Maybe it depends on your area?

Clearly white is not a bad choice for many people. Maybe the cabinet people would rather you choose their stained wood cabinets and therefore act as if painted is a terrible choice. Maybe for them. :)

My old cabinets were professionally painted white over 3 years ago. The paint has held up beautifully.

As for different colors top and bottom, many at GW have done that so I'll let them weigh in.

We're on houzz now. You don't even have to leave the site to browse different looks, which is exactly what you should do. Look at images of white and two-tone kitchens, save your faves. Pick the look you love. You'll figure it out.

Ignore the cabinet place and refinishers. Get what you like.

We have a two-tone kitchen. Green uppers and cream lowers, with a green island. It has been 4 years since our reno, and we are still very happy with it. I have included a link to our kitchen reveal thread. There are nice kitchens and ugly kitchens in all styles and colors. Don't let other people tell you what you want-- especially if you are not planning on selling soon.

Two tone kitchen reveal

I am leaning towards stained lowers and painted uppers, mostly because I come from a white kitchen and the lowers get dirtier and show wear more over time, I think. And, I guess also because I had an all white kitchen that I loved but I am kind of interest in having something different the next time around. I think it is a huge dictating decision, though, regarding counter and tile. So, that's something to think about in advance. For me, I like the lowers to be darker and the uppers to be whites combined with a white counter and light tile that either fades into the uppers or plays with the color combination of the lowers and uppers. And, I'm a little concerned about if it will look like too much wood and how the woods will play together with a wood floor.

Another one here with stained lowers and painted uppers. We've had them for over 9 years and now that we are redoing the kitchen (not by choice), I'm getting the two tone again.

I love the look of two tone and wanted to do exactly as you described. When I mentioned it to one KD I was considering working with & she didn't think it was a good idea either?? As others have said its all over houzz and I think it looks terrific. Go for it! if for some reason you hate it in a few years... Paint it!

Sas95, looked at your kitchen. Love it. Beautiful :)

I am going with gray lowers for sure...but I do waiver on gray or white uppers.....truth told...or no uppers. :)

I love two toned kitchens, especially those with a fun color. My husband is a bit more traditional..so something a little fun and funky is out of his comfort zone.

I have stained lowers and white painted uppers in my current kitchen. We decided that was a compromise to the all white I wanted and the all stained my DH wanted. It is a peninsula kitchen also so no contrast with an island. I am surprised at how much I like it and everyone has commented positively about how nice the kitchen looks.

I am moving into our new house soon which will have all white perimeter cabs with a stained island, but wish I would have been able to talk my DH into white uppers with gray lowers.

About 2 years ago, I thought the same thing. I wanted it but wasn't sure. Since I knew a complete remodel was in our future, I whipped out a bucket of paint and did the uppers. I can't even begin to describe to you how it changed the kitchen. It both opened the space up and lightened the dark, cave-like kitchen we had. It's not a strange idea, it's a GREAT idea. I'm just about ready to do the complete remodel and we are definitely doing the 2-tone kitchen!

I am thinking to do two tone as well because of the kids getting the white lowers dirty. I saw this pic, and it is my inspiration- I think it looks gorgeous! I also saw in an NYC showroom a kitchen with inset uppers with exposed shiny stainless hinges, and the lowers were full overlay. It looked really good together! So, I may just end up with inset white uppers with exposed hinges, and full overlay lowers in a gray/green/blue (haven't yet decided that). I might even go one step further and have stained wood cabs for the island

One day I was so sick of my 1938 painted-umpteen-times white cabinets that I grabbed a brush, a gallon of black paint and went to town on the lowers. My DH and I were both completely shocked at how much we loved it. We are now designing a proper kitchen remodel with plans to keep the two-tone look.

We are also thinking of two tone, but on different walls. Please comment.

The sink area is dark walnut, the fridge area is distressed black painted oak.

Thinking of a white counter and grey 1x2' tile floor.

I'm planning on white cabs, and definitely understand dirt concerns (three kids and a small dog who will jump up and lean on cabinets to smell food on the counter. :(

I love the look and would get what you want. I would maybe go that route myself, however I prefer gray or cooler tones, and my husband hates gray (blasphemy). So we agree on white. It is a little riskier overall IMO to do 2 tone, and would have me nervous too (I'm a play it safe gal) but it looks so beautiful in every pic in which I've seen that look. I think do what you love.

Love 2 tone. Go for it! It's just paint :)

We are in the process Of a two tone kitchen Reno we are using ikea cabs and doing grey lowers and white uppers. The built in around fridge and double oven are grey I don't have pics but will post when I do

Heffer569, what countertop did you choose to go with the gray bottom cabs?

