It does not matter what your wall paint is now!

You do not design a kitchen around a color on the walls. Paint color is the simplest change one can make, and the least PERMANENT,

You decide the counter top/cabinet finish you want in conjunction with the FLOORING. What is the flooring?

Before any and all of that? You decide do I love the way my kitchen functions. Before I invest in cabinet and counters......do I love where my appliances are located, do I have enough storage. Do I have enough prep space?

The first thing you do here? Is SHOW the kitchen you are "renovating". .....

Start right there........

Thanks for the reply. I’m really trying to avoid repainting the house as it is an open concept and the whole main floor/upstairs would need to be repainted. The flooring is a white oak with a honey finish. I’ve attached some pictures of the kitchen before we painted the walls and finished the floor.

You have a choice. You either paint the cabinetry Snowbound", and get a big sample of your counter and make sure you're going to like it......

Or you are going to the paint store WITH that big sample of quartz, and look at warm pale grays or another neutral.

You, nor anyone else, can pick it online, as all colors, all whites change with light, exposure to that light, day, evening etc: )

Some option to go with off-white.

to me, SW Snowbound looks gray and your Soli taj appears yellow.

Have you considered a deeper/darker cabinet color, you say you have plenty of light.

Wondering what metals you are interested, gold would be stunning with the countertop, but you don't like the west golden light... SW Taupe Tone goes well with SW Snowbound

What is wrong with the wood cabinet you seem to have? Can you post current Jpegs, and NOT screen shots?

Best practices for selecting colors is to select the colors where material color choices are limited and expensive to change first, then move to things that are more easily found and less expensive to change.

Example:

Pick flooring first

Cabinets second

Countertops third

Backsplash forth

Wall Color 5th

Trim color last.

But that cannot always happen, especially when you are doing a single room or only changing some elements. So my first step in picking colors is to gather the list of colors that must stay, then move to the other selections.

In your case, Wall Color and Trim (I assume) are both throughout the home and are SW Snowbound. Flooring is Honey Stained White Oak.

Have you already ordered / paid for the countertop selection?

We do have to see colors in person to be sure what works and what doesn't work, but I am feeling that your countertop selection may not be the best combination with Snowbound and the honey stained white oak.

Snowbound has some pink/violet undertones, honey stained white oak generally has a bit of pink with the orange wood tones. They complement one another. Solitaj seems to have more green undertones and isn't quite working for me.

I am loving Cambria Ironsbridge with the flooring and walls.

AGAIN - YOU MUST SEE THE COLORS TOGETHER IN REAL LIFE - DO NOT BLINDLY TRUST THE INTERNET.

Another internet photo showing a honey oak and Ironbridge together (photo seems just a bit washed out or less orange than the internet samples.) Same background Snowbound background. Taj Royale seems a bit green to me on this photo as well.

For a slightly darker cabinet I like City Loft with Ironsbridge, but would test in real life to be sure. . . It clashes with the green tones in Solitaj.

The color you pick has to also work with the colors in the rest of the open space - sofa, dining room . . .

If you are tied to the solitaj countertops I may stick with Snowbound for the cabinets and let the sheen provide gentle contrast between the walls and the cabinets, stay with wood toned cabinets or try to find a soft gray green for the cabinets. (Mother Nature loves green).

Thanks Jennifer. This is a great post! I really appreciate it. After lengthy discussion. My wife and are really set on the solitaj. We have also agreed that once a cabinet colour is chosen then we can decide a colour to repaint the house. With saying that. Do you have a recommendation for cabinet colour that will pair with the solitaj? We can figure out a wall colour once everything is done.

You go to a paint store with a sample of the counter. Go to a Ben Moore.

You ask for help to narrow it to three whites. You buy three, you paint on big boards and you look at them WITH the counter and preferably at home in your light. With your floor. Your everything else.: )

Even your counter can look different in someone else's home by virtue of their exposures, compared with yours.

I personally would not touch that cabinetry. It is slab front, free of detail. It does not beg a paint job, yet alone a diy in white, it begs a reface or leave it.

@Shane P - My methodology is a bit different than many other color consultants.

As I previously explained, I start with the colors that must stay. I recently helped someone who was painting the whole home, refinishing the floors and trim and planned on replacing the kitchen cabinets in a year or two and will replace the bathroom vanities shortly after that. What they were not changing is furniture, bedding, art and and area rugs. They loved their blue sofa and soft green, beige and blue area rug and overall they both love blues. (Husband is color blind can see blue, but not red or green.) So the color journey started with the furniture and the knowledge that the master bedroom and husband's office had to be some shade of blue that he liked.

The next thing I like to explore are the colors that you love. Most often these colors are colors that makes the wife feel like a 10 when she is wearing the color. They usually don't end up as the wall colors, but are often found in art and decor items throughout the home and can help guide color selection for the walls and sofa. You want these colors to be a backdrop for your art and things and for you when you are sitting on the sofa in your favorite color - who wants their outfit to clash with the sofa in every picture? I know I am being a bit sexist and have known some men who are very interested in color, but usually the wife is the one who is more interested in color and more passionate about her likes and dislikes with men just not wanting colors that are too vivid and may be opposed to pinks and purples.

