Skip to content

The Best Colors for Sage Green Kitchen Cabinets (To Get the Look You Want!)

    I should really take a walk and look at other colors, because oooh baby, have I covered greens around here!

    There are so many amazing sage green paint colors, that you can find the perfect shade for literally anything. That’s why I decided to dedicate a post not just to sage green, but to the best sage greens for cabinets specifically.

    Graphic reads "the best sage greens for cabinets" with a Farmhouse, Rustic, Muted, Light, and Dark sage sampled on top of a photo of dark sage green cabinets

    In this post we will go over some of my most favorite sages, and take a look at different countertops, hardware, and appliances with sage green cabinets.

    Let’s go!

    Modern Farmhouse Sage Green on Kitchen Cabinets

    In my mind, “modern farmhouse” equates to “farmhouse-meets-Joanna-Gaines.” I chose this Benjamin Moore Saybrook Sage kitchen by @aliciahewittinteriors as inspiration:

    Saybrook Sage kitchen
    Photo Credit: @aliciahewittinteriors

    It might be slightly more “modern” than farmhouse, but I think it’s on the right track.

    Paintbrush swipe swatch of Benjamin Moore Saybrook Sage

    Saybrook Sage is a little bit of a lighter sage, and it’s a bit warmer than many.

    The Best Rustic Sage Green for Kitchen Cabinets

    “Rustic Sage” is having a moment on Pinterest recently, and in my opinion it’s just a little different than Farmhouse.

    Rustic sage is a warm and approachable sage that’s still a bit rough around the edges.

    Benjamin Moore Vintage Vogue on cabinets in a sunny cabin with butcher block countertops and cream walls
    Photo Credit: @alliejcurtin

    I chose Benjamin Moore Vintage Vogue as the best “rustic sage” for kitchen cabinets.

    Labelled paint brush swipe of Vintage Vogue

    Now I will say that this sage is decently dark. Take note that the first photo of Allie’s (@alliejcurtin) kitchen has a good bit of sun in it.

    Benjamin Moore Vintage Vogue on cabinets in a sunny cabin with butcher block countertops
    Photo Credit: @alliejcurtin

    The Best Muted Sage Green for Kitchen Cabinets

    I have a special place in my heart for Sherwin Williams Svelte Sage:

    Paint swipe swatch of Sherwin Williams Svelte Sage

    I like it because it’s such a pleasant surprise! From the swatch you could say “Well that’s a yucky little brown isn’t it?” but in real life, it’s a beautiful muted sage.

    Sherwin Williams Svelte Sage - a warm and muted sage green - on kitchen cabinets with herringbone brick floors and black countertops
    Photo Credit: @highlandhaven

    This is a great choice for cabinets. I think it reads “warm summer day.”

    Best Light Sage Green for Cabinets

    If you do like light sages, I have a few other options in my post: The 22 Best Sage Green Paint Colors.

    For cabinets, I have narrowed it down to Sherwin Williams Clary Sage.

    Paintbrush swipe swatch of Sherwin Williams Clary Sage

    Clary Sage is a bit of a chameleon, so it can range from having a warm grassy undertone to being a little bit cooler. I think that will help you get a lot of miles out of your kitchen, because the color isn’t one that you will get sick of right away.

    Clary Sage on kitchen cabinets
    Photo credit: @withmadisonaz

    You can see more from Clary Sage in my post: Sherwin Williams Clary Sage Review (With Dupes!)

    Best Dark Sage Green for Kitchen Cabinets

    I have two options for you when it comes to the deepest, darkest, sage greens for cabinets. Sherwin Williams Shade Grown, and Sherwin Williams Succulent.

    Sherwin Williams Shade Grown

    Paint swipe swatch of Sherwin Williams Shade Grown

    The reason that I chose two colors is because Shade Grown is borderline too dark to even read “sage” still. In a well lit space it would be beautiful, but in a smaller darker kitchen it might just look black.

    Sherwin Williams Shade Grown dark sage cabinets with silver hardware and beige stone countertops
    Photo Credit: @laley.freeman

    You can also find this color on my Dark Academia Color Palette.

