15 Creative Green Kitchen Ideas From Interior Designers
Expert advice for mastering the hottest color in kitchens
The green kitchen isn’t a new trend, but it is a lasting one. Since green kitchens started popping up en masse about three years ago—remember Dakota Johnson’s iconic dark green kitchen?— they’ve only become more popular, and we don’t see that stopping anytime soon. Is it because green reminds us of life and earth and nature? Is it because green is at once both color and neutral? Is it because there are so many different shades of green that there’s one for everyone? Yes, yes, and yes. What we love most, however, are the unlimited ways you can bring green into a kitchen design.
Of course, you can go for green kitchen cabinets, painting them sage green, olive green, forest green, or Kelly green—and you should. But you can also install emerald green marble countertops or invest in a teal green oven. With green in the mix, you can go traditional, contemporary, Scandinavian minimalist, or any other design style that calls to your heart. In short: You can use green however you want because it works with nearly everything.
But if you’re wondering how, exactly, interior designers use green in the kitchen, keep scrolling for 15 expert-approved green kitchen ideas and advice for adding the hue to your home.
White kitchens are definitely the most popular, but green kitchens have been on the rise for quite some time now. Green kitchens have been on-trend for at least the past three years, and the look doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. That means green kitchens feel simultaneously relevant and timeless—a good sign that a trend is worth following.
To put it simply, yes. To be more verbose, green is a worthy choice for a kitchen primarily because of its presence in nature—green is innately natural. It makes sense especially if nearby windows offer a leafy view, but can be used to forge a connection to the surrounding environment no matter what. It’s also extremely versatile and can be paired with almost any other color.
The most obvious colors to pair with green are those also found in the natural world: earthy hues like creamy white, warm beige, and rich brown. Combining green with such organic neutrals results in a calming effect. Meanwhile, layering different shades of green can create a pleasing tonal look and contrasting the green with a complementary red or pink makes for a bold statement. The moral of the story is, green works with just about everything—it just depends what aesthetic you’re seeking.
Photo: Vivian Johnson1/15Submit to sage
Sage is among the most popular greens for kitchen cabinets and for good reason—it’s just the right amount of green. That is to say, sage is slightly muted and earthy, yet still undeniably green, which is why California–based Anja Michals used it on the Shaker-style cabinets in an Oakland home. “My client wanted color, but I wanted to make sure it felt classic and neutral at the same time,” she explains. “I often find greens to be that way, as well as adding warmth to the space.”
Photo: Lance Gerber2/15Go bold
If neutrality isn’t your concern, opt for bright green cabinets like Los Angeles–based Leah Ring of Another Human did in artist Andy Dixon’s Silver Lake abode. She paired the vibrant cupboards with turquoise knobs, peach marble counters, a botanical patterned tile backsplash, and stainless steel accents for a quirky, postmodern Italy-inspired aesthetic. “Because they’re super creative, they were very bold in their decision making,” she says of the homeowners.
Photo: Nikki and Steve Carlson3/15Bring back retro tile counters
Lovers of midcentury-modern design can introduce green into their kitchens with retro, pastel tile counters, a relic of the era that is due for a comeback. Nikki and Steve Carlson of Instagram account @cottageandsea tried it with mint green tiles in the restoration of their 1950s Airbnb in Encinitas, California. “It is a rarity,” admits Steve. “Everybody’s going with the granite countertops, so it’s fun to do something different.”
Photo: Ye Rin Mok4/15Or tile the floors
Incorporate green by covering the floors in sage concrete tile à la Bunch Design’s Highland Park project. Founder Hisako Ichiki interspersed the green squares with little terra-cotta triangles to make the feature even more striking, making it homeowner Matthew Murphy’s favorite part. “It’s very custom to our kitchen, very simple, and brings me joy every time I see it,” he says.
Photo: Matthew Williams5/15Or tile the island
The least expected—but perhaps most compelling—spot for green tile is on the base of an island. New York–based Studio DB proved this in their beach house on the Jersey Shore, where they aimed to integrate coastal hues without being too obvious. The dark green glaze of Avenue Road’s corner ceramic soap tile was the perfect choice, as it’s reminiscent of Tamegroute pottery and nods subtly to the seaside locale.
