If you want to spice-up the look of your kitchen think about incorporating two-tone cabinets into your design. If the idea of two-tone cabinets gives you pause, don’t worry—the style isn’t a throw caution to the wind, anything goes kind of look. It’s more like: classy kitchen, with a bit of an adventurous side. Here are two ways to get the look.

Using different gradients of a neutral hue

If you want to lean in to the two-tone look without creating too much of a contrast, consider using different gradients of the same hue for a tone-on-tone look. Consider grey, a classic neutral that can stand the test of time. Paint your upper cabinets in a light grey, and use a deeper tone of grey on the bottom cabinets for a contrast that’s not too bold, but not boring either.

Using classic bright white for crisp contrasts

White upper cabinets can be great for creating crisp contrasts against colorful lower cabinets, especially earth tones like greens, as well as blues. When using bright white uppers consider painting warmer shades of white or cream on the walls to help soften the contrast between your crisp white uppers and the hue you choose for the bottom cabinets.

General rules of thumb

If your kitchen is on the smaller side consider using lighter finishes at eye level—your upper cabinets— to maintain an open and spacious appearance. Using darker shades at the bottom and lighter tones at the top can also be a strategic move for kitchens that don’t get much natural light, or have low ceilings. Here’s another possibility: If your kitchen is dark, but your walls are painted a light color, consider painting your upper cabinets in the same light shade as your walls so that the cabinets take on a kind of camouflage, and become less pronounced.