Kitchen cabinet help (update in comments)

[lavenderblue]

btw I'm fka sameoldstory

I'm smack in the middle of updating my kitchen and I'm suddenly having decision paralysis and I need help. My exH never really helped with these types of decisions but he was at least another adult to bounce ideas off of. 

My plan is to paint the smaller cabinet section (the fridge side) SW Cape Verde to match what has already been done in the pantry. The cabinets on the other side of the kitchen (the sink side) will be white. The countertops have already been ordered so not going back. I ordered Steel Gray Granite and will be leathered instead of shiny. I'm undecided on backsplash, but am leaning towards 2x8 white tiles in a herringbone pattern. The wall color is SW Tidewater and is staying. The floors are staying for now but will eventually be updated. They were just put in 3 years ago but have not held up well. I'm sticking with a stainless steel sink but the new faucet will be black. The appliances are all stainless steel and less than 2 years old. 

Below are my questions and then some photos that hopefully help. 

1. All of the trim on my first floor is painted SW Pure White. Do my cabinets need to match that color or can I do a different white? If different, what would you choose based on my paint colors pictured below? 
2. Do the backsplash on both sides of my kitchen have to match? Would it look weird to do the same tile but in different colors? So maybe a lighter tile on the small side and a darker tile on the bigger side?
3. What are the thoughts about open cabinetry? Once I took off the doors on the uppers on either side of the window, I really like the way it looks. I would obviously have to do some rearranging, but would that look okay? The small cabinet above the stove is getting removed and made smaller to accommodate a microwave, that will already be open. If I did go the route of leaving the doors off, I would keep them in case in the future I ever change my mind. 
4. I am open to suggestions on anything I might be missing. 

[lavenderblue]

[lavenderblue]

[Susie]

Jan 22, 2024 14:01:44 GMT -5 lavenderblue said:

My plan is to paint the smaller cabinet section SW Cape Verde to match what has already been done in the pantry.  Just to clarify, which section is the "smaller" section?  The fridge side?

The cabinets on the other side of the kitchen will be white.  so, the sink side cabinets will be white?

The countertops have already been ordered so not going back. I ordered Steel Gray Granite and will be leathered instead of shiny. I'm undecided on backsplash, but am leaning towards 2x8 white tiles in a herringbone pattern. The wall color is SW Tidewater and is staying. The floors are staying for now but will eventually be updated. They were just put in 3 years ago but have not held up well. I'm sticking with a stainless steel sink but the new faucet will be black. 

Below are my questions and then some photos that hopefully help. 

1. All of the trim on my first floor is painted SW Pure White. Do my cabinets need to match that color or can I do a different white? If different, what would you choose based on my paint colors pictured below?  I would prefer that they match.  If they don't, you'd want to make sure that neither makes the other look really gray, really yellow, etc.  That can easily happen if they differ.  If you are introducing a 3rd white in the backsplash, that could get hard to pull together, quickly.

2. Do the backsplash on both sides of my kitchen have to match? Would it look weird to do the same tile but in different colors? So maybe a lighter tile on the small side and a darker tile on the bigger side?  You mean the fridge side and the sink side?  Especially if you're considering painting those areas differently (teal vs. white) I do think the backsplash should be the same.  Otherwise it will look like they were done completely separately with nothing tying the two sides of the room together.  I think painting them differently already runs some risk of that.  

3. What are the thoughts about open cabinetry? Once I took off the doors on the uppers on either side of the window, I really like the way it looks. I would obviously have to do some rearranging, but would that look okay? The small cabinet above the stove is getting removed and made smaller to accommodate a microwave, that will already be open. If I did go the route of leaving the doors off, I would keep them in case in the future I ever change my mind.  Open shelving is definitely a specific look that has a place, and it's not a wrong choice.  I personally hated my brief taste of it when I had the doors off cabinets at my old house while I was painting them.  In cabinets that held groceries, I didn't like the look or the requirement to keep organized and pretty.  In cabinets that held dishes and glasses, I didn't like the dust that gathered on less frequently used pieces.  If you leave the doors off, you will also need to paint the insides of the cabinets.  I think you can skip that if you put the doors back on.  Painting the insides is a lot of added work.

4. I am open to suggestions on anything I might be missing.  I think the colors are lovely.  When doing two colors of cabinets I generally prefer upper/lower or cabinets/island, rather than opposite sides of the room. Would you consider doing the lower cabinets on the sink side in the teal too?

[lavenderblue]

Susie, yes - the small side is the "fridge" side and the large side is the "sink" side.

I'm not opposed to doing the dark color on the bottom and the white on top in both sections. I should add that on the backside of the peninsula, I'm actually closing that off with a wainscotting. Only one of the "drawers" is actually a drawer and so I'm just going to flip that around to the other side, and I can actually access everything else from doors on the other side.

