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What do you think of white upper cabinets and dark lower ones?

10 years ago

I currently have dark stained cabinets (walnut stained cherry) and light travertine in my kitchen. I like how it looks, but the room is just darker than I prefer. I am considering having just the upper cabinets painted white. What do you all think? Oh, and most of my house is fairly contemporary.

Featured Answer

amykath

10 years ago

We had stained lowers and creamy uppers. I liked it.

Hope you share some pics!

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Comments (9)

LuAnn_in_PA
10 years ago
I personally do not care for it, but you can do whatever YOU like! :-)
annie1971
10 years ago
I wouldn't do it. There must be other ways to brighten the room.
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Wow, this languished for a day or two and then really popped -- thanks! I LOVE all of these photos and am so glad to see such support. Pleased to see it even spawned. :P I now have a Thomasville quote from HD. (I know, but for a single mom with a limited budget and a tiny kitchen, it works.) I've got a warm-and-fuzzy from the KD and I'm enjoying this phase of the project, which I'd been dreading as something akin to buying a new car. In the past I've been put off by condescending or patronizing KDs so life's good. He's also steered me to a local installer (about whom I'd already heard good things elsewhere) rather than the HD outfit. I'm going for Cottage doors with white painted birch uppers and chocolate cherry lowers. Scoping out local granite yards this weekend, hoping to find something largely white (bianca something) with reddish brown. Decided on supergloss white-painted beadboard for the backsplash to tide me over for now. I'm with you on the appliance challenge with this mix. I plan to panel the dishwasher as my sink run is only 72" and stares you in the face when you enter the room so I don't want to break it up with an appliance, no matter what the finish. Decided my stove will be my splurge, a stainless dual-fuel slide-in. Leaning toward an over-the-stove stainless microwave so the vertical look over the stove will be conistent; plus, my white microwave yellowed and that'll look like crap in white cabinets. Totally torn with the fridge. Hoping for divine inspiration or at the very least a good slap upside the head. I like stainless, don't like its maintenance; the KD suggested a new finish that mimics stainless but isn't? Can't imagine it but I guess I'll look into it, otherwise I'll probably end up with white.
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stephanj - yup, DIY projects will certainly test a marriage! ;) Another decision change here: since those two upper cabs over micro/fridge are on the opposite side of the kitchen and separate from my planned white cabs by the sink/window, I think I'm going to have those stained, too. That way, if I decide to do a full white on that accent wall, the stained cabinets may provide some nice contrast...just more thinking out loud. Re: BS, thankfully, we'd be adding only 12 sq ft by extending it to the top. Does that still qualify it as giant? :) Maybe the space just looks larger in the photo. I did my nerd thing last night, actually. :) Know what? It's a necessary step to take, and I promise it'll make you feel much less overwhelmed -- I know I do. Are you getting new cabinets or just reorganizing where things will go? If the former, here's another super, super helpful thread just on the topic of drawers. Scroll down about halfway, til you get to: This was such an eye opener for me, as up to now, I was applying vertical storage concepts only to pizza pans and cookie sheets. I was up and down out of my chair all night, measuring all my glass baking pans, casseroles, etc. Now I have to go weigh items (that I plan on storing in the same drawer) to see if I'll need to upgrade the drawer hardware -- knowing me, I will, just to be on the safe side. And absolutely LOVING this: Can you smell another DIY around the corner?! Because of the current configuration of my island and the way the downdraft ducting and electrical is set up down there, I'm going to end up with a (get this!) space in the left/front that measures 30" high x 24 wide x 12" deep. Goofy/Wasted space (I think) to put a stack of drawers there (each one would have, what, about 10" front-to-back length of usable space?). I wanna hang one of these across the top of the space (so, sitting just under the granite top), and hang my everyday skilles, pots, etc. off here. I wonder if these hooks are on a sliding rail: how cool would THAT be, to accommodate pans/pots of varying heights?!
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jterrilynn
10 years ago
I would post a picture of your kitchen that includes pictures of your travertine on the kitchen forum. I love two tone kitchens because like you all wood is usually too much wood for me but I do love some wood tones. IÃ¢ÂÂm not sure how Ã¢ÂÂwhiteÃ¢ÂÂ painted along with the cherry stain you have would jive with your travertine until you show a picture. You will get a good mix of opinions to help make up your mind.
nosoccermom
10 years ago
Could you add glass uppers? More light? Different wall color?
DLM2000-GW
10 years ago
Here's a link to that topic in the kitchen forum. Personally, when it's done right, I love it. But it can't be just willy nilly or it looks chopped up and just painting your uppers may go that direction, depends on the specific design layout. When the kitchen is designed for different uppers and lowers it can be fabulous

Here is a link that might be useful: Mixing white uppers with wood lowers
busybee3
10 years ago
adding some glass uppers would be what i would prefer...
ppbenn
10 years ago
I currently have creamy white upper cabinets ,two 36"wide uppers have glass doors on either side of my corner sink. ( (Yes I love my corner sink) The lowers are dark stained birch. I have creamy white travertine look porcelain floor tile and St Cecilia granite which has a lot of orangish flecks so I painted my BS pumpkin.
I did this house as a flip; we're living in it while we build The House.
I picked the two color cabinets because the kitchen has two north facing windows and needed light, and it's smallish at 12X16. I wanted a white kitchen but couldn't convince my DH so we compromised. White on top, stained on bottom.
Funny thing is everyone who comes here loves this kitchen! From friends and family to strangers who step in the door, to the plumber to the appliance repairman. All comment positively.
So I'm doing a combo in the new house.
daisychain01
10 years ago
We also have creamy white upper and dark stained lower and have had the same positive reaction that ppbenn has had. I find the dark lower cabs ground the space and the light upper cabs really open it up and keep it airy. Pix of our kitchen are in the thread dlm linked above.

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