Two-tone kitchens are in (you can read the latest 2015 Kitchen trends report on the News tab of our web site). I am not sure painting cabinets yourselves is a great idea as usually finishes that do not come out of the factory, show sloppy paint application, dust might get in etc. Finishing wood is a tricky business but if the time allows you to - give it a try. Should you decide to design a whole new kitchen and/or replace your cabinets, please feel free to visit our showroom and get a FREE consultation). Kitchen design is more about working triangles, hardware options and the inner workings rather than finishes but that is what you see first so I do understand the desire to freshen up. Best of luck with your project!

Painting is a LOT of work and is best left to the detail oriented - otherwise it can look sloppy. But, get a good quality paint, a lot of patience and do it right and it can turn out lovely. I won't every do it again (way too much work) but I painted our kitchen inside and out and am very happy with the way it turned out. I wasn't looking for a factory look though since our kitchen is over 50 years old, but I think the hand painted cabinets look appropriate to the time period. They are only two-toned in the sense that the interiors are different from the exterior!

Our Updated 1950s Kitchen with French Inspiration · More Info

Our Updated 1950s Kitchen with French Inspiration · More Info

I also love the two toned kitchens, and am having the same thoughts - should I? Shouldn't I? I have a different coloured island right now and love it. I particularly love the pic of Jeerzygirl's kitchen. So warm and inviting! But the different upper and lower is a new to me look, and I haven't decided if it is a love it more or tire of it quick in the long term. Since I don't plan on another reno after this, I want to get it right.

I love 2 tone & am doing a different color island. My feeling is if one day I hate it I can either paint everything one color myself or hire someone to paint for minimal cost. 2 toned kitchens have been around awhile & I have always loved them. It's not permanent . It would take some effort but you could change it without putting in new cabinets.

Annaw_123 we are doing a whitish greyish was supposed to be quartzite is really a marble

For some reason when I try to attach the one part of kitchen that has the uppers and lowers in the pic comes in upside down I'll try again in seperate post

I think 2 toned kitchens are great. I have one myself (main L is a sage green with a coffee glaze and the cook top area is an off white with Coffee Glaze). If you are planning on doing the two colors on the walls/bases on the same run, the only thing I can caution you against is if you have any TALL cabinets (a refrigerator surround cabinet, a tall oven, pantry cabinet, etc), you now have an issue where the tall cabinet could go either way. If you choose to do it the color of the bases, what color do you do the crown as the tall cabinet is now up against different colored wall cabinets? If you choose to do the tall cabinet the color of the wall cabinets, now you will have the lower part of the tall cabinet next to the different colored base cabinets and will also need to make the toe kick areas different colors. In short, whenever there is a tall cabinet in the layout that is going to be up against base/wall cabinets, I try to encourage our customers to choose one or the other for the whole kitchen as I feel the tall cabinet ruins the 'color division' a little bit. Again, this is all personal preference, but thought I would just chime in with some feedback. As someone mentioned, there are tons of photos to look at here on Houzz and on the web, so I bet you will make the decision that is right for you! Good luck on your project!

Cheers!

I used to think the tall cabinets should always be done in the same as the uppers in two-toned kitchens. Now, though, I've seen some great examples of using what's on the lowers and it seems like that can also be used to good effect in the right kitchen. It's one of the dilemmas in doing a two-toned kitchen, for sure, but kind of a happy dilemma as both are pretty sweet in their own way. For me, I'm leaning to using the stained wood from the lowers on the tall cabinet to reduce the stripes/blocks of color effect and bring some of the lower color up - and because I think stained wood holds up better over time than white paint. But, who knows? This ball is spinning but where it lands, no one knows.

If you haven't seen Majra's reveal of walnut and white, it's a really great example of a well done two-toned kitchen. There's a lot of them out there, though, of course. http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2664644/final-reveal-majras-two-toned-kitchen

Here is the beginning of our grey and white kitchen

very cool! I will check it out for sure! Yeah, I think there are no 'rules' anymore and someone in this post (jerzeegirl) actually has a very nice pic of a white tall cabinet/uppers and dark lowers, so it can work to beautiful affect. Going to go check out your link now! Thanks!

I would go white or ivory. Ivory just looks dingy after awhile. My decorator friend has always said that white paint makes anything look new. Of course she is also a bid fan of painting items black too.

Boogle,

I would suggest doing different colors uppers and lowers but not different walls. From pictures of other kitchens like that, it looks like the owners did a partial remodel. The design just didn't flow.

Go with what you like on two tone. It's YOUR kitchen. We're doing 2 tone too but I'm using the dark as an accent piece.