Deciding on Cabinet and Wall Paint Colors

last year

I'm in the process of updating our kitchen with white icing medallion cabinets, which are similar to SW Cheviot or BM Simply White (a bit darker than SW Snow White). Our kitchen and living room, which face southwest and are surrounded by tall trees and grass, receive a greenish light reflection in the afternoon and evening. This has me thinking about choosing a warm taupe paint color like SW white heron. Here are my thoughts and some limitations I'm facing. I'd appreciate any suggestion.

Our living room is somewhat dark due to the tall trees, so I'm leaning towards lighter paint colors.
All the paint samples were tested under 4000k lighting.
The flooring is medium light brown oak hardwood.
I picked SW White Heron in eggshell or satin for the family room but it appears gray on wall number 1, so I chose Aesthetic White for the kitchen, which is a warmer color. However, after applying it to a larger area, it seems it doesn't compliment my cabinet color well. ☹
I've noticed that most of the creamy or greige shades I've tried, tend to bring out a yellow undertone in the door cabinet, which isn't quite what I'm going for.
Thinking about Edgecomb Gray in eggshell or satin for accent the wall.
Choosing Pure White for all baseboards and trims in semi-gloss.
Planning to use Super Paint for all areas except the bathroom.
I have a few days to finalize my paint and cabinet choices and am considering switching the cabinet color to Sea Salt, which is close to BM Chantilly Lace, if the yellow undertones prove too difficult.

Do you think choosing cabinets in sea salt is a better option, or should we consider a different color for the kitchen walls?

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Comments (4)

Lena Lee
Original Author
last year
I forgot to mention that the counter top and backsplash are warm gray color quartzite.
chispa
last year
Have you taken the "yellow" door and the "whiter" door to the slab yard to look at with your slabs? What are the floors?

I used BM Chantilly Lace for the kitchen cabinets in my north facing kitchen. All the other popular whites looked dingy in the space. I then used the same Chantilly Lace color (in the correct finish) for all my trim, doors and ceiling. You need to be careful if you are mixing a bunch of whites!
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nexp
last year
Mixing whites is dangerous and genrally shojld be avoided unless there’s a specific reason. You saw one of the issues: a whiter white will make a creamier white look much more yellow in comparison. But putting a white with yellow undertones next to a real cream can activate the yellow undertones.

Southwest light will bring out ANY yellow and can make even light creams quite shocking. I would probably go with the whiter cabinets, which should be more color-stable in your space.

As to paint base - if you’re using a BM color, get it in BM base. Whites and off-whites are particularly hard to match, as so much depends on the base formula and the subtle differenced in pigment characteristics. Don’t go any higher than eggshell on walls. Trim should be enamel, not emulsion (BM Advance or SW Emerald Trim Enamel).

Introducing a third white for your trim could make this even more difficult. Both BM and SW have somebtjng called Pure White, they are quite different and neither is actually pure white in tje dictionary sense.
Jennifer Hogan
last year
You have 4 things that have to work together to create your base:

Floors, Cabinets, Countertop, Walls.

Pick a neutral that works with the floors and cabinets - use that color for your walls.

Use the same white for trim and doors if you are selecting white for your cabinets.

Make sure the white that is being used for trim works well with the walls, floor and countertops.

Painting rooms with little natural daylight does not make them lighter - only light makes a room lighter. Whites without enough light can look drab.

Without seeing your floors and countertop I would hedge my bet on Edgecomb Gray and use that for all the walls - kitchen and family room. It has enough weight to carry its own without great lighting. It is an incredibly flexible greige with little undertone.

Edgecomb Gray does well with a lot of whites as long as they are not too creamy.

BM Chantilly Lace, SW Pure White and BM White Heron (Oxford White).

Keeping your pallet simple with one main neutral and one white will save you a ton of greif.