How to Make a Small Kitchen Look Good with Black Cabinets

Everyone knows that black is slimming, right? A little black dress is sleek and slender, and black jeans help you appear trim. You know that black makes things seem smaller, and your kitchen is already compact, but you love the modern look of black cabinets. Can you pull it off? Of course you can!

Open it up

One way to make black cabinets work in a small kitchen is to open them up. Go ahead and paint them black – we’ll talk more about that later – but also keep the shelves open or use clear glass doors so that the space appears open and full of light. If you’re not a fan of having your dishes on display all the time, you can achieve the same effect and stay private with etched or frosted glass panes.

Also consider using a lighter color for your countertops, perhaps with glass tiles as well. This will help reflect light and create the illusion of space in your kitchen as well as provide an interesting contrast.

You can also keep the wall cabinets white or another light color, but paint the doors and shelves of your kitchen island black. This is a subtle, sophisticated look that incorporates the depth and drama that comes along with black cabinetry without making the space feel too closed in.

Make sure that there’s plenty of natural (or at least natural-looking) light in your kitchen. You’re going for sharp and modern, not dark and dreary. It may be worth investing in new window treatments, such as blinds or sheer curtains, that let in more light during the day.

Use any or all of these strategies to keep your small kitchen looking and feeling spacious while indulging in the depth and drama that black paint brings to your cabinet doors. It’s certainly possible to have it all with black cabinets in a small kitchen.

Painting the Cabinets

So, you’ve decided that you do indeed want black cabinets in your kitchen. The next step is therefore to paint them black. Pick the perfect black paint and follow these tips for a professional-looking paint job.

• Prepare the room by emptying the cabinets, clearing the counters, and removing appliances and furniture.
• Tape rosin paper over the counters and tape plastic sheeting over the backsplash, windows, and any appliances that can’t be removed.
• Mask the walls around the cabinets with painters’ tape.
• Remove the drawers, shelves, and hardware from the cabinets.
• Clean all surfaces of the cabinet doors with degreaser.
• Sand the surfaces.
• Prime the cabinets, if necessary.
• Sand the cabinets again, and use caulk to fill any scratches or holes.
• Paint the cabinet boxes, working from top to bottom.
• Paint the cabinet doors. Start with the areas around the panels. Then paint the panels themselves, the stiles, and around the edges.

Now you can clean up, put everything back where it belongs, and admire how you’ve made black cabinets work in your small kitchen!