When we built our house, the most exciting thing to see come together was the kitchen. I dreamt about white shaker kitchen cabinets, and that is exactly what I chose.
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Our cabinets are painted in Benjamin Moore’s Chantilly Lace. To add a little contrast, we had our island painted in a dark charcoal grey. We went with a quartz countertop, with a bit of sparkle in it. Our tile is marble subway tile with a hexagon mosaic tile above the range.
To start off, I absolutely LOVE our kitchen. The colors and material choices really came together, and I am pleased with the result. I remember looking at it when we first moved in and just feeling like “how can this possibly be my kitchen?” It has the fresh and airy feel that I wanted. When I crave a pop of color, I add in accessories or brightly colored flowers.
There are a few things, though, that I really didn’t consider when I chose our shaker kitchen cabinets. Most of these things are to do with cleaning them.
White cabinets will show the dirt.
Our cabinets are made of maple wood and are painted. I knew white cabinets would show the grime—dust, dirt, food spills, fingerprints… I thought a quick wipe would do the trick. A cloth works, but on sticky areas of the cabinets, I’ve had to pick off the spots. In some places the paint has chipped. Now, I’m extra careful when wiping the cabinets. I’ve found the best cleaning cloths for my cabinets are microfiber cleaning cloths.
Painted cabinets may chip.
I try to be careful that I don’t use too wet of a rag when wiping the cabinets. If water is left sitting on the cabinets, the water seems to get behind the paint and can wreck the finish. If you have young children, you know how much mess the kids can make with water. My son got water all over the cabinets in the bathroom one day. Now the paint finish is chipping on the top of the cabinet door. I’m not sure if stained cabinets would do this, but I am now super careful that any water spilled on them gets mopped up right away.
What the cabinets are made of is important.
I requested that our cabinets be made of solid maple. I assumed our cabinets would be entirely made of solid maple, but they are not. The front panel in the middle is made of MDF. Perhaps there is a reason this part of the cabinet is MDF, but I don’t know what that reason is. If you are considering shaker kitchen cabinets, I would check with your cabinet manufacturer about what the panel will be made of. If water sits on it, it will wreck the finish and there are a few areas that it actually soaked up the water and bubbled.
There may be crevices in the cabinets that are hard to clean.
Although I love the simple classic look of shaker kitchen cabinets, I don’t love cleaning in the crevices. Our cabinets have a small crack where the outer frame meets the panel in the middle. This fills with dust, and is very hard to clean. You basically need to wipe it out with a toothbrush to get the grime out. If you look up close it really isn’t pretty. Our cabinets were painted in the shop and then brought to our house to be installed. I’m not sure if it would be a different story if the cabinet doors were spray painted on site? I would recommend you check with your cabinet maker and see if there is going to be a crevice in the cabinets. In retrospect, I probably would have chosen the drawers to have a flat front for ease of maintenance.
So there you have it. I still love our kitchen. And I love shaker kitchen cabinets. From afar, you really don’t notice the flaws. But these are the things I wish I knew when choosing our cabinets. I hope this helps anyone out there that is looking at designing their kitchen!
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I was wondering who did your kitchen cabinets? We are in the process of redoing our entire kitchen and getting estimates on cabinetry.
Hi Connie, they were done by a small local company here in Alberta. I’m sorry, I try not to divulge too much personal information on here so I’m sorry I can’t be more specific!
I love your floors!! Can you share what brand they are? Thank you
Hi Toni! Thank you for your kind comment about my floor. I do love them—when they are clean. I have to admit, being so dark they really do show everything! I am sorry, but I have no idea what brand they are!
Do you now wish that you would have had a small slanted trim added on the edges of the center panels of your cabinet doors?
I’m not sure what the answer is to avoiding the groove that collect dust? I feel like it should have been made to look like it was one piece? Or maybe some type of filler/caulk needs to go in the groove? I definitely would inquire with the cabinet builder next time on how to avoid this issue!
We are in the middle of a remodel and love your kitchen. What color is on the wall?
Thank you so much, Christina! The wall color in our kitchen is Coventry Gray by Benjamin Moore.
I’m right in the midst of a renovation. Great advice! Where did you get your cabinet hardware? It looks wonderful with the shaker cabinets.
Glad my post has been informative! We ordered the hardware through our cabinet company. Just found an extra handle that says “Alumina by Marathon FH” on the package. The knobs are a little different I think (not sure of the brand), they don’t have quite as sharp edges. Hope that helps!
I think it looks great! Where did you get your subway tile?
Thanks, Ginny! It was from a local tile store!
Hi there…just can’t make up my mind between Benjamin Moore Chantilly lace and super white on my upper cabinets…leaning towards Chantilly…(bottoms will probably be a light to medium gray/blue. I’m putting in dark walnut butcher block countertops…oh and I’m painting them myself…all prepped and ready to go…
Hi Nancy! Chantilly Lace is a very pure white color, if that’s what you’re looking for. My cabinets, doors and trim in my house are all Chantilly Lace! Good luck with your project! 🙂
These are the reasons I went with white thermofoil shaker cabinets over solid wood. No edges for dirt to fall into and water does not harm it. Plus they are less expensive and don’t warp with humidity or temperature changes. Just my 2 cents 🙂
Hi Breny! Yes, I love the shaker style so if I was to do it all over again, the thermofoil might be a good option!
What color paint is on your walls in the kitchen? Its beautiful!
Thank you, Marietta! It is Coventry Gray by Benjamin Moore!
Your kitchen is beautiful. We also have white cabinets but no issues with cleaning or peeling. I do a good amount of furniture finishing and it sounds like yours may not have the correct primer. A bonding primer will adequately connect bare wood to paint. I have a dresser that I painted white and it gets serious abuse, but no peeling. If they painted without a primer this might happen. Or if the paint didn’t cure in an appropriate environment this might also happen. My two cents since our cabinets and furniture have no issues
Thank you, Trina! You could be correct, I have no idea! That information is good to know, though!
We have been selling white shaker cabinets for many years. No complaints or issues with paint peeling off. We also offer matching spray paint to our customers for touch-ups and minor repairs (if needed).
Our cabinet makers gave us a touch up kit too, I just haven’t used it!
I love your kitchen! What is the name of the tile on your backsplash?
Thank you, Tracy! I have no idea what the brand of tile is, but it is marble subway tile, and hex mosiasic marble tile above the stove.
Hi! Love your kitchen and t hibking about a similar scheme for mine. Can you share the color of the island paint? Thanks so much!
I can’t remember the paint color name. I think I went with a color sample our cabinet makers had. I do remember considering Chelsea Gray or Kendall Charcoal though?
Love your kitchen. Can you tell me the name if your quartz countertop? Im looking for a little sparkle myself amd yours are gorgeous
Thank you! Try googling quartz TCE2019. That’s all the info I have!
Would you say the issues you mentioned with water & dirt are mainly on the lowers? We’re considering doing two tone with wood on the bottom half
Yes, the lowers are worse by far! I think doing wood cabinets on the bottom is a good option!
Your kitchen looks beautiful, however, I would swap out the white electrical outlets and covers in your island for black ones. They won’t be quite as obvious. Just a suggestion.
That’s a good idea, the white covers do stand out for sure!