Looking To Sell Your Home? Avoid This Trendy Kitchen Design

There's no denying that non-neutral kitchens have been making a major comeback in the last few years. In 2025 especially, there's been a host of unique kitchen color combinations that have been trending, like peach and mint or turquoise, red, and gold. But if you're in the process of fixing up or remodeling your home to sell it, you might want to rethink bringing bright wall or cabinet colors into the kitchen.

Instead, it's best to stick to neutral paint colors while still keeping in mind the most up-to-date palettes. Clean whites with warm undertones, for example, have been popular in 2025 and will likely continue to be popular in 2026. The same goes for warm taupes and mushroom tones, as well as light, airy grays. Not only will keeping your kitchen a neutral color make the room appear brighter and cleaner, it will also give it a timeless look. More importantly, it will provide a clean slate that allows potential buyers to imagine themselves in the space, which naturally boosts the chances of sale. 

The same rule applies to wallpaper. While wallpaper has also been quite trendy in the last year — 2025 saw a considerable spike in online searches for floral wallpaper, per Google Trends —  the kitchen is one of the places you should avoid putting wallpaper in your home because it can "add visual clutter," real estate agent Janice Rosenberg told HomeLight. "Buyers are doing their searches on the internet, and they're looking at the photos and when they see wallpaper that they don't like in their minds, they're thinking it's going to cost a lot of money and time to get rid of it."

Sticking to neutrals in the kitchen doesn't mean you have to avoid color altogether. While the word "neutral" is often associated with shades of white, beige, gray, and black, neutral colors often incorporate other pigments too, including blues and greens. The most important factor is that the colors are muted and unsaturated, rather than vivid. They should be able to match with a variety of palettes. In other words, you can still bring in color — just avoid bright shades.

Even slightly deeper hues can work if they are on the softer, cozier side. In fact, olive green kitchen cabinets have been incredibly attractive to home buyers as of late, and could actually increase your home's value by about $1,600, per a Zillow analysis. If you fancy an olive green kitchen, consider a muted shade like Sherwin Williams' Succulent or Soft Sage for your kitchen. At the end of the day, sticking with a neutral palette doesn't have to limit your creativity. It simply ensures your remodel feels timeless, is market-ready, and has widespread appeal. And with the endless variety of muted neutral shades to choose from, you'll still have plenty of ideas for your kitchen remodel.