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I need help picking a color for cabinets but I can’t sample!

HU-944259733
last year



Hello! I am currently remodeling a kitchen in our new home. I need help picking a wall and cabinet color. The biggest issue is, i cant test the paint out in the house before i pick! i want a neutral white to tone down these countertops. im afraid of picking a color with a yellow undertone. trim and ceiling will be pure white.

Comments (13)

  • PRO
    Sabrina Alfin Interiors
    last year

    Sorry, why can't you sample the colors before it's painted? Order some peel and stick color samples and put them up before the painters get there. Or push back the date the painters do the job until you can determine the colors.

  • PRO
    Patricia Colwell Consulting
    last year

    Waht is wrong with the cabinets as they are? Then just get the same color for the walls The yellow walls are making everything look yellow . At least change all the lighting to LED 4000K bulbs and I am curious about the totally different style of the island . I usually suggest you live in a space for 3-6 months before spending a huge amount of money of refinishing cabinets and in this case all those base cabinets should be drawers and if not that kitchen is adated and not IMO worth having cabinets redone right now . So paint the walls a color you like there is no reason for white but the safe choice is the same as the caibinets

  • User
    last year
    last modified: last year

    Your cabinets look fine. Do the walls instead. I'd choose a light beige with a neutral undertone (not yellow). paint the island to match either the walls or the white cabinets.

    Then perhaps consider new cabinet hardware and lighting.

    All of this would be a nice update to the kitchen, and way easier than painting the cabinets.

    If you really can't get in there to do samples, I strongly encourage you to wait if at all possible. Choosing a paint w/o sampling is really rolling the dice.

  • morz8 - Washington Coast
    last year

    No need to be in a rush, those cabinets don't look dirty or worn. It seems a nice working space over all. I'm not sure about the yellow wall paint but think I'd focus on that before tackling the cabinets. And Yes, I know having it done after you've moved in and are using them will be more disruptive. Its hard though to get the feel of what is going to make you happy until you've lived there and seen them in all weather, all kinds of light.

    My kitchen had one wall painted gray. The entire 1955 house is and has always been warmer shades of off white, malt, tans. In the afternoon that gray wall can be blue. In morning sun lavender (yikes, my least favorite). We'd been in the house for social occasions then really looked at it nearly empty in late Fall with low sun angle. I would never have known from our briefer periods here.

    You must not be familiar the Samplize. Generously sized and easy to remove stick on color samples. Worth the investment. I have them up in this office right now, ready for a change but a change in keeping with the original vision design. Any good paint brand should be able to match once you've decided your perfect color.

  • herbflavor
    last year

    paint the walls this pale blue. wait on everything else. the cabinets probably aren't worth a repainting project. you may think of other things to do to make a much nicer kitchen. Windowless kitchens with long runs of older cabinets lacking features should be re-evaluated when the time is right......to consider all options....... and with funds avail.


    Uptown Penthouse · More Info


  • Susie .
    last year

    Agree with the others, push back your schedule so you have time to sample. You have countertops with a lot of gold (yellow), so if you pick without yellow it will make the countertop seem more yellow. If you pick a paint color that has a little yellow (but less than what you have now), it will work better. I think if you painted the wall a less saturated yellow or cream it would be fine.


    These are all Sherwin Williams colors that have a little yellow.



  • cat_ky
    last year

    The cabinets look fine, why do you want to paint them? I would paint the walls, and get rid of the terrible yellow color. In a post above herbflavor posted pictures of a pretty blue, that would look very nice in your kitchen. There is nothing wrong with your cabinets, not everyone wants drawers for their lowers. I had them once, and never again, would I even consider them. Since the walls really do need painting, I would do that, and then live with the rest for 6 months to a year. The house will tell you what needs to be done, by then.

  • HU-918119203
    last year

    Keep the cabinet color, and put the money toward new counters. Those make no sense in his kitchen.

  • PRO
    Celery. Visualization, Rendering images
    last year

    Check whites on Lori Sawaya chart. You can go with no yellow undertones.





  • Lauren S
    last year

    Whites can be really tricky, even more so against other whites, so I’d go with new color on the walls. SW sea salt is a nice, soft green with blue tones. It has a cult following, and for good reason. I used it one room and wish I had done more.

  • shirlpp
    last year

    Get rid of the 4" backsplash and put in another. You'd have less wall to paint.

  • User
    last year

    You have the cart before the horse, and a completely incorrect solution to the wrong problem. It would be cheaper to get rid of the yellow counter than to have those cabinets painted professionally. With a much better end result.

  • User
    last year
    last modified: last year

    Get rid of the 4" backsplash and put in another.

    yes to this! removing some of the granite really will make a difference. you don't have to put in more tile, you can simply patch the wall and paint. (or do wallpaper or beadboard.)

    I see you already painted a sample on one cabinet door. this does not mean you need to be committed to doing all of the cabinets. if you don't have any touch up paint to cover it, then take that door to a paint store, color match it, and paint just that one door only.