I’ve beenreading a lot about which white would be best for my kitchen cabinets. It’s a north facing room and I’ve arrived, after much research, on wanting to use Swiss Coffee by Benjamin Moore. It may be in part that I am a sucker for a good paint name🙂 I’ve read that it’s an off white with creamy warm undertones. It will be in a north facing room and the room tends to be a bit dark. We are opening it up a bit by making the kitchen/common area entrance bigger and installing a larger -54 inch- kitchen window. But as I understand you don’t want to use a cool white because it could look dingy with all the shadows and low light in a north facing room.

I do plan on doing some samples (my other colors were cloud white bm, alabaster sw, white dove bm and cotton balls bm...not sure if I got the brands correct:). I want something that feels warm but not yellow and definitely not cold or stark.

One of my concern was what I should be using for colors throughout the rest of the home and on the trim. I read that using white white next to Swiss coffee could make it look old and dated, understandably. So, my idea in the kitchen was to do a monochromatic look in different finishes. So, of course the cabinets will be a gloss or semi-gloss and the trim as well, the ceiling would be flat and the walls would be eggshell.

I’m not sure about other surfaces though. I read that Swiss mocha looks great with earth tones. (I never did get into the gray craze)...but I have really been into lighter grayish blues. (We are painting our exterior dockside blue with alabaster trim.) Can/should I carry the Swiss coffee trim throughout the house? As I’ve been researching paint colors I’ve found some earthier neutrals that I like that I think would go well with the Swiss coffee trim. Also, this house sits up above a large lake so I wanted to do a subtle coastal vibe throughout the house.

I guess I don’t want anything overly creamy or yellowy as trim throughout the house but I also don’t want to clash with the kitchen area either. I suspect as long as I keep with one white, it shouldn’t appear too creamy. I am open to other cabinet color suggestions that Would give that warm, light feel.

It’s not a huge house by any means, it’s an 1890’s 4 square with a south facing addition with lots of windows. We’ll have a large patio door to the East going out to a deck, we are opening up the doorway to the addition a bit and then the living room faces west and has two windows that won’t let in tons of light. The common room sits in between all the rooms( the addition, the LR and the kitchen). the floors are old pine that will be Refinished to a natural color.

So,with all that being said, I guess my main questions are

1) would Swiss coffee work in a north facing kitchen? And how about the monochromatic look carried through the kitchen?(floors are natural pine) and probably wooden cabinets pulls and stainless appliances. Countertops are not chosen but I definitely will check first that I’m not getting a cool white and go with a lighter, earthier granite or quartz and maybe some butcher block on a small

Island.

2)would Swiss coffee work in the rest of the trim if I go with earthier neutrals rather than blues or grays?

I definitely don’t want anything cold or stark. I’m looking for warm, cozy and inviting. Like I said, it’s a smaller house and my husband and 4 children and I love being at home!