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minnieknight

Grey stained cabinets

MinnieKnight
11 years ago

Hello everyone,

First time posting..I am getting a house built (not custom) and had originally picked out white painted maple cabs on the perimeter with an espresso island, but my husband says he "hates" white cabinets. We settled on grey as a compromise, but I am not sure if I should still go with the espresso island or change the color to cream or white. I am afraid this cabinet color is too close to all the stainless steel it will be juxtaposed to. Any advice?

thanks very much.

Here is a link that might be useful: flickrphotogrey

Comments (20)

  • CEFreeman
    11 years ago

    Have you considered antiquing those or something? The first thing that comes to mind is "industrial" or "commercial".

    I would definitely put in some wood to warm it up.

    Do you have your other finishes picked out?

  • MinnieKnight
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    The oak floors will be sanded/stained with Jacobean and the island, I was going to go with a walnut stain, and for the countertops, (which I haven't picked yet) I was envisioning a white granite or quartzite.
    I am just trying to imagine a wall of gray(see above) and it's not making me feel happy. I might just have to go back to my original white cabinets. Do you think the gray will work as an island, or should I just scrap it. Thanks for the input, CEFreeman, "industrial" is not what I am going for at all. Oh, for the appliances, we will be putting in a Bluestar rangetop, Modernaire range hood, and Wolf ovens. GW is awesome. I have learned so much in the past couple of months.

  • CEFreeman
    11 years ago

    I was thinking about this again last night. (I need a life.) But the word I really couldn't find was "institutional".

    I'm glad you're going to have some very warm wood. White counter tops will be nice and clean, and complete (to me) a very sterile look if you use these as all your cupboards. If you did go to white, it would lean towards that OTK everyone moans over. :) Again, the wood would warm that up and be very classic.

    I definitely think gray would work on the island. Somehow white cabinets (if not stark white) look cleaner and less ... cold. Again, more classic.

    But really, what do I know? It would help if you'd start to get your pieces together and post them here. Far better decorators than I can help!

  • northcarolina
    11 years ago

    Is it the white or the idea of painted cabinets he doesn't like? If it's the paint, then neither of you is likely to be totally content with the gray cabinets.

    This is just me -- I find gray a bit depressing. Might have something to do with the colors and lighting in the rest of my house, because I have certainly seen photos of gray that is rich and beautiful in other people's houses, but I didn't like any of the gray tile I brought home. So if you want to change the gray, you have at least one person on your side. :) But if you keep gray, you might think about going for a darker/warmer shade of it and adding some wood somewhere else as Christine says.

    My DH was strongly in favor of white (instead of wood) cabinets -- go figure.

  • CEFreeman
    11 years ago

    I was still thinking about this.

    That photo looks like a painted cabinet, not stained. If it's either, you can change the finish. But if you're paying for them, get something you want in the first place.

    It's just such a pale gray it doesn't seem to have much character to me. I hope IRL that's not the case. Perhaps something with more depth?

    C.

  • suzanne_sl
    11 years ago

    If you don't love the gray, time to re-think. How do you/he feel about a pale blue or green? There are several kitchens here which have gone that way, so you should be able to find photos. No? How about going to a light wood, like a birch? Or how about a different shade of gray? Here's one I found on Houzz (while trying to find out what color Jacobean is):

    [Contemporary Kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2103) by Seattle Architect knowles ps

    This is an awfully big (and sort of permanent) purchase to move on if you're not quite happy with the color. Keep thinking. I put "wood floors jacobean" into Google and came up with a whole raft of photos on Houzz which show lots of colors with that gorgeous floor. Here's one more:

    [Contemporary Kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2103) by Charleston Architect Christopher A Rose AIA, ASID

  • 1929Spanish
    11 years ago

    On my monitor, that cabinet looks painted with uneven color. I expected to see a "clear" stain that shows wood grain as well.

    I'm also not a fan of gray, but that is purely personal. You have to choose a total look that both you and your husband like.

    My suggestion is that you give it a few more days to think about the kitchen cabinets in the total picture before you make a decision. It seems like you are piece-mealing your very big (and expensive) decision.

  • kompy
    11 years ago

    Grey comes and goes, white (or off white) is timeless, IMHO. Grey cabinets can make for a striking kitchen....search for them on houzz! But even when I see a gorgeous grey kitchen, I think....I would get tired of that quickly.

  • wizardnm
    11 years ago

    Two years ago I intended to go with natural white birch cabinets. Then I started seeing posts all over the net about grey becoming the new neutral. I fell in love with grey.

