The five most-requested colours of 2026
1. Deep sage
The single most-requested kitchen colour of 2026, by a clear margin. A warm, slightly grey-green that pairs with brass, oak worktops, and white-painted walls. Reads sophisticated without being predictable. Works in both period properties and modern open-plan kitchens.
What to pair it with: brushed brass cup handles, oak worktops, terracotta floor tiles, white walls, brass tap.
2. Off-black
Slightly warmer than pure black. Reads as charcoal in daylight, true black at night. We're spraying off-black handleless and shaker kitchens equally. Goes with everything.
What to pair it with: white quartz or marble worktop, brushed nickel handles (or no handles), light-toned floor for contrast, statement pendant lighting.
3. Forest green
The statement colour. Deeper, richer, more dramatic than sage. Brilliant on an island in an otherwise white kitchen. We've sprayed several islands in forest green in 2026 already, always with the surrounding cabinetry kept lighter.
What to pair it with: white walls and ceiling, brass or aged-brass hardware, warm wood worktops or floors, statement linear lighting above the island.
4. Bone (or cream)
The unexpected one. After a decade of grey, warm bone-tone kitchens have come back. Soft, warm, period-friendly. Reads modern when paired with matte black or warm brass hardware.
What to pair it with: matte black hardware, oak floors, warm-white walls (not pure white), terracotta or warm-tone splashback.
5. Anthracite
The constant. Anthracite kitchens have been the steady seller for five years and 2026 is no different. Slightly less of a "look at me" choice now that it's so common, but still the safe contemporary option.
What to pair it with: white walls, light worktop, statement handles (brass or copper to break the cool), warm wood floor.
Two colours we'd steer you away from in 2026
Pure white
White kitchens went from default in 2015 to dated by 2022 to "looks like a rental" in 2026. If you want light, go bone, cream, or off-white with warmth. Pure white reads sterile.
Mid-grey
The 2015-2020 grey kitchen is now the visual cue for "this kitchen hasn't been refreshed in five years". If your kitchen is currently mid-grey, almost any of the five colours above is an upgrade.
The two-colour kitchen
Half the kitchens we spray in 2026 are two-colour. Lower cabinets dark, uppers and the island in a contrasting lighter tone (or vice-versa). Some popular pairings:
- Deep sage lower, bone upper
- Off-black lower, white upper, with a brass or oak island
- Forest green island, white cabinets surrounding
- Anthracite lower, white upper, oak floating shelves replacing some uppers
Two-colour adds about 5% to the cost of a respray. The visual impact is far bigger than that.
How to pick
Three questions to ask yourself:
- How much natural light does the kitchen get? Less light, lighter colour. More light, you've got more freedom.
- What do you want to keep? Worktop colour, floor colour, splashback. The kitchen colour needs to work with all three.
- How long do you plan to be in the house? Five years plus, pick the colour you'll still love. Three years and selling, lean towards neutral.
We bring sample panels to the survey, painted in your shortlisted colours, in the actual finish you've chosen. You see them in your kitchen light before we book the job.