    Here is a picture in brighter light, just to give you a good example:

    Shade Grown on an accent wall in a bright foyer
    Photo Credit: @afr_design_realty

    Shade Grown is the darkest color on the strip that produced big time sage favorites Rosemary and Evergreen Fog (the former color of the year!).

    Evergreen Fog beside the sherwin williams Rosemary color strip

    Now if this color is just a little bit too dark and subtle, check out…

    Sherwin Williams Succulent

    Succulent is on the cooler side of sage, and it’s also plenty dark.

    Paint swipe of Sherwin Williams Succulent on a color card

    This is a slightly more “colorful” option than Shade Grown. So it’s less likely to look black.

    Sherwin Williams Succulent on kitchen cabinets and walls in a pantry
    Photo Credit: @homesweetiepiehome

    I’m a big fan of this color! I think it reads a bit like sage-meets-teal but with a heavy dose of gray that makes it nice and subtle.

    You can see more here: Don’t Use Sherwin Williams Succulent (Unless You Want to Everyone to Copy You!)

    Can You Use Sage Green for Cabinets with Gray Walls?

    Whether you have existing gray walls, or you are looking to refresh your walls along with your cabinets, you can definitely pair sage green with gray!

    Here we see the medium-dark sage green of Sherwin Williams Thunderous paired with Agreeable Gray walls.

    Thunderous on kitchen cabinets with Agreeable Gray Walls
    Photo Credit: @designingthedillons
    Sherwin Williams Thunderous sage green swatched over Agreeable Gray

    I recommend always choosing a gray that’s lighter than your cabinets. Here we see Svelte Sage with SW Crushed Ice:

    Sherwin Williams Svelte Sage Cabinets with Sherwin Williams Crushed Ice Walls
    Photo Credit: @highlandhaven

    There is a difference in LRV here of about 25, and I think that’s a good minimum.

    The LRV of a color indicates on a scale of 0 – 100 how much light a color reflects (or doesn’t reflect). True black has an LRV of 0 and pure white has an LRV of 100.

    Sherwin Williams Svelte sage green swatched over Sherwin Williams Crushed Ice

    Whether you choose or cool or warm gray doesn’t really matter. A warm gray will likely emphasize the gray and silver tones of your sage cabinets, and a cool gray should make them look more green.

    Two Tone Cabinets with Sage Green

    There are a couple of ways that you can use sage green on your cabinets and also achieve a two-tone look. The most popular are:

    • Sage green lower cabinets with white upper cabinets
    • White perimeter cabinets with a sage green island

    Sage Green Lower Cabinets with White Uppers

    I love the look of white and sage green cabinets! The white here is actually a neutral off-white called Sherwin Williams Oyster White.

    Oyster white upper cabinets and acacia haze lower cabinets in a two tone kitchen with gold hardware and gorgeous granite island
    Photo Credit: @bridgetrealestate

    The sage green is Sherwin Williams Acacia Haze.

    Here we have a less subtle contrast, in the form of Sherwin Williams Basil lower cabinets with Pure White uppers:

    Pure White on upper cabinets and walls in a kitchen with basil lowers
    Photo Credit: @walnutandpinedesign

    White Cabinets with a Sage Green Island

    If you just want to dip your toes into sage green cabinets, painting the island may be the way to go!

    Here we see the off-white of Sherwin Williams Shoji White on the perimeter cabinets with a sage green island:

    Shoji White on kitchen cabinets with the sage green Benjamin Moore Carolina Gull on the island
    Photo credit: @oakstorydesign

    The island is Benjamin Moore Carolina Gull.

    Here is one more example:

    Sherwin Williams Clary Sage Green on an island with Benjamin moore Simply White perimeter cabinets and warm cherry floors
    Photo Credit: @verygoodpaintingllc

    This time we see the brighter white of Benjamin Moore Simply White on the perimeter cabinets, and Sherwin Williams Clary Sage on the small island.

    Finally we have one more kitchen, this time with Sherwin Williams Oyster Bay on the island, which is a bit of a lighter option:

    Sherwin Williams Oyster Bay island in a white kitchen with black pendant lights
    Photo credit: @morgan.baswell

    Looking for more ideas? Check out my post: 27+ Fresh Two-Tone Kitchen Cabinet Ideas (With Pictures!)

