I have a similar sounding kitchen--9" ceilings--tall cabinets and an island. My counters are Costa Esmerelda (light green/gray). I will also have dark hardwoods. As for choosing, we just new we wanted pure white. We have always opted for white woodwork. That being said, I have a friend who has "pure white" cabinets that are actually BM Cloud White or White Dove or something that looked very off-white to me. Now that they are installed, they read as white, but mine are a much whiter white than hers.

Why don't you look at pictures, even on the FKB, and see what appeals to you? That should help you decide.

How did you decide between Pure White and Creamy White Cabinets

None, I like real wood (LOL)

Thanks for everyone's input! Unfortunately, our house is being built -- so there is no way to bring the sample colors in there it there and check how they look in the lighting. We have windows on one side -- so I really have no idea how sunny/shady it will be -- I think that is what scares me!!

My experience was that I had intentions of ordering pure white cabinets because I wanted a crisp, fresh look and feel in the home we were building. My KD dissuaded me from going stark white and, in our case, I am glad she did.

Her opinion was that just a tint of color makes for a much richer look on a painted wood cabinet. She said it brings the appearance up a notch from thermafoil and other less expensive finishes. We looked at a number of door samples side by side and decided to go with a finish called "Opal" from the Omega/Diamond cabinet line.

Most everyone who sees our cabinets installed would likely describe them as "white." The hue is very subtle and just makes them look less stark and antiseptic.

If you're going to go with a same-color island, this might be something to consider. A friend of mine bought a home with white kitchen cabs & a white island and she referred to it as "the operating room." I didn't think it was so bad, but she thought it had a cold, institutional feel and look.

Which brings me to my final point which is that this is a very subjective decision. You'll probably know in your gut which way you want to go when you look at various finishes. Just thought I would offer the benefit of my own experience for your consideration.

I had the same experience as Kat. I was pretty convinced that I would go for a creamy white called "Buttercream" in the Plain and Fancy cabinet line. However, when my door sample arrived and I got a chance to live with it night and day in my own kitchen for a week or so, I changed my mind. What had looked creamy white in the showroom looked butter yellow in my house! I then ordered a new door sample, this time in "White Dove" -- a white with grey undertones. Turned out that while I never would have chosen that color in the showroom, it was definitely the right white in my house. And the truth is, now that it's here in my kitchen and juxtaposed against all the other finishes, it looks to me like the "creamy" white I was originally going for! I don't see the grey undertint at all.

I can't emphasize enough the importance of making color choices by testing samples of sufficient size as they will appear in the conditions of your own home!

You don't say what climate you are in, Rdas, and colors, including white, look very different in different climates (brilliant clear southwest desert versus misty coast versus far-to-the-north inland Main, etc) and geographic surrounds (such as forested green versus gray highrise urban versus new subdivision). Also, are your windows plain glass or do they have a tint in them, such as low-E glass? Either makes a dramatic difference from the other. Gather ideas here, but really make your decision locally. Take your samples to a friend or neighbor's similar property if that's the best you can do.

Regarding our own decision making, code-required low-E glass. The dull sunglass-green cast the stuff we installed gave everything sadly eliminated my favorite crisp whites from consideration. Just not a possibility. We ended up painting our kitchen walls here in North Georgia a peachy cream and the trim on the several windows the same color diluted to a creamy white. With the greenish light coming in and all the green outside, they both read a slightly yellowish cream, which is pretty close to what I intended (part trial, part luck).

I had also intended a fairly cool brown tone for the wood floors, echoing the tree trunks outside, but had to settle for a more reddish-orange tone to bounce some red tones back on the walls and further counteract that sickly green.

(Almost all our neighbors use drapes, shades, lights on in the daytime with darker, deliberately "off" color schemes of muted rust/red/gold/green/brown, etc., and don't know what I'm complaining about with my undraped open windows and white, with sparkling blue, yellow, red, green, whatever.)

Anyway, regarding how different whites behave, I was planning on painting our custom wood hood the creamy white for both the lower shelf part and for the "chimney" portion rising to the ceiling, but after painting the lower part, the painters and I agreed that even that off-white on the whole thing would make it visually advance too strongly into the room. It's a focal point, but the kitchen isn't huge, so we painted the chimney the cream of the walls to help it settle back. I did get to put crisp white-white cafes on the windows, which have that light cool effect I love in the hot weather.

Hope in some way this helps you address your own special situation.

I just tried to pay attention to what I was drawn to in books and magazines, and on this website. I also agree with other posters that you really have to see the cabinets in your light. Since you are building, at least bring the samples in natural light. Are there other houses on the street that you could borrow for this purpose? You might get a good feel.

I ended up choosing a white with a slight grey cast. It's similar to BM white dove, but it actually reads warm in my house.

