Hi Bees,
When picking out our kitchen cabinetry, I was shocked to hear from the consultant that most new home owners picked out dark kitchen cabinetry instead of the white ones. I had been researching on kitchens through houzz and decorpad and more often than not, I see pictures of white/light cabinetry rather than darker ones.
Needless to say, I fell in love with white shaker style cabinetry which unfortunately wasn't one of the options available to choose from. We ended up choosing the chocolate mocha in shaker style putting my heart in turmoil. I'm hoping I could love it so as to save money from hiring the professional to refinish it.
How about you? Do you prefer the white or dark kitchen cabinetry and why? Is it tougher to maintain white cabinetry? Thanks for sharing your thoughts! :)
You know, white cabinets to me always seemed really 90s/cheap/ikea-ish to me. So I loooooooooooved the cabinets in my kitchen. But in the last year or so I've noticed a resurgance of white cabinets (although it seems more refinished rather than brand new white) on decor blogs and they are beautiful! I don't know that I could pick a favorite right now. I think both can be done beautifully. Here are my dark cabinets, btw.
I love dark wood. even though I don't cook, how the kitchen looks to me is important and if I could, dark cherry wood yum. I say "if I could" because I'm renting for now.
Dark stained cabinets. Lighter oak ones, honey oak, aren't so bad either (if it's done right) Can't stand white cabinets
While I do love Dark Wood because it seems "richer" - there is one thing that tops that. Antique White.
Behold:
I anticipate that just like the dark wood took over the white cabinets, Antique White will take over the dark wood within a few years.
Well our cabinets are white and I liked them when we moved in but now I rather have dark. White shows dirt so much faster and they get so gross....
I prefer white. I will say that we have white cabinets and they are a b to keep clean.
I prefer dark cabinets, although we went with white ones when we renovated (they were on sale!). FI says will get dark ones when we move into our 'forever' home, though.
My kitchen is done up entirely in shades of caramel through deep brown with teeny tiny tiles in every color in between, and I find it very inviting. I don't like it when a kitchen looks totally sterile, which is a feel that white cabinets seem to impart. Warm tones remind me of eating chocolate dessert or cooking rich brown sauces. Yum!
I love a white kitchen! I think about Meryl Streep's kitchen in It's Complicated. That said, all the houses I look at have a darker cabinet, which I can also appreciate.
@CorgiTales: Thanks for sharing the pic of your current kitchen! I like how you contrast them with a light colour countertop and adding colored vases on top for that pop of colour and vertical space. I had to laugh when I notice that we put our KA stand mixer and cooking oils at the same place! Hehee
@futuremrsk18: Yeah! I was looking more of a creamy white too! Not that cool thermofoil white. Thanks for voicing! :)
@momolove: I'm in LOVE with the antique white, but it hasn't gotten big, yet. Only a few contractors are using it right now and most of the brand new homes going up are dark wood, which I love, too. But, not llike the antique white. The picture doesn't even do it justice, you absolutely have to see it in person. It's gorgeous. I saw a house with it and all I wanted to do was stay in the kitchen. FI can have the master bedroom, I'll sleep in that gorgeous kitchen. *swoon*
@momolove: thanks! i do think contrast is important when you have dark cabinets. you need to make sure that everything else makes them *pop* rather than using too much dark stuff that will make the room look dreary
I'm a fan of wood cabinets and really don't like the look of white. It's really annoying as a lot of the homes on the market here are white. Hopefully when we decide to move in 1-2 years we can find something that isn't..
Right now our kitchen cabinets (and bathrooms) are maple, which I wasn't sure of as first but it's really grown on me. I really like the light wood, but I'm also a fan of dark colors like cherry. As long as it isn't oak I'm pretty happy. I can't stand the old style...
I love a white kitchen. Actually what I really love is a mix of dark stained wood on the bottom cabinets and white uppers. Or a mix of white & grey cabinets.
I love both dark and creamy white. Not stark white like 1999 but like PP have posted. I think both can be equally gorgeous!
I prefer dark cabinets because they are easier to keep clean.
WHITE!! It's so bright and cheerful, especially in the morning. The kitchen is always my first stop -- gotta get coffee brewing. They do show grime, so they need a wipe-down now and then (more the more your cook). But, the dark ones need wiping, too. They just hide the grime so are more likely to stay dirty.
