This Kitchen Paint Color Never Goes Out Of Style, According To Hilary Farr

When it comes to choosing paint colors for your kitchen, the options may seem endless and overwhelming. There's also the added pressure of making sure you absolutely love the color and that it will never go out of style to avoid having an outdated kitchen in the future. According to HGTV star Hilary Farr, you can't go wrong with blue.

In the eighth episode of the second season of "Tough Love With Hilary Farr," which aired in 2023, the show designer and host had to convince homeowners to agree to add color to their home, which was covered in bland grays. "I adore blue in a kitchen. It's very chic, it's very French," Farr explained (via Realtor) to the homeowners while suggesting a backsplash in a subtle blue-green. "It is very calming. I just think it's forever and ever and ever. It's classic." Ultimately, the homeowners selected an ocean-water color and remarked how lovely it turned out during the reveal.

Along with the timelessness of blue in the kitchen and the fact that it's one of the best paint colors to pair with white kitchen cabinets to create a sense of calm, there's a psychological aspect behind choosing blue. The color creates an airy, fresh, and restorative atmosphere while also exuding optimism. And, while dark, deep shades are naturally soothing, pale shades can be used to make your kitchen look larger. Plus, you can use light and dark hues of blue together for contrast.

While blue is both a kitchen cabinet color you should try and among trendy kitchen paint colors, Hilary Farr has been using it in kitchens (and other rooms of homes) for years. Well before she started hosting "Tough Love With Hilary Farr," the HGTV designer was painting kitchens blue in "Love It or List It," where she competed against realtor David Visentin for the best home transformation.

She even talked about indigo blue in a 2018 interview on the "Today" show. "You know ... it's timeless, and as a result, it's an ongoing trend," said Farr. "It never gets old. So, here you see a mix-up of blues, including indigo blue ... and it's just so rich, and it reminds you of the ocean and water and all those things that you love during the summer. It's comforting. It works with every finish ... Everything works with this color," she concluded.

Farr loves to put blue in kitchens so much that she did so in her own home. After purchasing a Raleigh, North Carolina, cottage, she learned that it was just too tattered to transform like the spaces on her television shows. It was torn down, and she was left with a blank slate. For the kitchen, she chose a light navy blue for the lower cabinets and kitchen island base, and paired it with white upper, glass-door cabinets and Silestone countertops, backsplash, and hood vent.