Kitchen cabinet colours that won't date

Why the 'right' colour keeps changing, and how to choose one that suits your light, your worktop and the way your kitchen gets used.

Updated 28 October 2026 · The Kitchen Resprayer

The short answer

No single colour stays in fashion. In Houzz's UK surveys grey was the most chosen cabinet colour in 2023 and 2024; by 2026, blue and green were ahead.

A colour stops looking dated when it suits the room: the light it gets, the worktop and floor you're keeping, and how much it will show wear.

One kitchen, four colours

The same kitchen as it is, and in three of the colours people choose most. Notice how much the worktop, floor and window light change how each one reads.

The same modern shaker kitchen in as it is: tired cream — As it is: tired cream

The same modern shaker kitchen in deep green — Deep green

The same modern shaker kitchen in inky blue — Inky blue

The same modern shaker kitchen in soft sage — Soft sage

What people actually choose

Cabinet colour	Houzz UK 2023	Houzz UK 2024	Houzz UK 2026
Grey	21%	19%	12%
White	19%	15%	8%
Blue	17%	17%	18%
Green	13%	16%	17%
Off-white	n/a	n/a	9%
Wood	n/a	n/a	9%
Beige	7%	8%	n/a
Black	4%	5%	n/a

Houzz's surveys of its own UK users mid-renovation (1,085 in 2023, 497 in 2024, 402 in 2026). Houzz says its 2026 questions and answer choices changed, so read the columns side by side, not as a trend line.

The useful lesson is not which colour is winning. It's that the leader moves, so a colour chosen because it is popular this year is the one most likely to look like this year later.

Start with the light

North-facing

Cooler light, and less of it. Dulux says most colours look slightly colder and darker here, and warmer shades suit. Farrow & Ball says avoid pale colours with a blue or grey base, or accept the cool light and go dark on purpose.

South-facing

Warm light through the day in fine weather. Dulux says almost any colour works, with cooler shades taking the edge off strong sun. Farrow & Ball says south light adds warmth to greens and blues.

East and west

East-facing rooms get their sun in the morning and cooler light in the evening; west-facing rooms the reverse. Dulux warns that blues can feel cold in a west-facing room.

After dark

Your kitchen gets used under its own lights. Farrow & Ball says warm bulbs warm colours up, cool white bulbs give a bluer cast, and a neutral white bulb is closest to daylight. Dulux says some low-energy bulbs wash out subtle neutrals.

LRV: the number that tells you how light it really is

LRV, light reflectance value, is how much light a colour reflects. Crown explains it simply: the more light a colour reflects, the lighter it is and the higher its LRV. Dark colours absorb more and reflect less.

You can often read it straight off a trade colour code. Crown says the middle two digits of its trade codes are the LRV, so a colour coded C7832S has an LRV of 83 and B8080A an LRV of 8. Dulux Trade codes run hue, then LRV from 00 to 99, then chroma.

Use it to compare the colours on your shortlist from the same maker. A low-LRV colour in a north-facing or small kitchen will look darker on the doors than it does on the chart; a high one bounces light round the room. Different makers' figures aren't guaranteed to compare, so check each maker's own number.

Choose by your kitchen

Your kitchen	What tends to work
North-facing	Warm neutrals, or a deliberately deep colour; avoid pale blue- or grey-based shades
South-facing	Most colours, including cooler greens and blues
Small or low on light	Cabinets the same colour as the walls, and a higher LRV
Wood worktop or wood floor	Greens, and muted blue-greys, which Farrow & Ball pairs with timber
White worktop	Compare whites together: undertones that look identical alone can clash side by side
You want a bold colour	Put it on the island or the lower units, with calmer uppers

From Dulux UK, Farrow & Ball, Crown and a UK kitchen retailer, listed at the foot of this page.

Houzz's UK figures show what most people are matching to: white was the most common worktop in its 2024 survey (48%), and wood the most common floor in 2026 (43%).

Undertones next to your worktop and floor

Farrow & Ball says neutrals come with blue, yellow, red and even lilac undertones, and that a blue-grey cast shows more in bright light. That's why a white that looks right on its own can look grubby next to a white worktop.

One UK kitchen retailer suggests taking samples home and looking at them beside the floor you're keeping, at several times of day. Farrow & Ball also notes that a plain wooden worktop steps back and lets the cabinet colour lead.

Two colours

In Houzz's 2026 survey, 29% chose different colours for upper and lower cabinets. The lower units were most often green, grey or blue; the uppers most often wood, off-white or beige.

Harvey Jones suggests a bolder shade on a focal point such as an island or pantry, with the main run kept more neutral. A UK kitchen retailer says give the two colours a clear link, such as a shared undertone, timber or handle finish. A second colour usually adds to the cost of a respray: see what a kitchen respray costs.

How much your colour will show wear

Chips

The bigger the jump between the topcoat and what's underneath, the more a chip shows. One homeowner describes white primer "glaring through" chips on a dark kitchen. One primer maker suggests tinting the primer towards the topcoat colour, so a chip barely shows.

Marks

A UK kitchen retailer says dark cabinets show fingerprints, dust and water marks, and dark matt can show grease. In a Which? survey, matt cabinets showing fingerprints was one of the cabinet complaints.

Whites turning yellow

Solvent-based whites all discolour over time, one paint maker says, and faster where there is little daylight. Water-based paint keeps whites white.

Going lighter

Covering a dark colour with a light one takes more primer. The how-to-paint page covers the primer for each door type.

If you're selling soon

Which? advises more neutral colours for the permanent parts of a kitchen if you want the biggest lift in value, and timeless schemes over current trends, because some buyers want a blank canvas.

Test it properly before you commit

Paint big samples

Farrow & Ball says two coats on thick card or paper, the bigger the better. Dulux suggests A4 lining paper, and waiting until it is completely dry, because wet paint looks different.

Put them where the doors are

Hold them upright under the wall units and down by the plinth, next to the worktop and the floor, not side by side on one wall.

Live with them

Check over a day or two. Then close the curtains and look under the kitchen lights in the evening, which is when you will see it most.

Match the sheen

A sample in a different sheen can read slightly differently from the finish on the doors, so test in the finish you will get where you can.

Where this comes from

All read 28 October 2026. Firms change their prices and terms; check the current position with them.

Common questions

No colour is immune: in Houzz's UK surveys the most chosen cabinet colour changed between 2023 and 2026. Which? advises timeless colour schemes over current trends for anything permanent. In practice a colour lasts when it suits the room's light and the worktop and floor you are keeping.

In Houzz's 2026 survey of its UK users, blue (18%) and green (17%) were the most chosen cabinet colours, ahead of grey (12%). In its 2023 and 2024 surveys grey was first. Houzz says the 2026 questions changed, so the years are not a like-for-like comparison.

Dulux says north-facing rooms get cooler light and less of it, and suit warmer shades: warm neutrals help a north-facing kitchen avoid feeling gloomy. Farrow & Ball says avoid pale colours with a blue or grey base there, or accept the cool light and go deliberately dark.

Farrow & Ball suggests painting the cabinets the same colour as the walls in a smaller room, so the space feels less cluttered and larger. Check the colour's LRV too: a higher number reflects more light.

They can. One homeowner describes white primer glaring through chips on a dark kitchen. A primer close to the final colour makes a chip far less obvious, which is why one primer maker suggests tinting the primer towards the topcoat.

29% of the Houzz UK users surveyed in 2026 chose different colours for upper and lower cabinets, usually a green, grey or blue below and wood, off-white or beige above. Give the two colours something in common, such as an undertone or the handles. A second colour usually costs extra on a respray.

What a kitchen respray costs

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