26 Paint Colors Showing Up in Kitchens This Year

Kitchen cabinets stayed white for roughly fifteen years. The shift away has been gradual and then all at once, and the replacements are not the oak-toned browns of the 1990s but saturated greens, deep blues, warm clays, and near-blacks.

Paint manufacturers announce a color of the year each autumn, and for 2026 nearly every major brand landed in the same territory: warm, muted, and earth-derived. What follows are the shades turning up most often in kitchens, from those announcements and from the perennial favorites that never left.

Sherwin-Williams Universal Khaki SW 6150

Sherwin-Williams selected this warm neutral for 2026, and HGTV Home by Sherwin-Williams named the same shade. It is a tan with enough depth to avoid looking builder-grade, which is the usual failure of beige in kitchens.

It pairs particularly well with unlacquered brass hardware.

Behr Hidden Gem

Behr’s 2026 choice is a green with a distinctly muted, mineral quality rather than the yellow-leaning sage that dominated recent years. Green has become the default cabinet color for anyone leaving white behind, and this version reads more grounded than most.

It holds up well against both white and wood countertops.

Valspar Warm Eucalyptus

Valspar’s 2026 color sits in the soft gray-green family, closer to the muted end than the herbal one. It is a common choice for kitchen islands where the perimeter cabinets stay light.

In north-facing kitchens it can drift toward gray, so a sample board is worth the effort.

Glidden Warm Mahogany

Glidden went considerably darker for 2026 with a rich reddish brown. Brown has been the least fashionable kitchen color for two decades, which is exactly why it is being reconsidered.

It works best in kitchens with substantial natural light, where the warmth reads as intentional rather than dim.

Dunn-Edwards Midnight Garden

The deepest of the 2026 selections, a dark blue-green that approaches black in low light. It suits a single dramatic element — an island, a pantry door, a run of lower cabinets — better than an entire kitchen.

Dark cabinet colors show fingerprints, which is an argument for a satin rather than matte finish.

Dutch Boy Melodious Ivory

Dutch Boy’s 2026 pick is a creamy off-white with a warm undertone, positioned against the cooler whites that dominated the past decade. On kitchen walls it softens the light without reading yellow.

It is a practical ceiling color as well.

Benjamin Moore Cinnamon Slate 2113-40

Benjamin Moore’s 2025 color of the year, a plum-toned mauve that behaves like a neutral despite being obviously a color. It has been widely adopted on islands and butler’s pantries.

Against warm wood floors it reads sophisticated; against cool gray tile it can look uncertain.

Sherwin-Williams Evergreen Fog SW 9130

Named color of the year for 2022 and still one of the most requested cabinet colors four years later. It is a gray-green muted enough to work in kitchens of any size without dominating.

The staying power comes from its ability to read as either green or gray depending on what surrounds it.

Benjamin Moore Newburyport Blue HC-155

A dark navy with a green undertone that reads considerably moodier than a standard blue. It is deep enough to hide daily wear on lower cabinets, which matters in a room where doors get opened with wet hands.

The color changes character noticeably between matte and satin finishes.

Benjamin Moore Hale Navy HC-154

A classic mid-dark navy, arguably the most-used non-white kitchen cabinet color in the United States over the past decade. It has enough gray in it to avoid looking nautical.

Pairing it with brass rather than chrome is what separates a current version from one that looks like 2016.

Sherwin-Williams Naval SW 6244

Deeper and more purely blue than Hale Navy, with less gray softening it. It makes a strong statement on an island against white perimeter cabinets.

The depth requires good task lighting under the upper cabinets to keep counters usable.

Sherwin-Williams Greek Villa SW 7551

A warm off-white with a faint cream undertone, used when a kitchen needs to read as white without the clinical quality of a pure white. It sits half a step warmer than Alabaster, which makes it a common pairing with wood floors. On trim and ceilings it warms an entire room subtly.

Benjamin Moore White Dove OC-17

Probably the most specified white in American interiors, a soft warm white with a touch of gray that keeps it from going cream. It is used on cabinets, trim, and walls simultaneously in a great many kitchens.