    What Countertops Go Best With Sage Green Cabinets?

    Maybe you were eagle-eyed enough to notice the countertops in each kitchen we’ve looked at so far, but if not, here are some more examples!

    Sage Green Cabinets with Dark Brown/Gray Countertops

    I’m not 100% sure, but these dark countertops look like quartz to me.

    Benjamin Moore Millstone Gray kitchen cabinets (a darker sage green) with dark brown gray stone countertops
    Photo Credit: @Borthwickdecor

    Note that the white walls and open shelves keep the rest of the kitchen light. Dark sage cabinets with dark countertops could overpower a small kitchen, so definitely keep your own space in mind.

    A dark sage green of Benjamin moore Millstone Gray on cabinets in a white kitchen with dark countertops.
    Photo Credit: @Borthwickdecor

    Sage Green Cabinet with Wood Butcher Block Countertops

    If you’ve read my post Trend-Setting Green Kitchen Cabinet Ideas, you already know that I looove green cabinets with butcher block countertops. I think it’s such a neutral and natural combo, plus butcher block is super affordable and sustainable.

    Carolina Gull in a kitchen on cabinets with butcher block countertops
    Carolina Gull – Photo credit: @aidliespaint

    Tick, tick, tick!

    Benjamin Moore Vintage Vogue on cabinets in a bright white kitchen with chantilly lace walls, white subway tiles, and butcher block countertops
    Vintage Vogue – Photo Credit: @karinwithaneye

    Sage Green Kitchen Cabinets with White Countertops

    Karin (@karinwithaneye) actually used both wood and white countetops in her sage green kitchen:

    Chantilly Lace walls in kitchen with Vintage Vogue Cabinets
    Photo Credit: @karinwithaneye

    In case you missed it, the color here is Benjamin Moore Vintage Vogue.

    Benjamin Moore Vintage Vogue on cabinets in a bright white kitchen with chantilly lace walls, white subway tiles, and white countertops
    Photo Credit: @karinwithaneye

    Cheating a little, here are white marble countertops with Sherwin Williams Pewter Green cabinets:

    Pewter Green Kitchen cabinets and island with honey oak floors in a bright kitchen with creamy walls
    Photo Credit: @marjorie_verschueren

    If I had to guess from a very narrow sample size (all my friends here), white countertops are the most popular choice for sage green cabinets.

    Here we see them with Sherwin Williams Rosemary:

    Rosemary cabinets in a trailer
    Photo Credit: @ourtribeof5ive

    Sage Green Kitchen Cabinets with Black Countertops

    I love and totally respect your requests, but man oh man, was it hard to find sage cabinets with black countertops!

    I ended up resorting to a stock photo just for an example:

    Sage Green kitchen cabinets with black countertops

    The color here is pretty similar to Benjamin Moore Misted Green.

    If you do want to use black countertops with sage green cabinets, I would recommend either:

    • Using a very light sage green paint
    • No upper cabinets at all or white uppers
    • Using black countertops where the sage green of the cabinets is also almost black

    Sage Green Kitchen Cabinets with Granite Countertops

    Please don’t come for me if any of these countertops are actually marble, I am not a stone connoisseur. Muchos gracias!

    Here we have Benjamin Moore Misted Green (for real this time), in a kitchen with stone countertops:

    Misted Green on a full kitchen of cabinets with light gray stone countertops
    Photo Credit: @heritagecabs

    Next we look back at this Thunderous kitchen, which has some of the prettiest countertops ever!

    Thunderous kitchen cabinets
    Photo Credit: @designingthedillons

    Finally, another SW Rosemary island with what I am 99.9% sure are granite countertops. 😉

    Rosemary island in a white kitchen with wood bar stools
    Photo Credit: @basicbluehouse

    What Hardware Goes Best With Sage Green Cabinets?

    If you scroll back you will see plenty of examples of sage green countertops with chrome and pewter hardware, but what most people want to see is gold and black.

    Sage Green Cabinets with Gold Hardware

    Here we see SW Acacia Haze again, with beautiful gold hardware:

    Acacia Haze sage green cabinets with gold hardware and stainless steel appliances
    Photo Credit: @bridgetrealestate

    This is my personal preference for almost any green cabinets. It’s also such an easy change to make, if you are worried about the gold going out of style.

