Paint colors for your home, inside and out
Green · Kitchen · colors from 3 paintings
The best green kitchen paint is usually a pale, soft green on the walls with warmer colors around it. The colors below were measured from paintings by Camille Pissarro, Winslow Homer and Joos van Cleve, so they already work as a palette. Each one shows its LRV and the closest paints we measured.
Quick answer
Use the pale green #C9C9AD on the walls, the mid-green #81A776 for one bold piece, and the rust brown #81503B in the wood.
A light green with an LRV of 57, so it reflects light and suits kitchen walls. It was measured from Camille Pissarro’s “Seated Peasant Woman with Goats,” 1885.
From Seated Peasant Woman with Goats, Camille Pissarro
A mid-tone with a warm yellow undertone and an LRV of 36, good for main furniture, a dresser or lower cabinets. It was measured from Winslow Homer’s “Mount Washington,” 1869.
From Mount Washington, Winslow Homer
A mid-tone green with an LRV of 34, deep enough to read as real color on an island or a painted stool. It was measured from Camille Pissarro’s “Seated Peasant Woman with Goats,” 1885.
From Seated Peasant Woman with Goats, Camille Pissarro
A light, warm red-orange neutral with an LRV of 58, useful for trim, a backsplash or cabinet doors next to green. It was measured from Joos van Cleve’s “The Last Judgment,” ca. 1525–30.
From The Last Judgment, Joos van Cleve
A deep brown with a warm red-orange undertone and an LRV of 11, a good match for wood floors, a table or butcher block. It was measured from Winslow Homer’s “Mount Washington,” 1869.
From Mount Washington, Winslow Homer
A deep green with an LRV of 17, best kept to textiles, a pantry door or a small accent. It was measured from Camille Pissarro’s “Seated Peasant Woman with Goats,” 1885.
From Seated Peasant Woman with Goats, Camille Pissarro
The same paint reads differently in cool north light, warm south sun and under evening lamps. Find the column closest to your room.
| Color | Neutral daylight | North light | South light | Evening lamps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pale Sage Green | ||||
| Warm Stone Gray | ||||
| Fresh Leaf Green | ||||
| Soft Sand Beige |
Pick which color goes on the walls, the big furniture and the bold piece. Floors, shadows and trim follow your choice.
The framed picture on the wall is Seated Peasant Woman with Goats.
Start with the wall color, then choose the rest. For most kitchens, the pale green #C9C9AD is the easiest wall color on this page. Its LRV is 57, so it reflects a good share of light, and its green undertone is soft rather than loud. It comes from Camille Pissarro’s “Seated Peasant Woman with Goats,” 1885.
The mid-tone green #81A776 has an LRV of 34. That is enough depth to feel like color, but it will not swallow the room. It suits a lower cabinet run, an island or a single wall. The warm #A5A28F, LRV 36, has a yellow undertone and a muted look. It works where you want a calm color that does not shout.
The deep green #617865 has an LRV of 17, which reads very dark. Keep it to small areas such as a pantry door, open shelving backs or a banquette cushion. One wall color and one accent is usually enough for a kitchen.
The companion colors were measured from the same set of paintings, so they sit well together. Use the sand #DCC4B0 for trim, a backsplash or cabinet doors when you want warmth rather than stark white. Its LRV is 58 and its undertone is warm red-orange. It comes from Joos van Cleve’s “The Last Judgment,” ca. 1525–30.
For the ceiling, a soft warm white keeps the room open. You can also carry the pale wall color up for a more enclosed, quiet look.
For flooring and wood, use the rust brown #81503B. Its LRV is 11 and its undertone is warm red-orange, which suits wood floors, a butcher block counter or a stained table. It comes from Winslow Homer’s “Mount Washington,” 1869. Put the deep green #617865 in textiles such as seat cushions, a runner or curtains. Keep the mid-green #81A776 for one bold piece, such as an island or a painted stool.
Light changes every color on this page. Daylight, bulb temperature and the color of nearby surfaces all shift how a green reads. A pale green with an LRV of 57, like #C9C9AD, bounces light around a room and will look lighter near a window and softer in a corner.
In a kitchen with little daylight, stay with the lighter colors for large areas. The mid-tones, #81A776 at LRV 34 and #A5A28F at LRV 36, take in more light than they return, so they look deeper in a dim room. The deep colors, #617865 at LRV 17 and #81503B at LRV 11, can look very dark after sunset.
Bulbs matter too. Warm bulbs add yellow and bring out the warm undertones in #A5A28F, #DCC4B0 and #81503B. Cooler bulbs can make the greens look cleaner and a little grayer. Check your color in the morning, at midday and with the lights on.
Paint a large sample, at least two feet square, on the wall or on a board you can move. Tiny chips hide how a color changes over the day. Look at it next to your counter, floor and cabinet finish, not on its own.
Use the closest matches as a starting point. For the wall green #C9C9AD, Sherwin-Williams SW 29 Acanthus and Behr PPU9-18 Cilantro Cream are near-identical, and Farrow & Ball No. 32 Cooking Apple Green is very close. For #81A776, Behr N390-5 Eucalyptus Wreath and Valspar 5008-6B Spring Leaves are near-identical, and Sherwin-Williams SW 6444 Lounge Green is very close.
Screens and printed chips differ from real paint, so order sample pots. Let each coat dry before you judge it, and view it for a couple of days. Hold a deep color such as #617865 up against your textiles before you commit.
The pale green #C9C9AD is a safe place to start. Its LRV of 57 reflects light and its green undertone stays soft. Save mid-tones like #81A776 for an island or lower cabinets.
Pair green with the warm sand #DCC4B0 and the rust brown #81503B, which suits wood. Add the deep green #617865 in textiles. These colors were all measured from paintings.
Not necessarily. The sand #DCC4B0, with an LRV of 58, gives a warmer edge than white. A soft warm white also works if you want a lighter, more open look.
The deep green #617865 has an LRV of 17 and reads very dark. In a small or dim kitchen, use it on textiles or a small piece and keep the walls light.
Choose one wall color, one mid-tone for a bold piece, one wood tone and one deep accent. For example: #C9C9AD walls, #81A776 island, #81503B wood and #617865 textiles.
A card with every color on this page, its LRV and the paintings it comes from. Pin it, or take it to the paint store.
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Painting images: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Art Institute of Chicago, public domain (CC0). Colors measured by Light & Pigment. Paint names belong to their brands and matches are approximate. Colors look different on screen than on a wall, so always test a sample.
