And if you have a kitchen with countertops and/or flooring that is patterned, (not solid in other wordsone colour) and there is no white or cream to be found anywhere? Change it to Mountain Peak White. The main trouble is that the beige kitchen tile is very pink. Hi Maria in desperate, ASAP need of your incredible talent!! What color of granite? We need to decide this by Monday morning so I realize this is not much time for you to respond just praying you see this before then. I had thought about taking down all of the panaling and replacing with drywall and paint, Upgrading the appliances with stainless or keeping the ones I have, and putting up a porcelin or ceramic backsplash. Although screens will vary the color to a degree, it was a great way to see the undertones more easily, especially if there are numerous white samples on the page. Do you think this would disagreee with my farmhouse look. I painted the dining room Behrs Silver Drop (a light gray with slight yellow undertones) and am planning on painting the family room/kitchen the same color. White subway tile and penny tile backsplash. I need help! Fresh yellow greens like that look so great with white (which are your countertops). I have wood floors that are a light golden (needs refinish or replace) I have new white appliances. Is it necessary? But I ended up with Distant Gray in the whole house, basically a doubling of whats in Chantilly Lace, so clearly I was wanting a *very* neutral white. The kitchen is good sized and pretty open to the rest of the house which is SW Whole Wheat, darker wood furniture. Thanks! Dont understand now. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated! Hello! The cabinets are a dark wood 70s style. I was thinking a subway tile. You can literally never go wrong! Hi Maureen,Seems too easy (I think theres a post idea here) but the white is perfect for a beachy feel! Cream and white. I have dark granite(Uba Tuba)and dark wood floors. There are so many whites to choose from. Wood floors and charcoal countertop. When we moved into this 1975'ish house, we scraped the wallpaper, yanked the heavy drapes (a Waverly bomb exploded in this home), and painted. and Do you think I can paint the cabinets white? I just came across your blog looking for advice on whether to paint cabinets white or change all of them altogether. Hi Im looking for some feedback on what color appliances to have with my new white kitchen. We are going to repaint the cabinets whitethe walls are SW useful grey(looks like a blu/sometimes green gray). You would like to know the critical difference between choosing white for walls and choosing white for trim and cabinets. My cabinet maker wont start till I give him a colour!! My pantrty is in the same sight line. The new laminate floor is Wild Jatoba (the same as Brazilian Cherry). "Husband: "No way, wood, they are awesome. These rooms have a beige carpet that seems to have a yellow undertone (so it works well with the walls). We will also have a nice window seat painted white under one of our two kitchen windows. Laura, Ceiling white in BM is decorator white, paint the trim the same colour. I have a 1980's kitchen that has melamine cabinets with a wood trim. I have the 90's ginger coloured wood shaker cabinets in my kitchen. I love your blog. I now am so aware of the right white for clients after reading your book Whites are complicated. Youll end up doing thisso it is a good idea to know which category of white youll need to narrow it down . If your trim is already white on white, then I would suggest keeping your cabinet colour the same white (read my post on Trim Colours), or with just a hint of colour added to it. Which white should I go with for the cabinets? I sell products so that I can write this free blog. I think Greige is such a versatile color and I really love that SW Incredible White. A post on white kitchens would not be complete without the famous, most copied, kitchen from Somethings Gotta Give! And i'm replacing the countertops, any laminate color suggestions? I have changed the wall color to Manchester Tan as it seems to go better with either white. If you're a fan of Studio McGee and love white cabinets, walls or trim, you've probably come across Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee. Cloud white would work well in this scenario.Maria. Do you give paid advice? Anila, As long as you repeat the red in the room it will work. I too am contemplating painting my oak kitchen cabinets white. Can you recommend a good cabinet colour? Painted the wood white to match the rest of her ceiling and it came out pink. Maria. I never saw a response but