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Paint Design Dilemma Kitchens

Should white kitchen cabinets be the same color as the white walls?

3 years ago

We are building a new home and painting the walls a shade of white. The kitchen is going to have white cabinets as well. Should those be painted the exact same color or should they be a variant/complementary color to each other? Thanks in advance for your opinion and discussion!

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Comments (5)

houssaon
3 years ago
Even if they are the same color, they will look a bit different because of the different surfaces, if you look hard enough.
mgmken thanked houssaon
PRO
Beth H. :
3 years ago
they can be diff.

or pick a light contrasting color.

I did Simply White on my walls in the room, but in the kitchen I did Light Pewter

hard to get a good photo of both in one shot,,,, but the Light pewter is the wall next to fridge and the open shelving coffee bar,,,,Simply White is in the family room. My cabs are a shade brighter than simply White. the LED lights are Daylight, or 4000K

better shot of Light Pewter. the Trim is semi gloss Simply White. so is the baseboard and crown

the pantry room is also the pewter color.

So you really don't have to do another white. I think it adds a bit more interest to do a slight contrast in color.
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gsciencechick - I have seen pictures of white wainscoting and antique white walls and it looks very elegant. White is a common color for trim and cabinetry, so that's what I would choose for your cabinets. Then go different on your walls. I'm not sure about the wall color. Ask at the Home Decorating Forum.
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I'm embarassed to say I didn't give this any thought when we chose creamy cabinets, but it's worked out fine. Our trim is more of a real white, the cabinets are more of a vanilla. We have a white-trimmed window between two creamy cabinets and I never notice they're slightly different colors. We also have white beadboard on a non-cabinet wall in the kitchen that's the same white as the window trim but different from the cabinets, and that doesn't jump out at me either. Our kitchen chairs are a different creamy white than the creamy white cabinets, and that also doesn't bug me. This might not help, but that's the report from a creamy/regular white kitchen!
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I am a big fan of SW Alabaster White. I live in a house with lots of natural light, lots of wood, colorful artwork. This color is a wonderful warm white. I love it so much, that in the new house we are building I am using it again. It helps that the house is sited the same direction and is not very far away so I know how the light will reflect. But the new house is different style, there is still a lot of wood, but there is also a bit of metal with iron beams and railings. The color still looks great. I did the trim in SW Highly Reflective White it is a brighter white and really pops. I have a pantry cabinet wall which is wood, not sheetrock and I dont mind the difference in the way the paint sheen is, it works fine for me.
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Comments (10)
No, I agree with the above. White trim and white walls don’t have to match. But it is important that they have enough contrast between them to make choosing two different whites worthwhile . (Otherwise you may as well choose one white in two different sheens. Which is also just fine) The secret to pairing two white paint colours is to ensure they have at least a minimum difference of 0.2 in Chroma (colourfulness). A little distance in Hue Family location also helps with the contrast. Here are the key attributes of lots of popular whites. See more at The Land of Color .com Hue - in which Hue Family they belong. Value - how light or dark. Chroma - how colourful or near to neutral. (Lower the Chroma = nearer to neutral) LRV - how much light does the colour reflect? Choosing a more neutral white for the trim (lower Chroma) gives you more flexibility in selecting wall colours,,,,,
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mgmken
Original Author
3 years ago
Thanks Beth! So you seemed to choose an off white (greyish white) and then the bright white trims and the bright white cabinets in the kitchen. Looks great. Love that corner area with the tile. What is your backsplash behind the stove?
PRO
Beth H. :
3 years ago
no, nothing is off white. the trim and cabinets are Simply White. (when they converted the Simply White color into the lacquer used to spray the cabs, we went w/a slightly brighter white). The wall color is a warm gray. Light Pewter (top left)

ceiling is white.

I haven't picked a tile splash yet. considering 2x8 calacatta marble w/some gold inlay accents.
jck910
3 years ago
My kitchen is small so I painted the walls the same as the cabinets. Different finishes of paint but I like that.

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