It’s no secret that white cabinetry has dominated the design cycle for decades. All-white rooms, including the white kitchen, were made popular in the early 1900s, and since have become the go-to for designers like Leanne Ford and Sarah Sherman Samuel, along with those wanting a timeless look.

During the last few years, green kitchen cabinets have surged in popularity, becoming the new neutral. Sherman Samuel even named green as her 2022 “color to watch.”  So why has this earthy hue become the new go-to kitchen cabinet color?

The Sage Refresh

Green calls in imagery of nature, a refreshing, peaceful color that makes it the ideal choice for any room, espically the kitchen. It also complements a variety of palettes and design styles. For  Gizel Bahlman, green Shaker-style fronts were just what was needed to make her Arizona kitchen makeover shine. When the Bahlmans first researched cabinetry quotes, they were in shock at the cost, and thus chose to work with IKEA and Semihandmade to not only save, but get a kitchen that was both functional and stylish. Today, Semihandmade’s DIY Shaker fronts in Farrow & Ball’s Pigeon add life back to the home. “I wanted a little pop of color…but not make it closed-in because the last thing I wanted to do was make this space feel smaller,” she says. 

The Hardworking DIY

Home renovator, DIY educator, and blogger Jennifer Gizzi of Making Pretty Spaces believes it’s never too late to pick up a power tool. When it came to her Green Bay, Wisconsin kitchen, the goal was to update the look, but make it more conducive for a family of six. The cramped galley-shaped space with its segmented layout was dysfunctional, but by knocking by a divider that once separated the cooking and living areas, Gizizi was able to completely transform the kitchen on a budget.  “I tried to make this very budget-friendly, so I kept the footprint of the oven and the sink the same,” she explains.

Semihandmade DIY Shaker fronts painted in Quarry Rock by Benjamin Moore are a gorgeous gray-green. “The DIY’er in me really wanted to see how custom I could make this kitchen so the paintable doors were a great option! And when it came to the countertops, she took a high-low approach, splurging on black soapstone for the island and DIYing white concrete countertops for the perimeter.

The Instant Vacation

A rundown 1970s Catskills A-frame was in desperate need of some TCL when passionate renovators Danielle and Ely Franko first purchased the property in 2019. The city-dweller’s retreat was given a much-needed facelift, which included a gut renovation of both bathrooms and the kitchen. “Not to mention, the existing wood stove was a big fire hazard and the floors needed a lot of love in the form of sanding down and refinishing,” says Brian MacArthur, creator of opportunities for The Hunter Houses. 

The rental now has Semihandmade DIY Shaker fronts painted in a bright custom green paint to pair with the home’s many plants. The three-bedroom, two-bathroom cabin is cozy, nostalgic, and “a place where people feel comfortable, inspired, and leave with memories of the time they spent there with loved ones,” MacArthur adds. 

The One With Midwestern Charm

While northern Minnesorta may not seem like a prime destination, Melissa Coleman of The Faux Martha, has created the ultimate vacation spot just south of the Canadian border on Lake Superior. “Many Minnesotans make pilgrimages Up North, as we call it here, a time or two a year. The shore looks like the coast of Maine. It’s rocky and unadulterated. The trees are tall and the sky is big and clear. If heaven is a place, it might be here,” she says. 

Inside, the charming A-frame’s kitchen, once awash in pine, has rich cedar walls to match the rest of the home’s original cladding. Before the renovation, the kitchen felt cramped yet cozy, “walled in and with cabinets everywhere,” she says. To create a custom look, she switched heavy cabinetry for a mix of Semihandmade DIY Shaker and DIY Slab doors painted in Benjamin Moore’s Trailing Vines. 

The Not-Quite Green

The heart of any food blogger’s home is the kitchen, and Amanda Paa’s takes the cake. The 1908 clapboard-style home had great bones but an underwhelming kitchen. “It was actually the only room in the house that I didn’t love. It had floor-to-ceiling cabinetry and a tiny window on one wall. It was intense, to say the least,” she says. 

From day one, she knew she wanted white walls, to restore the original hardwood, a central range, natural light, and Shaker-style lower cabinets. A tri-color mosaic backsplash featuring blue, green, and white tile perfectly complements the paint color: Raindance by Benjamin Moore, a color she first saw while dining at a local restaurant. “It’s a medium-light sage green with hints of teal that changes slightly depending on the sunlight and time of day,” she says. 

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