This 2026 Study Says to Paint Your Kitchen This Color (It’ll Increase Its Value!)
One thing about me? I love a statement kitchen. Dark wood cabinets, bright green tiles, terracotta floors — the bolder, the better. That’s why I was surprised when I was looking over Zillow and Sherwin-Williams’ 2026 report on the best paint colors to sell a house for more money right now, and learned that buyers feel very differently.
It turns out, according to this report, that buyers are loving a particular subdued, classic neutral for kitchens. Here’s what you need to know.
The Paint Color Buyers Want to See in Kitchens
According to research by Zillow and Sherwin-Williams, buyers “respond well to colors that feel elevated and intentional,” especially in kitchens. Specifically, they found that buyers want charcoal gray in kitchens — and that it “has the potential to boost a buyer’s offer price by nearly $1,373 when used in the kitchen.” They even pinpointed a specific charcoal gray, Sherwin-Williams’ Peppercorn, as the on-trend paint color. (The same shade was also a good choice for living rooms — boosting offer prices by $1,509 when used in the family hangout space.)
A secondary color that buyers were very responsive to was Sherwin-Williams’ Expressive Plum, a shade of purple that lives in the plum to brown family and is associated with an offer that’s higher by $867. So, while classic, elevated, and subtle gray might win out, it’s good to know that bold colors like plummy-purple could still be a draw.
How Zillow and Sherwin-Williams Gathered This Data
Zillow and Sherwin-Williams gathered the data for this study by “doing research with thousands of homebuyers across the country.” They used that research to determine the colors that were most desirable by each individual room, and how those colors “impacted a buyer’s interest in a home, their likelihood to tour a home, and the price they would be willing to offer.”
Bottom line? If you’re not “in” on a gray or plum kitchen, don’t worry about it — especially if you’re not looking to sell your home. But if you want to sell it, you might want to check out the latest paint trends to see what buyers are responding to (after consulting with your real estate agent, of course). Also, just because some Sherwin-Williams shades were identified specifically, that doesn’t mean you can’t look at your other favorite paint manufacturers to paint your home. The sky is the limit!