As they say, it’s all been done before — but no one did it quite like Martha Stewart. When filming and photographing for her hit television series “Martha Stewart Living,” the set was often her kitchen at Turkey Point in her home in Westport, Connecticut. Exuding both utility and elegance, Stewart’s Connecticut kitchen was built in a Federal style and painted in a gray-green color called Xanadu, after the gray-greenish-leafed xanadu plant.
Playing close to sage green, a light gray-green is a powerfully calming and versatile shade that can be used in both modern and classic settings. Whether you’re using it as a backdrop for colorful, eclectic furnishings or pairing it with black-and-white or bold accent colors, it’s a hue that almost always comes through. The fact that the very gray-green hue adorning Stewart’s kitchen cabinets and shading her line of kitchenware is once again setting the standard speaks to her lasting influence on U.S. culture and design.
Gray-green design power
Choosing Martha Stewart’s signature gray-green hue for your cabinets is a safe bet for a kitchen backdrop guaranteed to last a lifetime. Applied to your kitchen cabinets (or the walls or anywhere else), Xanadu is trimmed well with cream, white, or even darker shades of gray-green. Unless you’re going for a monochromatic look, pairing sage green and forest green with gray-green is certainly an eye-catcher. You can also tap into accent colors for shades of gray to reliably coordinate with gray-green.
Choosing hardware, fixtures, appliances, and furniture is a breeze with earthy gray-green. Natural woods both dark and light blend well, and you can take your pick of hardware since everything from brass to stainless steel and even black or dark forest green contrast beautifully with the neutral gray-green hue. If you love her color, you should also consider Martha Stewart’s tips for building an outdoor kitchen or her baking tips we love.
