SOURCE: Homes and Gardens
If your kitchen is feeling a bit underwhelming but you’re not ready for a complete overhaul there is a simple way to update it. Painting kitchen cabinets is quick, easy and inexpensive (in comparison to a renovation) but the impact is huge!
Right now we’re seeing a lot of images on Pinterest of kitchens with cabinets painted in dark colours like navy and forest green. Those look great but if you’re not convinced you’d love the dark colours it might be better to stick to classic neutrals.
Not sure where to start? It’s understandably confusing trying to separate the one “perfect” paint colour when you’re standing in front of a wall of paint chips. Instead of going that route, try making note of popular neutrals like these and then visit the paint store with a purpose. It’ll make your life much easier and give some direction to your search.
NEUTRAL PAINT COLOURS WORK BETTER THAN WHITE
One of the reasons I love an off-white neutral paint colour for a kitchen cabinet is that if you live in an open plan home you can use the same colour throughout the entire house. You won’t have to worry about the shadows that can be created when using white paint on walls in areas where there’s low light. You will however still get the light and bright feeling you can get from white.
HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT NEUTRAL
If you’ve considered all of the suggestions and want to keep exploring there are things you need to know when it comes to selecting neutral colours, particularly for the kitchen. The colour you select has to work with the existing materials in your kitchen. That includes countertops, backsplash tile, floor tile and any other architectural feature in the space.
Successfully selecting a neutral paint colour relies on understanding undertones. The reason so many kitchens don’t feel right is probably because the undertones of the materials are clashing. If you can detect the undertone in all of your fixed materials the right paint colour will become obvious. If you want to learn more about finding undertones in beige toned paint colours, read this post.
1/ Benjamin Moore Classic Gray OC-23
SOURCE: Home Bunch
Its name suggests it’s gray but it actually reads more like an off-white. It’s got just the perfect amount of colour so that you get that light, airy kitchen but without it being a too-stark pure white.
This colour has a lot of warmth and works really well with virtually any colour that already exists in your kitchen. It looks particularly great with any shade of brown or beige. If you have a kitchen with outdated granite countertops in any of the formerly popular browns this will be a great complement to that and will help update the countertop as well.
2/ Benjamin Moore Swiss Coffee OC-45
SOURCE: Studio McGee
This is a favourite amongst interior designers because the colour is a perfect warm, creamy white but without showing a lot of yellow. The other great thing about this colour is that it doesn’t rely on a lot of natural light to make it sing. It looks great even in spaces where there aren’t a lot of windows and for many of us, that’s the kitchen.
It’s important to note that with any neutral like Swiss Coffee there’s a change in its appearance as the day turns to night. It’s possible that during the day you’ll see it as almost white whereas evening can bring out some of the undertone. While I did say that this doesn’t read as yellow it can in some spaces pull out some yellow so always test the colour and watch it change throughout the day.
3/ Sherwin Williams Repose Gray SW-7015
SOURCE: Finding Lovely
This is another favourite that works really well throughout an entire house. If you have a well lit space that is filled with either artificial or natural light you’ll love this one. Repose Gray has a bit more definitive colour than the others. It’s a very soft gray that has a violet undertone. While I’m not generally a fan of gray paint this one is particularly warm rather than cool and reads more like a taupe or greige than a gray.
Where most of the popular gray paint selections have a blue or green undertone it’s the violet undertone of this one that keeps it feeling warm versus cold. And it’s that warmth that makes this such a winner in my opinion.
And if you’re wondering whether it’s a good choice just know that this is the Sherwin Williams number two best selling paint colour after Agreeable Gray. If that’s not a strong testimonial, I don’t know what is.
4/ Benjamin Moore Natural Cream OC-14
SOURCE: Emma Courtney Home
Next, we have this lovely greige paint. Just as its name suggests Natural Cream definitely leans more towards the creamy side of the neutral palette. If you love Benjamin Moore Edgecomb Gray but can’t live with the violet undertones you might like this. It’s similar in a lot of ways but has undertones of yellow instead, making it warmer and creamier.
If you really want to achieve the look of an all-white kitchen without the starkness, consider Natural Cream. It’s a perfect mix of warm and cool so it ends up working well with almost any colour which makes it perfect for a kitchen.
As I mentioned, we’re dealing with SO many other materials and undertones in a kitchen and this one will help balance things out instead of fighting with the other materials.
5/ Benjamin Moore Edgecomb Gray HC-173
SOURCE: Sita Montgomery Interiors
Lastly, we have one of Benjamin Moore’s most iconic colours, Edgecomb Gray. This has been a cult classic for many years and it’s not going anywhere anytime soon. I would venture to say that this might be one of the best greige paint colours you can find. If you love a colour that lands somewhere between a beige and a soft gray you’ll want to consider this one.
This one actually works well in spaces that don’t have a lot of light which is why it’s so perfect in this small pantry above. It brings its own luminescence and brightness wherever it goes.
This colour is polarizing only when it comes to its undertones. It seems that there’s a raging debate and nobody can really settle on what the undertones truly are. I’ve definitely seen violet and green but if you google the colour you’ll learn that others see blue and even yellow. It’s definitely best to test this one in your space because you’ll want to see what comes out in your own space.
HELPFUL TIPS
1/ TEST
Always test your paint preferences before you get started. You can buy peel and stick samples that can be attached to your walls or cabinets from companies like Hello Paint. You can also buy small test pots at paint stores and paint anything you have around your home. Just make it large enough that you get a true reading from it. Be sure to give yourself a couple of days so that you can watch for changes as the weather changes as well as changes in natural light throughout the day and evening.
2/ GO FOR PEARL
If you’re painting cabinetry you’ll want to be sure you have enough gloss that it’s wipeable. Eggshell can be a good choice if you don’t have small children with messy fingers that require constant cleaning. Go for pearl finish for great wipeability without too much sheen. If you love a glossy look go for semi-gloss but I wouldn’t recommend going any higher than that unless you really want a shiny cabinet.
3/ CREATE A MAP
If you’re hiring a painter you won’t need to worry about this. If you’re a DIY lover who wants to tackle this themselves just be careful when removing the cabinet doors. They may all hang a bit differently so you want to ensure you have assigned them each a number and created a map so they go back to the spot they came from. As you’re removing them, add a small piece of tape to the back and give each door a number. Create a map with the corresponding number so it’s easy to know which door goes to which spot after you’ve finished painting.
If you’d like to discuss how a paint consultation can help you decide before jumping into selecting paint colours, reach out. We’d love to speak with you.
If you know your design style but you struggle with which paint to use, take a look at my Made-For-You paint palettes. They take the guesswork out and give you the confidence to get started.
