opinions on black kitchen cabinets?

Lizzy · Guru

opinions on black kitchen cabinets?

apies · Guru

i don't know anyone with them, but i love the pictures.

my only concern is that i would think they would show dust and other "kitchen mess" - ie, flour, or other finger residue.

???

Corey · Guru

i love them in large, airy kitchens, especially with light walls.

i think in small kitchens the dark color just makes the small size more pronounced.

Lizzy · Guru

Corey wrote:

i love them in large, airy kitchens, especially with light walls.

i think in small kitchens the dark color just makes the small size more pronounced.

yeah...my kitchen is small. but we do get alot of natural light w/ the window facing east.

Lizzy · Guru

apies wrote:

i don't know anyone with them, but i love the pictures.

my only concern is that i would think they would show dust and other "kitchen mess" - ie, flour, or other finger residue.

???

wouldn't that require cooking...lol

seriously, that is my concern - that the cabinets would show dirt and just general mess.

muffy · Guru

our countertop is black, and surprisingly it does not show messes at all - and its our primary work surface.

black on the doors i think you would be ok, and having a light grey countertop, perhaps granite, would hide any everyday mess.

i think they look FABulous, i esp love the first pic - but you need to make sure it is combines with lots of light and white. i even love the pic in the middle with what looks like dark red burgundy walls... even with black and burgundy, there is enough white offsetting it to make it look totally fab. imo the second pic is what you don't want - it looks like a dark cramped space with minimal light.

daisy · Guru

we actually stained 2 of our cabinets black just to see. i love the idea. love.
our kitchen was too small to handle it though (you know how small it is...crazy). i think the only way it can be done in a small kitchen is if you have glass doors on the cabinets. i like the distressed look for sure - breaks it up a bit.
knowing how ours looked black (not great), i'd say it's better for lower half cabinets (below the counters like if you have a center island), or if the doors are glass.
also, consider stain v. paint - not sure which is a better idea but i know there's a lot of chatter about pros and cons online.

i seriously love the look, especially distressed, but i think it's hard to make it work.
so excited youre doing your kitchen!! yay!!!
my mudroom's next - mike is going to kill me...

happylib · Guru

I think it depends. Black cabinets can be very attractive, but as others have posted you have to be careful about the dark and closed in feeling with a small kitchen. I personally would never want fabric inserts because they are too much maintance with dust, splatters, grease, and etc that happen in a kitchen. ]

I love the look of glass front but if you are going to do that you have to be absolutely willing to keep those cabinets organized and spotless or else it will make your kitchen look cluttered and/or dirty. If you have a cupboard that you are keeping rarely used wine glasses or something like that, a glass front would be great. With glass front you can also put a mirror in the back to help reflect the light and make it a bit brighter. The same goes for open shelf.

Also I think with all of the antique type things you have in your house and the general look of your house, distressed cupboards would go well. I think it would continue the same feel you have.

You have fabulous taste, so I am sure whatever you do will be great.

sbucking · Guru

My BFF painted her oak cupboards and they are gorgeous!! She did an off white on the uppers and black on the lowers. She then put in granite that seems to have a white base with lots of black specs. I can't even begin to tell you how great they look. Painting cupboards is PITA, but worth the efforts.

Lizzy · Guru

sbucking wrote:

My BFF painted her oak cupboards and they are gorgeous!! She did an off white on the uppers and black on the lowers. She then put in granite that seems to have a white base with lots of black specs. I can't even begin to tell you how great they look. Painting cupboards is PITA, but worth the efforts.

this sounds really nice!

Lizzy · Guru

happylib wrote:

I think it depends. Black cabinets can be very attractive, but as others have posted you have to be careful about the dark and closed in feeling with a small kitchen. I personally would never want fabric inserts because they are too much maintance with dust, splatters, grease, and etc that happen in a kitchen. ]

I love the look of glass front but if you are going to do that you have to be absolutely willing to keep those cabinets organized and spotless or else it will make your kitchen look cluttered and/or dirty. If you have a cupboard that you are keeping rarely used wine glasses or something like that, a glass front would be great. With glass front you can also put a mirror in the back to help reflect the light and make it a bit brighter. The same goes for open shelf.

Also I think with all of the antique type things you have in your house and the general look of your house, distressed cupboards would go well. I think it would continue the same feel you have.

You have fabulous taste, so I am sure whatever you do will be great.

:blush thank you, libby! the hard thing for me is having a plan and being able to coordinate it with everything already here....right now, my house has alot of black and white.

I like the idea of glass inserts, but agree, I would have to keep it organized...which might be a pita. I also think it would up the cost for the glass.

Lizzy · Guru

daisy wrote:

we actually stained 2 of our cabinets black just to see. i love the idea. love.
our kitchen was too small to handle it though (you know how small it is...crazy). i think the only way it can be done in a small kitchen is if you have glass doors on the cabinets. i like the distressed look for sure - breaks it up a bit.
knowing how ours looked black (not great), i'd say it's better for lower half cabinets (below the counters like if you have a center island), or if the doors are glass.
also, consider stain v. paint - not sure which is a better idea but i know there's a lot of chatter about pros and cons online.

i seriously love the look, especially distressed, but i think it's hard to make it work.
so excited youre doing your kitchen!! yay!!!
my mudroom's next - mike is going to kill me...

oooh...wish you had pics. I have googled and, honestly, some I like but about half I don't like...so dunno. I am also reading alot about stain vs. paint. stain seems like it is more work. This really needs to just be a temporary solution...I do plan on replacing these old cabinets eventually.

