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bunnyemerald

Another white cab/gray counter post

Bunny
12 years ago

I've scoured many white cabinet + gray counter threads, and they've been very helpful. My countertop will be Caesarstone Smoky Ash, which the company calls a bold black but which I call a warm dark gray. There's a bit of brown, but it reads dark gray to me. I have a small kitchen with plenty of upper cabs and lots of natural light (east-facing window). I get direct sun in the morning and reflected light off neighboring buildings until the sun sets.

I was planning to paint the cabs Kelly Moore Swiss Coffee, which is the trim/doors in the rest of my house. I don't hear much about KM on this board since it seems to just be sold in the far western states and Texas. I've gotten some Benjamin Moore samples and painted boards:

Simply White

White Dove

Cloud White

Marscapone

White Dove does seem to have a bit of a gray undertone (as does my Swiss Coffee). What really has thrown me is Simply White, which I like. It's the lightest on the strip that has Camouflage, a soft sage that I have in my bedroom. Does anyone else see green undertones in it, because I don't.

My floors are red oak and have plenty of yellow/gold in them, if that's a factor.

I think my final choice will be one of the above. I welcome your input/opinions.

Comments (22)

  • Fori
    12 years ago

    I did my cabinets in KM "Swiss Coffee" because the previous owners had done all the house's trim in that color and I liked it. That made it easier--having to pick out the right white can be challenging!

    If your kitchen is at all open to the rest of the home, it helps with transitions to have the woodwork the same shade of white.

    So I took the easy way out. If it ain't broke...S. Coffee looked good with my orangey oak floors, my grey counters, and my dark grey kitchen floor as well as with the pastel greens and blues I used.

  • suebr
    12 years ago

    I have used both Dove White for one kitchen and Simply White in my most recent. Both are beautiful whites. I am partial to Simply White. It is extremely warm without having either pink, yellow, or gray undertones, and looks clean and soft. That said, put up samples of each and see how they work given your light and the rest of the room.

  • Bunny
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Thanks guys!

    fori, thanks for chiming in about KM Swiss Coffee. It's the go-to trim color in my area. Your colors sound very much like mine. It is gorgeous against my soft sage bedroom walls.

    bklynmom, of the 4 BM samples, Simply White looks the closest (to me) to Swiss Coffee, maybe a fraction lighter. I think Dove White might have a tad more gray than I'm after.

    I've been putting up samples in my kitchen and there are places where ALL the colors look grayer/yellower/whiter.

    One thing is for sure: the same color paint looks totally different in flat (sample jar) vs. semi-gloss.

    I do believe one could go back and forth endlessly on these decisions. I appreciate your input!

  • rnest44
    12 years ago

    Ask the paint store for the formula of each paint you are considering. You'll know exactly what tints are in each color. I ended up with White Dove but I think Cloud White would have been great too. My white cabinets are an upper run in an interior space.

  • Bunny
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Breezygirl, nobody can figure out how to spell my name, so I get a lot of "Lanelle." I actually pronounce my name that way.

    Interesting about how the colors are grouped on the paint strips. I always thought they were all versions of the same color. Simply White (and Swiss Coffee) definitely go well with Camouflage.

    Your kitchen is lovely. You could probably fit three of mine in it. :) It does make sense to match the same white in adjoining rooms. The painter provides two free samples, so I'll have him do SC and SW.

  • susanlynn2012
    12 years ago

    Owls4me, do you have any pictures of your painted BM White Dove cabinets? I would love to see them.

  • Stacey Collins
    12 years ago

    I'm not Owls4me, but these are my White Dove cabinets (east facing windows/natural light.) I also have red oak floors. (The counter is cherry.)

  • susanlynn2012
    12 years ago

    Staceyneil, I love your cabinets and I love the White Dove in the semi-gloss Aura on them. Thanks for sharing.

  • kitchenkrazed09
    12 years ago

    I absolutely love Simple White and that is usually my first choice for trim or molding in my house. I agree with Bklynmom, there are no pink, yellow or gray undertones to this white and definitely no green. Yet it is still a warm white. I think it would be a good choice.

    I used Cloud White on a bathroom vanity, which is also very pretty, but is a little more creamy (very slight yellow undertone).

    I also looked at White Dove and Mascarpone. White Dove is very pretty, but does have a gray undertone. Mascarpone had a pink undertone, if I remember correctly. I do remember not liking it as much as the others. Hope this helps!

  • Bunny
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    (I don't know why I was calling Mascarpone "Marscapone.")

    I've narrowed my choices to Simply White and Cloud White. Next week I'll take a couple of my existing doors off and the painter will use them for samples. Swiss Coffee is a great trim, but I'm afraid it's a little austere for an expanse of cabinets.

    Breezygirl, what color are your floors? Like Fori, I have orange-y floors (red oak). In considering all the whites, I've tended to focus more on how they look with the counters (dark gray quartz with taupey bits). However, what's really more visible is the adjacent floor.

    Someone in a recent post was having trouble deciding what stain to use on her new cabinets. She asked if people painted them white so they didn't have to decide on a stain. To me, picking a white is far worse!

