What Color Paint Goes With Off White Kitchen Cabinets

05-07-2012, 09:55 AM

Our kitchen cabinets were painted white before we moved in, and "wear and tear" tell me it's time to repaint.

I am not opposed to interesting colors. My problem is that I have white appliances: cooktop, wall oven, dishwasher, big ol' fridge. I can't replace all the appliances right now. Though I know it can be done, I'm not interested in painting them. Can you please suggest an up-to-date cabinet color that would go with the white appliances?

The walls are a nice, mild buttery yellow. Counters are a sand-colored laminate. No tile on backsplash. I need to paint it also until I can get tile installed. Floor is a buff-colored tile that I am replacing with hardwood in a month.

This kitchen is open to our small den, which will also have hardwood and has walls that are a lighter color from the same paint family as the kitchen yellow. Den furniture is in the Craftsman style/color palette. In fact, this link shows most of the colors I have used throughout the house.

Bungalow Paint Color Schemes - Pick Your Favorite Historic Colors | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

This is why I am not thrilled about the white.

My husband's decor taste is conservative, and these rooms are SMALL. I might have a hard time convincing him to do something very dramatic. Of course, we could just paint them white again. But I have noticed that so many of you on this forum have great taste, and I would love suggestions for something a bit more creative.

Thanks!

10:48 PM

How about a very muted green. Very classic, very tasteful. (Caveat: I am NOT a decorator but just somebody who thinks that color could look really great with white appliances, buttery walls, and sand colored countertops.) Here is an example of the type of color I was thinking of, that I found online. I think it is called "thyme green".

05-08-2012, 06:20 AM

Thanks for the reply! It's funny, but the color you suggested is one of the first I thought of, but I am not a decorator either. In fact, I'm notorious for choosing regrettable colors. I also would have a hard time convincing hubs to do that one because I painted our dining room and a long hallway a dark gray green, but I may try.

I might try to post a pic later today (after I clean up!) because words cannot express how tiny this space is, and I don't know if the darker cabinets would make it appear smaller.

05-08-2012, 06:25 AM

To offer a different perspective, I think you should use a bold color as opposed to a muted one. I feel that it's good to have a balance of warm and cool colors in a room. Without actually seeing your room, I'm just guessing that the yellow is a cool color. I could be wrong though.
In any case, going on that it's a cool color, a bold red like this: http://www.art-paints.com/Paints/Oil...Red-Purple.gif
would be a good choice. Since the space is small, dark colors might make the room look too dark. Depending on how many cabinets you have though, the color COULD be overwhelming. Only you can judge the cool/warm balance in your kitchen. Red is also nice looking against yellow since they're close to each other on the color wheel. Also, the red would look good with a slightly muted, rich hardwood.
Doing the red would give you a very contemporary style kitchen, which you may or may not be going for?
I don't know what luck you'll have convincing your conservative husband to try a bold red if you like the idea though. I would suggest looking up photos of kitchens with red cabinets and showing him that they work well.

As for my credentials, I'm not expert, but I love design and write an interior decorating blog.

Best of wishes! Post photos of your kitchen when you're done (if that's allowed in the forums?)!

PS. When you do decide to do a backsplash, and if you go with red, a shiny, glassy purple would be absolutely divine. Purple is also yellow's complementary color!

05-09-2012, 10:45 AM

You may not want your white appliances to stick out too much. Therefore I would go with a very light brown, beige or tan, which the closer you can get to your countertop color, I think the better it will look. I've seen some kitchens that are basically very light-colored with white appliances, and they use wooden cabinets that are not painted, but rather are of a very light-colored wood like birch.

You could remove one cabinet door, paint it from three diff small paint sampler cans, start with a light color, check it out by standing away from the area, then go for the next darker color, until you're done checking it out. But I think you could have some fun with the backsplash.

05-09-2012, 12:01 PM

This is an interesting idea. I may try painting swatches on a door.

While I love the green suggested earlier, I don't actually want my white appliances to stand out more. I think less contrast would be better.

I also like the idea of focusing more on the backsplash. It's just painted a dark red right now because I never bothered to change it.

05-09-2012, 01:25 PM

I love an all-white kitchen.....then things like wood, silver, a beautiful green plant, colorful textiles - they look great against the white and you can change them out with almost no color limitation. Also an all white kitchen can go many ways design-wise - contemporary and austere, cottagy, country, traditional, etc.

I really like this kitchen (which has been featured in Country Living and other magazines) - they have stainless appliances but white would work:

A Country Farmhouse: The Kitchen

Note the butcherblock counters - the wood with the white and stainless is quite beautiful.