Cashmere Kitchens Are Trending, But They're Really Just Beige With Better PR

Kitchen trends come and go, even if you think you've finally found the one that's going to last forever. Remember the days of breakfast booths? Or fruit decor? Or the country kitchen style? They're all relics of the past now. The latest kitchen design trend making its rounds is known as the "cashmere kitchen," which is said to evoke a sense of calm and coziness similar to its namesake.

Cashmere kitchens do away with vibrant colors and mismatched wall art in favor of neutral tones like beige and brown. It's meant to scream "luxurious" and "inviting" without being too "in your face," a slightly earthy feel that eliminates the coldness of an all-white space and the gloom of an all-grey space, putting your kitchen firmly in the middle. In cashmere kitchens, you'll see beige walls and/or accent walls, beige backsplash tiles (here's the easiest way to clean a grimy backsplash), and light oak or painted cabinets paired with light quartzite countertops or a warm brown kitchen island. The idea isn't to match the same shade of beige all around, but rather to stick to a similar beige-y, brown-y, soft color palette.

When putting together a cozy cashmere kitchen, the options for neutral colors are vast, albeit strikingly similar. There's Benjamin Moore's Swiss Coffee shade and Farrow & Ball's Whimborne White, which offer slightly off-white colors veering towards cream, or there's Holt Latte and Norfolk Dunes from Naked Colors, which lean more into the actual beige side of the color spectrum. One of the simplest ways to stick within the color palette is to think of the shades you'd see in a cup of coffee, with anything from ivory shades like Cappuccino Froth by Behr to warm browns like Baja by Behr. Cashmere kitchens also typically include gold and brass finishes on lights, cabinets, and faucets, which can give your kitchen an overall elegant upgrade.

While some predict this trend will still feel elegant in a decade, there's already backlash comparing the similarities between cashmere kitchens and the dreaded "sad beige" style. Sad beige is the name from Gen Z for an aesthetic that pretty much matches cashmere kitchens– neutral, minimalist, boring, or so they say. As one Redditor put it, beige in the kitchen can make the space seem "bland and a bit washed out," while another Reddit user wondered if "sad beige [is] the new millennial grey." Some may feel that cashmere kitchens bring a soothing calmness to the space in an otherwise hectic environment, while others may feel the monotone colors lack life. Either way, the design definitely makes a statement.