Updated - losing my mind! /What color should I paint my kitchen cabinets?

[alisoncooks]

I feel like "If you give a mouse a cookie."  What began as a small project to patch a soft spot in the floor has grown and grown. So far, we've: repaired subfloor, painted the ceiling, painted the walls, laid vinyl plank, and put trim and moulding on our builder'a grade cabinets. 

Our current cabinet color is a deep red; I painted that color 9 years ago. We like it but I want something different. Originally, I was thinking white, but I'm worried about keeping it clean. Never had white cabinets! And we have white appliances (in various shades of old)....

Gray won't work because the walls are Sherwin Williams Accessible Beige (unless you know one that works with beige - Chelsea gray? Galveston?). I'm really drawn to the blue-green-grayish tones. Like Behr's "In the Moment." 

(Inspiration pics removed to unclutter the thread. More further down.)

[ksr5377]

Are your counters gray? I like your inspiration pics but would make sure to get samples of the paint to see what complements your counters.  The blue and green undertones in grays and teals can be tricky sometimes.  

[alisoncooks]

The counters are a light gray laminate with wood edge. They're on the "someday" list. :p

[PinkTulip]

I’m a huge fan of white cabinets. I’ve never had them before until we moved into this house 6 months ago, but after 6 months of white cabinets with 4 very active and messy teenage boys, I can say I really like them. I can see when they’re dirty, and a quick wipe usually takes care of it. My cabinets are probably cleaner now than when I had wood cabinets. 

As far as colors, I love Simply White. Not too yellow, but not stark and sterile. 

[Carol in Cal.]

White is easy to clean if it's glossy.  

The only caveat on that is, make sure that if you install cabinet door knobs or drawer pulls that they don't force your fingernails right against the paint--over time that will result in the paint looking a little scratched/scuffed right around the knobs.  My folks have had two kitchens with white cabinets over the years, and the one with round wooden knobs and pulls has that scuffed appearance around them, while the one with the old-fashioned kind of pear shaped crystal ones does not.  If you're leaving handles off, you might want to rethink that.  You'll get fingerprint dirt at the corners of the cabinets eventually, even if you just have stained wood doors.  I have oak cabinets with no knobs, and that front corner that we always grab looks pretty dingy.  I'm planning to plain them glossy white, and probably put in knobs of some sort.  (The bottom ones will likely be a dark color.  I like the newish trend toward light on top, dark on the bottom; and I think in general bottom cabinets get dripped on, which naturally I want to keep after and wipe up, but I don't want them to look horrid in the meantime.)

[alisoncooks]

We have lived here 12 years and have never had knobs/pulls...it's DEFINITELY time to get some!

I've noticed the trend of white uppers and darker/colored lowers. I think that looks best in kitchens with uppers that are open/shelving/minimal. In a basic kitchen like mine, I think it just looks cheap/DIY. 

I'm glad to hear some don't have probs with white cabinets looking dirty. If I go white for the cabinets, I'll paint my free-standing hutch the greenish-blue. 

Now....Knobs and pulls. Black, silver? Too many choices!

[Scarlett]

I love white cabinets but not with white appliances. I would go with that greenish blue in the inspiration photos..I love it and it will look good with your white appliances...the countertop color could be an issue with the greenish blue color.....but I think you could make it work.

[StaceyinLA]

LOL this is so timely. I am in the process of a huge remodel. My cabinets were a deep red color (my walls were yellow). I just painted my entire house accessible beige (we cut it to 75% because I wanted it a little lighter). I did milk paint (Miss Mustard Seed) on my cabinets in Shutter gray (which is a blue/gray color). I absolutely love it! Honestly, I love working with the milk paint - if you add a binding agent to it, it’ll cover anything without having to sand/prep it. 

IDK if the search is working, so here’s a pic of my kitchen. Now, one thing is my accessible beige doesn’t really meet my cabinets anywhere (my kitchen is fairly small), but the colors look good where they DO meet, and I have some white trim so you can see how the color looks with white.

Also, the little cream-colored island is about to get livened up with a nice orange from Miss Mustard Seed. I need that pop of color in my life!

