11 Reasons to Go For a Dark Green Kitchen This Year
The blue kitchen remains a firm new favourite on Houzz, but wait – could it have some competition from this mossy hue?
Dark or sludgy green is a colour tipped by many to be big in 2017 (even though Pantone’s Colour of the Year is the vibrant, acid ‘Greenery’). And here on Houzz, it’s a colour we’re especially seeing in your kitchens. Check out some of the different ways Houzzers have gone for seaweed, moss or juniper shades in their cookspaces – and let us know in the Comments below if you’re inspired to take up any of their ideas.
Tie in your floor
Patterned floor tiles indoors remain hugely popular, and these geometric ones are a nice twist on the more traditional encaustic tile designs that have led the way. They’re perfect for a fresh, modern kitchen like this.
If heritage style isn’t your thing, opt for modern details such as flat-fronted, handless cupboards and a slightly less historic shade of green, as shown here. Along with the lively tiles, they instantly give this space a contemporary look.
Instead of having a vibrant floor, you could try hanging a large, framed abstract print or advertising poster in complementary colours to create a similar effect.
Need more inspiration? See these stylish kitchens in green
Patterned floor tiles indoors remain hugely popular, and these geometric ones are a nice twist on the more traditional encaustic tile designs that have led the way. They’re perfect for a fresh, modern kitchen like this.
If heritage style isn’t your thing, opt for modern details such as flat-fronted, handless cupboards and a slightly less historic shade of green, as shown here. Along with the lively tiles, they instantly give this space a contemporary look.
Instead of having a vibrant floor, you could try hanging a large, framed abstract print or advertising poster in complementary colours to create a similar effect.
Need more inspiration? See these stylish kitchens in green
Hanker after some heritage
The heritage look is another key kitchen trend emerging on Houzz, and inky green is the perfect virescent shade if you want to hark back to simpler times. Black and navy are two other popular options, but there’s something about British Racing Green that instantly conjures up the past.
Pair it with marble worktops or splashbacks to enhance that built-to-last feel, and choose your lighting with care – vintage originals or thoughtful reproductions with a gentle industrial edge will top off the downstairs-at-Downton-Abbey effect.
The heritage look is another key kitchen trend emerging on Houzz, and inky green is the perfect virescent shade if you want to hark back to simpler times. Black and navy are two other popular options, but there’s something about British Racing Green that instantly conjures up the past.
Pair it with marble worktops or splashbacks to enhance that built-to-last feel, and choose your lighting with care – vintage originals or thoughtful reproductions with a gentle industrial edge will top off the downstairs-at-Downton-Abbey effect.
Boost your scheme with art
A touch more marble, some antique oil paintings, a bit more brass… This kitchen is a brilliant lesson in heritage styling.
Art can really enhance a kitchen and cement references to any era you might be tapping into. If midcentury is your thing, for example, Lucienne Day textiles or Orla Kiely ceramics would hold equal power in a more contemporary scheme.
A touch more marble, some antique oil paintings, a bit more brass… This kitchen is a brilliant lesson in heritage styling.
Art can really enhance a kitchen and cement references to any era you might be tapping into. If midcentury is your thing, for example, Lucienne Day textiles or Orla Kiely ceramics would hold equal power in a more contemporary scheme.
Flirt with grey
Picking a shade that borders on deep grey is another way to use green in a modern space, as grey has such contemporary connotations.
There’s a convention in kitchen design when two colours of cabinet are used that the lower units are dark, while the upper ones are the paler shade. Although there are no real wall units here, the painted wall fulfils the same function. And this reversal of the unspoken rule works because the kitchen is large, high ceilinged and airy. In a small room, you may find that a dark top section and pale lower section gives you the feeling that the walls are falling in on you, so research carefully before committing to a colour scheme.
Picking a shade that borders on deep grey is another way to use green in a modern space, as grey has such contemporary connotations.
There’s a convention in kitchen design when two colours of cabinet are used that the lower units are dark, while the upper ones are the paler shade. Although there are no real wall units here, the painted wall fulfils the same function. And this reversal of the unspoken rule works because the kitchen is large, high ceilinged and airy. In a small room, you may find that a dark top section and pale lower section gives you the feeling that the walls are falling in on you, so research carefully before committing to a colour scheme.
Go for all over
Intensify your chosen green by painting all your woodwork in it, too. Here, there are no door frames or cupboard doors picked out in white or cream to break up the star colour. This effect steers the kitchen into homely, rather than smart-classic territory – and it works wonderfully.
Again, if you’re giving heritage a nod, as this kitchen does, the ideal lighting is something a little industrial – Victorian kitchens were busy, functional spaces, not the rooms we now socialise and eat in. Searching online for factory-style lighting is a good place to start.
Intensify your chosen green by painting all your woodwork in it, too. Here, there are no door frames or cupboard doors picked out in white or cream to break up the star colour. This effect steers the kitchen into homely, rather than smart-classic territory – and it works wonderfully.
Again, if you’re giving heritage a nod, as this kitchen does, the ideal lighting is something a little industrial – Victorian kitchens were busy, functional spaces, not the rooms we now socialise and eat in. Searching online for factory-style lighting is a good place to start.
Stick to a strip
Perhaps you already have your kitchen in place and just fancy a refresh? Or maybe you’re not up for committing to green as your cabinet colour? You can still let this mossy shade shine in your cookspace, and a green-tiled splashback is one way to do it.
