Here's the pictures for everyone so that they don't have to open them.

[Traditional Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Downers Grove Design-Build Firms Oakley Home Builders

[Traditional Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Minneapolis Cabinets & Cabinetry CliqStudios Cabinets

So, one of the things that you are seeing in those pictures is a different type of lighting is used. In your first picture, they used a warm white lighting (my guess would be standard incandescent bulbs).

In the other, you see natural light is coming in and because there isn't a color variation of where the natural light hits and the lighting in the house, I'm going to guess that they are using bulbs that are cooler (either daylight balanced incandescent or cool colored LEDs).

Different bulb lighting will cause things to look different. So, if the first kitchen had access to natural light or they changed the bulbs in there, everything in the room would look less warm/yellow.

So, my suggestion is to get a paint sample pot and paint a board with the lighting that you anticipate using in your kitchen. Keep in mind that your room is likely to read different colors at different times of the day based on how much sun comes through your windows and what color bulbs you are using.

A thousand times yes to getting paint samples. My house is basically all white and it seemed nearly impossible to find a good white. I thought I wanted to do simply white at 50% and it read as peach due to my red oak floors. Snowbound was yellow, white heron blue, etc. All this to say please do try samples of your top picks. I ended up needing to have a color custom blended.

Sound warmer whites I seemed to see mentioned a lot are mayonnaise, acacia white (someone correct me on this one - I might be off), and some like gardenia but it's got some red that can be problematic. Less creamy but other popular warm whites are simply white and white cloud.

As far as paint I used cabinet coat which is made by instl-x a company owned by benjamin moore. Benefits of this paint are its durability and ability to self level. A friend of mine used advance and really liked it. I tried it and it does go on really well. It's an alkyd hybrid paint and I didn't choose it because it could yellow over time - not significantly but still a bit. If you want an oil based paint people seem to like satin impervo. Will you be doing it yourself? All the prep is really important to research too.

I would also suggest looking at your samples next to the other paint colors that you will be using on your walls and floor since they can affect the look of your white.

I was at Benjamin Moore's the other day to pick up some "white" paint and they gave me a sample fan of 154 various shades of white and off-white! They sure don't make it easy on you.

I didn't 'to have that problem with white, but I sure did have it with beige, or rather blue-beige, grey-beige, green-beige, yellow-beige, etc. for what ended up being 5 colors throughout our apartment, I think we tried 30 samples.

I painted my samples for my wall and trim behind the oven. Some day, some one will be scratching their head trying to figure out what was going on. I went with BM mascarpone. It is a warmer white 2littlefishies used this as one of her gorgeous cabinet colors. I only painted a few samples for white...
But SJhockey- my garage door palette for greige was too funny. I think I had about 24 squares on my garage door, which we planned to replace and our neighbors had fun looking at our giant sample board. In th end, I developed my own color mix.
We did replace the checkerboard garage door.

BM Navajo white is very, very close to BM "Bone White" which is what we have on our cabs and all of our trim. Next to "Simply White", (which I have elsewhere in the house) which some people consider to be a warm white, it looks beige. If it isn't next to a true white, it just reads like a warm, rich, cream. I still consider it to be a "white kitchen" but a whiter white would have looked to stark in our old house.

In 100% agreement with all the above posters--it can be startling to see a color up on the walls in YOUR light. Not a chip. As large as you can--like a 2x2 piece of painted plywood or cardboard.

I've used Mother of Pearl all over my house. It's a lovely color--Benjamin Moore, I think.

My cabinets are BM Canvas, it's a creamy white with yellow undertones. I also suggest getting paint boards and seeing how the different paint colors look in your home.

I have BM Cloud White and I love it. It's really my color. Attached is a closeup, but it's really hard to accurately convey the color. If you search for "Toronto Tim" on this board, his is also Cloud White and his kitchen is to die for.

We used BM Chantilly Lace for the trim throughout our house. I love it. The guy at BM said it is the closest they have to a true white but I found it to be slightly warmer than what I'd consider to be a true white (like Behr Ultra Pure White). Others have commented that Chantilly Lace has a grey undertone. It does not read grey for me. Definitely invest in some sample pots and test the colors in your lighting. Makes a big difference. Good luck!

Thanks for the suggestions...I will definitely get some samples and try it out. Does it matter if I just test it out on some drywall instead of the actual wood that will be used for the cabinets? Also my concern is the lighting, currently we have the florescent recess lights...but we plan on changing to LED during the remodel. Any idea on how I can factor the change in lighting when I look at the colors.

shanghaimom - do you have any photos of your kitchen with the bone white that you could share?

andreak100 - can you help a newbie...how did you get a copy of the houzz pictures and then upload multiple ones into the message. I was trying to make copies of the pictures to save onto my computer and all I got was a link to the photo.

NDSA-thought I'd help in case andreak doesn't stop back. Right click the photo on houzz and select 'embed photo' a window pops up with Large Image, Small Image and Wordpress Shortcode. I always copy the code in the small image box and paste it right into your message and voila. Done. :) When you preview your message you should see the pic not the code. Make sure you get it all, you will likely have to scroll while copying it.

To stay on topic we are likely using BM white dove as it matches our cabinets the best.

edit: correct typo :)

This post was edited by Autumn.4 on Sun, Jan 5, 14 at 9:24

One trick I use now: paint the sample on a piece of something (foam board, masonite) and then put it in different places in the room.

Samples are super important. Your money will be well spent. As all white kitchen owners will attest, lighting, other elements in your kitchen, even things outside your house over which you have no control (e.g., vegetation) will influence how your white looks at various times of the day.

Using foam board is the easiest way to get a large portable sample. Put it somewhere in your kitchen and leave it for at least 24 hours. Then move it to a different location. I was fortunate to have my two finalists (BM Cloud White and Simply White) on two of my old doors, so I had the right context.

At some point you have to stop comparing colors. If you have two or three you like, separate them. You need to stop comparing colors and see how each look as they stand alone.

NDSA, here is a pic of the Bone White.

I noticed that your inspiration photo's cabinetry has a glaze, which changes the look dramatically. Also, they used the color "White Linen with a glaze" which may not any relation whatsoever to BM Linen White.

We used bm Acadia white for our cabinets and trim.
Here's a picture:

By the way, just in case you are still looking for the paints in your inspiration cabinets, the colors cited for them are not BM paint colors. In fact, the second photo which features Cliq Studios cabs -- their "painted linen" is a Sherwin Williams color that is not called "linen" if I recall correctly (it was a year ago that I talked to them about this). I don't have that paint chip from S-W anymore. I did get one of their samples of painted linen and in my house the color was more yellow-creamy-white than white-white.
The first example never tells what brand of paint is used for the cabinets, so there is no knowing what that paint color is really.