    Here we see gold with Carolina Gull:

    Carolina Gull in a kitchen with gold hardware
    Photo credit: @oakstorydesign

    The gold pops but is still soft and pretty. Gold is super complementary to green cabinets because yellow is right next door on the color wheel!

    Sage Green Cabinets with Black Hardware

    Black hardware is a little tricky with sage cabinets in my opinion, because I like a lot of contrast. I wouldn’t personally use black hardware with darker sage cabinets, but there’s no rule saying you can’t!

    Clary Sage kitchen cabintes
    SW Clary Sage – Photo credit: @withmadisonaz

    Is it too early to change my mind? Because I’ve just scrounged up photos of fairly dark sage cabinets with black hardware…and I’m medium sold.

    Benjamin Moore Vintage Vogue on cabinets in a bright white kitchen with chantilly lace walls, white subway tiles, and white countertops
    Vintage Vogue – Photo Credit: @karinwithaneye

    That was Vintage Vogue again, and here is another shot of Rosemary:

    Rosemary sage green cabinets in a trailer with white countertops and black hardware
    Photo Credit: @ourtribeof5ive

    It’s definitely not getting lost like I thought it would!

    Will Sage Green Cabinets Work With My Appliances?

    We’ve established that sage green cabinets work well with most fixtures, fittings, and finishes, but what about appliances?

    Sage Green Cabinets with Stainless Steel Appliances

    The vast VAST majority of examples here show sage green cabinets with stainless steel appliances, but that’s just the nature of kitchen trends in general.

    Oyster Bay island with stainless steel appliances
    Photo credit: @morgan.baswell

    I think that stainless or white are equally good options with most colors of cabinets.

    Sage Green Kitchen Cabinets with White Appliances

    After having lived in a smallish kitchen with dark cabinets and stainless appliances, there is really something to be said for white appliances!

    The sage green Benjamin Moore Vintage Vogue on kitchen cabinets in a log cabin with butcher block countertops and white appliances.
    Photo Credit: @alliejcurtin

    If you have all the natural light in the world, stainless is nice and reflective, but when you don’t, white is a great way to introduce some light into your space.

    soft gray upper cabinets with gray green lowers in a two tone kitchen
    Atmospheric & Wales Gray – Photo Credit: @word_of_mouth_painting

    Sage Green Cabinets with Black Appliances

    Black appliances can definitely work with sage green cabinets, as long as you still have plenty of light in the space. I also think it looks better with a darker sage.

    Rosemary cabinets in a trailer
    Photo Credit: @ourtribeof5ive

    Here you can kind of peep the black fridge in this RV kitchen. It’s not the best shot, but you can see a bit more of this kitchen if you scroll back to Rosemary.

    The black dishwasher in this kitchen fits right in with the black hardware, sink, and faucet with sage green lower cabinets.

    Pure White on upper cabinets and walls in a kitchen with basil lowers and a purple back wall
    Photo Credit: @walnutandpinedesign

    Getting Sage Green Cabinets Right

    I’ll be honest, I think it’s hard to mess up with sage cabinets. You’ve seen here that they go with pretty much any countertop, hardware, or appliances, but here are a couple final tips!

    Tips for Picking the Right Sage Green for You

    • When in doubt, go for a medium sage in the LRV range of about 40 to 60
    • If you are switching from white cabinets to sage, keep countertops and walls light, because that’s a huge change! (Any green will seem much darker than white, there’s no two ways about it.)
    • If you are a little chicken, go with two-tone sage and white
    • Always choose a sage green that looks much more muted on the card than your goal color

    For more tips like these, and even more sage colors, check out my post: The 22 Best Sage Green Paint Colors That Nobody is Talking About

    Plus, here are a few other colors that will resonate with you:

    Gray green paint colors over a background of gray green cabinets
    5 Homburg Gray dupes swatched beside Homburg Gray over a background of a Homburg Gray wall with two gold framed photos on it
    Sea salt, comfort gray, oyster bay, retreat, pewter green color strip