Two-Toned RV Kitchen – Dark Lower, Light Upper Cabinets

Say goodbye to those ugly brown and beige RV cabinets and say hello to a beautiful two-toned kitchen. This design trend has been around for a few years and judging by the number of two-toned RV renovations we’re seeing this year, it’s clear this trend is here to stay for a while.

In tiny RV kitchens the most common goal is to make the kitchen feel bigger. Darker colors, because they absorb light, have the opposite effect. So if you want the two-toned look and you’d like to keep the kitchen feeling bright and roomy, consider painting the upper cabinets white or light grey and complete the look with muted shades of blue, dark grey, or if you’re feeling risky – a splashy color like green on the lower cabinets.

In a smaller space like an RV kitchen, one of the biggest challenges is making the kitchen look bright and not too top-heavy. That’s why it’s more common to keep your darker colors down low, and lighter colors up top. Dark base cabinets keep the kitchen looking grounded, while light upper cabinetry helps reflect more light into a small space, especially if you have a light-colored ceiling and lighter wall colors.

We recently published an article with some of our favorite farmhouse style renovations and it’s pretty common to see a two-toned kitchen with blue lower cabinets and white upper cabinets in many of those renovations. But farmhouse style doesn’t always have to be the standard white and blue color scheme–gray works just as well and green is actually becoming more popular this year.

But it’s not just farmhouse style renovations where we’re seeing two-toned color schemes. It’s no surprise that the two-toned look is becoming more common in RV renovations as it’s commonly used to add depth to a confined space. The lighter upper cabinets reflect the natural light and make the kitchen feel taller and more spacious.

Just because your kitchen is small in square footage, that doesn’t mean you can’t have the two-tone design of your dreams. Check out the gallery below to help inspire the look you want as you create your new RV kitchen!

Color Coordination is Key

The trick to two-tone kitchen cabinets is generating a natural flow of the colors. Mixing and matching your favorite colors and patterns with fun backsplash tiles might not create the final look you’re imagining. Select a color and experiment with different color swatches from the paint store to ensure the space looks cohesive.

Small spaces in an RV can quickly look messy, so if you want harmony within your kitchen, you could use a backsplash color or patterned design as your baseline for your color scheme. Match the two colors of cabinets and the color of the walls against the backsplash background so it will seamlessly tie together.

Two-tone color schemes come in a variety of combinations, including different hues of the same color. Using a light grey on the upper and muted dark grey on the lower cabinets, accented with a butcher block counter, gives a fresh, clean look. But when mixing colors for your kitchen cabinets, it’s not enough to just pick coordinating hues between cabinet colors. Wall colors, backsplash designs and hardware are also key considerations if you want to tie the entire theme together.

If you want to add some personality and go with a radiant color scheme, an elegant way to incorporate the two-tone kitchen cabinet trend is by painting the kitchen island or an accent wall as the focal point. This works best if your kitchen is primarily a neutral shade, like mostly white or light grey. It also works best if your flooring is a lighter shade rather than dark, rich wood tones. The lighter hues allow your chosen color to shine without overpowering the whole room.

Invest in Hardware

As mentioned above, the trick to two-toned cabinetry is to find a way to pull the whole look together, and one of the best ways to do that is with the right hardware. To start, make sure the hardware matches across all cabinets. Some drawers might be pre-drilled for shorter handle pulls while other cabinets might be pre-drilled for round handles. So be sure to plan a uniting theme to bring the shapes, designs and colors of hardware into harmony with the other accessories in the room (such as sink faucet and refrigerator handles) and the cabinet styles and colors.

Better yet, if you really want to ramp up the sense of harmony in the room, choose bold hardware that not only complements both the upper and lower cabinet colors, but also serves as an obvious highlight that ties the room together.

So there you have it! Let us know in the comments below what you think about these inspirational two-tone RV kitchen remodels.