bright colors, then you can place the main bright emphasis on this detail. As, for example, the designers of the “Housing Question” program did it in the project in the photo below.

Dark shades for countertops are impractical, as they immediately show water stains.

Apron

Gray facades allow you to be bolder in choosing your apron design. Bright tiles or skins will help make a bright accent.

Depending on the style of the kitchen and the overall color scheme, a textured apron imitating stone, brick or concrete can look interesting.

An apron with a small pattern will always look good with neutral facades.

A universal solution is light hog tiles and pentagonal tiles. With contrasting grout, these backsplash options look very stylish.

Curtains and textiles

Curtains traditionally set the mood of the interior. Bright short curtains, roller blinds or Roman blinds in rich yellow, red, blue, green tones can look great with a gray kitchen.

If the accent is already any other element of the interior, then it is better to choose curtains in the general color scheme of the room: light or dark gray.

Designer tips

Irina

Irina Polyakova is the founder of an interior studio, architect and interior designer. The main area of work is kitchen design

In addition to curtains, kitchen towels, upholstery of dining chairs, curtains on kitchen cabinets or doorways can play a role in the design.

Summary

If you decide that wood will be the finishing material for your interior, there is no need to be afraid of monotony and boredom. Modern solutions offered by wood stains make it possible to bring out many of the original colors, while maintaining the natural appearance of the raw material.

After reading this article, you can learn everything about coloring yourself and try to do it yourself. With all the information gathered, you can learn which stain to choose for which type of wood, how to prepare the surface before application, and even step-by-step how to create your painted products. You know the technique, the rest is a matter of imagination.

Furniture and appliances

The main elements of the furnishings of most kitchens are a kitchen set and a dining group. In a spacious room or kitchen-living room, a sofa and sideboard can be added. It is undesirable to choose furniture that matches the walls so that the interior does not merge into a solid monochromatic spot.

To highlight a set, sofa or chairs against the general background in a monochrome kitchen, choose their design a tone darker or lighter.

If you want bright colors, then you can focus on a bright sofa or multi-colored dining chairs.

The dining table is usually chosen in light colors or wood. A black base with a light or wooden tabletop will also be a good solution for a gray kitchen.

The gray set harmoniously combines appliances of any color in the same style - both built-in and free-standing:

gray facades and metallic appliances form a single monolithic ensemble;

Black appliances can play in contrast with light gray facades. For example, a glossy refrigerator will stand out very effectively against a light gray background;

white appliances will look good with light gray facades in a small kitchen, as it visually looks easier in the interior;

Colored appliances will dilute the decor of a monochrome kitchen.

About the influence of shades

The influence of gray color on human consciousness can be different. Thus, light shades promote relaxation and tranquility. Upholstered furniture in a similar range can be safely placed in the kitchen, as well as in the bedroom and children's rooms.

Note!

Assembling the cabinet: TOP-120 photos and video instructions for assembling the cabinet with your own hands. Selection of tools. Rules for installing walls and installing facades
IKEA cabinets: TOP-170 photos and video reviews of IKEA cabinets. Advantages and disadvantages of the manufacturer. Varieties of shapes and designs of cabinets
Sliding wardrobes: pros and cons of sliding wardrobes. Varieties of designs, shapes and sizes. Materials for manufacturing the body and doors (photos and videos)

Dark colors can become a source of anxiety and restlessness. Therefore, it is advisable not to use them in the hall, corridor and kitchen, or to combine them with bright details.

Generally speaking, gray furniture will look great in any room. Let's figure out how to properly combine gray attributes in different rooms.

Lighting and backlighting

With the help of lighting, you can not only adjust the perception of the size of the room, but also change the shade and degree of gray saturation. A lack of artificial light will make the kitchen gloomy. Therefore, even at the renovation planning stage, it is necessary to consider lighting for each zone.

In addition to the main central light source, additional lighting is required for the work area, dining area and living room (if the kitchen is combined with a room).

For central lighting, choose diffused light fixtures. Diffused light will make the gray color softer and the atmosphere more comfortable.

Tinting wood with stain: step-by-step instructions

To make the product look neat and beautiful, you need to cover it with stain correctly. If the stain is applied poorly, it can fade in just a few weeks; also, if you do not follow the staining technology, you risk getting a surface covered with stains.

How to properly stain objects:

First of all, it is necessary to remove a layer of old paint from the surface of the product. This can be done using sandpaper.
Next, the surface is degreased with alcohol, white spirit or gasoline. If the product is made from resinous tree species, then it is deresined.
The stain is heated and applied in a thin layer to the surface of the product. The top of the item is processed first. Layers are applied on top, one on top of the other, until the desired shade is achieved.

After the stain has dried, the product must be coated with several layers of varnish. Before applying a new layer, the dried varnish is treated with fine-grained sandpaper.

Decor

The right decor will help make a cold gray kitchen cozy and homely warm. Small colored details diversify the interior: bright picture frames, colored wall clocks, decorative saucers, plates, home flowers, beautiful dishes in display cabinets.

In a small kitchen there is always a risk of going overboard with too many decorations and overloading the space. There are two rules to follow here.

It is important that the decor is simple and at the same time effective.
“Less is better, but better” - another golden rule that will save the interior from clutter

In a large kitchen and kitchen-living room in a classic style, a fireplace will be a beautiful decorative element.

Experimenting with halftones

Furniture in pink and gray colors will create an incredibly gentle atmosphere. It will be the optimal solution for arranging a nursery or a bedroom of a romantic person. It is important not to overdo it with pink.