High Gloss White or Matte White Cabinets

5 years ago

Advice needed for modern/contemporary kitchen.

Need help deciding between high gloss or matte white cabinets.

We have a light filled kitchen with a lot of south facing windows and light/medium tone hardwood floors.

Will high gloss be too bright and reflective?

Anyone with experience with ease or difficulty of cleaning Matte White cabinets - based on google research sounds like the cleaning Matte cabinets can be a challenge.

Thanks for any feedback!

Featured Answer

User

5 years ago

last modified: 5 years ago

White glossy surfaces look fresh and bright, but reflections are not jarring to the eye as dark glossy surfaces tend to be. They do not look busy due to their reflections.

We used Ikea's Ringhult white gloss fronts and our kitchen receives quite a bit of sunlight yet the cabinetry never seems too bright. The windows on the stove wall do have white translucent shades, mostly because the view there is towards the neighbors house.

We do like contrast, not just between light and dark, but also between glossy and matte, so all our dark surfaces are matte and add calm.

Here a pic of our not quite finished kitchen:

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Comments (7)

byac
Original Author
5 years ago
Thanks pippabean. Very helpful...your kitchen looks great.
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Mid America Mom
5 years ago
I have gloss slab (not white). My biggest beef is seeing fingerprints (not messy hands either!). On the counter we went matte due to my issues with fingerprints in last few homes with granite/gabbro polished.
byac thanked Mid America Mom
User
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
Mid America Mom - I have a glass top on that laptop/console table in the pic above and see fingerprints on that. Luckily they wipe off easily - phew!

The one or two drawer fronts I've wiped off since starting to use the kitchen a couple of months ago just needed cleaning due to food splatters.

I cannot see any fingerprints on the Ringhult fronts, even when I'm looking for them :-)

It might be horizontal surfaces or stone and glass that show fingerprints, versus vertical glossy surfaces.

OT: I'm pleasantly surprised with the FP fridge. I expected fingerprints would be showing daily. Nope, nada. I've wiped the handle a couple of times but only due to stickyness. That's it.
byac thanked User
byac
Original Author
5 years ago
Any regrets on stainless steel refrigerator vs panel? Also trying to decide between the two.
User
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
No, not at all. The SS fridge seems to balance the stainless hood and backsplash on the opposite side of the island. We did panel the DW as I didn't want the base cabinet run interrupted. I actually like stainless, especially the "no fingerprints" kind.
modellie
5 years ago
Pippa - I remember your planning thread very well. It's been what? Maybe 2 years? Well it's been worth it. Wow! Your kitchen looks fabulous. Congrats!

Will you post a reveal when you're all finished? I would love to see more of your cool kitchen!