Keep Your Kitchen Bright Without White With The Paint Color The Stars Of Married To Real Estate Love

While design experts definitely love the brightness and the lightness of all-white cabinetry, it's not always a one-fits-all solution for every kitchen. In some contexts, white paint can prove a bit too harsh when combined with existing home styles or other elements. HGTV's Egypt Sherrod certainly felt so in a Season 2 episode of "Married to Real Estate," where she presented a great alternative to basic white to a couple of homeowners set on having a white kitchen. Her idea? A shade called Collingswood from Benjamin Moore, which perfectly melded light and bright with a little more depth and dimension.

In Episode 2 of Season 2, Sherrod described the color enthusiastically to the homeowners, telling them, "Okay. So, not gray, not taupe, not white. It's called Collingswood. And this will give you the feeling of having a light, bright white kitchen without it being sterile white." The paint color, with the properties of all three shades described, proves a great choice for cabinets. It's a perfect base neutral shade and paired well with the couple's chosen gray-marbled countertops and mixed metal accents in black and satin-finished brass. In addition, the color doesn't show dirt quite as readily as all-white kitchens are prone to.

While Benjamin Moore describes Egypt Sherrod's favorite Collingswood shade as a light gray, the effect reads more as an off-white with a tinge of gray and taupe, making it amenable to working with a variety of woods and finishes, both warm and cool, that may be found in today's kitchens. While gray kitchen cabinets have become popular in recent years, darker grays can sometimes make a kitchen feel dreary or too monochromatic and trendy. Collingswood, and shades like it, are a great compromise, giving the depth and dimension of a light gray, but the light-reflecting properties and brightness of white.

Alternatives to Collingswood include Sherwin Williams' Colonnade Gray or Benjamin Moore's Rodeo. These warmer whites give a classic feel to cabinetry that highlights other elements in the kitchen without calling attention to themselves. It's also a good paint color for top cabinets if you'd like another color like gray or forest green on lower cabinets, maintaining a sense of light and spaciousness at eye level usually reserved for white but feeling warmer and less severe a contrast with the other shade.