@ lynn2788

There are a lot of suggestions on how to make this work, and I understand your frustration, but getting defensive isn't going to solve your problem.

Here is what I see:

You purchased a home with flooring that has pink undertones (Taupe) and yellow undertones on the cabinets, doors and trim (Cream). The paint color looks like it is a mid-toned gray with a bit of a green undertone, hard to tell exactly based on the pictures. It works with the cabinets but not so much with the floors. Then you compounded the issues, not with a countertop that is too white, but a countertop that has blue undertones.

We now have a rainbow. Pink, blue, green and yellow.

So where do you go from here?

@ JAN MOYER had a brilliant suggestion with creating a feeling of intention by using all the colors in the backsplash and using the cabinet color on the walls.

That kind of fixes your kitchen for the time being, but what about the rest of your house? Do you really want to try to make the flooring and the trim/doors work together in every room of your home or do you want to pick one and change the other so that you don't keep fighting the same battle?

It it were me I would choose to keep the flooring and find a trim/wall and cabinet color that works better with the floor and pick wall colors that work with both.

Has anyone suggested a glaze on the cabinets to change the tone?

Lynn, just order the Gin tiles that Jan suggested. if you get them from IvyHill over at the Home Depot site, you can order a box of each color. if you don't like them, they're easy enough to return.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Ivy-Hill-Tile-Amagansett-Gin-4-in-x-4-in-Satin-Ceramic-Wall-Tile-5-38-sq-ft-box-EXT3RD101879/306804568

take them out of the box and lets see them taped up to your splash.

this is the white in the subway size.

Dune

and the Fog gray color

maybe order some samples from fireclay tile too.

ivy hill and Tilebar also have the Portmore tile. here's the white (already has variation)

or, if you get the Cloe tile, you could get the white and this cream color:

Or, The Cream color alone could be enough variation? if not, you could thrown in a few of the white ones into the mix.

something like this Zellige tile has an high variation and would look intentional. also an option

or take a door w/you to a tile store, and pick our 2-3 diff tiles that cover your paint/countertop shades.

I'd still repaint those walls.

I can't be the only one that thought the two whites looked kind of great together to begin with.

It looks like your wall paint is a sage green? Why not find a plain solid-color backsplash tile to match that color?

Well look what I just happen to find at my local Lowes!

I couldn’t resist trying a photo collage with your Viatera Everest. I tried painting your walls and ceiling the cabinet color too.

The Montauk blend idea by Jan would be much prettier, without a doubt, but it does waste a lot of tile unless you could use the leftovers somewhere else.

Well, I just thought I would throw this out there since it seemed to have a similar subtle blend of whites, grays, and creams.

I know you mentioned above wanting a solid color tile backsplash and that was my first instinct as well. If you could afford to start fresh by painting the cabinets a white color that matches the countertops better, the backsplash would be so much easier!

Also adding, your floors are nice but are very stripey. If anything is drawing the most attention as the star, it is the floor imho.

Paint the walls the same color of your cabinets…pull the light and dark grey from your countertops into the tile…will look great with the dark island.

rebunky, too bad they don't have something larger than the 2x4 tiles. those small sizes can look very 'busy', especially w/all the diff hues.

I love the idea of the high variation Zellige tile. Please let us know what you decide to do.

Beth, I whole heartedly agree with you. I saw they were the 2x4 size and thought it would be much too busy. I just thought it was so stinkin’ hilarious that my little town actually had a mosaic tile which combined those 3 colors together!

Actually, to be honest, I am having a very hard time picturing all of these multi-colored or variegated tile suggestions with everything else that is going on.

Jan, I don’t think I have ever seen almost 70 people ”like” a post before! Your idea of combining the 3 different Montauk colors together was a great idea for a ”rescue attempt” as you called it. A last ditch effort to bring together all these mismatched finishes that came with Lynn’s new home so they look intentional.

If I had not seen more of the flooring, as shown in the latest photo posted, I think I would have been more on board. I don’t think at the time you had probably seen just how stripey that laminate wood is.

Do you all still think the montauk 3 color blend in 4” squares (or any size for that matter) would be a good idea combined with those stripey floors?

I feel like the 4x4 squares might look like an outfit with a creamy yellow, grey, and white checkerboard shirt, medium and light rosy-toned brown striped pants, and a splotchy patterned belt (the countertop). Idk, that seems like quite the ensemble to pull off. 🤣

My gut feeling was to somehow find the perfect solid color off-white tile that by some crazy miracle would somehow look ok with both the cream cabinets and countertop at the same time. I am sure it is a needle in a haystack.