  • susanlynn2012
    12 years ago

    Linelle, I agree that picking a white is the hardest. I am thinking I am going to go with BM Cloud White but I hope it does not clash with my tiles but my tiles seem to like whites that are pure and I don't want stark white on my cabinets.

    Please post the two sample doors as well as your kitchen when you are in the work-in-progress state as well as finished if you have time.

  • Bunny
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Lynn2006, in and of itself, I like BM Cloud White the best, not too yellow, not too gray. But then there's Simply White. Even Swiss Coffee has its moments. It's between those three (although I'll have to pay an extra $70 to have a third sample door, which might be worth it).

  • susanlynn2012
    12 years ago

    I love the BM Simply White but since I wanted a counter with more gold/yellow in it like New Venetian Gold or Santa Cecilia or Giallo Ornamental, I liked my BM Cloud white sample next to these particular granites. I think my tile likes the BM Simply White best but I wanted a white slightly darker. I love the BM White Dove but in some parts of the room, it looks so gray and I want to bring out the ivory and beige in my tile and not the gray. I may have to get real wood to paint and not sample boards to make up my mind. Linelle, let us know what you decide. Can you post all three doors when you make the third door?

  • Bunny
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Will do, lynn2006.

  • susanlynn2012
    12 years ago

    Thank you Linelle!

  • Bunny
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Okay, Lynn, I'm back. Had samples done for BM Cloud White (left) and BM Simply White (right). To me, they are very similar, with Simply White a little lighter/brighter, but just by a degree or two. The doors are two of my old oak doors. Because there was less grain on the inside of the door, and more closely resemble the new shaker doors, I'm looking at the backside. This photo is from my phone and it's hard to get the color super accurate. They are very creamy, right balance of yellow and gray. Honestly, I could easily go with either one, but am leaning towards Simply White. As soon as the texture on the ceiling dries, I'll put bulbs back in the cans and tonight see how everything looks with artificial light.

    Having large samples of the color painted on wood in a satin finish is so much different than pieces of foamcore painted with flat paint. I feel a lot more confident of my choice. Hope this helps.

  • susanlynn2012
    12 years ago

    Linelle, I finally had time to post. My little dog died on 12-30-2011 and I have been grieving so badly. I loved him so much. He was a 6.4 lb 12.75 year old neutered adorable Maltese named Skeeter.

    I love the painted doors! I love both doors so much. I can see that BM Cloud White is slightly darker and slightly less bright. I thank you so much for posting the doors! I like them both but I actually like the slightly darker BM Cloud White a little better but both are very nice. But again it depends on your counter choice and flooring.

    So glad I took a break tonight to show a friend of mine who is visiting the kitchen forum.

    Please post updated pictures when you are able to.

  • Bunny
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Lynn, I'm so sorry about Skeeter. Just a year ago my 17-year-old cat, Cosmo, died and I still miss him very much. They bring so much joy to our lives, and even though we know their lifespans are relatively short, it's still such a loss. I had one other cat, an elderly female, and last summer I adopted two kittens--littermates--from the shelter. They are so cute and funny, but really keep me on my toes.

    I called the cabinet painter yesterday and said, it's Cloud White. So glad I finally decided and no longer have the dueling sample doors propped on the counter. So, Cloud White it is.

  • susanlynn2012
    12 years ago

    Hi Linelle, I am so happy that you made a choice and I am glad you are happy with your Cloud White choice which is what I would choose.

    I never knew the pain could be so bad from losing my little Furson. I loved him so much and I was shocked to find I could not revive him. His seizures had been getting worse and the increase in the medicine was too much for him. I never should have left him alone in the kitchen without carrying him to the other room to put on his bed. I was not ready to lose him. I was only gone about 4 - 5 minutes and I had not left him alone in the past few weeks in any room but my gated home office where he was safer. I miss his little kisses and how bonded were were. He had not been able to play fetch for awhile. The other little dogs miss him so much. When another one of mine passes, I plan to adopt a little kitten or cat that likes little dogs. He was the oldest and was an only furchild for a few years. I had planned to write a post but the crying has been terrible and the guilt of leaving him alone when I knew he kept fainting. He just seemed more well that morning and instead of going to the puppy pad, he was waiting by the patio door for me to let him out to go do his "big boy potty" for a "big boy potty treat". I feel my life will never be the same without my little Skeeter.

  • susanlynn2012
    12 years ago

    Linelle, I am so sorry that I am grieving so much that I never told you that I am sorry for your loss of your Cosmo. We get so attached to our pets that become part of our family. So glad you adopted two kittens that were littermates and get along from a shelter.

    I just looked at the two doors again and I really like the BM Cloud White. Thanks again for posting the pictures.

  • Kristin
    6 years ago

    To: Breezygirl

    Thank you for posting a photo of your kitchen -- the cabinets are simply beautiful in BM Simply White! We're planning to paint our cabinets SW as well. Just wondering if I might ask what color you used on the kitchen walls?