As kitchens cement their role as the central gathering place in the home, they're taking on more vibrant, energetic colors. "The kitchen is absolutely a key place for color," says Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, one of the premier color forecasters in the country. "It's the place where people gather, so it's apt to have some mixing and matching of colors to create high energy."

BOLD IS BEAUTIFUL
Since most appliances are basic black, white or silver, people are adding bursts of color on other surfaces. "Most kitchens have minimal wall space, so it's a good place to splash some bold color and make a statement without overpowering the room," says designer Jamie Drake, author of New American Glamour, whose clients include Madonna and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

"We're seeing bolder colors that complement stainless steel, as well as the darker cabinet colors that are in style," explains Becky Ralich Spak, senior designer at Sherwin Williams. "Aztec clay colors — such as copper, henna and ginger — as well as gold tones, are popular options."

According to Drake, bold colors are starting to show up in some unexpected places. For instance, you might frame a stainless steel sink with a burnt orange or fire-engine red countertop, or inlay hot pink or chartreuse tiles around coffee-colored cabinets. "People are viewing kitchens that have too much of any one color as flat, so more color is definitely the way to go," says Drake.

HEAT UP YOUR KITCHEN WITH COLOR
Adding color doesn't necessarily mean you're stuck with bright hues. Subtle colors are also popular for creating a soothing atmosphere in which to seek both comfort and food.

"Warm colors like apricot, yellows and reds are going to continue to be popular in kitchens because they're comforting and appetite stimulators," explains Eiseman, who has a background in psychology as well as interior design. "What makes color trends different from year to year is how you put them together in fresh, inventive ways."

For example, instead of typical country colors in the kitchen, Eiseman suggests pairing a rustic "tapenade" green with accents of "strawberry ice." The cool pink puts a new spin on traditional rustic design.

Designer Jarrett Hedborg leans toward more subdued and relaxing silver blues, gray-greens and tobacco browns found in nature. "I like to use natural background fabrics and textures, such as grass cloth and rattan, to add depth and interest," says Hedborg, who counts Jim Carey, Bette Midler and other celebrities among his clientele.

The world market is also impacting color trends. The Color Marketing Group, an international, not-for-profit association of more than 1,000 color design professionals, says that as India becomes a more powerful player in the world market, people will be drawn to its soothing oranges and yellows. Reds will also continue to be hot, in part due to the upcoming 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

What's "out" in kitchen colors? According to Hedborg, stay away from colors and combinations that have a commercial feel, such as the ones you see over and over in restaurants and retail stores. "There are words we avoid because the color schemes are done to death (like) Tuscan and Terracotta. These have become color clichés," Hedborg explains.

FRESH NEW HUES
Pantone recently announced eight new color palettes, which mix old favorites and fresh new hues. Here are a few that Eiseman recommends for a splash of color in the kitchen:

Agrestic — This appealingly contemporized country style calls for comforting combinations, like bruschetta browns, tender greens or warm golden yellows, with an unexpected accent of a vibrant pink.

Savories — Accent your home with deliciously exuberant, youthful and whimsical hues. This palette includes tasty blends of chocolate and daiquiri green, with dollops of bright hues to embellish the mix.

Ethnic Chic — Style reaches a new level of sophistication when you pair deep purple with misty yellow and stone grays or juxtapose burnt orange against vibrant blue and dark brown.

Help for the Kitchen Organizer

Sooner or later, kitchen clutter undoes even the most phlegmatic cook. The cereal boxes fall all over themselves, the glasses stack like LEGO blocks, and getting to that set of plates at the back — fugeddaboutti. Fortunately, kitchen designers and manufacturers haven't given up, offering us ever newer products for organizing everything from glasses to groceries. Below are some new products that will clean up your kitchen — and disarm your frazzle. Overhaul Your Drawers Diamond Cabinets is thinking outside the cabinet, offering a dish drawer called the Pegged Dish Organizer. The pegs can be rearranged to fit plates, bowls, cups, saucers, you name it. KitchenShelves.com is also a scattered brain's panacea. Try the cut-to-fit spice drawer insert, for instance, that keeps spices easy to see without wasting space. Or consider the slanted sides sliding shelf. Its low front clears the view of what's inside. Or spring for a bread drawer; its sliding top keeps critters out. When in Doubt, Roll It Out Tired of gazing into the dim recesses of your cabinets? Kitchen designer Kathleen Poer, owner of Spatial Design-Sonoma in Sonoma, California, views roll-outs as the most essential kitchen tool: Every item (shelves and drawers) should pull out to meet you — and not just half-way. She recommends Rev-A-Shelf, a Kentucky manufacturer that offers pullouts for everything from waste containers to cookware organizers, from wire to wicker. Diamond Cabinets' Logix line also offers full-extension roll trays with wire pullouts and lots of shelving, even on swing-out doors. Go Upside Down If you're overhauling your kitchen, consider turning it on its head. Designers are increasingly building pull-out garbage drawers even with the countertop lip and setting a shallower drawer at the bottom, reversing traditional positions. One sweep of the sponge and all counter crud falls into the garbage, instead of on your tea towels. Hide It An island isn't just an island but an opportunity to stash more stuff. Merit Kitchens builds islands with curved end shelves, wine racks and even built-in French-style china cabinets. It also offers shelving with pull-out wicker baskets, an idea that makes organizing both useful and artful. Spin It To banish the usual scatter of mismatched lids and containers, try Smart Spin Storage System. The 12-inch-square spinning base holds 24 containers and lids of varying sizes. "You can put it in cabinets or on a lazy Susan," says Poer. "I want to get another set and throw all my other containers away." Let It Hang Hidden isn't always synonymous with organized. Consider taking advantage of wasted airspace by hanging a pot rack — a kind of culinary chandelier. Ira Wood & Son, a Kentucky wholesaler, offers scads of pot racks from Cuisinart, John Boos, Enclume and others. John Boos's PotTrak, for example, is a sleek set of three rectangular maple frames with aluminum hangers and spacers to hang pots, utensils or even baskets. Poer's solution is even simpler: she hangs ladles, strainers and long-handled forks in her window, interspersed with hanging bunches of herbs and peppers — a curtain that still lets the sun in, she says.