Once we have gathered ideas and some inspiration I move on to selecting a neutral color family that works with the colors that must stay and the colors that they love, the whites that work with the selected neutral color family and determine which rooms will be white/neutral and which will have color on the walls and how these rooms will tie together. At the same time I am considering the style of the home and furnishings and what works with the general aesthetic of the home. (Victorian homes work with lots of color and patterns that would not work well in a Mid Century Modern home.)

Choosing colors and decorating your home is very similar to picking an outfit that you will have to wear every day for 10 years. Everything from shoes and stockings, jewelry and makeup, purse, belt, scarf and overcoat has to work with the pants and blouse.

To help you best we need more information and pictures of the rooms that are adjoining the kitchen, your likes and dislikes, some information on your personalities and what you need from your home. Inspiration pictures are also good, but I will warn that often what you see is the current trend, which often translates to the colors and finishes that builders have figured out are not objectional to anyone . . . the most impersonal color palette possible. This is your home - it should reflect your taste, your lifestyle, your likes and dislikes, your personalities, not just be boringly unobjectionable to others unless you will be selling in 5 years. Then boringly unobjectionable is a good goal.

I will say that Jan, although sometimes blunt, does have some good points about your current cabinetry. I don't know if you are planning on just painting them or replacing them but they are gorgeous. Wood cabinets wear much better than painted cabinets. The slab doors don't have all the places where dirt and dust collects. My parents home was built in 1963. The wood slab doors throughout the home are still there and still look the same as they did when I was a kid (I live just a few doors away and have been invited in a few times.) Even factory finished white doors will generally have some noticeable wear and tear in 10 years.

I agree, the darker wood cabinets are not the current trend, although the newest trends seem to be leaning more and more toward wood cabinets, most are still white.

I also don't know that you were specifically asking for a white. Most of the posts assumed you were wanting white because that is what everyone wants today.

If all you want is a white that works with your cabinets and doesn't go too yellow I would test greige whites.

Your neutral color families per my definition are:

Pink Beige

Orange Beige

Yellow Beige

Green Beige

Greige (a mix of gray and beige that has green undertones)

Green Gray

Blue Gray

Violet Gray

Taupe (a mix of gray and beige that has pink/violet undertones)

Which closes the color wheel and brings you back to Pink Beige.

Gray White and Blacks are the only true neutrals - no discernable color

Be careful when looking at samples or reading reviews - many people define greige as gray and beige and use the colors taupe and greige interchangeably. Benjamin Moore Grege Avenue is Taupe - see the pink undertones?

Compare to Revere Pewter (more beige) or Winterwood (more gray) which I would classify as greige (green undertones.)

If I were picking whites for with your countertop, in complete isolation and not considering any other color or finish - I would start with BM White Dove, SW Cheviot, possibly SW Pure White or Greek Villa or CW Swiss Coffee.

I have a client who copied the Studio McGee Master Bedroom colors in her kitchen

Wall shade: Swiss Coffee by Benjamin Moore at 75% strength/Wall sheen: Matte

Ceiling shade: Natural Cream by Benjamin Moore/Ceiling sheen: Flat.

This color combination may be very pretty with the counter you selected as it has a bit more green - but I am still guessing that the internet photos of your counter are accurate.

They had a lot of gray green colors in their home and this turned out very nice.

I order pre-made samples through samplize.com

I will be my very normal "blunt": ) not an occasional thing at all.

I don't think you fully realize what you have, or what you're trying to create.

What ARE you trying to achieve, as that is first.... but your cabinetry, slab, not trim detail, not even a slim shaker edge? Is most representative of Poggenpohl, made in Germany. EVEN when white, there might be a gloss finish.

......from the link...

"For a modern but comfortable kitchen, designers are incorporating rich dark browns with metallic accents, such as brushed brass or copper. These finishes elevate the space, adding a sense of glamour while maintaining its earthy charm.

This design shows the combination of wood, warm chocolate tones and brass....."

"

For some months now, we have seen a resurgence of warm, wooden, earthy tones in interior design and it’s been clear that clients are requesting darker wood doors or pairing paler doors with darker worktops and dining furniture. As we step into 2025, Pantone has announced that ‘Mocha Mousse’ has been crowned Colour of the Year. This warm, earthy brown radiates comfort, indulgence, and understated luxury - a perfect response to the collective desire for spaces that feel both inviting and refined. Let’s explore how this decadent hue is shaping kitchen design and broader interior trends.

Kitchen design in 2025 will be embracing neutrals and calm browns as versatile and grounding colours. These tones work beautifully for cabinetry, splashbacks, and even kitchen islands. Its richness pairs effortlessly with natural materials like marble, terrazzo, and warm woods, creating a harmonious, grounded aesthetic."

So..........maybe lead, and don't follow a USA crowd? : )Especially in this kitchen , where you are "stuck" with a gem?

Do the island as a waterfall with the taj you love, do the back splash same , all the way to cabinet bottom. Put the money there, and fall in love with THAT new kitchen, set your own "trend". Lose the builder boob light, find pendants you love over the island, add under counter lighting, get an interior designer to spread the look : ) into adjoining spaces. Woods need NOT all match.

https://www.poggenpohl.com/about/about/journal/colour-of-the-year-2025/