probably missed it? Also, do you do private consult? I'm concerned about the grey undertones of the White Dove I don't want anything to look dirty or dingy. I'm glad you came around to painting the cabinets though, you'll have a new kitchen when you are done, it always amazes me how fabulous the transformation is! Glass-top wrought iron table and chairs in nook. We are looking for a color that we are going to love since we would use the same color in the family room and we spend most of our time in these 2 rooms. My question is similar to Christine's. I would like the cabinets and trim white. I am getting laminate countertops in a travertine tile "look", and I am putting travertine tiles in for the backsplash (2" x 2"), with a narrow bullnose and glass accent (browns & creams) in the middle. It's very white. I need to finish my kitchen but am stuck. Dear BG,Cloud white will DEFINITELY not look yellow. Please note, its rare that I can post an answer to a question without a photo so theres a higher chance that it will be considered if you send photos, taken without flash and in good natural light. I have not been able to find any pictures on the internet of a white kitchen with black appliances. Thanks! And what color should I paint the wall? What do you recommend? I was wondering what color floor would go best with it. Also I would like to have the island painted a contrasting colori was thinking Blackdo you have a recommendation for which black? Simply white seemed a little bright white for my taste, but I don't want too much color in the white either. To give you the right advice, Id need to see photos. Certainly commercial interiorsalmost always have darker trim to hide the wear and tear. The wall color will be either a yellowish cream or a beige. Or if that's just too wild for you, paint your cabinets Natural Linen CC-90, that colour would also look great with the two greens you've chosen for the wall colour.Maria. Any suggestions on color and metal for those? I'm thinking white subway tiles but my husband is concerned it might look too stark. I have African art and dark wood in an open floor paln. If I walk into a kitchen that has dark brown cabinets, I know it was installed in the last 10 years. I need something that would complement the white cabinets and dark hardwood floors. My question is, I am at a loss regarding a granite choice. I am going for a similar look (which I think of as Paris Art Nouveau : ) and can't find a light that matches as well.Thanks! Cream tile, keep it simple period. Hi Maria, I LOVE your Blog I check it daily for new inspiration.We are starting from scratch and could use your help with the right white for our kitchen cabinets. I just discovered your blog and website and your comments have struck a chord. Thanks to your advice I painted large posterboards of the colors, and the most popular colors werent the ones that looked best to my eye at working for all of the appliances. Alexandra,I would NOT go with white/gray (which is what it is) carrara marble with orangy/pink tiled floors unless you were planning on taking them out sometime soon (and it sounds like you are not, which is fine) in this case, it sounds like the pink hued granite will work in this kitchen. Known for her revolutionary Killam Colour System and her innovative Understanding Undertones Neutral Colour Wheel, she's also an educator, sharing her expertise and insights on all things colour along with her timeless design aesthetic. Hi Anonymous,Regarding your melamine cabinets, I would want to see photos before I could make a suggestion (email me for a 1/2 hour rate). My counter is Lady's Dream granite and the floors are Jatoba laminate. I need your help!!! Since the trim and crown molding in the house is all Extra White, I can't change it in the other rooms. I have warm reds, blues and yellows in LR and I love red and yellow in the kitchen. Here's the back storyI bought an 80s house and it has an 80s kitchen down to the appliances. It has a hint of this green-gray I was looking for, but just a hint. ), a new dark walnut island, white appliances (until they diethey're 9 years) very light beige floor tile and quite a bit of natural light. What color cabinets would be good with this combination? Hi Beth,Your story made me giggle!! Granite colors I am leaning toward are ones with white/grays/black. I have read that chantilly lace or decorators white are good choices for trim. Hes trying to steer be towards Antique White (too dark and warm, yellowy) and Moderate White (again, warm). HEres a post I wrote about that. that's always one place to look for the wall colour in another room, this way you