What upper cabinet stain matches with a rich blue lowers and island?
Hi all!
My wife and I are in the process of selecting the colours of our kitchen. We know we want to go with blue lower cabinets and island, but we are stuck on what stain to chose for the upper cabinets.
We are planning on using Birch wooden cabinets with a stain (this is because it is cheaper to have a wooden stain as opposed to painting it white). We are not sure what stain colour to go with.
Here are our options (we have the blue cabinet next to the counter top - the floor colour is a bit darker than the one at the bottom).
Grey mountain (on the right side) or Elkhorn (on the bottom):
Here is the Toscano option on a sample of the hardwood. Please note, the photo is way too bright here, I tried to darken it a bit. But the blue is the same blue as in the photo above. And the Elkhorn is the same as in the photo above:
This is the 3D plan of my kitchen:
These are examples of colours in kitchens we like (but in our case the bases will be blue as well):
I like the Toscano, but I am scared of resulting in something like this which I do not like, here the cabinet is has too much orange/too warm:
Please help! :) Any input would be much appreciated. I know it is difficult with the colours in the photos being off.
Thank you!
T
Comments (9)
PROBeth H. :
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoyou MUST have them do a sample door for you. Don't rely on pictures. Have them apply a stain (pick two choices) on a sample door using the same birch wood. Then decide.
tosacano is a warmer stain w/some yellow in it.
your two picture examples looks like oak.
you really don't see blue lowers and wood uppers.
try and find one. I found these walnut uppers and navy lowers
Or I found this one w/red oak quarter sawn uppers, and a lighter blue/gray lower
you see blue and white. or, all blue w/wood island
or you see wood lowers and white uppers
why not do the island in a natural white oak or a walnut?do you have a pic of your actual flooring?
and who says staining is less than painting? Would you want the uppers white if you could do it?
You will be living with this kitchen design for over a decade. If it cost 1-2K more to get them painted, and that's what you prefer, then do it. (but honestly, it shouldn't cost that much more)
Or, spring for walnut instead of birch. walnut is beautiful w/blue. spend the extra and get the good wood
another option, do blue and white, and walnut butcher block on the island
T T thanked Beth H. :Related Discussions
White cabinets and some espresso stained cabinets & island ......
Comments (13)Our kitchen is certainly not traditional and we do not have any white in it, but we do have very dark wood floors and chocolate stained cabinets. They are very similar stains and the difference is only noticeable in bright natural light. It's not a look I see very often, almost never actually, but it was the only floor color we liked for the whole house and the stain for the cabinets was also the only one we liked of our options. We did not exactly have a vision in mind when we began (we're young, first-timers), and maybe we would make different decisions now, but we like our kitchen... except for still being unable to decide on granite a year later. It sounds like you have a vision and a very nice one, so I am all for the espresso/white combination on espresso floors. I think a lot of people immediately shake their heads at dark floors with dark cabinets, especially when the stains are very similar, because it's not that commonplace, so it's hard to find an instance of it done right, and fear that the kitchen will on the whole be too dark. Without a layout it is of course hard to comment on where the white cabinets should be placed, but what I might suggest is placing the white cabinets in the area(s) that don't get as much natural light from windows and such. This will keep your espresso cabinets nearer the pools of natural light and your kitchen looking brighter overall. Good luck; I think it will look beautiful....See Moredifferent color upper & lower cabs?