Can't wait till you post your finished kitchen! what are your plans w/ the mudroom?

daisy · Guru

Lizzy wrote:

daisy wrote:

we actually stained 2 of our cabinets black just to see. i love the idea. love.
our kitchen was too small to handle it though (you know how small it is...crazy). i think the only way it can be done in a small kitchen is if you have glass doors on the cabinets. i like the distressed look for sure - breaks it up a bit.
knowing how ours looked black (not great), i'd say it's better for lower half cabinets (below the counters like if you have a center island), or if the doors are glass.
also, consider stain v. paint - not sure which is a better idea but i know there's a lot of chatter about pros and cons online.

i seriously love the look, especially distressed, but i think it's hard to make it work.
so excited youre doing your kitchen!! yay!!!
my mudroom's next - mike is going to kill me...

oooh...wish you had pics. I have googled and, honestly, some I like but about half I don't like...so dunno. I am also reading alot about stain vs. paint. stain seems like it is more work. This really needs to just be a temporary solution...I do plan on replacing these old cabinets eventually.

Can't wait till you post your finished kitchen! what are your plans w/ the mudroom?

i'm really making some progress. today i primed the entire dining room. the wainscoting is done (ballet white, THREE COATS :shoothead). tomorrow i'm getting a gallon of crisp khaki and i hope to have everything painted (besides behind the fridge) by friday. (i wish sooner, but i work at night, etc - so hard to get everything done!!).

need window treatments still. will be getting new table, wallhangings, etc, but not yet. mike needs to get his butt in gear with the moulding around the door.

so i think by the end of the week, i'll be done with everything that's going to get done within the next 6 mos, kwim? there will be a stage two to this project (floors, furniture, etc), but will have to wait.

mudroom - painting very light. potentially even ballet white, not sure. mike is opposed to painting it so it might be a battle. i KNOW it has to be done.

since that room needs construction (two sets of french doors) i was thinking i might get busy on my bedroom first. i'm doing edgecomb gray, and hopefully rearranging the furniture. that room is really just a redecorating project (not a renovation) so i think it's manageable and might be fun for the winter.

MAJOR TREADJACK!!! sorry!! :bag

daisy · Guru

liz can you post a pic of your kitchen? i cant totally remember....

Lizzy · Guru

daisy wrote:

Lizzy wrote:

daisy wrote:

we actually stained 2 of our cabinets black just to see. i love the idea. love.
our kitchen was too small to handle it though (you know how small it is...crazy). i think the only way it can be done in a small kitchen is if you have glass doors on the cabinets. i like the distressed look for sure - breaks it up a bit.
knowing how ours looked black (not great), i'd say it's better for lower half cabinets (below the counters like if you have a center island), or if the doors are glass.
also, consider stain v. paint - not sure which is a better idea but i know there's a lot of chatter about pros and cons online.

i seriously love the look, especially distressed, but i think it's hard to make it work.
so excited youre doing your kitchen!! yay!!!
my mudroom's next - mike is going to kill me...

oooh...wish you had pics. I have googled and, honestly, some I like but about half I don't like...so dunno. I am also reading alot about stain vs. paint. stain seems like it is more work. This really needs to just be a temporary solution...I do plan on replacing these old cabinets eventually.

Can't wait till you post your finished kitchen! what are your plans w/ the mudroom?

i'm really making some progress. today i primed the entire dining room. the wainscoting is done (ballet white, THREE COATS :shoothead). tomorrow i'm getting a gallon of crisp khaki and i hope to have everything painted (besides behind the fridge) by friday. (i wish sooner, but i work at night, etc - so hard to get everything done!!).
need window treatments still. will be getting new table, wallhangings, etc, but not yet. mike needs to get his butt in gear with the moulding around the door.
so i think by the end of the week, i'll be done with everything that's going to get done within the next 6 mos, kwim? there will be a stage two to this project (floors, furniture, etc), but will have to wait.
mudroom - painting very light. potentially even ballet white, not sure. mike is opposed to painting it so it might be a battle. i KNOW it has to be done.
since that room needs construction (two sets of french doors) i was thinking i might get busy on my bedroom first. i'm doing edgecomb gray, and hopefully rearranging the furniture. that room is really just a redecorating project (not a renovation) so i think it's manageable and might be fun for the winter.
MAJOR TREADJACK!!! sorry!! :bag

I really like edgecomb...I might use that for my kitchen too. i am soooooo sick of the garish orange and yellow (I have NO idea what I was thinking).

the orange wall was exposed brick b/c it used to be the stove, I guess. we had it drywalled. I want to hang industrial type shelves (we are desperate for more storage).

Definitely want o replace the bar stools and get a roman shade for the window...we have since replaced the window (my camera needs batteries but here are a few older pics).

The good news is that I got don excited about it and he really likes my ideas!! I am going to put Ivy in the mother's day out program so she will actually be going two full days (instead of two part-time) so I might be able to get it done sooner than later!

Post pics of the finished kitchen and (a tutorial) :)

daisy · Guru

shelves would be great - i would love some extra kitchen storage - not even for kitchen supplies, but for daily living stuff like mail and the kids' school stuff, etc.
but i guess that's what i can do in the mudroom.
what kind of floor is that? i like it - is it linoleum? are you doing a new floor? or just new cabinets? the whole look can change so much with just paint and new cabinets.
edgecomb is SO PRETTY - i cant wait to use it somewhere.
i was thinking of using it for the mudroom but i think it might be too cold. who knows though. my mind is SPINNING with ideas for that room, i can barely even concentrate.
if mike was on board i'd start today (before even finishing the kitchen -i swear that's how much i'm itching).
i'm excited that don is excited about the kitchen. getting them enthused is half the battle.
cant wait to see some progress!!!

jannereeves · Newbie

Yellow and orange walls.???? I don't think black cabinets would be perfect for them.. I do have installed black kitchen cabinets but i have creamic white walls which gives a perfect color combination.. smile