Thank you also for the perspective about open cabinets.

[momin2013]

I really like your colours!

1. I'd stick with the SW Pure White for the cabinets you're painting white.

2. I would absolutely keep the backsplash the same within the kitchen.

3. I am not a fan of open cabinetry, mainly because I it rarely looks "neat" to me. I think you have to have the perfect stackable/organizable items inside, and I've rarely seen that be the case. That said, that's up to your own personal taste, so if you're happy with how your looks and functions so far, I'd say go ahead with the rest of them.

4. Just looking at the lower part of your peninsula. Do you have no doors at all, even on lower cabinets, or are those going back once they're been painted? ETA: ah, I think you just answered this above. I think wainscoting will look nice there!

[kitty]

Jan 22, 2024 14:01:44 GMT -5 lavenderblue said:

1. I agree with Susie that I wouldn't introduce a third white by having the trim, tile, and cabinets all be different whites. I'd stick with Pure White especially since you already know how it will look with the wall color.
2. I think there has to be something that either ties the two sides of the kitchen together (counter/backsplash/hardware) or you need to completely lean into making the Cape Verde side its own thing. Usually you see the uppers white and the bottoms a deeper color uniformly throughout the kitchen but I'm not sure that trend has any staying power. My first thought was to try to make the small side feel more like a built in hutch by using shiplap or beadboard as a backsplash and painting it Cape Verde to match the uppers and lowers. This way it would be completely different than the white side but hopefully seem very intentional.
3. I get the appeal especially in a smaller space but I'd be worried about stuff getting dusty or getting cooking residue on it on the side with the stove. Are you handy enough to try routering out the center of the doors and add glass? Or order new doors from a place like semihandmade.com (or somewhere with even more custom options) with glass to give that more open feel without having them actually be open?

[momin2013]

Just thought of another idea re the Cape Verde. If you're going to go with the open cabinet look, how about painting all of the cabinets white, but paint the back wall of them Cape Verde, so you're pulling that colour in, but doing it consistently in the cabinets, vs. having some cabinets white and others Cape Verde.

[lavenderblue]

Here is a picture of the other side of the peninsula. The drawer on the right functions and the door on the left is a "dummy". On the flip side is a functioning drawer, so I'm just going to turn it around so both drawers on this side are functioning. From the three doors below I am able to access everything underneath, so I'm going to install the wainscotting on the other side to close off the other doors.

 

[deadwing]

I would either paint all cabinets the same color or divide by upper/lower rather than side of room. I'm having a hard time believing it will come together cohesively that way.

Personally, I would avoid open shelving because I know I wouldn't be good at keeping it looking neat.

I would do a single style/color of backsplash for the whole room.

Are you going to replace the hardware on the cabinets? I think that could be a simple change that would have a big impact.

[lavenderblue]

deadwing , I actually replaced all the handles when we moved in 8 years ago (the picture above is the listing photo and before I updated the handles) and will probably stick with those. As for the hinges, I think I'm going to paint them. They are original and while I can find replacements, they are cost prohibitive with my current budget. I could upgrade to a new style but that would work without a lot of extra prep on my part. We'll see how the painting goes  

[origami]

I would not paint my cabinets a certain color white unless I really loved that color on the cabinets. I’m not familiar with the shade you mentioned but if it’s too white and doesn’t go with your other colors then I’d choose a white I liked and redo the trim (if needed). My kitchen trim is off-white to match my cabinets and it’s not noticeable that it’s different from the rest of the house. I especially wouldn’t worry about different shades if it’s just floor trim and not floor + crown.

I don’t know that white uppers and cape verde lowers would look right together. I’d honestly hire a designer for an hour or 2 to figure that out before pulling that trigger. A fun hutch color is a little easier to roll with but still needs to match.

Definitely same backsplash throughout.

[lavenderblue]

I just wanted to say thank you for all of the advice given here and provide a quick update. I went with SW Pure White for the uppers to keep the whites consistent on my main floor. I also went with doing the lowers SW Cape Verde instead of splitting it by side of the room. I did decide against doing any open cabinetry, but the doors are still being painting which is why they haven't been installed yet. I will be doing the same backsplash in all areas, but I do still need to pick out the tile. I’m leaning towards a light grey color, but we’ll see what looks at the store with my paint samples.

[nicolewi]

I think you made great decisions!

[k3am]

It looks great! If you can, see if you can buy a couple sample tiles of your front runner (or if you're looking at a local tile store, they may let you borrow samples to bring home). We found that backsplash tiles that we LOVED in the store didn't seem as great when we got them home and viewed them against the actual painted walls, counter and lighting as they did when viewed against samples we took into the store. The one we ended up going with was one neither of us liked much but our designer snuck into the mix without us really noticing.

[dr.girlfriend]

Looking good! I would do a patterned tile since everything is solid so far, and then you can bring in a few of the colors.