CP

Sage & Cream Kitchen Color Scheme

A soft sage and cream kitchen scheme with a honey-toned accent, gentle and warm without feeling busy, all matched to real paint you can buy.

By David Chen · Formulation Lead & Resident Chemist

Start with Soft Sage on the cabinets. It’s a quiet, dusty green that feels grown-up and calm, not minty or loud, and it gives a kitchen that easy farmhouse mood the second you walk in. Because it leans toward gray, it stays restful through a long day of cooking and dishes, and it plays nicely with wood, brass, and white stone alike.

Wrap the room in Warm Cream on the walls so the sage cabinets have a soft, glowing backdrop instead of stark white. Then bring in Honey Oak as your accent, the rich golden-brown that warms everything up through a wood island top, open shelves, or a butcher block. Easy rule: sage on the cabinets, cream on the walls, and a little honey wood to tie it all together.

View palette in
Soft Sage
cabinets
Dutch Boy Refuge Green · 327-3DB
#ADB69A
LRV 45
Warm Cream
walls
HGTV Home by Sherwin-Williams Tint of Honey · HGSW 1187
#F1EAD8
LRV 82
Honey Oak
accent
Benjamin Moore Golden Retriever · 2165-30
#BA8B52
LRV 29

Buy These Colors

Each color matched to the closest real paint in every brand, by ΔE2000. Tap a swatch for its full guide or + to save it — take any SKU to the store, they mix on demand.

Soft Sage
#A8B196 · LRV 42 · cabinets
Sherwin-Williams · SW 13 · ΔE 3.31
Behr · PPU10-06 · ΔE 2
Benjamin Moore · CSP-795 · ΔE 2.86
Valspar · 5006-3C · ΔE 2.65
PPG / Glidden · PPG1125-4 · ΔE 2.54
Glidden · PPG1125-4 · ΔE 2.45
Dutch Boy · 327-3DB · ΔE 1.41
HGTV Home by Sherwin-Williams · HGSW 3245 · ΔE 3.87
Dunn-Edwards · DET503 · ΔE 1.64
Magnolia Home · JG-51 · ΔE 2.85
Farrow & Ball · NO. 18 · ΔE 5.1
Diamond Vogel · 0744 · ΔE 3.99
Hirshfield's · 0456 · ΔE 5.08
Rodda · CA170 · ΔE 4.39
C2 Paint · C2-700 · ΔE 4.78
Clare · PNT100-DP-50 · ΔE 7.86
Portola Paints · ABERDEEN · ΔE 7.59
Annie Sloan · DUCK EGG BLUE · ΔE 6.03
Backdrop · BD-LF · ΔE 2.41
Rust-Oleum · 371674 · ΔE 3.9
Kompozit · 0456 · ΔE 5.08
Warm Cream
#F2EAD8 · LRV 83 · walls
Sherwin-Williams · SW 7558 · ΔE 0.97
Behr · N290-1 · ΔE 0.73
Benjamin Moore · 912 · ΔE 0.54
Valspar · 8003-25A · ΔE 0.82
PPG / Glidden · PPG1100-2 · ΔE 1.16
Glidden · PPG1103-1 · ΔE 1.02
Dutch Boy · 007W · ΔE 0.81
HGTV Home by Sherwin-Williams · HGSW 1187 · ΔE 0.49
Dunn-Edwards · DEW336 · ΔE 0.93
Magnolia Home · JG-33 · ΔE 1.84
Farrow & Ball · NO. 2002 · ΔE 0.95
Diamond Vogel · 0009 · ΔE 0.51
Hirshfield's · 0009 · ΔE 0.5
Rodda · CA006 · ΔE 0.9
C2 Paint · C2-563 · ΔE 0.81
Clare · PNT100-LT-62 · ΔE 1.62
Portola Paints · CASA FORMA · ΔE 0.74
Annie Sloan · OLD OCHRE · ΔE 9.55
Backdrop · BD-DS · ΔE 2.25
Rust-Oleum · 329598 · ΔE 3.3
Kompozit · 0009 · ΔE 0.5
Honey Oak
#B98A52 · LRV 29 · accent
Sherwin-Williams · SW 2817 · ΔE 3.41
Behr · S260-5 · ΔE 2.29
Benjamin Moore · 2165-30 · ΔE 0.4
Valspar · 8003-21E · ΔE 2.43
PPG / Glidden · PPG1090-6 · ΔE 2.19
Glidden · PPG1090-6 · ΔE 2.21
Dutch Boy · 215-6DB · ΔE 2.03
HGTV Home by Sherwin-Williams · HGSW 2162 · ΔE 2.03
Dunn-Edwards · DE5327 · ΔE 1.36
Magnolia Home · JG-152 · ΔE 5.1
Farrow & Ball · NO. 46 · ΔE 3.35
Diamond Vogel · 0921 · ΔE 1.41
Hirshfield's · 0247 · ΔE 2.27
Rodda · R053 · ΔE 6.19
C2 Paint · C2-602 · ΔE 2.56
Clare · PNT100-DP-59 · ΔE 6.83
Portola Paints · BANDELIER · ΔE 4.64
Annie Sloan · BARCELONA ORANGE · ΔE 9.19
Backdrop · BD-AN · ΔE 12.79
Rust-Oleum · 398640 · ΔE 7.51
Kompozit · 0247 · ΔE 2.27

Questions

Will sage cabinets make a small kitchen feel dark?

No, this is a soft, light-leaning sage, so it keeps things airy. Pairing it with the cream walls and warm wood actually makes the room feel bigger and brighter, not closed in.

What countertop works with sage cabinets and cream walls?

A creamy white or light marble-look top keeps it fresh, while a warm wood butcher block leans into the cozy farmhouse feel. Both let the sage stay the star.

Should the sage go on upper and lower cabinets or just the base?

Either works. Sage on all the cabinets feels enveloping and calm, but sage on just the lowers with cream uppers keeps it light if you want more breathing room.

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