The Earthy Paint Color That Makes Honey Oak Cabinets Look Modern

From the 1990s through the early 2000s, honey oak cabinets were a popular choice in many kitchens. They were often seen on popular TV shows of the time, and they helped bring a warm tone to a room — thanks to the gold, yellow, and orange hues of the wood. Although honey oak cabinets have fallen out of favor since then, they're still installed in many unrenovated kitchens. However, perceptions of these cabinets have shifted. Designers and homeowners alike are finding ways to keep the honey oak cabinets by toning down the orange and yellow hues with other accents. Even if you love honey oak, you can still update the space. To give your kitchen a modern upgrade, try adding green to the design palette.

Adding a warm, earthy color — like green — into the mix tones down the vintage feel of the wood. To modernize your kitchen, try introducing sage, green-grey (like the leaves of a rosemary shrub), moss, and olive into your design. It's important to determine the undertones of your honey oak cabinets. The wood might be more yellow, orange, or even brown, and you may want to choose a shade of green that neutralizes those tones. For example, blue-green counteracts underlying yellow tones, whereas dark olive works best with reddish-orange wood. By balancing the harsh or garish orange and yellow notes in your honey oak cabinets, you can achieve a softened overall design palette.

Bringing green into your kitchen to modernize the look of honey oak cabinets can take many forms. If you like the look of the wood but want to tone it down for a modern feel, you can start by painting the walls in any earthy green hue you prefer. The green wall color will neutralize the undertones of your cabinets while emphasizing the naturalness of the wood. Choose matte or satin wall paint — a glossy finish can make a kitchen — along with everything in it — feel tacky or poor-quality. Then bring in other modern elements to help tie the design together while boosting the neutralizing power of green paint. For example, black hardware is a strong addition, helping the green to pop and toning down the honey oak.

Remember, your kitchen cabinets don't have to match perfectly. Here's another option for incorporating forest-like hues into the space: paint just half of the cabinets green. They will contrast nicely with the remaining honey oak cabinets, creating a trending two-tone effect. The room will look more modern, and those golds, yellows, and oranges in the honey oak will be subdued. This design aesthetic adds depth and visual interest to your kitchen without the overwhelming effect of a single color. Of course, you can also paint all of the cabinets green, leaving only accents of the honey oak — in an island, the kickboard, the interior door and window trim, or even the floor, depending on how much wood is used in the space. It's a simple technique to update orange kitchen cabinets without needing a full remodel.