The white-white can be done beautifully too. Very dramatic. Have you seen the postings on Christopher Peacock? He uses a lot of true white, and it is spectacular. Very crisp, clean, upscale.

The white-white of my cabinet line (Woodharbor) was too stark and bright, but most of the other whites were too-something else when brought home--too yellow, too grey, too tan, etc. The Coastal White sample worked best--still white, but not overpoweringly stark. It isn't really creamy either, but it works in my space.

I replaced site built custom cabinets that were painted with an oil based paint that had yellowed and looked dingy and didn't clean. I hated them and hate the yellowed white paint look. I had the same thing in the last house, and I didn't want any yellow in my new kitchen white -- so no cream. I have white cabinets to a 10 foot ceiling with white subways and marble counters -- BUT, I also did my island in cherry and my tall storage wall is blue and there is a blue liner in the backsplash.

I love both looks, but the rest of my house has a lot of earthy tones, stone and wood trim ... I felt if I went white white in the kitchen it wouldn't really "flow" with the rest - we used BM Linen White - in my house it looks like a true cream, although in other lights it has more yellow undertones

We had to make the same decision. And our deciding factor was the fact that our trim, doors and windows are pure white. (They are being factory painted and shipped instead of painted on site to save time & money) So with that being said we are doing pure white. We are also during pure white trim, gutters and garage doors on the outside as well with brownish/greenish siding. I was hesitant to do such a bright white until I drove around subdivisions and saw that some do cream and some actually do pure white and honestly I never thought one looked better than the other. In fact I always thought the cream looked more country and the white looked more modernish. I would do what your trim & doors are or at least as close as you can. My girlfriends just did pure white shaker cabinets and black silestone in a semi-modern pottery barn style kitchen and it's fabulous. She also had braz cherry wood floors and stainless appliances.

DW and I never cared for stark white so our choice was easy. We were looking for a timeless, creamy shade for the cabs that would stand up to three kids. We chose BM Lemon Chiffon oil based, just right for us.

Had the exact same dilemma. I was very confused until we stopped looking at the all the whites side by side and looked at the samples one at a time. The creamy shades had a lot of undertones when put next to pure white, but they were much less noticable when "on their own".

There were two deciding factors for us. The creamy tones seemed much easier on my eyes--more soothing in a way. And DH's two word summary of pure white was--"medicine chest". I loved both and both seemed timeless to me, but we ultimately went creamy white and a light glaze. As others have mentioned, you should try to look at them in similar lighting to your kitchen if at all possible--makes a huge difference.

IMO pure white is too stark and sterile looking. I used BM lambskin.

I had the same situation between which white to choose. I completely agree with everyone that says you can't really choose a color until you see the sample in your new kitchen. I picked during the framing stage by putting all the samples next to each other in what was to be the kitchen and looking at them at different times of the day over several days. I hung a tarp over the exterior wall to try and simulate the lighting of the kitchen after sheet rock. I have a hard time with creamy whites because they go yellow in the evening here (Seattle) so I picked BM White Dove, which was the middle of the road in my samples. Of course I was second guessing myself right up until the end, but I'm glad I went with the the mid-white of the samples as it does tend to go a little yellow at night and it's not too stark during the day. The grey undertone helps keep the yellowing minimal.

Here's what I came up against that others should know...my cabinets were site finished and they were sprayed with a primer of bright white. Talk about operating room! I was glad I didn't go with the brightest white of my samples. Then the first coat of BM White Dove Satin Impervo went on. Each time I had to shut down the job site for three days and crank the heat while the paint cured. I hated waiting three days to see the cabinets and all the built-ins! Anyway, after the first coat of White Dove I snuck in the house at night. The cabinets were the dingyest yellow of all yellows! Yikes! Of course I cried because I had picked the wrong color when I was hoping I had picked the perfect color. Back to square one. Ugh. But then the next day as I moped around the job site I noticed that the cabinets didn't match my sample from the store.

Here's what happened...I went to my local BM store and bought several quarts of tinted Satin Impervo paint mixed at the store. After I chose the White Dove, my painter went to his BM wholesaler and bought White Dove Satin Impervo off the shelf as it is one of BM's stock colors. Although most say the formulas are the same, they aren't! The difference was horrifying! Luckily it was the first coat, I was able to figure out the problem and the final coat went on perfectly in store mixed White Dove paint. Sadly, we had already finished all 40 shelves and 74 doors when the carcasses were painted and the mistake was discovered so we had to go back and redo all of them. My point? No matter what you choose, always go with the exact same formulation as your sample!

I had to replace the gas range when I moved in, and at that time, I chose a white range, dishwasher, and eventually a white refrigerator.

I soon tired of the stark white look. It's too harsh to look at particularly at night when the fluorescent lights are on. I like the creamy white in my space better and I looked at several different creamy colors until I found one that works well with my existing furnishings in my open floor plan.