Do you think white cabinets are a fad?

[bryantpark]

Don't get me wrong, I love them - but I am really torn.  The house we are buying has maple in the kitchen and also the built ins in the family room - they are in very good shape and not that old - but I really want white.  Toying with the idea of refacing them with the new doors, and whatever they do to the frames.  DH wants to scrap the family room built ins anyway, they are a little too contemporary for our taste. 

But I just keep seeing white kitchen after white kitchen on Houzz and it's just making me think I might regret it 10 years down the road.  Is it everlasting or possible a trend that will start to feel dated down the road?

[moonlight]

I think white cabinets are timeless. That said, I think the style of cabinets has potential to look dated rather than the color. Dark wood was popular in the 70s and it's popular again now but the styles are totally different. However, I think for the most part white is always in style.

[pitterwoo]

I agree that it's the cabinet style that will look potentially dated in time. That and also the backsplash and the countertops are much more likely to go out of style. If you love white, go for it. If you feel like you're just drawn to it because you see lots of pretty pictures of white kitchens, you might want to spend more time thinking about what your dream kitchen really looks like.

[auntie]

When I remodeled my first kitchen, 21 years ago, I was very sensitive to the notion of changing ideals in design. Instead of limiting my idea clip file to new magazines and books (this was pretty much pre-internet decorating), I went to the library and immersed myself in old magazines from the post WWII era up throught the early 1980s.

My take away was that clean designs in white are probably as close to a LBD for your kitchen as exists. You can swap out the counter tops, the backsplash, the flooring, the appliances and the acessories and refresh a set of white cabinets very easily.

[bryantpark]

What about with kids? Are they practical from a mess standpoint? I guess I am just trying to talk myself out of it because it seems wasteful to scrap what is there - but that said, we have some time before we move it so I want to nail down as much as possible while the house is vacant. I would also add that the kitchen is a little dark so it would help to brighten it up.

[treedimensional]

Jul 20, 2014 6:37:06 GMT -5 bryantpark said:

What about with kids? Are they practical from a mess standpoint? I guess I am just trying to talk myself out of it because it seems wasteful to scrap what is there - but that said, we have some time before we move it so I want to nail down as much as possible while the house is vacant. I would also add that the kitchen is a little dark so it would help to brighten it up.

This would be a hurdle for me as well. If the cabinets are new or like new, meet your needs for functionality, and are not ugly, I'd have some kind of moral imperative to work with them and try to brighten up my kitchen by other means.

As someone who used to have white cabinets, all I can say is they're like white underwear. They show everything.

I have new cabinets now and I clean them a LOT but I'm very very glad they aren't white anymore.

[whitemerlot]

I painted my kitchen cabinets white in 2001 and we lived there until 2013. We were painting over very dark, almost black stained 1980s cabinets. It looked much better than the old, outdated cabinets.

We had kids and a dog and I felt like the cabinets were kind of a lot of work to keep clean. I have old oak cabinets now, and I don't think I would want to deal with painting those ever.

I like to book of white cabinets okay, but I wouldn't put them in myself again.

[whitemerlot]

Duplicate

[Deleted]

White is timeless. I live in old farmhouse country and a lot of those houses that weren't updated had white years ago, including my parents (in really cool metal actually).

However in this day and age, I do think white is impossible to keep clean. I mean my maple stained ones are just as dirty, but at least I don't see it..ha.

I do think the color on the cabinets trend is well..trendy..though. But I think we all knew that.

[bryantpark]

Attachment DeletedOk so here is the kitchen - our plans include new counters and flooring, and reworking the island to a long rectangle with built in microwave and wine/bev fridge. We will also update the stove and double oven (not pictured to the left of dishwasher). The bottom cabs are square pattern the tops have an arch - I don't love the arch.

[whitemerlot]

I like your cabinets. I wouldn't paint them. I'd trade you for my orange 1987 oak in a heartbeat.

[bryantpark]

Jul 20, 2014 8:10:57 GMT -5 whitemerlot said:

I like your cabinets. I wouldn't paint them. I'd trade you for my orange 1987 oak in a heartbeat.

Wasn't thinking paint. I was going to do the refacing with the brand-new doors in the style I like and then I believe they do some sort of lamination process over the frames. But the new doors would be solid hardwood doors.

[Deleted]

I really like those cabinets too. I think they're beautiful!
I think the problem right now with them is the paint color on the wall in combo with the counter. It's all just so light and neutral and blah. I bet once you remodel they'll look a ton better.
I also think what you have is a pretty "normal" cabinet design...I don't think you're going to find much drastically different/not close to that anyways.
I like arches though so take my opinion FWIW.

[marina007]

I think white cabinets are really classic - and will make the kitchen look a lot fresher!