Its reliability across different light conditions is the reason.

Sherwin-Williams Alabaster SW 7008

Named color of the year in 2016 and still enormously popular, a creamy white with warm undertones. It reads noticeably softer than the crisp whites that surrounded it a decade ago.

In kitchens with warm-toned wood it disappears into the palette pleasantly.

Benjamin Moore First Light 2102-70

A soft blush with a clay undertone, named Benjamin Moore’s color of the year in 2020 and still finding its way onto cabinetry. Pink kitchens sound improbable and photograph beautifully, particularly against unlacquered brass and terracotta.

It is subtle enough that many people register it as a neutral until told otherwise.

Behr Cracked Pepper

Behr’s 2024 color of the year, a soft black that avoids the harshness of true black. It works on a range of lower cabinets, on a pantry door, or on window sashes.

Black cabinetry requires more attention to lighting design than any other choice.

Benjamin Moore Chantilly Lace OC-65

A clean, bright white with minimal undertone, the counterpoint to the warm whites currently dominating. It suits kitchens with modern cabinetry and cool-toned stone.

Used on trim beside a colored wall it sharpens the contrast considerably.

Sherwin-Williams Urbane Bronze SW 7048

The 2021 color of the year, a deep warm gray-brown that has proven unusually durable as a cabinet color. It bridges the gap between gray and brown without committing to either. On a kitchen island with a light stone top the contrast is striking.

Sherwin-Williams Pewter Green SW 6208

A muted deep green with considerable gray, and one of the most requested cabinet colors of the past several years. It is dark enough to feel substantial but soft enough not to close a room in.

In kitchens with older architecture it reads period-appropriate rather than trendy.

Benjamin Moore Salamander 2050-10

A near-black green that only reveals its color in direct light. It has become a favorite for dramatic kitchens where black alone would feel flat.

The depth works best with matte or dead-flat finishes on cabinetry that will not be handled constantly.

Benjamin Moore Van Deusen Blue HC-156

A deep blue with a violet cast that separates it from a conventional navy. It is a bolder choice than Hale Navy and better suited to a kitchen with generous natural light.

Confined to a single island it becomes manageable in nearly any space.

Benjamin Moore Chelsea Gray HC-168

A mid-tone gray with warm undertones that has resisted the general retreat from gray interiors. It is dark enough to define lower cabinets against light walls without the commitment of black.

It also works on kitchen ceilings in rooms with substantial height.

Sherwin-Williams Accessible Beige SW 7036

A greige that leans warm, widely used on kitchen walls where cabinetry carries the color. It coordinates with both cool and warm cabinet tones, which explains its persistence.

It is one of the more forgiving choices in a room with mixed materials.

Sherwin-Williams Sea Salt SW 6204

A pale gray-green soft enough to function as a light neutral, and one of the most-used wall colors in American kitchens and bathrooms. It suits smaller rooms where a saturated color would overwhelm.

In low light it reads gray; in bright light the green emerges clearly, and in some rooms it tips toward blue.

Sherwin-Williams Iron Ore SW 7069

A deep charcoal that stops just short of black, frequently used on kitchen islands, exterior doors, and window frames. It is dark enough to anchor a room without absorbing all the light.

Paired with white uppers it produces one of the most requested kitchen combinations of recent years.

Benjamin Moore Kendall Charcoal HC-166

A softer, warmer charcoal than Iron Ore, with brown undertones that keep it from reading cold. It works well in kitchens that already contain wood tones.

On cabinetry it is more forgiving of fingerprints than a true black.

What the Color Chip Cannot Tell You

Every shade on this list will look different in a specific kitchen than it does in the store, because paint has no color of its own — it reflects whatever light is available. North-facing rooms cool everything down, incandescent bulbs warm everything up, and a green countertop will push a gray wall toward green whether or not anyone intended it.

The only reliable method is a sample painted on a large piece of poster board, moved around the room, and looked at across a full day. It costs a few dollars and prevents the most expensive mistake in any kitchen renovation, which is repainting.

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