Cabinet color for warm and cool light

last year

My cabinet maker will paint the cabinets any color I want. My problem is that the kitchen faces both north and south, and the windows give very different tone of light. And so far I can't find a color that looks good in both ends of the kitchen. Blue undertones look terrible where sun and patio reflection hits them. My light green-blue sample looks yellowed white there. And yellow or pink undertones turn dirty in the north end. I don't think I want wood finish and I had a white kitchen for the last 15 years, so I want a change. The floor is gunstock oak to match the rest of the house if it matters.

I am not asking for the exact color, obviously, but which color family and maybe value and saturation level would look good at both ends of the spectrum?

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olgala
Original Author

last year

I wanted to keep this thread more general, but maybe it's better to make it personal.

The house is a 1920's mix of Mediterranean and Spanish, originally inspired by the owner's trip to France. The shot is a bit dark. The travertine is quite a bit lighter IRL.

My style is probably transitional. I want to keep some faith to the style of the house, but not enough to restore it's original kitchen and get rid of the only bathroom on the first floor in the process. But the paint we found on the pre-60s remodel plaster is midtone teal and green, and I like that. The current kitchen looks like studs and plywood.

The general layout. Main sink faces north. There are no actual doors to the dining room and den (our TV room). Due to the realities of the construction, the wall with bath is about 6 inches thicker in the added part. It was extended to end at the end of the cabinet run, since I didn't want to lose those inches.

The slightly dated by now kitchen layout. The cabinets are to be be shaker style.

The only thing that is set in stone at this point is the location of plumbing/gas and the floors - gunstock oak. Photo from the manufacturer's website.

The appliances are all stainless steel. I haven't chosen the countertop yet, but I know it will be natural stone. I need it to be forgiving though. I actually loved my old Bianco Antico, but I am not sure it will fit the colors I like, plus I am a bit tired of it. The current main contenders are Taj Mahal and black/dark grey granites, but it all depends on the slabs, of course.

The main problem area is the coffee bar. The rest of the kitchen gets more or less uniform light and as Patricia said, will mostly be lit by LEDs. However, the bar area gets hit with direct sun and you cannot outshine California sun without blinding yourself.

I actually considered Healing Aloe, but as the rest of pale greens and blues it gets bleached into yellow when the sun hits. And since it's what jumps into your eyes when you enter the room, I want that color to be pleasant in all times of the day.

I also considered painting the coffee bar darker, but then I have an issue of where to end and how to match the 2 colors.

Greige I like in pictures, but when I am surrounded by it, I get depressed, so it's out of question.

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Comments (12)

millworkman
last year
Pictures of the room may help.
John Liu
last year
You could use daylight spectrum lighting, to make the light color more uniform.
olgala thanked John Liu
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elcieg
last year
last modified: last year
North and south exposure, go with a greige undertone. As for your floor, gunstock oak, there are several different tones from several different brands. I chose this floor:

Using a greige, which I know works with north/south exposure , try Elmira White on the wall and Glacier on the cabinets.
olgala thanked elcieg
Kendrah
last year
Any color you go with is going to look different in different ends of your kitchen with different amounts of light. I'm a fan of Maritime White in your lighting situation and with your floors, but you said you want a color and not white. For a change could you go with a beige, greige and use counters and tiles as your new change element?
olgala thanked Kendrah
olgala
Original Author
last year
Thank you all! I guess you confirmed that the less saturated, greige colors work best in terms of color stability, but I really don't want to go that way. But @John Liu comment made me think, and I believe that the north side will have artificial lighting most of the time anyway, at least while cooking, so if I go with something that looks good under the sun, I can live with how it looks by the north windows. I am also testing another, darker, blue-green paint today. Maybe more pigment will mean that it doesn't get washed out by the sun that easily. I know there will be a change, but hopefully it won't turn into yellow .
cat_ky
last year
last modified: last year
Make sure your light bulbs are all led 3500 or 4000. I think 4000 daylight type bulb would help you out a lot, so you are not getting all these golden tones. I have used the color in this link in different lighting conditions, and it has worked quite well. https://www.myperfectcolor.com/paint/423093-sherwin-williams-hgsw1326-blue-iris Since you mentioned a blue green, I thought this one might interest you, since its a nice clear color with no graying dirty tones.
olgala thanked cat_ky
NagyMama
last year
Olgala- I have a similar problem with lighting in my kitchen. I chose Sherwin Williams Rivers Edge for my cabinets. Yes, it looks different at either end of kitchen, but I think it’ll work fine. (The painters are painting it now.)
olgala thanked NagyMama
NagyMama
last year
SW Rivers Edge
olgala thanked NagyMama
PRO
JAN MOYER
last year
last modified: last year
What's the style of the home? Are you traditional, a bit more modern....what? What is the door/drawer style on the cabinetry? What does the current kitchen look like, and what is the is the kitchen cabinetry /appliance PLAN in a drawing? What is the appliance finish? What is your countertop or it isn't selected?

You have nowhere NEAR enough information, to answer your question.......so return same thread with a lot more information in comment boxes below.
olgala thanked JAN MOYER
PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
last year
last modified: last year
Kitchens have artificial light most of the time I like LED 4000K for this exact issue . I dislike greige type colors to me they always look ,like you could not decide on gray or beige . I use this color a lot for this type of lighting I cut it 25-50% often to get the shade just right fo the space it is a BM color so any white ythat works with thta might be the answer . Maybe use Steam for the cabinets also BM
olgala thanked Patricia Colwell Consulting
olgala
Original Author
last year
I went to some stone yards in the last few days, and I just didn't like any Taj Mahal slabs. So I am down to blacks. Most likely something like honed Black Mist.

And after all the tests, I am seriously considering painting the coffee bar darker.

These are the two colors I think will work. I have an old door I painted Mediterranean Teal, and I haven't yet got a chance to pick up a Healing Aloe sample for the main kitchen area, but online it seems like a good match. And Mediterranean Teal, while looking different in the sun, doesn't turn yellow like lighter colors for me. At the same time I am not sure I want the entire room this dark, especially with the floor-to-ceiling pantry doors and dark counters.

Is it going to look fine?