We've had white cabinets in both our previous apartments and new (old) house - but they've been high gloss and super easy to clean, as long as you wipe them as soon as something spills. Defo incentivizes cleaning which I need .

[pumpkin]

I agree with everyone who has said that style impacts the 'old' aspect for me more than the color. I currently have white cabinets and love them; I grew up with beautiful wood cabinets and loved those too and would be happy to have either in my home.

like your cabinets. As dairy suggested maybe more color in the room would help?

[kaylie]

Jul 20, 2014 8:26:59 GMT -5 bryantpark said:

Jul 20, 2014 8:10:57 GMT -5 whitemerlot said:

I like your cabinets. I wouldn't paint them. I'd trade you for my orange 1987 oak in a heartbeat.

Wasn't thinking paint. I was going to do the refacing with the brand-new doors in the style I like and then I believe they do some sort of lamination process over the frames. But the new doors would be solid hardwood doors.

I'm not sure if you've already gotten quotes for refacing yet, but it's nearly the same cost as buying all new low-end cabinets. A friend of mine was quoted $17K for a kitchen a bit smaller than yours.

Our base cabinets were very similar to yours and we went ahead and painted them white. It was a lot of work to DIY, but totally worth it. They took the paint very well and look great now.

As far as how practical they are, I don't really mind being able to see when they're dirty because I give them a quick spray and wipe off the mess as it occurs. I much prefer that to having cabinets that hide the mess.

[TBM]

Jul 20, 2014 12:15:55 GMT -5 kaylie said:

Jul 20, 2014 8:26:59 GMT -5 bryantpark said:

Wasn't thinking paint. I was going to do the refacing with the brand-new doors in the style I like and then I believe they do some sort of lamination process over the frames. But the new doors would be solid hardwood doors.

I'm not sure if you've already gotten quotes for refacing yet, but it's nearly the same cost as buying all new low-end cabinets. A friend of mine was quoted $17K for a kitchen a bit smaller than yours.

Professional refacing is crazy expensive.    Our neighbors at our old house had their kitchen done, and we priced out new cabinets for less than they spent on refacing.

Before we moved we ordered custom doors from a refacing place online, and the materials to reface the face frame ourselves.   It was ridiculously reasonable compared to either of the other options, and really updated the cabinets nicely.  We ordered the paint that they used on the doors to take care of some other things, and it was Sherwin Williams enamel that was seriously amazing.  The cabinets really looked nice and seemed really durable-we sold right away and didn't get a chance to see how well they wore, but they seemed pretty durable, even newly done.

[cjeanette]

Jul 20, 2014 6:37:06 GMT -5 bryantpark said:

What about with kids? Are they practical from a mess standpoint? I guess I am just trying to talk myself out of it because it seems wasteful to scrap what is there - but that said, we have some time before we move it so I want to nail down as much as possible while the house is vacant. I would also add that the kitchen is a little dark so it would help to brighten it up.

I have had them in both my kitchens so all of my kids lives.  Short of the cabinet that holds the trash can they don't really get dirty.

[Deleted]

I've had friends with kids and white cabinets/kitchens and all they can say is "DEAR GOD, NO!" I agree with treedimensional, they show everything. Our cabinets are that color and while it's not necessarily my favorite, I think they're really pretty and they don't honestly show dirt much and they keep the color scheme light and airy.

[simpsongal]

Those cabinets look very nice - I think it will look great once you upgrade the counters, island, and add a backsplash (and new lighting over the island

As for white cabinets - I vote timeless. I painted mine and although they get dirty, I don't really mind.

[starburst604]

Jul 20, 2014 12:15:55 GMT -5 kaylie said:

Jul 20, 2014 8:26:59 GMT -5 bryantpark said:

Wasn't thinking paint. I was going to do the refacing with the brand-new doors in the style I like and then I believe they do some sort of lamination process over the frames. But the new doors would be solid hardwood doors.

I'm not sure if you've already gotten quotes for refacing yet, but it's nearly the same cost as buying all new low-end cabinets. A friend of mine was quoted $17K for a kitchen a bit smaller than yours.

Our base cabinets were very similar to yours and we went ahead and painted them white. It was a lot of work to DIY, but totally worth it. They took the paint very well and look great now.

As far as how practical they are, I don't really mind being able to see when they're dirty because I give them a quick spray and wipe off the mess as it occurs. I much prefer that to having cabinets that hide the mess.

That's exactly the quote we got for our pretty small kitchen. I was shocked. They said about 21k for replacing them altogether.

I really love white cabinets and while they're very trendy right now, I don't see them looking dated over time. Will they show dirt, yeah, but that doesn't deter me.

[jillybean222]

Jul 20, 2014 6:37:06 GMT -5 bryantpark said:

What about with kids? Are they practical from a mess standpoint? I guess I am just trying to talk myself out of it because it seems wasteful to scrap what is there - but that said, we have some time before we move it so I want to nail down as much as possible while the house is vacant. I would also add that the kitchen is a little dark so it would help to brighten it up.