Photo: Stacy Zarin Goldberg6/15Invest in a statement range
There is no greater wow-factor than a glossy, teal green range like the one from Ilve Washing DC and New York City–based designer Zoe Feldman used in her Embassy Row renovation. It serves as the ideal focal point for a kitchen that is otherwise quite neutral, with rich walnut cabinets, a pearly gray zellige tile backsplash, and brass hardware, so the jewel-toned appliance really shines. “Staying true to our clients’ super contemporary taste, we freshened up the quiet, neutral palette with a burst of color,” she says.
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Photo: Canary Grey/Wing Ho7/15Try beadboard for a backsplash
In the remodel of an 1880s Minneapolis home, Anne McDonald wanted to give one wall of the kitchen a “hutch feel,” so she used beadboard paneling for the backsplash and painted it the same khaki green as the cabinets. The result simulates a built-in piece of furniture—exactly what she was going for—and the green paint color, Benjamin Moore Hampshire Gray, ties it all together.
Photo: Chris Snook8/15Or wallpaper the backsplash
Patterned wallpaper also makes for a fun backsplash, especially if its fruit motif includes a healthy dose of green leaves like Schumacher’s Citrus Garden print does. Lucy Van der Gucht decided to use the playful paper—and cover it in glass to prevent stains—in a London kitchen to match the leaf green West & Reid cabinetry. “[The homeowners] decided to consider this wallpaper as a piece of art itself and saw it as a worthwhile investment,” she explains.
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Photo: Kristin Karch9/15Use green three ways
Why use green once when you can use it three times in a kitchen? That must’ve been the thinking behind this Athens, Georgia, project by Monica Stewart of the Misfit House, who paired cabinets painted in Benjamin Moore Wethersfield Moss with olive green backsplash tiles and a veiny, seaweed-colored marble. The green trio color scheme makes for an immersive, verdant experience.
Photo: Thomas Richter for White Arrow LLC10/15Add unlacquered brass hardware
It would be difficult to find a metal that wouldn’t look beautiful in a green kitchen—polished nickel, oil-rubbed bronze, and matte black steel all work wonderfully. But there’s something about the warmth and patina of unlacquered brass that just makes a green kitchen sing, which is obvious in this Brooklyn apartment by New York–based White Arrow. “I love rich jewel tones and how they pair with brass,” confirms cofounder Keren Richter.
Photo: Dean Hearne11/15Offset green with black
Commitment is hard, so consider painting only some of your cabinets green. Beth Dadswell of Imperfect Interiors did just that in a Victorian home on the English Isle of Wight, where the perimeter cabinets are painted forest green and the island is painted black for a powerful two-toned look. “The deep green and black ground the kitchen in what could otherwise be quite a cavernous space,” she reasons.
Photo: Harry Crowder12/15Install a green marble counter
Green marble is the ultimate luxury, from Verde Indio to cipollino to Sagano Vibrant. It steals the spotlight in any kitchen, as evidenced by this glamorous London Victorian terrace, where UK-based Space A paired it with emerald green cabinetry, edgy Buster + Punch hardware, and pale pink tadelakt plaster walls. “The countertop is this extravagance to counteract the IKEA [cabinet] carcasses,” reasons co-founder Anna Drakes. “We wanted a rich, deep green.”
Photo: Haris Kenjar13/15Or opt for a graphic marble that complements green
When Meghan Eisenberg remodeled her late grandparents’ mid-century Los Angeles home for herself, she painted the cupboards a muddy, Spanish moss green and found a striking, multi-colored marble counter to match. “My priority was to find a stone with colors that would draw in the cabinetry color,” she shares. “I found this Calcutta Capri which has greens, blues, and purples and it just sings next to the Portola Graceland paint.”
Photo: Gemma and Andrew Ingalls14/15Experiment with a circular island
Kitchen islands don’t need to be rectangular. This circular, natural wood island by And And And Studio is a testament to that. The unusual shape plays off the boldness of the spring green cabinets along the perimeter, which were inspired by the Le Corbusier renovation of the Swiss Pavilion in 1957. “The saturation of the color is also balanced out with the neutral tone and pronounced texture of the oak,” adds principal Daniel Rabin.
Photo: Monica Grue Steffensen15/15Make it Scandinavian minimalist
Though Scandinavian minimalism is often associated with light, neutral hues, it can also be achieved with vivid colors like the deep seafoam green of the island in architect Anna Mee Dybbroe Andersen’s Danish cottage. With the clean lines of the Reform cabinetry and the crisp white walls, the modern kitchen is decidedly minimalist—bold green color included. “I’ve been asked if I was afraid I would get tired of looking at that green,” she says. “But you never really get tired of looking at nature, right?”
