Kitchen renovation - White cabinets

[mrsstats]

I love the look of white cabinets. Everyone is telling me they are hard to keep clean. Opinions would be appreciated.

 

[MomofKatie]

They are hard to keep clean. They tend to yellow with age. I'm not a big fan, tbh.

 

[Southernmiss]

What about an antique or creamy white? I love that look.

 

[DLgal]

I have an all white kitchen. It's VERY easy to keep clean because I can see every spot that gets on the cabinet and wipe it off immediately. It's been three years and no sign of yellowing at all. I think paint has come long way, although I think our cabinets are thermafoil.

 

[Disneylover99]

I have white cabinets. They’re not hard to keep clean, but you do notice spots and spills more.
My cabinets are about 20 years old now. They haven’t yellowed at all.
I would love a different colour though. It’s time for a change. Maybe grey.

 

[AnnaFloridaLover]

I have painted white maple cabinets with pure white quartz countertops. I love the look. Wipe them down when they get dirty. They are no harder to keep clean than any other cabinets. Yes, you can see the dirt which is great since you can wipe it away. The same argument was said for years with stainless steel appliances. They show fingerprints. All appliances have fingerprints. Be thankful you can see them easily for cleaning. Same with dark hardwood flooring. You can see the dirt. Great, I know when and where to clean them.

My new white cabinets are 3 years old. My old white cabinets were 15 years old. No yellowing.

 

[tvguy]

I guess it depends on the paint on them. A simple wipe down should have them looking new.
But I get the point. My laminate floors need to be swept or vacuumed a couple times of a week. When I had carpet, I didn't have to do that. When we pulled out the carpet we learned just how much dirt it was hiding that the laminate does not.

 

[aprilchem]

We are getting ready to renovate our kitchen, and mine will be entirely white - white cabinets, white countertops, white backsplash. I am very excited! I've not heard anyone say anything about them being hard to keep clean or yellowing.

 

[Hrhpd]

I have white, chalk painted cabinets. Very easy to clean and no yellowing. I do apply a new coat of wax (doesn't take any longer than dusting) every month or two. The hard wax coat does allow for an easy wiping to keep clean.

 

[neverlandsky]

Avoid the white glossy lacquer cabinets like the plague. Those are difficult to keep clean. We had them in our last rental.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I've always had white cabinets and they've been fine. I've had white IKEA cabinets for about seven or eight years, and they look as good as the day they were installed. They do get some spills, but they wipe right off. I wipe them all down once in a while. Some grease collected on the cabinets above the stove but Dawn took care of that very nicely. I wouldn't hesitate to get white again.

 

[Aimeedyan]

We have white - they get just as dirty as any other cabinet but this way, I can easily see where something may have splattered and can wipe it off. Just part of cleaning the kitchen so no extra work.

Mine have never yellowed; they look bright and clean as they always have.

 

[LJSquishy]

We had bright white cabinets installed in our new construction home 2 years ago and LOVE them. They're easy to keep clean and I appreciate that they show a smudge of food, etc because I can wipe it up right away. It's important to get factory finished cabinets, not painted on-site for the best durability. Ours are Huntwood cabinets and were painted at their factory.

 

[si-am]

We have white cabinets and they are easy to wipe clean... But I think they must've been another color originally and then painted over.... Because now the paint seems to be chipping or scratched off (mostly behind the handles) in certain places, so we definitely need to fix them. (We bought the house in '07). That's really been the only downside.

 

[Christine]

I had light oak cabinets for over 20 years. I painted them white last summer. They are no harder to "clean" than when they were oak colored. The difference now is that I can actually see when they get a smudge or spot on them and take care of it. When they were oak I saw NOTHING and then they ended up just getting built up junk on them.

I'd totally go with white. My parents have had white cabinets for over 20 years and they have held up beautifully and her kitchen does not look dated as mine did. My coworker also go white with having 5 children because she said she need to see the dirt the kids put on them so she could clean it up.

 

[morgan98]

I have dark cherry cabinets on the perimeter of my kitchen, with a large island of an antique white/distressed cabinets. I like the two tone look as our kitchen in a large space. I am not a huge fan of all white, but it has grown on me over the years. I feel like I have the best of both worlds.

 

[2goofycampers]

I have had white cabinets for 20 years now. No yellowing, I agree they are easy to keep clean because you see every spot. They were made by Norcraft. They are not painted and don't scratch. I can't recall the finish right now.

 

[CarolAnn856]

I think most yellowing is a result of people painting over stained cabinets incorrectly. If you don't clean them with high-power cleaner to get the grease off, sand really well, and use a good primer, eventually the old stain will show through. We also used paint designed specifically for cabinets, and it went on beautifully.

 

[wenrob]

Mine are white with an almond glaze, factory painted. As others have said they’re easy to take care of and I’ve had no discoloration.

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

I was looking at white cabinets when we remodeled our kitchen. The person helping us pointed out that as the wood swells and shrinks the joints become more noticeable. I still wanted the lighter look so I went with natural oak. I love them. We happened to get a lot of pieces with knots in them and they're beautiful.