create some flow because the colour isn't coming from no-where!Hope this helps! We've seen ceilings with a softer shade of the wall color or slightly darker than the trims and we want to set off the molding. I'm not the best at describing color, but I would say it is dark grey/brown earth tone with specks of off white and black. It's nice when the backsplash relates to SOMETHING in the kitchen.Otherwise you will have 3 colours there that don't relate to anything, the white backsplash, the coloured cabinets and the beige tiled floor!Hope that helps!Maria, I am struggling and hope you can help. Should I go with stark white cabinet, or more creamy? A tip I read once on choosing whites was to view them online. You are a gift to those of us who are color challenged! Thank you, Martine. I prefer a white rather than cream but dont want it to look stark. As for looking dated well doesnt everything eventually indicate its era? If you think you are looking at a pinky/cream, it's not cream, rather pink beige. The living room and dining room are Shaker Beige so I'd like something different. I was also considering Sherwinn Williams Roman Column SW 7562 for the cabinets. And if your white doesnt relate correctly, you can easily end up with something looking either too stark or dingy looking.. Perhaps it's an old colour? My cabinets are cream with a brown glaze and at the time I chose Feather Down for ceiling and trim because it matches the cabinets really well. When he died in 1955 she inherited his fortune and continued to build it until her own death 10 years later. Just discovered your site & love it! Tread Softly When Choosing a Plain (True) White, Contrast & Comparison, Theres Only One Place to Truly Get It, How to Coordinate White & Cream (If you Made a Mistake). It feels sooooo good to get it right, doesnt it? The most beautiful kitchen renovation in a 1905 home that I have ever seen was designed by Susan Dossetter and Andrew Skurman and featured in House Beautiful magazine. What is the right WHITE for cabinets that doesn't come off too yellow? Thank you so much for your help! White is my color of choice for the cabinets, but I am having the hardest time choosing the white as I am saddled with white appliances. We will be redoing the entire kitchen to match the island in a few months. Am totally hopeless when it comes to paint! Here you can see that the face of the clock (below) is just a plain true-white, which is what makes it easier to see that the walls around it are an off white. May I ask for your color help. Cloud White! The countertops are calcutta gold and the island is a white base to match the cabinets and island top is walnut. I've seen some traditional white kitchens with white & gray marble backsplashes, and I wonder if I can make that work with the cottage style. The exterior of my house will be SW Shoji White I have grey fieldstone and cedar accent walls. I have a small house but an open floor plan with the kitchen dining area as the main area open entering the house. Read this post to help you decide.. Ive read your ebook on colors. Ive read your book whites are complicated but still feel confused about how to deal with blue-white. We are installing granite countertops (Verde Butterfly) and we want to paint our 80's oak cabinets a white color, but not sure what color. And what about Exterior trim? To which I replied, Thats a good question but its also the reason my system works. Out ceiling is low and white with recessed lighting. Thank you so much for your quick response and for the help. Im going with the following Benjamin Moore colors and wonder what you would do for trim and six-panel doorsMain living areas: HC93 Carrington Beige, Family room and master bedroom HC44 Lenox Tan with HC146 Wedgewood Gray as an accent wall. Serene. I can hardly wait! (Macy Yap) 5 min Fall is in full swing, and paint. I re-painted with Baffin Island and it still seems gold, with green undertones, especially next to the pine ceiling and trim. We are HIRING AGAIN. I was also considering doing the island with the granite and a lighter colour quartz for the other countertop. Additionally, I have granite look-a-like laminate counters in shades of ebony/dark brown/tan, creamy off white and tan tile flooring, and have Aesthetic White SW as a trim color. Our house is small, built in 1906. While youre here, subscribe to my Monthly Newsletter so you dont miss out on money-saving colour tips! Moral support always welcome And so quickly! I see you have suggested a lot of great white paints, just wondering if you have a good suggestion for me. I want it to stay light and bright but also warm. Thanks!! The