Colors To Avoid Painting Your Kitchen If You Have White Cabinets

Perhaps you have just moved to a new house or want to spruce up your current house. Nothing does this better than a splash of color, either something subtle or bold to make a statement, particularly in your kitchen if you have white cabinets. White kitchens will always be in style because they have a clean, modern feel and are a timeless design choice. But, with white kitchen cabinets offering a blank canvas vibe, not everything works. When choosing a wall color, you'll want to steer away from pure white with cool undertones, yellow-beige with orange undertones, cool blue with green undertones, and light gray with blue undertones

Instead of creating a cohesive space, these colors make your kitchen feel clinical, overwhelmed, dingy, or dull. The right paint choices are those that don't clash with the cabinets but complement them. To fully enjoy the airy and bright feeling white cabinets create, you must avoid pairing them with the wrong wall colors.

Avoid pure white paint with cool undertones when picking out the white paint for your walls. The monotony and lack of contrast between the walls and cabinets create a cold, sterile feel and may cause your kitchen cabinets to look dingy and washed out. If you want a white kitchen design that will never go out of style, go with a warm white for a less clinical, more cozy space. Warm whites have soft cream undertones that introduce a gentle balance between your walls and cabinets. 

Pairing yellow-beige with orange undertones with your white cabinets will leave your cabinets looking yellowed and old. The intense orange undertones in yellow-beige may also draw too much attention, overshadowing the white cabinets. You can still have a beige kitchen with white cabinets, but you should opt for a muted beige or taupe. For a yellow that won't overwhelm the space, gravitate toward pale yellows. These neutral color options offer warmth without the orange punch.

When you install white cabinets in your kitchen, your aim is to make them stand out. If you pair them with cool blue walls that have green undertones, it might detract from the cabinets instead. These tones make your cabinets look unnatural by reflecting a bluish hue onto the white cabinets. They can also appear plain and lacking character. If you've discovered the many blue kitchen ideas you'll absolutely love and really want to incorporate blue paint into your design, go for a muted hue or even a grayish blue to create a balanced look.

When paired with white cabinets, light gray paints with blue undertones give your kitchen a cold, industrial look and feel. This is because of the lack of contrast. But, just because light gray with blue undertones doesn't work with your white cabinets doesn't mean you have to give up on gray entirely. You can opt for a warm greige, which blends gray and beige hues, or soft taupe for a warmer and more inviting kitchen.