I skipped white in my kitchen this time around (kids are 7, 5, and almost 3).  I had white before and I was ready for a change but I also had trouble keeping it clean.

[boiler717]

I love white cabinets and while trendy, I think they are timeless. I can't say I worried about them getting dirty but haven't noticed an issue keeping them clean, either.

[eponee]

I usually really dislike timber cabinets in any room of the house, but I quite like yours. I think once you paint the walls, change the flooring and get a new bench tops and island bench, your kitchen will be stunning!

[bryantpark]

These comments are very helpful! Meeting with contractor next Monday so we'll see what he thinks too. I'll update with what we decide! Thanks everyone!

[dr.girlfriend]

If you like the layout of the cabinets and all, I would just paint (or rather, hire someone to paint them for me).

[jena]

Jul 20, 2014 8:26:59 GMT -5 bryantpark said:

Jul 20, 2014 8:10:57 GMT -5 whitemerlot said:

I like your cabinets. I wouldn't paint them. I'd trade you for my orange 1987 oak in a heartbeat.

Wasn't thinking paint. I was going to do the refacing with the brand-new doors in the style I like and then I believe they do some sort of lamination process over the frames. But the new doors would be solid hardwood doors.

So you were wanting to reface wood cabinets with laminate? Because they either paint them or they can cover them in white plastic, I'm not sure how else that would work. Honestly I think it would be expensive and look cheap.  I really like your current cabinets, they aren't super amazing, but they are nice.

If you want them to be white, they need to be painted. 

I think white cabinets are timeless. I've had them in 3 houses, all with kids. In house #2 it was a very stark white - that was a mistake and showed dirt very easily. In the other 2 houses I had/have creamy white and it doesn't show dirt badly at all.  The only thing I notice is when DH drips/spills/splatters coffee all over the place which seems to happen way more often than it should. The 3 kids at home don't really get them dirty at all.

[bryantpark]

Jul 21, 2014 0:13:57 GMT -5 jena said:

Jul 20, 2014 8:26:59 GMT -5 bryantpark said:

Wasn't thinking paint. I was going to do the refacing with the brand-new doors in the style I like and then I believe they do some sort of lamination process over the frames. But the new doors would be solid hardwood doors.

So you were wanting to reface wood cabinets with laminate? Because they either paint them or they can cover them in white plastic, I'm not sure how else that would work. Honestly I think it would be expensive and look cheap.  I really like your current cabinets, they aren't super amazing, but they are nice.

If you want them to be white, they need to be painted. 

I think white cabinets are timeless. I've had them in 3 houses, all with kids. In house #2 it was a very stark white - that was a mistake and showed dirt very easily. In the other 2 houses I had/have creamy white and it doesn't show dirt badly at all.  The only thing I notice is when DH drips/spills/splatters coffee all over the place which seems to happen way more often than it should. The 3 kids at home don't really get them dirty at all.

No they give you brand new wood doors and just cover the frames with a veneer. I haven't seen it in person yet but obviously don't want it to look cheap.

[juliahenry]

I have almost identical cabinets in my kitchen and I feel pretty similarly about them. When we started our kitchen fix-up, I posted on here and the advice I was given was to change everything else that we were planning to change before deciding that the cabinets needed to be changed.

They were right. A new backsplash and wall color, changing the furniture and drawer pulls, and fixing up little things and it's not the same room. The cabinets look 100% better when surrounded by colors and finishes that I love. They're not my dream cabinets, but they're perfectly ok and they are staying. I'm glad I didn't spend the $ before it was absolutely necessary

Fix the other stuff and then look at the cabinets in your new kitchen. They're good cabinets, they aren't especially dated and they are a nice neutral color. With a different wall, backsplash, hardware, and maybe counters, you might be surprised

[msmerymac]

The are timeless with the caveat that obviously something will come along in a few years which will be the new trend, the way cherry and dark maple were last decade, and blond wood was in the early 90s. I think in the mid-aughts the number of people who preferred white cabinets was less than 1/3 of house hunters, now I'd imagine it's a bit more, given the fact that they are in-style. But there will always be people who like them, and there will always be ways to do minimal updates to make them look good and stylish in a kitchen.

But like others said, they have been popular always. I have white kitchen cabinets that were probably installed in the 40s, and my grandmother had white cabinets in the house she built in 1950 and then when she refaced the kitchen in the late 80s/early 90s.

I personally love white cabinets, partially because of the timeless look, or the fact that they fit in well with my 1920s house (and can fit in well with a 1900 house, a 1955 house, or a more recent build). They make smaller spaces look bright, light and bigger, unlike the dark wood cabinets that were super popular 10 years ago.