Edited August 31, 2018 by StaceyinLA

[Carol in Cal.]

About pulls--my oak cabinets are the kind with vertical parallel seams between the pieces of wood.

My hope is that once I paint them white, these will have a kind of beach house rustic painted wood cabinet look.  

So for pulls I'm going with an extension of the vertical look, using those metal loop type vertical handles, probably brushed nickel.  And then for the drawers will we mount them horizontally.  I think.  Basically my intention is to paint first, and then buy a couple of handles, and look at them everywhere where I would put them, and see what I like best.  It's possible that I'll fall back on the pear shaped old fashioned ones.  I do better seeing things than picturing them, and I'm willing to take my time to get things just right.  

[Carol in Cal.]

ALSO!

I second the warning that grays are hard.  There are reddish grays, yellowish grays, blueish grays, and greenish grays.  Even lavenderish ones.  And they all clash with each other and with other colors, except the very dark grays which are actually blackish I guess, and go 'OK' with all the rest.  Sample, sample, sample!  Sample on site, too.  Look at the samples in daylight, morning, afternoon, and evening.  Look at them at night with your artificial lighting.  It's best to look at them on an overcast day and on a sunny one, and if you have trees outside of your windows you really should look at them in leafy and nonleafy seasons.  It's crazy how much difference trees can make in colors if you have a lot of them.  I have a white room at the cabin that looks pale green during the days specifically because the sunlight in there is all coming in through pine trees.  At night it looks white.  It makes decorating trickier for sure.  And grays make that even worse.  The great thing about them, though, is that any pop of strong, vibrant color 'goes' with them, so you can change the whole appearance of the room with just a few switches--red vs. yellow vs. bright green accents, for instance.

[alisoncooks]

I hear you on sampling!  I was all set to use SW Agreeable Gray in my kitchen -- all the internet recommended it as a warm gray, leaning toward beige. Even my SIL said it was too brown for her gray house. Well, I put it up to see, and in the daytime, in my western facing room...it looked sooo gray. Almost blue, even. NOT the warm greige I wanted. (Accessible Beige is almost too Beige but it flows nicely with the living room it opens up to.)

[alisoncooks]

Alright!!!  New change of direction.  After agonizing over blue-green colors for the cabinets, I've decided to stick with plain, ol' WHITE!

I'm attaching a pic of my current colors, and one of my new inspiration and photo. The flooring is a similar shade as mine. I know we'll need a new fridge in a few years, so I'll keep the white appliances until I can switch to something else. I'm getting my pop of color via the rug (see pic) and curtains (tbd). 

Now to determine cabinet hardware!  I'm thinking satin nickel vertical pulls, modern-looking. 

[alisoncooks]

(The white kitchen isn't mine - I wish!) That's the inspiration. The second white kitchen is inspiration for hardware. 

You can see we've added trim to the bottom cabinets (and will shiplap the back/side of the peninsula). We're also adding crown molding. 

[Selkie]

I think your white kitchen will look great!

I have a white kitchen and my cabinets and counters are almost identical to the ones in the first white picture. :)

[Carol in Cal.]

I think white cabinets would look great in there!

And that second inspiration photo is the kind of pulls that I'm considering for my kitchen.  Just the same way, too--vertical on the cabinets and horizontal on the drawers.

[BlsdMama]

On 4/11/2018 at 6:58 AM, alisoncooks said:

I feel like "If you give a mouse a cookie."  What began as a small project to patch a soft spot in the floor has grown and grown. So far, we've: repaired subfloor, painted the ceiling, painted the walls, laid vinyl plank, and put trim and moulding on our builder'a grade cabinets. 

Our current cabinet color is a deep red; I painted that color 7-8 years ago. We've liked it but I want something airier. Originally, I was thinking white, but I'm worried about keeping it clean. Never had white cabinets! And we have white appliances (in various shades)....

Gray won't work because the walls are Sherwin Williams Accessible Beige (unless you know one that works with beige - Chelsea gray? Galveston?). I'm really drawn to the blue-green-grayish tones. Like Behr's "In the Moment." 

 

 

 

If you click through this link:


I think the 7th pic is deep gray cabinets paired with beige.  I think it works.