wisdom seems to be that the cabinets should be Swiss Coffee to match the trim, but I really would like a creamier and deeper look for the cabinets and am considering Cameo White or Linen White. Maria, I am painting my walls with BM mascarpone af-20 what color white should I use on my trim? I have all black appliances and vinyl tile floor by Armstrong in a neutral beige color with hints of green (Durango bleached sand I think). Walnut top on the island. Do I repeat Cloud White for the cabinetry? Can you guess what they used for the cabinets and wall colors? Hey, my final exterior webinar of the season is happening Thursday, May 2 at 11:00 am PDT time. Our eDesign department is extremely BUSY and we need a virtual colour designer who can commit to 30 hours a week. I'm currently replacing my kitchen. The brown granite & tiles really stood out nicely. We were thinking perhaps a nice creamy latte color but again not sure which one and how it will look with the honey maple. This why we love you! Hi Tiziana,A one hour consult would answer all your questions and give you the confidence to proceed with your paint colours. Is there any complimentary paint color for the kitchen besides the light green in the website picture with the cream cabinets? The kitchen island will be something like BM weimeraner AF-155 and the quartz countertop is pale with off white/gray/light brownish. Easy to see when you compare all the whites in the room. I am considering Crossville Colorblox tile in coconut cream piea light muddy green/yellow http://www.crossvilleinc.com/tile_popup.cfm?TileID=1075 or roasted marshmallowa light muddy cream http://www.crossvilleinc.com/tile_popup.cfm?TileID=16or hi ho silvera muddy grey http://www.crossvilleinc.com/tile_popup.cfm?TileID=1077(Someone had fun with these names.) We are torn between dark cabinets or white cabinets. The Best Trim ColoursNOT Cloud WhiteHappiness is. I hope to find a light color granite countertop in whites, or creamy whites. It does have an orange base, but it doesn't scream "orange." On its own, it's a beautiful, creamy color that looks like a delicious iced latte. I am looking to paint my kitchen cabinets all white or complementing with the bottom ones black (similar to ap pic you have posted with the bottmo cabinets chocolate, top cream). Do you think another coat of paint will do it, or is there a product that I can apply over the cabinets to keep this from happening? (The kitchen walls, on the other hand, probably should have been a different shade of green, at least for our nighttime lighting.). I want a white that is warm and inviting but definitely not yellow/cream while still going well with our new granite countertop and gunstock bruce hardwood floor. I have always wanted to try and paint them but am to nervous to completely ruin them and wouldn't know how to go about it or what color to even use. The dining and hall walls are cottonseed (behr paint) and the living room is dark paneling which I want to paint. Should I paint the cabinets the same color as the trim? Hi Anonymous.Unless the oak trim is fabulous and beautiful and you love it, I would paint it out as well. I will also repeat this white on the trim throughout the house. Would bisque be too dark and would white be too stark against the cream cabinets? I have a question about whites,does off white belong to the white family of colors? I have a dark Long Beach, NY co-op apartment with an open floor plan (living room, dining room, kitchen) we are putting in a light caramel colored wood floor throughout and am thinking about painting the walls white dove, with a regular ceiling white. If the rest of our house is a light cream with an antique white trim, is it okay to use plain white for our kitchen cabinets (the white matches the appliances) since our kitchen is just one wall? Im afraid I will mess them up. WHITE IS COMPLICATED - MARIA KILLAM'S EBOOK This book is for you if: You wonder if there is a "go-to" white that will look good in every situation. I have an open floor plan. I would love love for you to consult with me on this. If all your trim is creamier then that sounds like it would work with the granite youve just installed. email me for my on-line rates. If you have a house that is still completely entrenched in the Tuscan brown trend, then I would NOT recommend any of the above. I am painting the common areas of our new home BM Delaware putty, and the ceilings BM 0c-6. Not sure if it would be the right color for the kitchen. Do you give advice about other remodeling kitchens without using white? You know immediately that YOU ARE HERE. Hi Perhaps try BM new Aura line which is durable enough for furniture. Wood cabinets and black granite still seem to prevail in so many homes areound here. Thought 4 inch square creamy/taupe tile??? For the walls, I would paint them a white that is grayed so that you can distinguish between the cabinet colour and the wall colour. Just decided to use cloud white as all other whites seem to have blue, green or pink undertone or are too yellow. Floor is Trillium 'moka java' engineered hardwood. I have been reading your blog for years and finally have the opportunity to renovate my kitchen! Help please!!!! I have the same question as Maria. 