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For 2025, green led kitchen-industry professionals’ color forecast, while white and wood were the most common cabinet colors chosen by homeowners renovating kitchens. Those results are not contradictory: one measures what professionals expected to gain popularity, and the other records renovation choices. Together, they point to a mix of expressive painted color and natural-looking finishes.

What were the top kitchen cabinet color trends for 2025?

The answer depends on whose choices you mean. In its 2025 forecast, the National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA) highlighted green, blue, and brown as leading kitchen colors, alongside natural tones such as white oak. In Houzz Research’s study of homeowners upgrading cabinets, white, wood, and off-white were the most common selections.

The surveys asked different questions of different groups, so their percentages should not be combined into a single ranking. NKBA’s figures describe professionals’ expectations; Houzz’s describe cabinet colors selected for renovation projects.

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What colors did kitchen professionals expect to be popular?

NKBA’s 2025 Kitchen Trends Report drew on feedback from 523 industry professionals across North America; 67% were NKBA members and 61% were designers. It looked ahead over the next three years, making it a forecast—not a count of installed cabinets or sales. Its broader aesthetic direction was “light, warm, and natural tones.” NKBA’s report page describes the report’s scope.

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In NKBA | KBIS’s published summary, respondents selected these as leading kitchen colors for 2025:

  • Green: 76%
  • Blue: 63%
  • Brown: 56%

Those are survey preferences, not the share of kitchens painted each color. The same summary found that 52% agreed cabinets would be a primary place to use statement colors, suggesting a role for color on cabinetry without establishing how often homeowners ultimately chose it. NKBA | KBIS’s announcement gives the published findings.

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Green and blue bring color; brown adds warmth

Green was the strongest color in the NKBA forecast, with blue also prominent. Brown’s place in the forecast fits the report’s emphasis on warm, natural tones. These colors can be considered as painted-cabinet directions, but the forecast does not specify particular shades or show which will suit an individual room.

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White oak puts wood grain in the color conversation

NKBA’s summary said 59% listed white oak kitchen cabinets as a preferred color for 2025. That result treats a wood species and its natural appearance as part of the palette—not just paint colors. It is a professional preference, not a homeowner adoption rate.

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What cabinet colors did renovating homeowners choose?

Houzz Research reported the colors chosen by homeowners upgrading kitchen cabinets in projects completed, underway, or planned during 2024–25. White led at 33%, followed by wood at 23% and off-white at 14%. The remaining reported choices were gray at 6%; green and blue at 5% each; greige at 4%; black at 2%; and brown at 1%.

Cabinet color selected Share of homeowners upgrading cabinets
White 33%
Wood 23%
Off-white 14%
Gray 6%
Green 5%
Blue 5%
Greige 4%
Black 2%
Brown 1%

Houzz’s wood category combines light wood (8%), medium wood (12%), and dark wood (3%). The study surveyed 1,620 U.S. homeowners with recent or planned kitchen renovation projects; these cabinet figures are not a census of all kitchens or a measure of all cabinet sales. Houzz says a year-over-year comparison is unavailable because survey logic and answer choices changed. See the study overview and full study PDF.

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Why white and wood still belong in a 2025 trend story

Green leading a professional forecast does not mean white or gray vanished from kitchens. NKBA’s summary characterized white and gray as off-trend in its forecast, but Houzz found white was the most common cabinet selection among homeowners upgrading cabinets. These findings describe different audiences and measures: expected direction among professionals versus renovation choices made by homeowners.

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Wood also bridges both views. NKBA highlighted white oak as a preferred option, while Houzz recorded wood as the second most common homeowner selection. Natural grain is therefore part of the 2025 palette alongside painted colors, not an alternative that the color conversation leaves out.

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How to use the trends when choosing cabinet paint

These figures can help narrow the possibilities, but they cannot tell you which shade will work in your kitchen. Consider the room’s actual light, counters, flooring, and existing finishes, then compare paint color samples in place before committing. Houzz reported that paint was the cabinet finish used by 57% of homeowners upgrading cabinet finishes; that figure does not identify a paint formula suitable for every cabinet surface. Houzz’s cabinet trends summary reports the finish finding.

  • For a more expressive direction, sample green or blue, the leading colors in NKBA’s professional forecast.
  • For a warm, natural look, consider brown-toned paint or a wood finish such as white oak.
  • If white or off-white suits the rest of the room, homeowner selections show those remain common choices rather than colors to rule out.

Before buying cabinet paint, check that the product is compatible with the cabinet material and the surface preparation your project requires. The trend studies do not evaluate paint brands, products, or application systems.

What changed in the next NKBA forecast?

NKBA | KBIS’s 2026 forecast, announced in September 2025, provides a later directional check—not a restatement of 2025 cabinet-color results. Its summary put neutrals at 96%, green at 86%, and blue at 78%; it also said 59% identified wood grain as growing, with white oak the leading wood type at 51%. These are figures from a later forecast and should not be compared as if they were the same survey question or a continuation of Houzz’s homeowner cabinet selections. NKBA | KBIS’s 2026 announcement provides that later context.

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