Neutral Contemporary Kitchens

Caramel, café au lait and taupe are joining gray as colors for neutral contemporary kitchens.

In a search for alternatives to white or black-and-white as color schemes, neutral contemporary kitchens in caramel and taupe are looking especially fresh. In truth, they have always been around but the sleek surfaces of contemporary kitchen designs make them ideal for use on walls and back splashes. They also marry well with stainless steel, natural stone and nickel.

Stainless steel stars in a creamy kitchen [top] where the counters and refrigerator become decorative elements and the neutral walls and cabinets play supporting roles. White also comes into play on the ceiling and clerestory as well as the base cabinets on the island. Yet the color differences are hardly noticeable. Simplicity is another theme, from open shelves on each side of the range to tall pantries flanking the refrigerator. Also noteworthy is the scrim of three semi-translucent panels that replace a vent hood but conceal the exhaust and over-the-range lighting in an especially interesting way.
Pale taupe cabinets function like a tinted white in a kitchen where again, stainless steel takes a leading role — like other metal tones it has simply become a basic. While this looks very similar in concept to the first kitchen, it is the more conventional or transitional due to its stone counters that blend into the cabinets — even on the rolling island unit. Once again, the vent hood is worked into the kitchen in a special way — instead of standing alone, this chimney hood is worked into the flanking upper cabinets as if it’s simply a metal panel.
Stunningly simple both in concept and style, there is a youthful ultra-minimalist idea at work in this kitchen with taupey-green base cabinets along one wall.  While one could argue with the design aesthetic of a single upper cabinet stuck in the center of a blank wall up against a chimney hood this is a look many green kitchen designers favor. Major appliances like the oven and refrigerator plus additional storage are located in an unbroken wall that offers no horizontal surfaces.

The cantilevered wood counter is another theme borrowed from high end designs by Boffi and others — part counter, part table it is barely there in terms of it slimness yet the dark stained wood stands in high contrast to the pale walls and cabinets, making it a natural focal point in the space.

(Source: Hutker Architects, Internet)

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