I really liked Nancy’s mockup! It would entail painting the cabinets, but I think that would be the wisest choice overall.

Lynn, if you can afford to paint the cabinets a nice white color that compliments your beautiful quartz countertop, that is what I would do. And remember, once the kitchen colors are playing nice together and it all looks amazing, you can have a good ole belly laugh about your design delemna!

I wonder… if you repainted the cabinets in a neutral white, with a matching color simple backsplash, if you could possibly get away with leaving the wall color alone???

Help! Countertops too white for cabinets!

How can I pull this together with a tile and what grout?

To now? 69 folks think this is worth a serious try - add me. seventy folks. Maybe the WALLS look just fine after install: ) The color, the white of the cabinets, IS the color/white of the cabinets, unless you change the color of the cabinets.

PS............the 4 x 4 looks "newer" that the much already done and done subway .

Does is really matter if you use three colors in ONE tile? Are you breaking any law of tile? Will the tile police come? No. To all three questions.

Because the real question is what if it works, and you LOVE it?

After reading this discussion for days now, it seems to me that you have three options:

1. Paint the cabinets either a white that works with the counter tops, or another color (green, blue, etc.)

2. Change the counter tops to a honed black granite or other black stone.

3. Get a backsplash that has all three colors, as Jan has suggested several times.

There really is no other option.

As I tell my students during the last few seconds of an exam, pencils down.

🤗

I would also switch out the knobs for polished nickel..

The previous owner of our home had the walls matching the very warm ivory painted cabinets..I think it would be a very easy solution for you…you also could paint the walls white to match your countertops and incorporate white subway tiles….use the cabinets as a color rather than thinking they should match counters…..and incorporate it into your decor .

I agree paint the walls the same color as the cabinets. It will make it all appear open and fresh. Then selecting you backsplash will be easier with out all of the opposing undertones.

Painting the walls the same color as the cabinets does nothing to address the clash of the cabinets and the counter tops. There are way better options listed here.

I agree Diana.

The more I look at this thread, the stronger I feel that painting the cabinets is the best solution. Imho, it is really the only solution that will not make the pretty quartz countertops look like a mistake.

Painting the walls is a much more budget friendly option before adding a expensive backsplash…the cabinets are a nice warm ivory you can work it into the mix of white and grey…beautiful combination of colors together…

🤗

joanne gaines recently did this color scheme.

change hardware, wall color and remove that wooden sign. those show ages of 2010 trend. all less than $500 changes.

think of your white as ageless white. i saw it in an amber lewis design too

Did we lose our OP?

Probably too busy, already made her decision, or just too confused by all the opinions.

I'm just starting to plan my countertop color, cabinet color, and island color (different from cabinets), and came across this thread. Wow what a journey, and the time everyone spends giving advice is so generous! A few posts mentioned matching the cabinet color to the wall color. Is that a general best practice to follow when you have white cabinets and white walls? Or is that advice specific to helping the OP solve her problem?

Pinkshell….the advice is for her situation…her cabinets are much warmer than what she had anticipated when picking her cool tone countertop…without having to repaint….it can really help to paint walls to match the cabinets so they blend in and she can accents with the cool white and grey without having to many tones going in the space….it is a very pretty look and I think it would really help in this situation….I don’t think most home owners would have them repainted because of the expense….it is a big enough expense to have them painted in the first place.

@Home Interiors with Ease thanks for educating me! My home is completely open, walls in one room connect to the walls in the next, and we've been updating all the walls to BM White Dove, so that is likely the color for my kitchen walls. I understand White Dove is a warm white, so it sounds like as long as I choose another warm white color for my kitchen cabinets, and a warm color for my quartz countertops (doing same quartz for backsplash), I shouldn't end up with any warm/cool mismatches. My fear with so many whites is that one may come off as dingy looking, so that is why I'm taking the time to study up on this! I am color-challenged, my eyes just don't see or process undertones, so I rely on descriptions of different products to help me make decisions (and the wonderful contributors to the Houzz discussion boards)!

Here is a great review of White Dove.

Benjamin Moore White Dove OC 17: PAINT COLOR REVIEW - Kylie M Interiors

White Dove looks best with White Dove. Just change the sheen (eggshell walls, satin or semi-gloss cabinets and trim, flat on the ceiling.

Simple, clean and beautiful.

Nothing making White Dove look dingy.

And don’t forget their are lots of beautiful kitchens that are not all white..houzz has lots of pictures of all sorts of kitchens..all sorts of colors…materials…handy features…elements you may not even know you love🤷🏼‍♀️

Here is a site where they used white dove throughout a home. (Yes, they are flippers, but the color is still white dove.) Go about 1/2 way through the page to get to the White Dove house,

Flipping Houses | Home Renovation in Silicon Valley (spruceandpine.com)

I love the Dove, and would definitely do the cabinets in it if you like it on the walls. Or do a contrasting color on the cabinets (green is gorgeous!)

