Give Brick Kitchens A Bold Revival With One Gorgeous Cabinet Color

Many home remodelers relent to the dreaded "landlord special" oft-spied in apartment buildings: "Just slap a coat of white paint on it and call it good." If you're living in an older-construction home, there's no need to paint over original brick. In fact, if your kitchen already features brick, rejoice. If not, installing a brick backsplash is a timeless, versatile, and durable renovation. Whether brick stars as your backsplash material or the structural walls of your kitchen, one cabinet color is best-suited to showcase and enhance that rugged, ruddy material — blue. 

Painted cabinets can totally transform the look of a space. By opting for blue cabinets, folks don't have to commit to a totally blue kitchen design to still enjoy a pop of color that won't visually dominate the scene — especially if brick is part of the aesthetic equation. For a subtler look, consider keeping a cabinet or two unpainted. Raw wood (especially cherry, mahogany, or birch) artfully juxtaposes the smooth blue paint and coarse brick material. Prefer a modern look? Trim your ceilings with wide white crown molding. This cosmetic addition will draw the eye upward and create the illusion of a brighter, more open space — which can be a good fit for folks who aren't going for a cozy or rustic feel. If it's in the remodel budget, solid white countertops also keep brick-and-blue kitchens looking bright, open, and modern.

Be sure to keep color temperature in mind when choosing your blue paint; warm-toned bricks will be best complemented by a warm-toned shade. Alternatively, white, tan, and grey-ish bricks will be best complemented by cool-toned blues. The stars of HGTV's "Unsellable Houses" swear by a cool denim paint tone for kitchen cabinets with character. For a more contemporary or transitional design scheme, blue-grey paint works especially well. Ultimately, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Exposed red brickwork and dark blue cabinets would create an industrial-loft look (bonus points for exposed pipes running along the ceiling), so follow your heart. To complete the industrial-loft look, you could even lay down a red patterned runner rug. Not only does this timeless pattern look great, but it's also forgiving to stains.

Gearing up for a larger kitchen remodel? To really let the brick walls and blue cabinets shine, opt for a more understated, natural countertop material that won't compete for attention. Concrete and slab wood countertops would pair fabulously with a blue-brick duo. Or, a green soapstone countertop could round out warm-toned kitchen spaces for visual balance that only gets better with age. Word to the wise: Stick to matte silver hardware here. The blue cabinets and brick accents are eye-catching enough on their own. Any visible handles and knobs should blend into the background like an Oscar-worthy supporting actor.