    In my kitchen I wanted to keep my cabinets light and I wanted to see the wood grain. Painted cabs were not for me as I do like the warmth of wood and I also wanted to do the cabs with a horizontal grain with slab doors. There was nothing in the showrooms in grey other than grey painted.
    I did get quotes on natural birch and the two places I liked the best gave me estimates within $500.00. The estimates were the same layout but one was from a true custom maker and the other claimed custom but used stock sizes and had some spacers. I went with the custom guy and I am so happy I did. When I asked him about doing a grey stain, he said no problem. He did about 20 samples of grey stain, trying to capture my vision.

    I have now been living with the finished cabs for about 1 1/2 years. I find them calming, not cold, not institutional and I am so happy I went in the direction I did.

    Here is a wall of cabs....

    A shot of the other walls. I am getting ready to change the wall color to a softer shade of either aqua or grey and am looking for a slab of granite for the backsplash behind the cook top.

  • mermanmike
    11 years ago

    Minnie--I really like gray cabinets. The pictures I see with gray cabs always grab me regardless of the other details. I initially wanted green cabinets, but my partner hated the idea and so we, like you, compromised on gray.

    We ordered the gray cabs after lots of good folks here helped me finalized some of my choices. Well, two days after I placed the cabinets order, my partner and I both woke up regretting it for reasons some have mentioned: it is something that comes and goes and that we may get sick of quickly. Since we don't want to redo our kitchen in 5 or 10 years and since we may sell this house around that time, we decided to make a frantic call to our supplier and change the color. For what it's worth, we ultimately went with a very creamy light color that Medallion calls white chocolate. I am not trying to tell you that you shouldn't do gray, but if you're doubting yourself at all, trust your gut. To me, my new color doesn't read white, but I don't know how light would be too light for your husband.

  • MinnieKnight
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Wow,
    Thanks for all the input! The only element I know "for sure" as of right now is the floor and the appliances. I am attaching the picture of the floor (builder sample).It is Minwax Jacobean 2750. The cabinet maker is Decora. My DH wants high gloss, very modern stuff that just isn't possible with Decora. So it's up to me to sell him on white cabs. Wizard, I love your kitchen, your grey is calm and soothing, especially with that blue. I think my cab color looks like it might have a green undertone compared to your cabs, which i definitely do not want.
    I have thought about going with a very light maple, but I think white would look prettier.

  • MinnieKnight
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    I love this kitchen from Houzz. I could live with that grey.
    :)

  • CEFreeman
    11 years ago

    I love the darker grain, wizardnm. I also love the contrast in your kitchen, which makes it warm.

    Minwax Jacobean is usually much darker, Miniknight and makes the grain more subtle! Make certain you get what you're choosing. I'm considering that stain for the interior doors I'm stripping. But on the darker side! I'm not one who's married to the cookie cutter ebony kitchens, either. (No offense. They're beautiful, but like white, pretty common right now.)

    Anyway, don't be pressured into anything that doesn't ring with the Ah HA! moment.

  • MinnieKnight
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Kaysd,
    I love those cabinets too! They're alreay in my ideabook :) DH and I are discussing not going with Decora, we need to find out from the builder if they would accomodate that.
    Staying with builder options really limits our choices.
    I will keep researching until I have that final "aha" moment.
    Freeman, thanks for letting me know about the Jacobean stain--the model has the same floor, and it's much darker than the example! Didn't realize that until you pointed that out.

  • feisty68
    10 years ago

    Reviving this thread to ask if Wizard can share how the wonderful grey-stained cabinets were done? That is exactly what I want but I don't know how to go about getting it. It's hard to find grey-stained slab door inspiration :)

  • CEFreeman
    10 years ago

    Ahh!
    I'd like to know, too! :)

  • feisty68
    10 years ago

    Anyone else have grey-stained cabinet formulations they'd be willing to share?

    Here's my inspiration photo, but I have no idea how to achieve it. I can hardly stand how awesome it is :)

    Here is a link that might be useful: kitchen by German architect Thomas Bendel

  • CEFreeman
    10 years ago

    That is a beautiful kitchen.
    How are you going to emulate it?

  • feisty68
    10 years ago

    CEFreeman, isn't it swoon-worthy? I don't have the architecture for that look, unfortunately. In my humble small kitchen, I will be incorporating:

    * white walls
    * trying to recreate the greystained slab cabinet fronts
    * wood floors
    * minimal uppers (just above fridge in my case)
    * an "unkitchen* look
    * art in the kitchen

    I'd love input on my plan if you're up for it - it's the thread entitled "take a peek at my "soft modern" small kitchen design?"