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The Unexpected Kitchen Color That’s Going to Be Huge This Year

All-white kitchens will always be in style, but if you’re looking for something that’s light, bright and a little less one-note, it’s time to start thinking in shades of mint. Or jadeite. Or agave, if you’re feeling fancy. No matter what you call it, the vernal shade is making a comeback.

Google Trends may not be registering it yet, but the team at Sweeten, a service that matches people with licensed general contractors for home renovation projects, has seen an increasing number of homeowners having their cabinets painted in some variation of this cool-toned hue. "Mint is a white neutral with a touch of sky and greenery," CEO Jean Brownhill says. Plus, it’s clean and modern without as much contrast as navy, and it makes brass accents pop—another trend that’s still going strong.

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1. Ease Into It

We get it: The thought of going all mint makes you worry you’ll feel like you’re living inside an Easter egg (even if it’s Fabergé). Try a paler, bluer tone, like these agave lower cabinets by Semihandmade. It’s a subtle way to make the space feel a little more styled and pulled together, like a no-makeup makeup look for your kitchen.

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2. Brighten Up Dark Spaces

With their long, narrow layout, galley kitchens aren’t exactly known for being bright and inviting. That’s where this cheery shade makes all the difference. It’s livelier than plain white or pale gray—which can feel sterile in a small space like this, especially if you’ve got stainless-steel appliances—and it’s a cool complement to dark wood floors.

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3. Fake Higher Ceilings

When faced with low ceilings (we’re talking barely over eight feet), homeowners Maggie and Adam employed a few ingenious solutions: They removed the double doors to their kitchen to open up the floor plan, installed a section of open shelves to draw the eye up and added one blink-and-you’ll-miss-it detail: mint lower cabinets. The white upper cabinets appear to recede into the walls, but the color on the bottom creates the illusion of more space.

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Candace Davison

VP of editorial, recipe developer, kitsch-lover

Candace Davison oversees PureWow's food and home content, as well as its franchises, like the PureWow100 review series and the Happy Kid Awards. She’s covered all things lifestyle...
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