How Black Became the Kitchen’s It Color

Contemporary kitchen designers are forgoing the all-white and stainless-steel schemes of yore.

As published in Architectural Digest, August 18, 2020

Ashe Leandro’s black kitchen for Seth Meyers and Alexi Ashe Meyers.Photo: Shade Degges

For decades, the American dream kitchen has been covered in gleaming white surfaces, from subway tile to countertops to cabinets. Save for a few historic blips—think pink and turquoise in the post–World War II years, and avocado green and harvest gold in the ’60s and ’70s—white has remained the default choice for kitchen design, most recently embodied by the Pinterest-approved trend of light and bright cooking and dining spaces.

But lately, a new It color has been gaining ground in America’s kitchens, and it’s not one that we associate strongly with a bygone era. Indeed, that may be part of its appeal: Since about 2015, all-black kitchens have become increasingly popular. Sophisticated homeowners are exploring shiny black cabinets, black marble countertops with striking white veins, black floors, and even black appliances. Design manufacturers have taken notice, and sleek black ranges, refrigerators, and more have been a fixture at the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show in recent years. But is the mainstream ready for the all-black look? Or will this trend, like so many before it, be another flash in the pan?

Alexa Hampton chose dark tones for her New York City kitchen, where cabinetry by S. Donadic is painted a Benjamin Moore black. Photo: Scott Frances

“We are starting to see black being used in a much bigger way,” says Laurie Pressman, vice president of the Pantone Color Institute. “This is different than just larger black appliances or maybe a black countertop. This is about the move to black cabinetry, black paint, black flooring, and different black shades for countertop appliances.”

Alison Levasseur, AD’s interiors and garden director, sees the movement as a pendulum swing toward something with greater depth and sophistication, noting that black and other dark colors work surprisingly well in compact spaces. “Recently we’ve seen a trend of black kitchens designed by leading AD100 designers,” she says. “It may have something to do with designing smaller New York City kitchens.”

One of those firms is New York–based Ashe Leandro, which has mastered the look. “It looks like a Dutch Old Master painting,” Reinaldo Leandro told AD last year of the kitchen he designed with partner Ariel Ashe for the home of her sister Alexi and brother-in-law, Seth Meyers. “Everything pops out; everything feels more vibrant.” For this project, they chose the velvety Off-Black by Farrow & Ball and black stone countertops. Meanwhile, for the kitchen in Liev Schreiber’s NoHo loft, the firm juxtaposed shiny black lacquer cabinets and black countertops with light-colored wood cabinets.

Lauren Buxbaum Gordon, partner at Nate Berkus Associates and proud owner of a black kitchen herself, sees a connection between an inky palette and the possibility of personalization. “In my opinion, black symbolizes someone who is passionate about design and who isn’t afraid to take risks,” she says. “Aesthetically speaking, black tends to feel more sophisticated and formal depending on how it’s styled, but for me, that versatility is what’s most appealing. In my black kitchen, I mixed in rope chairs, crackled subway tiles, and old French pottery to take it down a notch.”

Richard Shapiro’s beachfront retreat in Malibu, California, boasts an island made of basalt and black lacquer cabinets. Photo: Miguel Flores-Vianna

But why are we just migrating to the dark side in the 2020s?

Pantone’s Pressman suspects the advent of open kitchen plans has had a big impact on how we perceive color at the cooktop. “As we move to open floor plans and kitchens become more of a key focal point within the home, we are changing our expectations for what a kitchen should look like and the function it needs to serve,” she says.

Another reason that black and other dark colors hold appeal these days is that consumers awash in smart technology are craving tactile experiences and fine craftsmanship—call it the Downton Abbey effect. Dark colors conjure cast iron, slate, and black marble, evoking the look of kitchens before they were streamlined in the 1930s.

Fashion designer Julie de Libran’s Paris kitchen features cabinets painted in Farrow & Ball’s Black Blue No. 95. Photo: Ambroise Tézenas

The popularity of industrial styles have also positioned black as the new neutral, says Christine Soner, product placement specialist at IKEA. “In Scandinavian design, black has been used as a consistent color, and in the U.S. the movement towards the American farmhouse style and loft living are a few of the trends that have influenced the materials that have been incorporated into the kitchen and home. Converted factories and farmhouses have brought industrial elements with exposed pipes, beams, and salvaged iron complemented with reclaimed wood.”

Imogen Pritchard, the U.S. design manager for Plain English Kitchens, has noted that the brand’s American clients have recently become interested in bold contrasts when choosing a color palette. “It has been interesting to see that clients are gravitating towards shades of black as a cupboard color,” she says. “We find our American clientele isn’t seeing black as the big, black hole they once perceived it as, and we find it very useful as a neutral to tone down a lighter counter or stainless-steel appliances.”

In Ken Fulk’s New York kitchen, brass luggage corners outline the sleek black cabinetry. Photo: Douglas Friedman

And that’s exactly what home appliance company Breville’s global product officer, Scott Brady, has found in the past few years. Breville recently introduced Black Truffle, a matte, charcoal-colored finish that can adorn countertop appliances like toasters and cappuccino makers. The offering was influenced by trends Brady and his team were observing out in the market—both in consumers’ kitchens and broader trends like fashion and automotive design.

In contrast to the prevailing style of subdued tones in the kitchen, Brady suggests, black suddenly seems like the ideal bold color: “Which colors can contrast a sea of seamless white, or feel natural alongside concretes, woods, and metal finishes? All of the sudden, darker colors, matte finishes, and polished metal trims feel at home.” And indeed, matte finishes in particular have largely defined the new black kitchen moment, suggesting the appeal of subtle and grounded tones, which are often paired with high-gloss surfaces elsewhere in the kitchen for a balanced look.

For clients not ready to dive headfirst into the all-black trend, modularity could be an easy entry point. “The beauty of working with a modular kitchen system is that it is risk-free,” Soner, of IKEA, says. “You can be brave and go for an all-black kitchen or take baby steps with a few accent doors. If you change your style, [just] switch out the door fronts.”

Above all, the black kitchen might just become the Little Black Dress of interior design, as black suggests “enduring elegance,” according to Pressman. “Whether a matte finish or a metallic, black conveys sophistication and chic, two things that never go out of style.”