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Paint Kitchens Design Dilemma

white cabinets for Swiss coffee kitchen wall

2 years ago

Hello! we painted our kitchen w BM Swiss coffee and swiss coffee 75% for trim thinking we wanted dark green cabinets, but we decided white cabinets would be best for now.

Our choices are:
white dove, simply white, cloud white, chantilly lace and super white. No other option for custom colors!!!

I was thinking Simply White would be another slightly lighter warm white that could work but I wonder if there wouldnt be much of a difference and things may look different and Super white may make the kitchen brighter.

any thoughts or pointers would help me sleep. ty

Featured Answer

AGKY

2 years ago

Pretend you haven't painted your walls or trim yet and then choose your cabinet color. What goes best with your backsplash or countertop? You can always repaint your walls and trim to any color you need (your trim should match your cabinets in most cases) but you are more limited with your cabinets.

Comments (9)

JJ Dwight
Original Author
2 years ago
Thats a really good way to look at things! Thanks so much for this advice!
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Anyone Paint Their Cabinets Swiss Coffee by Kelley Moore?
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I have honed Carrara perimeter cabs and tried Swiss Coffee when looking for THE white for my new cabs. It was too white, and there was something else about it in my light I didn't like but I can't remember. Dingey?? I actually couldn't believe it was such a popular trim color. I had a heck of a time finding a white warm enough not to look yellow with the gray Carrara background and yet not so white to appear stark. (Does your marble have a gray background also?) I ended up using BM Simply White. I'm sure you've seen my kitchen before so I'll spare you a photo. Good luck!
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Thank you Patricia, we will select another color. We have hardwood floors and a Pecky Cypress ceiling. Our countertops are Dolce Vita, honed. We are trying to create a warm, inviting kitchen w/o being busy. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
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I've been researching a lot of colors for my new home and BM Swiss Coffee was one of them. I came across this website that talks about Swiss Coffee. I don't know if it will help or make things more confusing but thought I would share either way. https://www.kylieminteriors.ca/paint-colour-review-benjamin-moore-swiss-coffee-oc-45/
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I wouldn't assume that the cabinet maker's Swiss Coffee will be a match to a BenM Swiss Coffee paint chip. I'd want to see a sample first. Because the color appearance depends a great deal on the product. They maybe using a Swiss Coffee chip as the target, but oftentimes it can't be matched exactly. Plus, cabinet products are higher sheen and that shifts color appearance a smidge darker. Swiss Coffee has a healthy bump of Chroma (colorfulness). So much so that I wouldn't categorize it as an off-white. It's a color. That's how I'd treat Swiss Coffee depending on what the cabinet maker's sample looked like. Reframing it that way opens up the idea of using a more neutral white on trim and doors. Like Super White or Chantilly Lace.
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chloebud
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
^Good advice from Amy.

FWIW, I remember some advice from Lori Sawaya here regarding pairing whites. She said whites can be used together as long as there's at least a .20 difference in their Chroma. Ben Moore Swiss Coffee has a Chroma of .62. Simply White's is .50 and Super White's is 21.

ETA - I found the quote from her...

"I have a rule of thumb. It goes like this. As long as two colors of white have a difference of at least 0.20 in Chroma, neither will make the other look dirty or dingy. AND as long as you think the two colors go together, look pretty next to each other then you have yourself a white color scheme that works."
JJ Dwight
Original Author
2 years ago
^^^^ Wow!! I like this very specific answer.

Exactly what I was looking for. Thank you so so so much. I am going to look into Chantilly Lace and Super White as my options.
PRO
Beth H. :
2 years ago
don't use white dove. I painted my walls w/it and it was dingy looking. I repainted them w/Simply white. much better. Chantilly is going to be a little cooler looking.

You could always paint over the trim if you feel it's not enough 'white'.
JJ Dwight
Original Author
2 years ago
Ooooh thanks for the photos!!
homebuyer23
2 years ago
JJ Dwight did you choose a cabinet color? We also are starting with freshly painted Swiss coffee walls and SW Pure White trim, and I'm trying to pick a white cabinet color. Swiss coffee came out a tad yellowy on our walls in certain light not sure I want to commit to it on cabinets.
elizht
last year
@JJ Dwight did you come to a conclusion on this? We’re redoing our kitchen, and our designer is suggesting Simply White cabinets/trim and BM Swiss Coffee walls, but I’m concerned they’re a little too close. Sounds like you may have moved away from Simply White but thought I’d check!
Marylee H
last year
Too close a combo. see the advice above via chloebud. 🌈

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