When looking for a unique statement in your kitchen design, black kitchen cabinets can make your kitchen stand out from the crowd. But black is such a dramatic color, that you need to take care in how it is used and how much it is used. Used with care black carries a simple elegance.

Black cabinets can look at home in a contemporary kitchen design, where there are not as many earth colors but more of a high tech ambience. It can combine well with white highlights and stainless appliances. While both can be quite stark and dramatic in their appearance, white kitchen cabinets can be used alone to create a very clean and almost sterile appeal, but black cabinets are best used in contrast to other elements in the kitchen. The flooring of the kitchen is often a great way to create the contrasting elements, as an example using a simple white and black checkerboard pattern can work quite well.

But you can find black cabinets in a wide variety of settings. Contemporary kitchens with simple metal and painted surfaces, to a more traditional setting consisting primarily of hardwoods and earth colors. You can find an appropriate use for black elements in almost any setting.

Because the cabinets are such a major part of the overall effect of a kitchen, at times it's better to use black in smaller areas as the contrasting element. This is often done with the appliances, as they capture they eye in isolated bits, and are not usually the dominant visual element in the kitchen. And black is a relatively easy color to maintain and keep clean. Additionally, black can be cheaper since it is painted or a laminate, not necessarily a hardwood cabinet.

A common approach is to use the walls of an island or the lower or upper halves of the cabinets as the contrasting black paired with either a white or hardwood cabinetry. Another treatment is to use a granite countertop that has black highlights to provide some continuity. Usually this works best in a larger space, but in a smaller kitchen too much black will create a dark and uninviting ambience.

Black kitchen cabinets can be a great addition to your kitchen design, but take time to plan the total impact to create the an area that appeals to your guests.