Paint color for kitchen cabinets?

5 years ago

We’re moving into a house and are planning to paint the kitchen cabinets white — as a way to both brighten up the space and make it appear a bit larger than it is. With the hundreds of shades of white out there, I’m feeling a bit lost! A few things that would affect the color choice: the tiles in the backsplash are a crisp, bright white; there are several windows so should get some natural light; and there are some white built-ins in the dining room (the built-ins are on either side of the door leading to kitchen).

I’m considering the idea of painting them the same shade of white as the dining room built-ins to create a sense of flow/space, but also want to be mindful of the colors of the tiles, countertops, and window trim. Should the cabinet color have cool tones, warm tones, white-white, off-white, etc.?

Would appreciate any advice! Thank you!

Here are some photos:

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Comments (6)

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JudyG Designs
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
Paint same white as dining room cabinets would be my choice.

At the same time I was wondering if you painted the kitchen cabinets white in semi-gloss and painted the walls white, as well. The kitchen is small and if walls and cabinets were the same, there would be no delineation.

You also could get the same results if you painted the cabinets the same as the walls, but again in semi-gloss.
HU-187528210
5 years ago
The built ins seem like a cooler white. I’d repaint that and the kitchen a warmer white.
A few other suggestions. Remove the corner cabinets and just put the same tile all the way up. And to do new hardware and lighting it’ll make a huge difference
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crcollins1_gw
5 years ago
I think your cabinets are really lovely and since they are a light stain, painting them white is not going to make a lot of difference in brightness of the space. You're moving into a new house and you are going to find 100 other things that you're going to want to do within the first six months. I recommend you move in and live there a while before doing anything. Properly painting cabinets is not easy nor cheap.
Shannon_WI
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
I would not paint the kitchen cabinets at all. First, because that wood is much nicer than your paint job over them is going to be. Second, because if you want the kitchen brighter you should change the lighting, and that will be much easier and less expensive than painting. Third, because you should save your money for an eventual kitchen renovation. That range is in a really bad location, and I also can’t believe you’re losing valuable cabinet storage because the range is placed in front of the cabinets. That’s terrible. Don’t throw good money away on a bandaid for a kitchen that will need to be redone as soon as you are able to.

Also the dining room built-ins look like they may have been painted over. Not sure, it could be the photo, but the base cabinets of the dining room have a mottled look typical of a minimal paint job that is showing bleed-through. Again, it could be the pic, or my screen making it appear that way.

Edited to add: are you able to open the fridge’s right-side door? It doesn’t look like you will.
THOR, Son of ODIN
5 years ago
The wood cabinets are lovely as they are.