 

https://www.diynetwork.com/how-to/rooms-and-spaces/kitchen/10-ways-to-color-your-kitchen-cabinets-pictures

I am not a fan of white cabinets.  One - in the kitchen?  Doesn't anyone else think the kitchen is the messiest room of their house?  No.  And I think white has had its time and it will shortly be on the way out and natural wood grains coming back because, as with all things, we must constantly change fads.

 

[Selkie]

18 minutes ago, BlsdMama said:

I am not a fan of white cabinets.  One - in the kitchen?  Doesn't anyone else think the kitchen is the messiest room of their house?  No.  And I think white has had its time and it will shortly be on the way out and natural wood grains coming back because, as with all things, we must constantly change fads.

 

My white cabinets don't get that dirty. I just give them a quick wipe here and there when cleaning the kitchen. I guess if there is food or coffee or whatever splattered on my cabinets, I would rather be able to see it so it can get cleaned up.  

I don't know a thing about kitchen fads, but I think of white as being timeless. I've had white cabinets for 20+ years just because I like them, even though they've probably gone in and out of style several times during that time period. ;)

[BlsdMama]

7 minutes ago, Selkie said:

My white cabinets don't get that dirty. I just give them a quick wipe here and there when cleaning the kitchen. I guess if there is food or coffee or whatever splattered on my cabinets, I would rather be able to see it so it can get cleaned up.  

I don't know a thing about kitchen fads, but I think of white as being timeless. I've had white cabinets for 20+ years just because I like them, even though they've probably gone in and out of style several times during that time period. ;)

 I probably should have added the caveat of *my* kitchen is by far the dirtiest room in my house - constant cleaning.  But, I imagine, some day with only 1-2 kids at home and less meal prep, maybe that will lessen?  (Trying to picture what I'll do with all the spare time?!)

[Selkie]

2 minutes ago, BlsdMama said:

 I probably should have added the caveat of *my* kitchen is by far the dirtiest room in my house - constant cleaning.  But, I imagine, some day with only 1-2 kids at home and less meal prep, maybe that will lessen?  (Trying to picture what I'll do with all the spare time?!)

Oh, I can imagine your kitchen is so busy! You have almost four times more kids than I do, so that would make a big difference! :)

[Mothersweets]

It's going to look great!

[Ellie]

All cabinets get dirty, regardless of the color. White cabinets don't get dirtier than black or blue or red. The thing is that with white cabinets you can actually see the dirty, and so you can give them a quick wipe and presto change-o--Clean cabinets!!!

I have white cabinets. Love them. I'm not saying you should paint yours white; I'm just saying you shouldn't be afraid of them. :-)

[PeterPan]

Two thoughts. One, get posterboard at the dollar tree and try your colors on that first. Two, if you're covering that red, are you going to have to prime? That will let you see how it looks with your walls. My creamy white cabs don't show dirt particularly, but we added some dark glaze in the cracks to pre-dirty them, haha.

[alisoncooks]

1 hour ago, PeterPan said:

Two thoughts. One, get posterboard at the dollar tree and try your colors on that first. Two, if you're covering that red, are you going to have to prime? That will let you see how it looks with your walls. My creamy white cabs don't show dirt particularly, but we added some dark glaze in the cracks to pre-dirty them, haha.

Oh yeah, totally going to prime first. Clean, sand, prime, sand, maybe prime again/sand. Then paint. 

I had no clue what I was doing when I painted them red. Well, I knew enough to get my primer tinted for better coverage, but I don't remember especially cleaning them or sanding. Lol. I also used cheap-o latex paint (so all in all, they've held up remarkably!)

I'm much more well-read going in this time. (Obsessive researcher...what did I do before the internet?!)

[alisoncooks]

I'm also doing new lights (we've lived here 12 years and I've not used that ceiling fan once). 

Trying to decide if I want modern or farmhouse.  Not rewiring, just swapping out fixtures.

[PeterPan]

Farmhouse sounds cute. It's so in now, with that Magnolia renovation show on HGTV. You might do your cupboards with some kind of milk paint or denim effect or something. 