Thanks for everyone's kind advice! We plan to do a contrast color on the kitchen island (thinking a smoky dark gray as of now) and the surrounding kitchen cabinets in white. We are finalizing the countertop this weekend which is a big milestone and will guide our remaining color selections. My personal preference is mostly white for the big items - counters, walls, cabinets, backsplash - I prefer to bring in color with accessories and accent furniture, that way when I want to change things up, it is more cost effective to replace accessories than say quartz or repainting cabinets. Again thanks to everyone for your helpful guidance, I may be back for my next milestone. :-)

Give some thought to a pretty color for the island…the kitchen should be a happy place…green is a good place to start..as all the other pretty colors from nature go with green leaves…so your accessories can be any color…

@Orchid Mesias - the 3rd pic from bottom (w/back of woman) you posted is not particularly dissimilar from what was previously suggested for tile backsplash with tonal ranges and a satiny finish! Beautiful kitchen.

Although I personally prefer the backsplash mentioned here ^^^ , here's another similar "tonal clash", with "marbley" backsplash, just popped up in inbox:

Harvard 5 Kitchen - Farmhouse - Kitchen - Boston - by Homestead Kitchens | Houzz

Love that kitchen @Laura Grosmaire!

I would go easy-peasy with light, white or off-white walls in kitchen.

The first thing that I thought when I saw the OP’s photos was that she needs to paint the walls the same color as the cabinets. Easy, least expensive option, and rids the world of just a bit more gray paint. Ditching the sign would be a vey good thing too

Dianna, Celery, Jan we seem to have lost the OP, but I'd like your opinion on paintable uppers so that cabinets and walls can be the same color while base cabinets, wood or also painted, can contrast while uppers disappear into the walls.

Match walls to the counters and you’ll get a smart looking kitchen. I actually like the subtle mismatch, it will look intentional and quite sophisticated. Good luck!

White and white grout the kitchen looks amazing

@Jan Moyer it is true that each decision is affecting the next in my own home. I've picked dark green and dark blue for two small rooms. I want some green or blue in the other rooms.

I'm not a fan of two tone kitchens either.

Slate appliances were the original sin, compounded by the countertops. In a vacuum, those choices would have been fine together.

I think the OP has left the building...

OP, if you are still reading any of this... I just have to say, imo, there are really no emergencies in your kitchen. It’s a nice kitchen. And I actually like the warmth of the cabinets. Warm and cool colors can, and do, work together.

The suggestions to paint your walls in a color that complements the countertop are really good suggestions. And in that category, as one option, I think a white could work well, and you could just paint the backsplash in the same white in an eggshell finish (makes it wipeable/cleanable) - or alternatively, you could use a simple white tile on backsplash.

As another option, if you wanted to add some variation on a white backsplash tile - I personally like this one. It has some movement, but it is subtle - and so would not overpower your countertop. I think it could tie in your colors and also could be an interesting look. Just one idea.

Tile Bar tiled to the ceiling ( which I didn’t intend, but I actually like ). But of course you could just do the tile in backsplash area - with a complementary white paint above the cabinets.

Whatever you decide (or have already decided) - I hope you love the results. And please enjoy your beautiful kitchen!

Best Wishes!

The OP left the building 6 days ago. There was tons of input, tons of suggestions, one of which 72 posters agreed. Truly a SIMPLE fix.

You can lead any horse to water. Can't force the horse to drink. : )

She has no more than three comments in the entire thread, and we can only assume she figured it out, or went on vacation.

If I were the OP I’d have left the building too. I have pondered posting this for a few days and decided yes, I think this needs to be said.
I was very active on GW years ago when redoing a kitchen. The support and community was amazing. People were kind. I appreciate all the helpful comments here from so many but frankly I’m shocked at the harshness of some. Do you really need to be nasty?

Nobody is being nasty! The community replied to her dilemma with PLENTY of ways to help her adjust a color scheme that was making her unhappy.

At some point? With no further feedback from a poster? You assume she either:

Did not like or embrace any remedy

Figured out something else

Went on vacation.....had family issues or whatever for good or bad.

People are curious mammals. More importantly? The thread, perhaps, helps another not make the same "mistake" : )

@JAN MOYER, the OP thanked you for your backsplash remedy when you first made the suggestion. That was your feedback.

lynn2788 thanked JAN MOYER

Do black countertop