Poor gray. For years, maybe decades, gray was a non-color, relegated to the category of industrial, plain blah-ness. No one got excited about gray, not gray in their hair or gray in their kitchens. But gray has grown on us. It’s now a very popular kitchen cabinet color, and it’s no wonder.
Gray is the new neutral
Gray is quite a versatile color, it turns out! Now that it has been discovered, gray has proven it can be elegant or warm, modern or traditional, especially when used as the color for gray painted kitchen cabinets as you can see here.
Gray also complements a wide range of colors, because it can go warm or cool. It can have a beige tint or a blue one or even a yellow. It can be so light it’s almost white or so dark it’s a true charcoal in color. You could say gray is much more than a color: It’s like a whole color family all on its own!
Gray cabinets take center stage
With all of this newly discovered versatility, gray cabinets are now a shining star in kitchen design. At Wellborn Forest Products, we have kitchen designers ordering gray cabinets in a wide range of styles, from sleek to traditional. It’s just a hugely popular kitchen cabinet color right now!
And this kitchen pictured here makes it obvious why it’s so popular: These traditional cabinets are glorious in gray! These light gray cabinets are our Madison door style in maple with our Quick Silver paint color. But you don’t look at this picture and think, “Oh look, gray cabinets.” No, you look at the picture and think, “What a gorgeous kitchen!” And then you notice the gray, which is the power of (and the job of) a knockout neutral.
These gray cabinets are a knockout but they don’t steal the show, rather they complement it. The gray in the cabinets brings out the gray veining in the marble countertop and backsplash, yet the color also goes perfectly with the dark wood floor too. The little touches of color in the bananas, the fruit bowl, the painting, the plate, the valance…these all pop against the neutral backdrop of gray. Even the stainless steel of the appliances stands out as an accent amidst the gray cabinets!
You can’t go wrong with gray—gray cabinets, that is
If you’re consider gray cabinets for your kitchen (or a client’s kitchen), you can hardly go wrong. Gray painted kitchen cabinets can go any direction in style, and just about any direction in hue. You’ll have a neutral backdrop for the rest of the kitchen, and a timeless color that won’t soon go out of date. Plus gray cabinets can withstand other changes, such as a new paint color on the walls or a change in accent colors in the kitchen! It’s simply a stalwart color that has finally been recognized after decades of being neglected and overlooked.
As for the gray in our hair, there seems to be a growing acceptance of gray hair and even a certain popularity—although this kitchen blogger is unwilling to jump on that particular bandwagon any time soon!