- The 12 Best White Paint Colors
- Benjamin Moore Edgecomb Gray
- Benjamin Moore Simply White
- Sherwin-Williams Pure White
- Sherwin-Williams Extra White
We finally painted the kitchen. After flirting with the idea for a while and waiting for a week when Nonna could watch Clara, we tore into the kitchen and made the change we’ve been talking about.
Renovating one room often creates a displacement mess elsewhere in the house. While the kitchen was getting a refresh, the dining room collected boxes, accessories, and furniture temporarily relocated to make room for the work. That kind of chaos is par for the course when you remodel in an active home, and it’s usually the first thing guests notice when they drop by.
We originally painted the kitchen a grellow—an energetic blend of green and yellow that we adore. The problem was that it photographed inconsistently. Depending on lighting and time of day, the color could read lime, bright yellow, or an almost neon hue, which made it difficult to accurately show the room on the blog. More importantly, over time we realized that the grellow was affecting how other finishes appeared: the white cabinets and counters looked slightly yellowed and the cork floors read more orange-yellow than the warm mocha we love.
To select a new color, we narrowed our priorities down to a few practical points:
- We avoided other yellow- or green-based tones because they might reflect similar warm casts onto white surfaces.
- We wanted a color deep enough to create contrast so cabinets and counters would stand out, but not so dark that it overwhelmed a windowless kitchen space.
- Since we have gray tile backsplash and adjoining gray rooms, we avoided adding more gray to prevent a gray-heavy palette.
- We wanted a genuine color on the walls to balance the neutrals around the room—white cabinets, stainless appliances, white counters, cork floors.
- The new color needed to coordinate with four rooms the kitchen opens to, working harmoniously when seen together without being too matchy-matchy.
After surveying the adjoining rooms, we drew inspiration from subtle powder-blue elements: dining room curtain backgrounds, several blue pillows in the living room, the kitchen shade, cool undertones in the gray backsplash, paintings made for the kitchen, and nearby artwork. Those touches led us to choose a bold, mid-tone blue that feels rich without veering navy or gray.
We used Benjamin Moore Natura in an eggshell finish—wipeable but not overly glossy—purchased from a local paint shop. The color name on the swatch is Colorado Gray, though it reads clearly blue in person. For practical purposes it behaves like a medium blue that brings life to the room while letting the whites read true, rather than warming them up with reflected yellow.
This blue feels like a nice middle ground between paint choices from our first house and the deeper teal used in the guest room here. It introduces color without clashing with existing warm materials: cork floors, wood stools, and rustic cutting boards all look balanced against the new blue walls.
One amusing observation: in our first house we repainted every room except the kitchen and master bedroom. In this house, so far we’ve only repainted the kitchen and the master bedroom. Funny how patterns repeat in different ways.
Practical notes about the painting process: we applied two coats, with freehand cutting in using a brush and rolling for the larger areas. We skipped a full drop cloth and relied on careful painting technique to avoid drips; sealed wood and cork floors can be wiped if necessary. We kept the laundry room grellow because that space has abundant natural light from a large glass door and window, which changes how the color reads—bright, sunny, and pleasant there, without the yellowing effect seen in the kitchen.
Despite the new wall color, the penny tile wall remains the star of the room. The tile anchors the space visually and is still the first thing we look to when we step into the kitchen. The new blue complements the tile and helps emphasize the white cabinets and countertops without overpowering them.
A few reasons we’re happy with the new paint choice:
- It reads unmistakably as a true color rather than a neutral, injecting personality into the kitchen.
- It still feels sophisticated—neither gray nor navy, but a balanced mid-tone blue.
- The white cabinets and countertops pop against it without any unwanted yellow cast.
- It harmonizes with the room’s warm elements, providing a pleasing contrast while tying into adjacent spaces.
Our Favorite Paint Colors
If you’re having trouble choosing the right paint color, here are some detailed posts we turned to for guidance:
- The 12 Best White Paint Colors
- Benjamin Moore Edgecomb Gray
- Benjamin Moore Simply White
- Sherwin-Williams Pure White
- Sherwin-Williams Extra White