It depends on the actual kitchen/house itself, but I tend to gravitate more towards dark. It just looks classier to me.
We have a compromise in our kitchen. I love white cabinets. I love the way they look, and how light them make a kitchen feel. I also love that you can see when they need to be cleaned. Just because the dirt doesn't show doesn't mean it isn't there, and the idea of dirt and crud on my kitchen cabinets grosses me out.
Still, DH likes oak. His kitchen was all oak when I moved in. The cabinets weren't high quality by any means, but they were oak, and to me they were ugly. Also, our kitchen is so small that the wood closed it in.
So here's the compromise that we came up with and I think it looks great. I get a lot of compliments on our kitchen, because it blends perfectly with our decor and lifestyle.
I prefer stained wood, not painted wood, so that usually means medium-dark colored cabinets.
@Taeyers: Wow! I like how you relate the warmer colours to desserts! I had never thought of it this way!
@CorgiTales: Thanks! Shall bear that in mind! :)
@Ms. Martian: I do agree a mix of both looks really good too! Thanks for sharing some inspirational pics with us! :)
@Loribeth: Wow, a perfect compromise here! You've done it well! Very shabby chic!
@futuremrsk18: I hope you'll get the antique white kitchen of your dreams! :) Kitchens are just so important to the Mrs. I'm like decorating everything around it as it's open concept.
I love how crisp and clean white cabinets look. But I also love dark floors and cabinets. Unfortunately, our home isn't airy and light enough to pull off dark cabinets so I some day hope to re-finish our cabinets to a white finish.
@momolove: thanks!! I know, I feel like they set the tone for the entire house!
White looks great, IF you can keep it clean. Personally, I prefer dark, though.
i prefer the darker cupboards. when it's open to the great room, i find that the darker colour is more soothing for the whole space.
white is nice if your kitchen has it's own room and it makes smaller kitchens look bigger.
there is the option of doing both but i think that trend will fade fast if not already passe.
I perspnally don't like dark cabinets, I prefer white or light colors. Even a light colored wood. Especially if the kitchen is small and closed in.
I prefer darker coloured cabinets - partly because all-white just looks too bright and glaring (especially if you get a lot of sunshine in the kitchen), and also because I hate cleaning, so anything that's gonna show dirt isn't gonna last long in my house!
It depends.
If the kitchen is really outdated ( paint, counter tops, flooring etc) then I'm not a fan of white.....but if its pintrest worthy then it flies with me!
Same for dark. It just depends on the vibe and base features of the kitchen.
@mypinkshoes: Thanks for sharing your perspective!
It really seems that most bees prefer darker cabinetry over the white ones!
@futuremrsk18: I was wondering if this is considered antique white? I'm in love with this!
I think it depends on the kitchen. If you are going either classic (like the pictures above) or country, white works best.
Dark wood looks sophisticated and hides dirt more, but it does darken a room, so you would need good lighting and lighter paint colours for the wall.
I like both. My kitchen is small though, so I think I would have to do white if I were to redo it.
We bought our house about a year ago and it has white cabinets. I've had no problems keeping them clean and absolutely love them. We have dark walls so it's still a very sophisticated look, but the white makes everything look so crisp and clean.
I love white cabinetry. Of course at one time I made custom cabinets, so I'm not sure if that made me biased or not. If I could have anything I wanted I would have this stuff I called rainbow maple or pine (cant remember), it was normal wood but treated with something I cant remember now, and the wood reacted to that chemical by turning some beautiful extremely light pastel rainbow colors in the grain of the wood.
I'd have that and just clear coat it with linseed.
I used to be ALL about dark, but after seeing how gorgeous white cabinets can be, I think I would do that in my house
Unless you are flipping or something, go with what YOU love, versus the trends.
And FWIW, your consultant may be right that dark cabinetry is in vogue right now, but be careful with that because things that are in vogue are also things that are more likely to date quickly. Mark my words, "granite countertop" will very quickly become "sooooo 2003." That doesn't mean you shouldn't go with dark or granite, but my point is, ONLY if YOU love it.
As Eva Peron points out, the color of the cabinets being dark or light is really secondary to the overall style of the kitchen--if your kitchen is outdated in style, it's not going to matter what color the cabinets are.
And after saying alllll that, clean, bright, white kitchens do tend to be more classic by default--they're less likely to go out of style and more likely to be easily updated with changes to hardware and fixtures and things like that.
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