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Paint Home Decorating Design Dilemma

Trim and ceiling paint for off-white cabinets

6 years ago

last modified: 6 years ago

On to picking trim and ceiling paint...!

What paint (for trim and ceiling) would best complement cream cabinets? They will be in BM ivory white, with light sage walls (Behr organic field), creamy quartz and backsplash. The colour palette will be somewhat similar to the picture below.

Should I use the BM Ivory white on the ceiling too, or should I go lighter?

Here's a link to what the colour looks like - rendering more yellow on my screen than in real life.

https://www.pinterest.ca/justgranny45/benjamin-moore-ivory-white/?lp=true

Would black trim (for just the windows) be too daring? (2 windows by eating nook, 1 over sink - all single glass panes with no grille separation). They'll probably have bamboo shades.

https://www.houzz.com/photos/black-window-trim-phbr0lbl-bl~l_1118

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Comments (5)

miss lindsey (She/Her)
6 years ago
What a beautiful kitchen.

I think black trim would be very striking and keep the room from looking too sweet.

For the ceiling, I would do a bit cooler white. Not too bright, but cream coloured ceilings tend to make me feel clogged up. Maybe the association with smokers' houses? The trim I would do the same as the cabinets.

Just realized I answered your questions in reverse order!
Lea Dinell
Original Author
6 years ago
Thanks for the reply! I'm thinking seriously of using black on the windows, but am thinking that doing the entire outside trim in black may be a bit overwhelming. Do you think I could do the outside of the window (the actual trim) a shade of white (probably the same shade as the cabinets) and the insides of the windows black? A bit like in this image: https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/242631498650568350/

But I'm wondering if painting the inside of the windows themselves would look odd? And would the opening mechanism also have to be painted black then?

These are two of the three windows...
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Thank you everyone for the suggestions so far! I think I will definitely paint the walls a soft white or something between the white and cream. I never liked the green but couldn’t decide on a color so I’ve left it since we moved in a few months ago. The countertops have the backsplash thing attached so I’m going to try to see if I can remove that to put my own in. If I can’t remove it would it look ridiculous to do some small tiles above it between that and the upper cabinets? This is our first house and we don’t really have the budget to do new countertops or replace any cabinets so that’s not really in the picture. I’m just trying to make it look a little better! We have to keep the island because it has storage and we don’t have much of that. We also use it a ton for cooking. I don’t want to paint the trim to match the cabinets because all the trim in the rest of the house is white including the dining room which is open to the kitchen.
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There's no rule really dictating what you do. You can match your ceiling to your crown as we have done in several rooms now. In our case both ceiling and trim are SW Ivory Lace (which is similar but I believe even darker than Creamy) which really warms up the room and looks good with the generally darker wall and wood finishes in our house. The semigloss on the trim and the flat on the ceiling ensures that they don't completely blend in. On the other hand you can absolutely do a different ceiling color. But if you do I would test out how both look in your space to make sure they are compatible. Before we repainted much of the trim in the house was even more cream (similar to SW Antique White). The ceilings were all closer to a Pure White. The result is that the trim ended up looking yellow. So if you switch to another white, make sure it is still sufficiently on the warm side of the spectrum. Or a third option, as in cpartist's house, try a color. If you aren't feeling that bold it doesn't have to be that dark. It could be the same hue as your wall color, but a shade or two lighter, as long as it is still a shade darker than your trim. Cabinets can absolutely be their own thing separate from the trim or ceiling. But if all are white again refer to my second point about ensuring that they are compatible. Our cabinets happen to be BM Shaker Beige.
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If you had wood cabinets the trim would be the same. Not sure why your contractor thinks it is different for white cabinets.
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M V
6 years ago
I think I'd match the trim to the cabinet colour.

For the ceiling, how about a ceiling white with just a hint of your wall colour in it. Looks a bit like RH Silver Sage to me. I don't know how much this is done anymore, but I know many designers used to do that with a ceiling colour, rather than a stark white. So little colour that you spend time wondering if you are actually seeing a colour. Hopefully one of the experts will come along and give you a bit more advice on that.

I like the idea of black trim. I think instead of a pure black though, I'd consider a charcoal type colour, a really almost black colour. Some to consider BM Ebony slate (2118-30) BM Baby Seal Black (2119-30) BM Witching Hour (2120-30) BM Anchor Gray (2126-30).

I think your kitchen looks gorgeous. I like the subway tile with contrasting grout and the floor is really beautiful. Well done.
Lea Dinell
Original Author
6 years ago
I wish that was my kitchen, but it's just an inspiration photo :)

It looks like I can't do black on the inner vinyl of the windows as painting here will void the warranty on them. How do others deal with the blue-whiteness of the insides of their windows when it contrasts with the rest of their chosen colors, I wonder?
miss lindsey (She/Her)
6 years ago
It will stand out to you dreadfully at first, and then you won't notice at all.

And it sounds pretty terrible, but if you let them get a little dusty-dirty they are less starkly white lol.

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