Comments (10)I think you know your kitchen and your vision. When I started my kitchen I wanted not different uppers and lowers but 3 different colors. One wall was a natural wood, the opposite wall painted red and the breakfast area at the end and the pantry coming off the breakfast area in a third color. Every single  and I mean "every single"  person I described it to said "isn't that too much?". The cabinet maker couldn't wrap his mind around it and had to do 5 sets of plans before he got it all right. Even after that, he couldn't follow his own plans and would only do and install one color at a time. As a result my small galley kitchen took MONTHS for the cabinets and adjustments to them. (...with all the other work held up by them.) Now that it's finished I think it's glorious and everyone is saying "Oh! That's what you had in mind." And I think it has a lot of personality and keeps the eye moving so the space doesn't seem so small. Someone here has some fabulous custom cabinets that are actually constructed of two different woods laid out in graphic designs. They're not the mood I'd ever pick but they're spectacular nonetheless and I can't imagine they won't really impress buyers should they ever be willing to let that kitchen go. You can always get a set of plans and color them in....See MoreAnyone have 2 colored cabinets (upper different color from lower)
Comments (24)Thanks! I agree with you - it still looks great after several years. It's not as trendy and that probably helps. Here are a few of my inspirational photos: Sunset 2010 Dream Remodel. Click on the link below to see more of this kitchen and the house. Studio Stratton Square Deal Remodel Kitchen Lab JS Design Build Attic Magic (or maybe that should be Attic Mag and I goofed on the tag?) I forgot to label the source for this hutch and it's too long ago for me to remember. If anyone knows, please let me know so that I can give them credit. You can google the first 5 kitchens to see more of the contractors' or designers' work Here is a link that might be useful: Sunset Dream Remodel 2010...See MoreHelp with another two-tone kitchen: white uppers + stained lowers
Comments (54)stephanj - yup, DIY projects will certainly test a marriage! ;) Another decision change here: since those two upper cabs over micro/fridge are on the opposite side of the kitchen and separate from my planned white cabs by the sink/window, I think I'm going to have those stained, too. That way, if I decide to do a full white on that accent wall, the stained cabinets may provide some nice contrast...just more thinking out loud. Re: BS, thankfully, we'd be adding only 12 sq ft by extending it to the top. Does that still qualify it as giant? :) Maybe the space just looks larger in the photo. I did my nerd thing last night, actually. :) Know what? It's a necessary step to take, and I promise it'll make you feel much less overwhelmed -- I know I do. Are you getting new cabinets or just reorganizing where things will go? If the former, here's another super, super helpful thread just on the topic of drawers. Scroll down about halfway, til you get to: This was such an eye opener for me, as up to now, I was applying vertical storage concepts only to pizza pans and cookie sheets. I was up and down out of my chair all night, measuring all my glass baking pans, casseroles, etc. Now I have to go weigh items (that I plan on storing in the same drawer) to see if I'll need to upgrade the drawer hardware -- knowing me, I will, just to be on the safe side. And absolutely LOVING this: Can you smell another DIY around the corner?! Because of the current configuration of my island and the way the downdraft ducting and electrical is set up down there, I'm going to end up with a (get this!) space in the left/front that measures 30" high x 24 wide x 12" deep. Goofy/Wasted space (I think) to put a stack of drawers there (each one would have, what, about 10" front-to-back length of usable space?). I wanna hang one of these across the top of the space (so, sitting just under the granite top), and hang my everyday skilles, pots, etc. off here. I wonder if these hooks are on a sliding rail: how cool would THAT be, to accommodate pans/pots of varying heights?!...See More
T T
3 years agoT T
3 years agoHU-187528210
3 years ago- PRO
Beth H. :
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoTT, the painted cabs should be solid wood, with MDF panels only. no reason to have all fiberboard.
3K more to paint as opposed to staining? wow. Sounds a bit high.
Confirm that the doors/drawers are indeed solid wood, with only MDF center panels.
I had my cabinets painted last year. I have solid wood (birch I believe).
but the drawers weren't the same as the doors, so for another 2K, I got all new door/drawer fronts in the same shaker style. They are all solid maple with the door center panels being the MDF.
my floors are white oak, and I have walnut around the vent hood and window.You will have to see how he does the stain. You say you don't want it to come out like your last pic.
so how can you be assured that it won't?
Elkhorn would be safer since it doesn't have any yellow.
And like I've said, your other two pics are on oak. not birch. you understand the difference in wood, yes? you like the kitchen stain colors w/oak. So get oak and not birch
I'm just concerned that you want blue lowers/wood uppers. Have you found a picture w/that combo?even this one is all wood w/blue island.
As for the walnut butcher block, 4K is ridiculous. is this a builder home ? you know they make their money on all the upgrades, right? It's cheaper if you go w/base options, and have things redone once you move in. like countertops or backsplash choices.take the included option on the island. when you move in, pay to have what ever you want. I guarantee you it will be cheaper
Don't they offer a standard white cabinet?
I think you should rethink your two tone options
T T thanked Beth H. : T T
3 years agoIt is with a builder, and yes, the upgrades are insanely crazy.
It is $4000+ to go to walnut uppers.
It frustrates me that we have to pay to switch from birch to MDF, which is a cheaper product. There is no white standard option.
We have elected to do a lot of other upgrades ourselves, but the kitchen seems like too big of a project to put off and have someone else do it, that may not be covered with as solid a warranty. Not that the Tarion warranty is amazing.
I think I will go with the Grey mountain. as it is the safer option, and it still looks nice, kinda like this one:
The darker colours wont match the other vision we had since that vision had a lot to do with the Oak wood.
Btw: I really liked the remodel of your house. Good job!
Julie Neher
2 years ago
Beth H. :