One of my most frequently asked questions over the past year is, “What color are your kitchen cabinets?” Since I paint everything, I think people assume I selected the color and painted the cabinets myself. This is actually the first time I didn’t paint my own kitchen cabinets! I ordered them in this color – Painted Sage by Waypoint. You can find more information on the cabinets I selected and how we customized them HERE. Since I’m asked so often, I’ve intended to take a scrap piece from the kitchen install over to Sherwin Williams to have it matched and it just kept escaping me. Today, I decided to get some errands done that have been languishing for a while and I stopped in the paint store to find the best match.
Now, if you had a sample of Painted Sage by Waypoint, which I’m sure you could get from a local kitchen design studio or order from Waypoint directly, you could take that sample to a paint store and have it matched. When a paint is color-matched, the recipe created is product-specific, so it will only work if you purchase the same paint product in the same base color. I’ve shared paint formulas in the past and it has gone awry when people try to mix the formula in a different base, so I thought the best thing would be to find the best matching color that is already offered at Sherwin Williams.
The thing I love most about this rich, dark green is that it feels neutral in the space but it isn’t boring. The green is striking, which is why people ask about it so often. As a collector of great paint colors, I know I would’ve asked!
In looking at swatches against my cabinet door and using the color-matching machine, we came up with two color matches and I’ll explain the difference between the two colors.
The color I felt is the best match is Shade-Grown (SW 6188) by Sherwin Williams. When I set the paint chip on the cabinet door and squinted my eyes, it almost disappeared. I’ve learned from mixing colors for a painting that this trick is a good way to know you’ve found a match. I also looked at some examples online and Shade-Grown reads the same as my Painted Sage cabinets. Here are a couple of examples…
Jeff walked in as I was pulling up the picture above and he said, “Wow, that looks almost exactly like our kitchen!” That kitchen is by Andrea from @our.edith.house and the base cabinets were painted in Shade-Grown.
This kitchen island by Home with Jenny is also painted in Shade-Grown.
The color the Sherwin Williams color-matching machine selected was Pewter Green (SW6208.) That was used on these kitchen cabinets featured HERE in Detroit Design.
Both were strong matches, but when I squinted at the paint chips, I could see that Pewter Green was a little lighter. It also leans slightly more gray/muddy than Shade-Grown.
In comparing the paint chips as well as photos of the products on cabinets, I think they are both good matches for Painted Sage. If I was starting over and looking for a paint color, I would get samples of both and see how they look in the light of my kitchen. I would say that my preference is for Shade-Grown simply because it passed my very scientific squint test. Sherwin Williams’ machine is no match for my eyeballs.
So, there you go! If you’ve been interested in using that paint color on your cabinets or elsewhere in your house, paint chips or a sample pot of those two colors would be a good place to start.
You can find more posts about our kitchen renovation HERE.
12 Responses
Lovely! I’ve taken note of your paint match for my kitchen remodel in our old Texas ranch house. Would you suggest a satin enamel finish for a kitchen?
Also, I painted my hallway in Thistle by Behr. It was a suggested match to your Card Room Green, and I love it! Thank you for all your inspiration through the years! ❤Katie
Yes, I use a quality satin enamel paint when painting cabinets. It creates a nice, hard finish that isn’t too shiny.
Gorgeous! What is the color of the upper (White or off-white) cabinets?
It’s Painted Vanilla by Waypoint. I didn’t get a match for that one.
What do you think of the backsplash in Andrea’s kitchen? It looks beautiful with the counters she has and the green cabinets – they look like marble or some kind of textured tiles – so pretty and light.
Yes, I think it’s lovely!
Oh this was an excellent post. Thank you, Marian. And yes – YOUR squint test I trust more than any silly machine!! I love love love that gorgeous color. Appreciate your sharing this info.
Hope the art auction went well? Hope it went so well you are able to expedite getting your son’s/guest bathroom the way you REALLY want it. : – p
I really can’t believe what a difference it made fixing the ceiling and taking down the wallpaper!!!!
It did go well! The bathroom project is still at least a year out, though. We have prioritized new windows along the back of the house and installing a 1/2 bath first. Their bathroom is third on the list. 🙂
Thank you so much for this! I “collect” greens and this one is special. I love how you’ve used the color in your homes — your green butler’s pantry remains one of my favorite posts.
Beautiful, I love your kitchen and the paint color. I prefer your off white to the more white in the other sample pictures. Thank you for doing this.
I’ve been catching up on your posts (a guilty pleasure) in between project for our new house. I can’t help but notice your shift away from blue to green. When I first started reading your blog, I found your spaces a refreshing change from the dreadful all white decorating that usually wasn’t done very well. Green is a predominate color in my house as is gold (not metallic). However, I am gravitating toward blue. My kitchen island and butler’s pantry cabinetry is blue–Benjamin Moore’s Gentlemen’s Gray. But I will never stray entirely from green. In my opinion, green is a neutral, it goes with everything. Loving all your green.
Blue is actually still my favorite color, but this house seems to like green better. I was going to select blue/gray for the cabinets, but couldn’t find the perfect blue that was available without ordering a custom color (which was much more expensive) or painting brand-new cabinets myself. Our bedroom, the dining room, and the hall either are or are going to be blue and white. 🙂