2) Another issue is that we have "bright white" recessed florescent lights and sometimes the light looks green. In my desperation, I turned to the whites family. I think I have erred in our kitchen renovation by not understanding my colors better. I have med stained oak floors (brown w/slight golden tinge) The granite I am using is Bianco Antico (creamy white background with veining in greys, browns and flecks of shiny mica)I also have the glossy white appliances (I prefer the newer glossy white as stainless is not my thing)altho I am doing a Thermador 36" cooktoop in Stainless in the center granite island. Maria, Thank you. Thank you, Kellie. Thanks, Deb & Bob, Hi Deb & Bob,If you want a softer shade than the wall colour I would do them 1/2 strength of shaker beige. What color might go well with our Verde Butterfly granite? I have no idea what Benjamin Moore white is right. Good news is we're 'breaking ground' on a full kitchen remodel in January. There is no tile back splash and we pretty much will have a clean slate to paint on, but matching to the cobalt blue color is getting frustrating. Maria. Hi Maria,I need some advice on Donald Kaufman paint: Our kitchen has 1920's painted cabinets, gray/white marble 12"x18" slab floors, white/pale gray marble counter tops and back splashes as well as some stainless counters and back splashes and stainless appliances. Brown and cream simply belong together. I hope someday my house color palette will have blues greens creams whites and tans. Youd be better off finding anything BUT oak cabinets, even second-hand from an upcycle store, and then painting and installing that. The only "fixed element" are the wood stained windows and natural cypress beams and posts in the open plan livingroom/ breakfast room, which opens to the kitchen.We have large Travertine 12X24 tiles in a buff/taupe/grey color pallet (named "Storm"). I apprecaite any help. Saskatchewan was refering to your 5 questions to consider when choosing a kitchen color. My house is under total reno right now so I have a blank slate, no decisions on paint yet. Notice I am only showing soft furnishings that combine white, off-white and cream. But Ive got lots of wood which I feel helps bring in some warmth. we recently did a kitchen renovation and went with shaker style cabinetry in SW Alabaster, with a small herringbone patterned carrara marble backsplash and black pearl granite (the piece we have leans gray instead of brown, but still has some warmth). Hello, I am taking a chance to see if you reply, Maria. I love the antique white cabinets with the matching subway tile it should be so simple to find a paint colour to tie in with the cream/grey/brown counter. . Wish I had come across it sooner. We laid sand colored travartine floor tiles and painted the 1970s cabinets and refaced door frames BM Navajo White. Can I come live with you? (it wouldn't be worth it based on where we live to put in anything expensive). I can't find 'Greek villa' in my Sherwin Williams deck, but I have their newest one. I wish you lived closer to Ottawa! Hi! The hood over the range was part of the original kitchen. Fine, they are being painted white. i am getting beaded inset, traditional raised panel cabinets with an entire wall of mullianed-glass 42 inch cabinets around the window/sink area and a wood hood cover. They are the ones that work, over and over. We're buying a new house and will put dk brown wood/laminate flooring into this small kitchen and paint the cabinets white. What a great help this blog is! (Hope that makes sense and I am not infringing upon your policy of giving free advice as that is definitely not my intention.) (tilted head and begging puppy-like warm brown eyes), Of course, Rockport Grey, Sandyhook Grey, Thunder and Pashmina. thank you so much! Yes, the lighting is everything. They are white, but they dont seem stark white. Mu husband thinks darker is better against the light cabinets. 