And yeah, the lights caught my eye. That will be a really good update. 

[alisoncooks]

UPDATE: 7-12-18, entitled "I'm going insane!!"

So....so much for "I'm painting my cabinets white!"  ? We primed them (white) and then looked at them a few days.  And a few more days.  They just looked so...WHITE and plain and stark. 

So then I (on a whim) painted half of the boxes/frames Benjamin Moore's Grenada Villa. https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/color-overview/find-your-color/color/690/grenada-villa?color=690  DH loves it, but it's a hint too green and (surprisingly) too light.

Now I'm thinking: bold.  Like: 

Just jump in the deep end, Alison! Looking at my previous dark red cabinets, I like the richness and depth. So here are my new top colors:

https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/color-overview/find-your-color/color/hc-160/knoxville-gray?color=HC-160 (above pic)

https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/color-overview/find-your-color/color/713/polished-slate?color=713

https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/color-overview/find-your-color/color/HC-158/newburg-green?color=HC-158

A little scary, but DH will be out of town next week, so if it looks terrible I can fix it before he sees it, haha. 

[alisoncooks]

Pardon my mess, but the current color (Grenada Villa) looks like this: 

Lovely, with a vintage feel, but not enough contrast with the walls (which I refuse to repaint). 

[Lori D.]

27 minutes ago, alisoncooks said:

UPDATE: 7-12-18, entitled "I'm going insane!!"

So....so much for "I'm painting my cabinets white!"  ? We primed them (white) and then looked at them a few days.  And a few more days.  They just looked so...WHITE and plain and stark. 

So then I (on a whim) painted half of the boxes/frames Benjamin Moore's Grenada Villa. https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/color-overview/find-your-color/color/690/grenada-villa?color=690  DH loves it, but it's a hint too green and (surprisingly) too light.

Now I'm thinking: bold.  Like:

Just jump in the deep end, Alison! Looking at my previous dark red cabinets, I like the richness and depth. So here are my new top colors:

https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/color-overview/find-your-color/color/hc-160/knoxville-gray?color=HC-160 (above pic)

https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/color-overview/find-your-color/color/713/polished-slate?color=713

https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/color-overview/find-your-color/color/HC-158/newburg-green?color=HC-158

A little scary, but DH will be out of town next week, so if it looks terrible I can fix it before he sees it, haha. 

LOVE the idea of the dark grey-green! All three of your linked color choices are nice. I didn't want to say anything earlier, but I really liked your red cabinets (and I am NOT a red fan) -- it was the richness and depth, as you say. White with white walls and a grey floor really sounded bland and boring to me. (;P JMO! Hope you love your updated kitchen, whatever you go with! Warmest regards, Lori D.

[Scarlett]

I like the darker blue green a lot.  Actually I liked the red too!  LOL...I opened the thread and thought oh what a pretty red kitchen.....

[sassenach]

1 hour ago, alisoncooks said:

UPDATE: 7-12-18, entitled "I'm going insane!!"

So....so much for "I'm painting my cabinets white!"  ? We primed them (white) and then looked at them a few days.  And a few more days.  They just looked so...WHITE and plain and stark. 

So then I (on a whim) painted half of the boxes/frames Benjamin Moore's Grenada Villa. https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/color-overview/find-your-color/color/690/grenada-villa?color=690  DH loves it, but it's a hint too green and (surprisingly) too light.

Now I'm thinking: bold.  Like: 

Just jump in the deep end, Alison! Looking at my previous dark red cabinets, I like the richness and depth. So here are my new top colors:

https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/color-overview/find-your-color/color/hc-160/knoxville-gray?color=HC-160 (above pic)

https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/color-overview/find-your-color/color/713/polished-slate?color=713

https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/color-overview/find-your-color/color/HC-158/newburg-green?color=HC-158

A little scary, but DH will be out of town next week, so if it looks terrible I can fix it before he sees it, haha. 

 

Love that look. I think polished slate is too green, but I like the other 2. If you have an Osh near you, their sample cans of BM are $5 and come with a $5 coupon.

 

[alisoncooks]

Thanks, everyone!  I actually like the red, also. I was just ready for a change and shifting to a cooler color scheme throughout the whole house. 

