Me + a photo of our kitchen + Photoshop = this post.
When we bought our metal kitchen stools last December (they were $32 each from a school supply store), we knew we might tweak them later—paint them, reupholster or stain the seats—but we wanted to live with them for a while before making any permanent changes during the remodel. Let the room settle, see how everything works together, and then decide.
They actually blended nicely with the stainless appliances and the industrial vibe we like, and the gray echoed the penny-tile wall across the room. Still, after living with them we agreed a fresh coat of paint could take them from good to great, so we started experimenting with colors using Photoshop and real swatches around the house.
Our first idea was a dark teal that would tie into the back of the built-ins in the adjoining dining area. Since the kitchen and dining room are open to each other, we love the glimpse of that teal on the built-ins, so bringing a similar tone into the kitchen felt like a cohesive move. The photoshopped mock-up wasn’t exact, but it helped us imagine the effect.
We also considered glossy white stools for a modern, clean look, but with so much lightness in the cabinets and counters, white felt too flat for our space.
Next up was an oil-rubbed bronze (ORB) finish. It would coordinate with the pendant hardware and pop against the white cabinetry, though it might blend with the floor. A dark charcoal gray was another option, but the ORB mock-up felt richer and more balanced.
We flirted with yellow since there are small yellow accents nearby—a jar by the fridge and a planter on the shelves—but the Photoshop version looked intense. To get a better feel, I brought Clara’s yellow highchair into the kitchen to test the tone in real life.
That felt surprisingly cheerful and not nearly as overwhelming as the digital mock-up. I also pulled stools from other rooms—a blue HomeGoods stool and a red Joss & Main stool—to compare. We liked all three options: yellow, blue, and red each brought a different energy to the peninsula.
The blue option worked well with the blue accents on the open shelves, but red (a tomato tone) caught our eye because it’s not used much elsewhere in the house and would feel fresh. It would also echo some red tones in nearby artwork. To imagine the look on four metal stools with backs, I returned to Photoshop for another mock-up.
Our only hesitation with red or deep orange was how those colors would read against the yellow-green walls and the rest of the room when viewed from the fireplace nook, which has more green in it. Because of that, we experimented with green tones as well—leaf green and a deeper emerald—to see if a green stool might feel more harmonious.
All of these greens could work, so we added them to our list of contenders. The broader realization was that our neutral kitchen—white, gray, and natural wood—can support many colors, so the final choice will really be about which hue we like best in the space.
We also explored a lighter teal with gray undertones. These digital renderings are only an approximation—real-life light, finishes, and reflections will change the way a color reads—so we’re relying on both Photoshop and real-life tests to guide us.
Funny coincidence: right after photographing these mock-ups I noticed a stack of books in the office that featured very similar colors to several of the stool options. Clearly those tones are already speaking to me for accessories and paint choices.
In short: we’re excited and the shortlist is getting clearer. There’s no single “right” color—lots of options will work—so it really comes down to picking the one that feels best to us. We’ll make a final decision soon and share the result. In the meantime, tell us: which color would you choose for kitchen stools—teal, ORB, yellow, blue, red, green, or something else? Anyone else using Photoshop or moving items between rooms to visualize color choices?