2 Chairs at peninsula are pottery barn dark brown with reed seats, keeping theseBEST PART:On both sides of the kitchen several feet away are huge gorgeous (pine?) First of all, what a beautiful blog! Right now my trim and a door are very white, but I can't remember the color. and 2)White paint or off-white (black granite counters & white subway tile)? I hope too that your client reconsiders, it looked beautiful. Go with a warm/taupy gray that will pick up on the cooler undertones of your granite. We are having our 90s pickled cherry cabinets painted this month. Love this blog! Im pushing 60 and want to get a bumper sticker that says, I loved white walls before it was cool. This is, unfortunately, our eighth house, and every single one got Ben Moore white walls, starting with our 1955 California contemporary in China White and on through our two basic ranches, one colonial, one french country, and now a foursquare. You advise against using brown granite. Once you have a glaze though your cabinets will go to some version of beige so then it should be fine. We are the lucky owners of a dreaded early 90's kitchen with raised panel "honey oak" cabinets that are in desperate need of updating. Creamy White Paint Colors | Centsational Style Backsplash tile is totally overrated, I personally think you should keep it simple. Hi Mallory,Your 'white/cream' should relate to the existing tile floors and beige backsplash, I would need to see photos to recommend the right colour, email me at [emailprotected] for my rates.Warm regards,Maria. If I have a kitchen island should I keep a formal dining room too? My kitchen is open to the family room area. If that is your situation, youll need this neutral instead. It is as versatile as it is tranquil, and a great backdrop for richer accent colors in art, fabric, and accessories. Is Simply White a match to do the trim? I had Benjamin Moore Mascarpone on the walls and they always looked like a sour yellow-green during the day and sort of flat white at night and it was not complimentary to my furnishings and decor. I hadn't ever heard of oil based primer peeling either. love white and off white together. Can these combinations work? Chantilly Lace by Benjamin Moore - Why It Might Be The Perfect White I love it, but it hard to coordinate. HOUSE BEAUTIFUL FROSTINE - ELLE DECOR WHITE DOVE WHITE DOVE WHITE DOVE C.B.I.D. I have BM Swiss Coffee trim throughout my house and will be painting my kitchen cabinets white with a soft med brown antique glaze. Thanks for your suggestions. The design and raised panel style of this kitchen is simply dated and its not coming back. Should I do the entire house in the same color. Can I paint the cabinets white myself? I do hope she will reconsider-this topic would be very timely for me. My questiton: will a white frigidaire electric slide-in range with a white smooth cooktop be too stark against the black cambrian countertop on either side? Lydia, I have a home built in 1936 that I am redoing the kitchen. Steam just seems like a perfect white, not cool, not warm, yet its rarely, if ever, mentioned in any online literature on whites. Our cabinets are more of a creamy white. Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated. You can purchase your own set of mycurated large colour board collections here. and there, to my surprise, I found my neutral. I bought your ebook and I love it and it has helped me in so many ways. I enjoy it so much! It just looks wrong. I also shared five tips for choosing the right white paint at My Colortopia two years ago, those guidelines still apply! appliances are all Viking and exposed. Or offer a suggestion for a similar combo. People think Im nuts, as they are beautiful, but I just installed a wide plank ironwood floor (dark brown) and I think white cabinetry would be a great contrast. And then go for a charcoal/black countertop? Floor plan is very open to entry/hall so I am leaning toward tile. Floor tiles not yet chosen, cant afford more marble so will look for a grey/taupe porcelain tile. Your post is very timely, I have Restoration Hardware Paint in Linen on my walls. We're now replacing the white tile counters and backsplash with granite and not sure on the backsplash. Marilynn, Thank you. So funny that you decided to re-post this now Maria I swear its like you read my mind! Any advice you can give me would be great I have been to Benjamin Moore so many times, but still have no idea. Last year we purchase a home built in 1980's. So I'm having a very, very hard time staying on track with the white love. They have no buzz. Does the beige backsplash coordinate with the countertop? Also we will add stainless counter-depth refrigerator and new countertop probably in honed black granite.