They Were Told Three Cabinet Colors Wouldn’t Work, but Did It Anyway
Kitchen remodels often stop at one cabinet finish or pair painted cabinets with wood. This Victorian kitchen went in another direction, using three cabinet finishes across the same room despite pushback over the choice.
Reddit user u/RexManningDay2018 didn’t want an all-white kitchen, an all-blue kitchen, or the familiar white-and-wood combination. The finished room uses light painted cabinets around the refrigerator, blue-gray uppers, and stained wood across the lower cabinets and island.
Cabinet color wasn’t the only major change. The remodel replaced the small movable island with a much larger one, moved the sink to the center, extended cabinetry to the ceiling, and replaced the countertops while keeping the original hardwood floor.
White Cabinets Filled Most of the Original Kitchen
Before the remodel, white raised-panel cabinets covered most of the perimeter, with a gray island adding a second cabinet color. Dark blue-gray walls surrounded the upper cabinets and continued above the refrigerator.
The kitchen already had stainless steel appliances, hardwood floors, and plenty of cabinet storage, though several cabinet runs stopped below the ceiling.
Small Island Occupied the Center of the Room
The original island was a narrow movable unit with a wood top, gray base, drawers, and cabinet storage. The sink remained on the perimeter beside the window opening.
Its small footprint left a wide path through the center of the kitchen, while most of the work surfaces stayed against the walls.
Dark Walls Surrounded the White Cabinetry
Another view shows how much of the old kitchen depended on contrast between white cabinets and dark walls. White cabinetry continued around the refrigerator and range, while the gray island sat in the center.
The remodel kept the hardwood flooring and stainless steel appliances, then changed the cabinet layout, colors, counters, backsplash, lighting, and island.
Three Cabinet Finishes Replaced the White-Dominant Scheme
The finished kitchen separates its three cabinet finishes by location. Light painted cabinets frame the refrigerator, blue-gray cabinets cover the upper sections, and stained wood runs across the lower cabinets and island.
White countertops and a white tile backsplash connect the different cabinet sections without requiring the finishes to match.
Cabinetry Now Extends to the Ceiling
New cabinets fill the former gaps between the upper cabinets and ceiling. Tall units surround the refrigerator, while crown molding finishes the cabinet runs across the room.
The change adds storage and puts more emphasis on the height of the kitchen, while the blue-gray and light painted sections prevent the full-height cabinetry from reading as one continuous block.
Large Island Replaced the Movable Worktable
The new island takes up far more of the center floor area and carries a wide white countertop with an integrated sink. Its stained wood base connects with the wood cabinets along the perimeter.
Two schoolhouse pendant lights hang above the island, replacing the smaller fixtures seen before the remodel. The homeowner identified these as Possini Euro Schoolhouse lights from Lamps Plus.
Blue-Gray Cabinets Frame the Cooking Area
Blue-gray cabinets extend to the ceiling around the range, while stained wood drawers and cabinets remain below the white countertop.
White subway tile covers the backsplash, with a patterned inset positioned behind the range. The arrangement gives the cooking wall two cabinet colors without alternating finishes across individual doors.
New Cabinet Heights Changed the Room’s Proportions
The original kitchen had a wide band of dark wall above the cabinets, which made the cabinet runs appear shorter. In the remodeled space, cabinetry and crown molding extend to the ceiling, drawing the eye higher across the room.
That change is clear in the side-by-side view, where the new cabinetry occupies more of the wall without changing the room’s footprint.
Image credits to Reddit user u/RexManningDay2018.