If you have wooden accessories or features in a pale wood hue, consider sprucing them up with a new stain (always try out stains and coloured wood oils on an out-of-sight patch first, regardless of the shade pictured on the label). The very dark brown seen here on the floor, shelf and support works because it’s a comparable saturation to the shade of green in the tiles.
Perhaps you already have your kitchen in place and just fancy a refresh? Or maybe you’re not up for committing to green as your cabinet colour? You can still let this mossy shade shine in your cookspace, and a green-tiled splashback is one way to do it.
If you have wooden accessories or features in a pale wood hue, consider sprucing them up with a new stain (always try out stains and coloured wood oils on an out-of-sight patch first, regardless of the shade pictured on the label). The very dark brown seen here on the floor, shelf and support works because it’s a comparable saturation to the shade of green in the tiles.
Try a trio
Mix up a selection of greens to create depth in your scheme. Here, forest green tiles rub along happily with a sage dining set and a pale pistachio wall.
To find shades that work well together, try picking three from a paint colour card. Try them out on sheets of paper and tape them on different walls and surfaces around your kitchen to see how each looks in the light and how well they work together.
Mix up a selection of greens to create depth in your scheme. Here, forest green tiles rub along happily with a sage dining set and a pale pistachio wall.
To find shades that work well together, try picking three from a paint colour card. Try them out on sheets of paper and tape them on different walls and surfaces around your kitchen to see how each looks in the light and how well they work together.
Wow with a feature wall
Look around your kitchen space and see if you have a full-height wall you could paint seaweed green.
Here, the homeowners are lucky enough to have an empty wall adjacent to their dining table. If you don’t, how about picking out one floor-to-ceiling unit to turn green, and tying it into your scheme with a narrow splashback in the same shade? You could use tiles for your splashback, if you can find ones in exactly the same green, or get some toughened glass back-painted to match and cut to size.
Look around your kitchen space and see if you have a full-height wall you could paint seaweed green.
Here, the homeowners are lucky enough to have an empty wall adjacent to their dining table. If you don’t, how about picking out one floor-to-ceiling unit to turn green, and tying it into your scheme with a narrow splashback in the same shade? You could use tiles for your splashback, if you can find ones in exactly the same green, or get some toughened glass back-painted to match and cut to size.
Nail the New Nordic look
If you love the clean lines of Scandi and Nordic design, but are ready for a variation on monochrome, then dark green is for you. This pale wood, white and inky green kitchen is a bit like a Norwegian pine forest on a snowy day (if you have a good imagination).
Don’t be afraid to mix up your eras and design references, but do it with conviction. Only taking style cues from this heritage-look island on legs, with its panelled Shaker-esque doors, and putting an industrial-style pendant in here, would throw the rest of this pared-back, contemporary space off course.
The trick is to look for another theme to follow: clean, boxy lines for example. Focus on this secondary style and you’ll more easily build a coherent space. Here, the heritage look is swiftly updated by the concrete-look worktop and ultra-contemporary lighting above.
Want timeless style with a twist? Take a look at these contemporary Shaker-style kitchens
If you love the clean lines of Scandi and Nordic design, but are ready for a variation on monochrome, then dark green is for you. This pale wood, white and inky green kitchen is a bit like a Norwegian pine forest on a snowy day (if you have a good imagination).
Don’t be afraid to mix up your eras and design references, but do it with conviction. Only taking style cues from this heritage-look island on legs, with its panelled Shaker-esque doors, and putting an industrial-style pendant in here, would throw the rest of this pared-back, contemporary space off course.
The trick is to look for another theme to follow: clean, boxy lines for example. Focus on this secondary style and you’ll more easily build a coherent space. Here, the heritage look is swiftly updated by the concrete-look worktop and ultra-contemporary lighting above.
Want timeless style with a twist? Take a look at these contemporary Shaker-style kitchens
Deviate from white in a small space
Small spaces should be kept pale in colour… Well, this kitchen totally trounces that so-called rule, doesn’t it? This luscious, olive-sludge green features on every unit, right up to the ceiling on three walls, and it doesn’t overwhelm the space at all.
However, there’s a little trick at play: the cupboards ahead and on the left are glass-fronted, with a pale shade inside and interior lighting. This little touch creates depth where solid green could have felt a touch top-heavy. The crisp white ceiling and pale marble ‘sandwich filling’ on the left also play a key part in providing visual harmony.
Does your kitchen feature green? If not, would you like it to? Tell us in the Comments below.
Small spaces should be kept pale in colour… Well, this kitchen totally trounces that so-called rule, doesn’t it? This luscious, olive-sludge green features on every unit, right up to the ceiling on three walls, and it doesn’t overwhelm the space at all.
However, there’s a little trick at play: the cupboards ahead and on the left are glass-fronted, with a pale shade inside and interior lighting. This little touch creates depth where solid green could have felt a touch top-heavy. The crisp white ceiling and pale marble ‘sandwich filling’ on the left also play a key part in providing visual harmony.
Does your kitchen feature green? If not, would you like it to? Tell us in the Comments below.
Green is a happy partner for earthy tones, which bring out its warmer side. Here, a variety of shades have been used to complement the striking bottom-of-the-pond green of the central cabinet, from strong orange and soft terracotta in those leather handles and earthenware pot, to barely there beige in the pale wood walls, floor and worktop, or the ochre of the bottles on the shelf.
If you take no other tips from this kitchen, be inspired by the power of small accessories in helping to build a colour scheme.
Not sure if green is for you? Check out the best blue kitchens on Houzz too