Forget Expensive Upgrades: Give Dated Honey Oak Cabinets A Modern Look

If there is such a thing as a standard color for oak cabinets, it would probably be honey oak, also known as golden oak. Many 1980s- and '90s-vintage cabinets sport this reddish- or yellowish-brown hue, as do a fair number of hardwood floors, and while it could do no wrong in the last century, this shade dates cabinets in a modern home. Don't blame the color — there's a reason it has been (and still is) popular. If it isn't working for your cabinets, the real problem could be the surrounding tones. Updating the colors on walls, trim, and other room features is a whole lot easier than changing the cabinet colors, and sage is the perfect color choice to complement honey oak. It's also one of the best kitchen color ideas to make your space stand out.

Unlike white and other neutral tones, greenish sage hues work with the honey oak colors rather than letting them stand on their own. If the cabinet colors tend toward red, green is a complementary color (one that sits opposite red on the color wheel) that provides contrast and a touch of drama. If the cabinet colors tend toward yellow, green is an analogous color (a neighbor to yellow on the color wheel) that promotes cohesion and harmony. Either way, the combination makes the honey oak colors more interesting and less dated. 

Sage is an earthy tone with many shades, some of which veer off into gray while others emphasize greens and yellows. The palette gives you lots of latitude for working with the various shades of honey oak.

Sage is the perfect answer for a kitchen that needs some sprucing up. If you want to upgrade your honey oak cabinets without painting or replacing them, you don't necessarily have to paint all your walls either. In a kitchen, you might simply consider upgrading the backsplash with sage-colored paint or stick-on tiles. In a bathroom or living room, accenting one wall with sage can be as effective as painting all the walls, especially if the walls are already painted with a sage-friendly color, like cream. Gold is a shade that goes well with both sage and honey oak, so replacing the cabinet handles with gold ones, or installing gold lighting or plumbing fixtures, can help tie everything together. There are lots of sage color ideas to give your home a subtle dose of greenery. 

On the other hand, your walls may be ready for new paint, and you can mix and match shades of sage to great effect. You could, for example, choose a muted tone such as Sherwin-Williams' Oyster Bay for the walls surrounding the cabinet to help the cabinet feel "at home," while painting the opposite walls or ceiling a more vibrant shade, such as Sherwin-Williams' Nurture Green, to create some contrast and brighten up the room.

Let's not forget furnishings. Sage-green colors in couches, curtains, and floor coverings may be all you need to spruce up your dated honey oak cabinets and give them new life and renewed relevance, even if you don't paint anything.