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Acadia white cabinets vs linen white . . . thoughts!

athensmomof3
12 years ago

I have to pick my cabinet color by Monday and the paint store closed today at lunch, 15 minutes before I got there. Based on my fan deck, I have narrowed it down to Linen White (which I have in my current house master bed and bath) or Acadia white, which looks like a lighter version. The linen white has yellowed over time, which oil paint will, so I would like to take this into account. Both Benjamin Moore. I also like Ivory White, but read somewhere it is the same as Acadia white :).

I am concerned Linen white is a little too creamy for me - we will have a walnut (dark) island but white marble perimeter. . . no gray in the marble though. I love cream and a crisp white together so maybe it will be fine, but think acadia is the safer choice - even though I haven't even seen it except on the swatch!

Do any of you have Acadia? Do you like it? Any funny undertones? I read somewhere it had a pink undertone but I 'don't see it - if it does that wouldn't work for my house though!

Comments (24)

  • brianadarnell
    12 years ago

    Someone posted with Acadia white cabinets the other day...Did you see that post?

  • susanlynn2012
    12 years ago

    WillTV's black and Acadia White Kitchen Cabinets is stunning.

    Here is a link that might be useful: WillTV's black and Acadia White Kitchen Cabinets is stunning

  • athensmomof3
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    I hadn't seen that but it looks great and you can tell it is a true cream when up against the white subway tile. Still seeing no funny undertones :) Anyone else??

  • babushka_cat
    12 years ago

    can you delay your paint choice a day or two more? that is a big decision, one you really do not want to rush. testing color swatches in your own house is really necessary as color change based on exposure to light etc. you also want to see how it looks with your counter selection and other samples.

    try to pressure test your deadline of monday - will the world end if you get back to them by wednesday end of day? re-painting a set of cabs because you do not like the color would be a major PITA and very expensive.

    or - look on the benjamin moore website for stores open on sunday. there are a few, at least here in CA but i live in a major city, so may not apply to you.

  • susanlynn2012
    12 years ago

    I agree with Babushka_cat to try to find some Benjamin Stores open tomorrow near you. I also live in an area in NJ where paint stores are open tomorrow. I have learned the hard way with the tiles I bought that were gorgeous in a neighbor's house but not in my kitchen. I am now investing in new lighting that will make my new tiles beautiful. I also have moved my white paint boards from room to room and spaces in a room and it is amazing how the lighting and what is in the room affects the color and how the color looks with my tile. I am still not sure what to do about my shade of white or if I am buying new cabinets and should stay with more white due to the gray in my tiles that I did not know was there or go with more cream since for a warmer look. But first I am going to change my lighting to be sure I have decided. I am waiting for one more electrician to get back to me with a quote since I am installing recessed lighting and taking out the outdated fluorescent fixture.

  • athensmomof3
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    I will double check about the BM stores but even in Atlanta I think they are closed Sunday. I have linen white already and have painted it on a board and will bring it to the new house tomorrow. I have lived with that for 7 plus years in my current master bedroom and bath and am confident it wouldn't be a mistake. . . the only question is whether it is more cream than I would like. Otherwise, I like the color.

    Agree it is a huge decision - the cabinets that are ready to be painted are vanities but I do want them to match the trim too . . .

    SW is open tomorrow so maybe I can find a solution there!

    I have not chosen counters yet so I am really not trying to match anything . . not sure if that is good or bad. We are doing a dark walnut island and any cream or white would work with that. I do know the linen white will be fine with the paint colors I know I am using - and so will the acadia. . . I have Porter Velvet White in my current house, other than the master, and it is a great color (not a stark white at all)but maybe whiter than I want in the new house. . .

  • suzanne_sl
    12 years ago

    If the world won't end if you take another couple of days to decide, then I suggest delaying your decision also. You really do need to see the paint in your space, especially next to your marble. I've found that colors are not always what you expect when you have them in place. At least when I didn't get the color right when I painted the living room, I could just buy another gallon of paint (3 times!!) and try again. Cabinets are not so easily re-done.

  • logansmum
    12 years ago

    Our Ace hardware in Dunwoody GA sells and mixes BM paints--and they do the little size (is that a pint?) for $6.99--I've bought probably 10 trying to pick a gray;-). Maybe an ACE near you can mix it up today. My perimeter cabs will be Linen White, but I wanted something more cream than white. Good luck.
    Susan

  • alexisls
    12 years ago

    I have BM Acadia on the walls in two rooms and I love it, but it looks very different in the different rooms and in different light. In some (but not all) light it has a warm yellow cast. I think of it as a pearl white.

  • equest17
    12 years ago

    Just wanted to mention that the Willtv kitchen linked by Lynn2006 says it is BM Gardenia on the cabs. (Unless there is another post where he/she says that was a mistake that I didn't see, of course.)

  • susanlynn2012
    12 years ago

    So sorry, I always thought it was Acadia. Maybe she should consider the Gardenia since it is gorgeous!

  • athensmomof3
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    OK - decision made! After buying multiple quarts of white paint, including Linen White, Acadia White, Ivory White and Marscapone, and ruling out the cooler whites such as White Dove, I wasn't a fan of any of them, really. . . SO, I pulled out my trusty Velvet White that I used in this house and - perfect - lighter than Linen White but still the same "old white" look without being yellow. Also looked great with the Cambria Torquay sample I have and would look good with a clear white (not gray) marble like Calcutta or Nova Blanca. . . plus after living with it in this house for 11 years, I know I like it.

