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Thoughts on cabinet colors and countertops

8 years ago

Good Morning!!

My kitchen is sad in comparison to so many others, but it works for now! (When the kids are less destructive, we will invest in a total renovation)

Meanwhile I have been slowly completing a minor facelift to my kitchen (diy style) for about two years. I made the mistake of doing the General Finishes Gell stain for my lower cabinets. Dont get me wrong, its an amazing product. But I have a 6 person family and the kitchen gets a LOT of wear and tear... so its not holding up as nicely as I would like it.

Thus, I am going to refinish the lowers, which brings me to the forum- I am looking for guidance as to what I should go with, and any pointers!

Originally I had the dreaded golden oak kitchen- which had faded to almost pecan color. It was oppressive! I cant seem to find any before pictures atm, but I have pics of what it currently looks like.

From Dining Room

From Other Side

Additional Angle

Close up of how the cabinets are starting to fade

My house is painted mostly neutrals- Revere Pewter in all the common areas (with some highlight walls- Phillipsburg Blue in the dining room for example) And the kitchen is Breath of fresh air (BMoore) on the walls and the uppers are White Dove. I am thinking of painting the lowers either a Grey shade (like Whale Grey) or putting in a pop of color- ie Avalon (also BMoore)

I also want to invest in a new countertop. I am tossing around Blue Dream (a blackish granite with flecks of deep blue- not Blue Pearl).

I am afraid that my whole house is to.. "blah" in color- with so much grey and blue.

I am open to all suggestions! Thanks!

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Comments (3)

herbflavor
8 years ago
for your stated purpose and the problem you wish to address, I think I would match the lowers to the uppers. It would just be simpler, and look monochromatic, probably a better approach. The things I would single out would be replace doors above microwave and get glass doors, in the cathedral arch which should be available-check Scherrs. I would do something with the side panel of the fridge-the one that is two toned.....eliminate the detail and paint it to match the cabinets. I might just leave the counter but install a backsplash. Is it a pantry or broom closet and desk near the table? I'd consider a color paint for all the cabs in that spot, once you get the white kitchen completed.....maybe barn red to complement the darker blue focus wall....get a large painting or artwork piece on that beautiful nautical blue wall .
A K thanked herbflavor
sheloveslayouts
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
I'd consider painting the walls white, painting the cabs a charcoal black, raising the uppers, getting shiny hardware and adding a shallow shelf below (unless the cooks are on the shorter side) like in the picture below.

The black will blend in with your appliances and mask the tell-tale painted oak cabinet arch in the uppers.

Black cabinets seem to be on trend right now, so may fizzle out in about five years if that sort of thing concerns you.

If the tops are in good condition, I'd just leave them and do a simple tile backsplash. If they're worn or damaged, I think butcher block plays nicely with black and white kitchens. We're getting ready to install bamboo butcher block counters as recommended here and I'm hopeful that they turn out nicely; they're really pretty and affordable at $220 per 8 foot slab.

ETA: I commented on my phone, so didn't see that you have a soffit above your uppers In this situation, I'd repaint in the same configuration you have: the lowers and fridge surround black and the uppers and soffit both the same white to create the illusion of height like crown molding would.
A K thanked sheloveslayouts
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Your kitchen isn't actually possessed, it just has 2 neutrals from 2 different hue families. Trying to add a third hue is going to be difficult because anything that is close to the hue of the flooring will look too pink next to the countertops. Any thing close to the hue of the countertops will look green next to the floor, You could stay with white cabinets or use a navy blue or gray green.
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jpmom
8 years ago
I'll peruse these photos more - but I did a google search with these words:

kitchen different color upper cabinets

Look at the images. Lots of great ideas.
A K thanked jpmom

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