The Wooden Cabinet Tone That's On The Way Out Of The Spotlight In 2025
There's good news for people who hate warm hues: A certain shade of wood seems to be on its way out in the foreseeable future. It is, of course, orange. The beleaguered color seems to glow from within an otherwise perfectly good piece of wood and cast its rusty glare on all that it touches. Design forum lovers and lurkers already know that the garish tint has plenty of devoted naysayers, and more formal outlets are calling out the pigment as well.
While it may have been current decades ago, orange wood now seems dated. It doesn't date quite as far back as the questionable avocado green that cloaked kitchens of the past, but those oaky oranges read as very '90s. And a baby born in 1990 is now old enough to be president of the United States of America. Do you want orange cabinets for president? Neither do we. But there are some things you can do if you feel stuck with this fruit-flavored finish.
How to deal with orange kitchen cabinets
The path of least resistance is to wait. For all of the retro decor that now gives us a laugh, there are also vintage kitchen trends that we can't wait to see come back. It's anyone's guess whether orange wood cabinets will resurface in the next wave of nostalgia, but betting on it is one way to learn to live with them. If a big, expensive kitchen remodel isn't in the cards, there are simpler ways to tone down your cabinets' orange intensity.
A paint wash will have a lightly subduing effect without the transformative opacity of paint alone. Choose a darker, cooler color to dilute with water, then brush it on lightly before wiping it off, more like you're applying a stain. The effect should be a sight for sore eyes — the way a pair of shades might calm a sunset. As with any DIY painting project, always test a small, unseen area before you start slapping paint water everywhere. There are also ways to upgrade your kitchen cabinets without paint, like removing the doors to reveal open shelving, which will require a bit of sanding to appear totally intentional.