I'm picking up some color samples tomorrow, so fingers crossed I can wrap this project up soon. My kitchen has been in disarray since March!  

I'm going to need some feedback on window treatments, as soon as the cabinets are painted. ? (I'm sitting here, looking at 4 different curtain options...)

[alisoncooks]

Alright, I shall preface this with:  apparently, I suck at Paint Color Picking. 

I did pick up some samples of Benjamin Moore Knoxville Gray and Newburg Green (links above). Neither worked for me - smidge too dark. Then I lost my mind and got a sample of Caribbean Teal. https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/color-overview/find-your-color/color/2123-20/caribbean-teal?color=2123-20. ...which was a big, fat, GREEN waste of time and $7.

But those samples helped me figure something out:  the colors I'm naturally drawn to come across greener in my kitchen (and then I don't like them). So I need to steer bluer than I'd think. So now I have up samples of Charlotte Slate (https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/color-overview/find-your-color/color/ac-24/charlotte-slate?color=AC-24) and Templeton Gray (https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/color-overview/find-your-color/color/hc-161/templeton-gray?color=HC-161) which is a shade lighter than Knoxville gray. 

The girls like Charlotte Slate best, but that may be because I have a Charlotte, lol. :p DH gets home from his trip Tuesday, so I'll let him have a vote. I think I like the bluer one (right), too. 

[Mothersweets]

I like both those grays but am leaning more toward the darker one on the right. What is the lighting like in your kitchen? 

[alisoncooks]

Five windows total on 2 sides (western and southern exposure). Plus two very dinky ceiling lights. 

[sassenach]

I vote right!

[trulycrabby]

Qa

[Mothersweets]

6 hours ago, alisoncooks said:

Five windows total on 2 sides (western and southern exposure). Plus two very dinky ceiling lights. 

It sounds like you have a good amount  of natural light! I'd go for the darker one on the right. ?

[Scarlett]

I like the one on the right best.  

[alisoncooks]

More paint samples!

The two I previously posted are top left (Templeton Gray) and bottom right (Charlotte Slate). They look great in the afternoon but just look dull gray the rest of the day. So I decided to go for more colorful options. Bottom left - Aegean Teal. Top right - Bella Blue. 

I actually like both but maybe leaning towards Aegean Teal. I've painted some poster boards that I'll hang around the kitchen see how it looks at different angles/light. (The photo is the back of the peninsula. I'm doing all my sampling there b/c it'll be covered with shiplap and then painted whatever color.)

[Scarlett]

I LOVE Bella Blue. And I don't hate the Aegean Teal.

Please don't stress over much. It is just paint and I think any of these would be lovely.

[aggie96]

I still think bottom right. I'm drawn to more saturated colors though.

[stephanier.1765]

I love the top right color! I'd paint mine that color in a heart beat.

[Mothersweets]

I like the darker ones, too, but Scarlett's right - any of these colors will look great!

[alisoncooks]

Well, I'm pretty sure I've settled on a color: Aegean Teal. I'll pick up my paint on Sunday. 

In the meantime, I figured I'd make use of some of my many samples, lol. It still needs a little touching up, but this'll go over the back door:

ETA: I totally used a stencil. I'm not that artsy. 

[ktgrok]

Ooh, that was my favorite!

[alisoncooks]

17 hours ago, Ktgrok said:

Ooh, that was my favorite!

Here's how it looks on poster board. A little darker and more muted, but I like it. It's not EXACTLY what I envisioned , but it's the closest I have found. ?

[alisoncooks]

Gah! I'm going to be painting these cabinets forever, lol. I've done one  coat on the frames and all the drawer faces. I'll do a second coat, and then start on the doors. But at least I'm getting an idea of how it will look. It's certainly blue, lol. I'm content with it, though I told DH that it'd sure look nice with white quartz countertop and white tile backsplash.

[alisoncooks]

Haha, and the above pic is why I shall never have open shelving. None too attractive. :D

[mmasc]

Very pretty! Excellent color choice. The color looks really good with your floors too. 

[Scarlett]

I love it!