mixing it up with cabinet colors

Ever since I found this inspiration image for my parents' kitchen redo, I've been noticing this trend of different-colored uppers and lowers.


For a while we saw islands that stood out in a different shade, or a china cabinet in a contrasting color, but now it's the entire kitchen of the uppers and lowers that are mixing it up. I like this trend of not matching finishes/colors (just as I like getting away from matching upper closed cabinets all together). What do you think? Do you like? Would you do this in your home?

coastal living

bhg

apartment therapy

house & home

cottage living

Most examples I found had white cabinets on top and the deeper color on the bottom. It's hard to imagine this reversed. You just wouldn't want your kitchen looking top-heavy. But if you've seen an example, I would love to see how it works, so please share!

house beautiful

I thought about this for our kitchen, as I really like how it feels less predictable and more eclectic. But for our small kitchen, with a lot of finishes already going on, I'm worried it'd break up the space too much and make it feel that much smaller and busy. I still file this under "like" though and even "would like to do someday"!

11 comments

Kim@Chattafabulous said...

I love this look and considered painting my lowers gray and uppers white. But in the end, I went with all white, and I like that too!
www.chattafabulous.blogspot.com

Meg said...

I love this trend too. I think I like it so much because it makes the cabinetry feel more furniture-like. And since we now use the kitchen as a living space too, this makes sense.

The Vintique Object said...

I also love the way it looks (duh, I did it myself), but in the end, I think you'll be happy you chose one color for uppers and lowers because it is timeless, not trendy.

Camille

Ashley said...

Just as you said, Casey, the combination of contrasting cabinets feels less predictable. And certainly if you get tired of the look over time, it is easy enough to change with a can of paint.

Shawna said...

I would definitely do this. I like the images from bhg and apartment therapy best and I love how the one from bhg has some of that aqua on the upper cabinets as well right beside a cabinet that is white. I love the look of an unfitted kitchen so I like something that breaks up a huge wall of cabinets. I also love the grey and white one that you are inspired by to redo your parents' kitchen.

Ispirato Design said...

Funny I thought the same thing for our kitchen. I love the look but for our small kitchen I think it would only make it appear smaller. beautiful images!

René said...

I really love this look and would do it in a heartbeat if I had more time & energy. I think it is a great way to ease into painted cabinets for those who have cabinets with a wooden finish like in the second and last images.

Holly Gruszka said...

I love mixing it up like this. And I really love the bold contrast - black on the base and white on the upper or the teal is really pretty. I love that your parents went for it and did the look too - it looks awesome.

My Many Moments said...

I so wish I could baint our cabinets but we have new maple cabs and the husband can't get on board. I can't wait to see the color you choose.

casacaudill said...

We had the ugly 80s oak in our kitchen when we moved it. I immediately set out to paint everything white. Six years later I'm realizing how dirty white cabinets can get - especially around the sink and the stove - so I'm thinking about painting the lower cabinets gray, black, or a green-gray-taupe. The only problem is that I have ugly marble tiles that pull pink so trying to find something that won't clash is quite the project in and of itself.

Mountainmama said...

I'm late to leave a comment, but I am doing this to my kitchen now. We are doing white uppers and a dark maple on the island and all base cabinets. I agree with the post that says white around sinks gets dirty, which is my main reason for it. I have young kids and a dog to consider. We are really excited as construction starts soon. I think the key is to keep things neutral. The contrast in cabinets should be your only contrast in the raw materials. We're doing white quartz counters and white subway. So you should only really notice the beautiful cabinetry - and we have a super small 9x10 kitchen. Cheers!