Choosing a cabinet color that works with your countertops

When you paint cabinets and keep your countertops, the countertop becomes the starting point for your color choice. The right cabinet color makes the stone look intentional. The wrong one can make even beautiful granite look dated.

Find the undertone in your countertop

Hold a sheet of plain white printer paper against your countertop. Next to pure white, you will see whether the stone leans warm, with gold, tan or pink, or cool, with gray, blue or green. Match that direction in your cabinet color.

Pairings that usually work

• 01Warm granite with gold or tan flecks. Creamy whites, warm greige and deep navy balance the warmth.
• 02Cool gray or white quartz. Crisp whites, soft grays and blue grays look clean and bright.
• 03Busy, speckled granite. Choose a calm, solid cabinet color so the stone does not fight for attention.
• 04Butcher block. Sage green, navy and warm white all bring out the wood.

Test in your own light

Kitchen lighting changes a color more than any other room. Paint large sample boards and set them against the countertop and backsplash. Look at them in the morning, afternoon and under your kitchen lights at night before deciding.

Do not forget hardware and floors

Brass warms up a white kitchen. Matte black adds contrast. Brushed nickel works well with cooler palettes. Also check your cabinet sample against your floors, since they share the room with everything else.