How To Choose The Best Wall Color To Complement Your Orange-Toned Cabinets

Painting wooden kitchen cabinets is a hot DIY trend these days, as is installing new cabinets in vibrant colors. While these bursts of color can really transform your kitchen's appearance (and help you move on from the oh-so-boring all-white kitchen trend), these can be expensive or labor-intensive fixes, and some cabinets can be tricky to paint. One easy and affordable way to refresh your kitchen's color scheme is to paint your walls, instead. Choosing the best colors to complement your orange-toned wood cabinets is easy if you follow some simple color guidelines.

To select the best wall color, you have to decide whether you want the hue to have warm or cool undertones. Warm undertones will complement the color of your orange cabinets and give the space a warm and cozy aesthetic. On the other hand, cool undertones provide a contrast, and you can end up with a more dramatic and elegant kitchen. So, if you want to accentuate your orange-toned wood cabinets, go with a wall color in natural warm tones. But, if you want to tone down the warmth of the wood, choose a nice cool color that you love.

Of course, you want to start by choosing a paint color you enjoy: One that has flexible color palette possibilities. While neutrals might first come to mind, you could also opt for deeper tones like forest green, deep blue, mocha, or rust, as these can work with a variety of warm or cool color schemes.

While your honey oak cabinets may feel a bit outdated to you now, bear in mind that there's a reason why kitchen color trends often circle back to include warm retro color palettes. Warmer colors have a timeless feel and are well-suited to the kitchen, which we literally associate with warmth. Earthy shades of green, brown, orange, and gold invoke nature and the harvest season, reminding us of why the kitchen is such an important room: It's where we make and serve food!

Orange is symbolically associated with energy and creativity. It's also the color of many foods, including fruits, vegetables, cheeses, and sauces. The classic warm-toned palette of orange, gold, and olive green has a rich, autumnal feel that works well with natural wood cabinets and floors. Warm orange-adjacent colors for kitchen walls include marigold, butterscotch, apricot, terra cotta, persimmon, and copper. Check out the "orange" family of colors from Benjamin Moore for some great inspiration, from pastels ('Butter Rum' is warm yet neutral), to brights (cheery, lively 'Oriole'), to appealing muted shades (warm, subtle 'August Morning').

Warmer paint colors will complement your orange-toned wood cabinets by creating an overall harmonious feeling in the kitchen. Warm-toned metallics (like copper and brass) will also enhance a warm color palette. Adding some cool color touches with accessories sparks visual interest: Cool shades of blue and teal green look great with orange because they're on opposite sides of the color wheel, so they provide striking contrast.

If your orange-toned wood cabinets are part of a vintage or country kitchen look, painting your walls a neutral color can create a subtle but welcoming feel. Some homeowners prefer this look in the kitchen, which makes it feel both cozy and clean. The visual emphasis is on natural hues and textures, including wood, fabric, plants, ceramic, glass, and stone. Neutral paint colors can be warm or cool, and most colors in the spectrum have neutral versions. 

Neutral paint colors usually contain gray and/or brown tones that mute the brightness of colors like red or blue, creating many subtle gradations and hues. For example, mauve is a muted shade of purple, slate is a muted shade of blue, and so on. One neutral that's become a popular wall color is sage green. This medium, muted green, pairs easily with many colors. Green, being in the middle of the spectrum, is easier for the human eye to perceive than other colors and conveys a sense of calm. Many greens can bring a sense of harmony to a room's color palette. Sage green has a somewhat cool look, so it tones down the warmth of orange wood cabinets.

Other neutral shades to try with orange-toned wood are blue-toned gray and shades of cream. Blue-toned grays contrast beautifully with the rich oranges of honey oak or cherry cabinets, and provide a cool pastel backdrop that is subtle and unobtrusive. Cream is often seen as a warm neutral, but some creams with pink undertones (like Benjamin Moore's 'Cream Puff' or 'Savory Cream') have a touch of coolness that pairs beautifully with warm wood cabinets.