    Nothing like complicating a decision, huh?

  • susanlynn2012
    12 years ago

    Athensmomof3, What brand paint is Velvet White and how does it compare to BM Cloud White? Glad you found a white you liked! Any pictures of a room with this white?

  • suzanne_sl
    12 years ago

    It's Porter Paint. Never heard of them before. I did a google search and it directed me right back to GardenWeb - who'd-a-thunk? The discussion of Porter Paint in general and Velvet White in particular is linked below. I also found a picture, but it looks pink, so that doesn't help.

    athensmomof3, good for you! Isn't it amazing how different white paints can look in different places with different surroundings?

    Here is a link that might be useful: Porter Paint/Velvet White

  • susanlynn2012
    12 years ago

    Porter Paint Velvet White picture looks like a nice creamy white.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Porter Paint Velvet White picture

  • boxerpups
    12 years ago

    Great choice!!!

  • athensmomof3
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Wow it does look pink on my monitor too - yuck! It is really just a lighter version of linen white. Several of the other Ben Moore colors I was considering looked like someone had dropped a few drops of yellow highlighter in them. This is more of an "old" white.

    Interestingly, my builder told me today that Porter is one of the few (perhaps the only) that offers a non-yellowing oil paint, and it is only 1.00 more a gallon for the painter to use that so sounds good to me . . . Our cabinets will have a catalyzed varnish finish that won't yellow so it would be good for the trim running across the top not to yellow either.

    If anyone is looking for a lighter version of Linen White, Velvet White is a good option. . . The link below is actually a pretty good representation of it (it is on the trim and below the chair rail) - with dark gray no less (who would have thunk it?)

    Here is a link that might be useful:

  • susanlynn2012
    12 years ago

    athensmomof3, the color sure looks nice! I love it! I looked up and there are no stores that carry Porter Paint within 100 miles from me in Northern NJ so I would have to order a sample can which I would rather not do for the cost and time without being able to pick up a paint chip. Sure sounds like a great paint being offered in low voc and no voc and the name of the paint is luscious!

    How does the color compare to BM Cloud White or BM White Dove since BM Linen White is too yellow for me as I once had it on my walls and my tile doesn't do so well with whites that have too much yellow in them.

  • athensmomof3
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    I see a lot of gray in both cloud white and white dove - less in cloud white but it is still there a bit. The Velvet white has no gray in it and is more of a warm white, but no highlighter yellow and lighter than linen white by a few shades. It is still quite a bit darker/creamier than both cloud white and white dove.

    I did read, in my search for the perfect cabinet color, a decorator (in the House Beautiful 500 best paint colors thing) say that when linen white looks too yellow, he sometimes mixes it with decorator's white. That was too complicated for me and my quick decision but if you have some time, you could buy a sample of each and play with the proportions a bit. . .

    Oh and trying to find that quote (I didn't find it) - I found this and a picture. . .

    It's true the whites I use are not all the same shade, not even in one room. I use Benjamin Moore Linen White quite a bit, but I use it in various densities. I mix it with pure white to take the edge off the commercial color, which is always slightly too blue. I do the baseboard and trim in the brightest white because it sparks up the room and really plays up the architecture. The living room walls here are two parts pure white to one part linen white, while the trim is five pure whites to one linen. Linen White ages so well, you don't get tired of it. In my own little house in the country I painted the walls in it 20 years ago and I still like it.

    Here is a link that might be useful:

  • athensmomof3
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Oh and buckheadhillbilly told me she used SW Creamy for her cabinets in her kitchen, but had them take the black out so it didn't look dingy. She ended up with a lovely soft cream.

  • susanlynn2012
    12 years ago

    AthensMomof3, The white you are to use sounds like what I want. I wonder if I should call a store and pay for postage to mail me a paint chip to help me decide? I like that it is darker than BM Cloud White and White Dove but not too gray or yellow. For now, if I don't change my mind, I was going to use the BM Cloud White.

    I would love to see pictures of SW Creamy with the black taken out on cabinets!

  • athensmomof3
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    You can look on the building a home thread on this month or last month for Buckhead's cabinets. She has posted a link to her blog with all her pictures.

    I am not sure if they have a paint chip of Velvet White as it is a discontinued color. You may be able to get a paint store to mix it for you - lots of locally owned non brand name stores have all the paint formulations for manufacturers. The SW Creamy with the black taken out is lighter than mine but still probably darker than cloud white. It looks very pretty to me . . . It sounds like if you are considering the Cloud White and White Dove, the Velvet white may be too creamy for you - but maybe not. It definitely reads as white (I have it on my trim in this house up against neutral color walls), but in the kitchen when up next to my glossy white lacquer cabinets it is definitely softer/creamier looking.

  • athensmomof3
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Here is her blog with pictures. Fun to read because she is so funny ;). Lots of pictures but a few close up of the kitchen cabinets. I don't know if that is what she used on her trim or not - forgot to ask. I do remember she said her bathroom vanities are a different color . . . still white but a cripser white.