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Cabinet whites: Soft vs. creamy

12 years ago

Deciding on a white for my cabinets can't happen soon enough. I'm weary of trying to discern that just-perfect shade of soft/creamy white. Not too bright, definitely not too cool, soft and creamy without obvious yellow. I have large pieces of foamcore painted in my three favorites, taping them up and watching them change as the day wears on. Rather than study them at length, I like to mix up their order and them look at them suddenly, to see if I can catch myself off guard. lol

"Soft" and "creamy" seem to be such subjective terms. Right now I think I've narrowed it down to BM White Dove, Cloud White, or Simply White. SW is lovely, but seems a bit bright. I have a lot of natural and reflected light in my kitchen. White Dove looks a bit dingy next to SW and CW. Is it the gray component? I hear others say it's wonderful. Cloud White seems the creamiest to me.

This is such a repetitive topic, but I'm wondering if others who may have considered these colors can share what helped them decide to pick one over the others.

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Comments (8)

breezygirl
12 years ago
I tried all of those colors (and many, many more) when choosing my white. White Dove, while a lovely color, when paired with my marble sample in my kitchen had a sickly yellow/gray/green undertone. Cloud White was much too yellow with my Carrara, which has a very gray-almost-blue undertone.

I chose Simply White for my cabs and then used it to paint all of the millwork and every door in my house. In some lights it is a bit too stark, but works well in the kitchen. I am very happy with the color.

Here are a couple of pics from just after the counters went in. Sorry if you've seen these before.

What are you putting on your counters?
suzanne_sl
12 years ago
We didn't do white cabinets, but we did do white base boards, door molding, and crown molding. It had to be nice with the Heaven on Earth blue we put on the walls. The cabs and floor would go with anything, so they didn't factor in. In the end, I put all the white chips I'd collected down on the counter (Kashmir Gold) + the blues we'd decided on and chose the white that complemented both the wall color and the granite. It was the granite tones that sealed the deal. We ended up with Bavarian Cream. Do you have something in your kitchen-to-be that needs a tone match? All of your choices are often used for white cabinets, so I'd just go with one you like in your space with your light. If you like them all equally, then good for you! In that case, maybe eeny-meeny-miney-moe and move onto the next decision. ;-)
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I would bring sample paint chips to where your slab is (paint chips or sample cabinet doors with your chosen paint on it). The lighting will most likely be different there than your home light, but it should give you a good idea of how the colors blend together. I would also try to get a sample of your slab and bring it home along with your sample paint chips/cabinet doors. I would not automatically paint your cabinets the color of your home doors and trim because unless you’ve matched up your slab to the color of your home trim, you could be making a huge mistake. It’s a lot easier to paint the trim in your kitchen to match up with your cabs and slab than to have to repaint your cabinets should you find that when the slab goes in there’s a terrible clash.
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babushka_cat
12 years ago
i was planning to go with white dove but. similar to breezy, when it was next to my marble it did not look good, too dingy and greyish as my marble is very warm. i have white dove in other parts of the house and it looks great but did not look good with my marble.

i also ended up going with BM simply white. at some points in the day when the sun is really bright they seem bright but otherwise they seem nice and creamy. i am happy with my choice.
ellendi
12 years ago
I have white dove and I was surprised how bright white it loks in my kitchen. We have lots of natural light and in the showroom they did not.
If you look on the Finished Kitchen blog you can see the whites people have used.
amela
12 years ago
I have white dove with soapstone countertops and lots of natural light and it doesn't look bright white at all. I think the countertop and floor material play a large part in the color reflection.
Lake_Girl
12 years ago
sorry OT - breezy did you use semi-gloss simply white on your trim work?
breezygirl
12 years ago
Lake girl --my trim and all new interior and exterior doors in the whole house are the same as my cabs. BM satin impervo waterborne.
tinker_2006
12 years ago
I can't tell you how many white paint samples I have! I finally (nervously) decided and went with SW Alabaster White, which is very, very close to BM White Dove. From some of my samples and trim I painted, I was afraid it would look stark white in my sunny kitchen, but it most definitely does not! At times it looks pretty white, other times a creamy white, and other times I see the gray undertone.. throughout the entire day - the color changes! I really think I stressed too much for a "perfect white", but I think a really good off white, not yellow/creamy would be SW Alabaster or BM White Dove. For a more whiter shade, I do like BM Simply White!

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