How to Decorate with Gray Kitchen Cabinets

Gray cabinets are on-trend these days. They are meant to stay for a very long time. It won’t be wrong to regard gray as the new neutral. Gray is chic, stylish, and has a perfect balance. Your kitchen can look uber-modern with gray cabinets. Take a look at these kitchen styling ideas with gray cabinets.

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Classic Gray Cabinets

Medium tone gray looks beautiful on classic cabinet designs. Traditional shaker style cabinets work well with a wood floor. You can also extend the use of wood to the hood and island. Make sure the wood stain is not too warm. Since we are talking about all things timeless, you can also introduce a subway style backsplash. Gray, in a medium tone, has some amount of warmth in it. Wood can add to it even more. Medium gray cabinets accentuate white countertops. You can choose materials such as engineered stone or quartz. To blend the white with gray, you can choose gray and white marble.

More: 31 Antique White Kitchen Cabinets Ideas in 2020

Here are some tips for painting gray kitchen cabinets

Dark Gray Cabinets

Do you want a monochrome look in your kitchen? Are you unsure about painting the cabinets black? If yes, then you can go for charcoal gray cabinets. Charcoal gray is low-key black. And it looks fabulous when paired with white. This kitchen has dark gray cabinets. A big white kitchen island balances the deep tones. White arabesque tiles also join in. This look is for those who like the bold and moody decor. You can add even more drama in such a kitchen with lighting. Choose pendant lamps that scatter light fully so that your kitchen might not go too dark.

Choose A Creative Backsplash

Light gray cabinets give a chance to play with backsplash patterns. Since pale gray isn’t overpowering, you can go ahead for a mosaic backsplash too. A mosaic or textured backsplash might otherwise look busy if the color of the cabinets is bold. If we think the other way round. Pale gray can also be convenient while choosing the countertops. Some homeowners prefer speckled countertops. And muted gray goes well with them. It’s all about achieving the right balance. You can use the light gray as a canvas to paint your imagination.

Paint Blue-Gray Cabinets

Do you have a debate of blue or gray going on in your mind? Let’s make things easy for you. A popular trend for kitchen cabinets is to tint the gray with blue. This way, your cabinets will visually give feels of gray, with the elegance of blue mixed in. You can make pale and medium gray tones relaxing by adding blue. After you have chosen the gray to blue ratio, next come the other elements. Cover the floor in floor tiles that have a pattern. Ideally, the design should be in the same color as the cabinets. Now let’s recall the focal color. It was gray, right? Well, you need not give up on that. Add more gray with a gray subway tile backsplash. Keep the walls white. Add some white floating shelves. The kitchen of your dreams will be ready.

Mix Gray with Pink

If you have gray cabinets, you can blend them with pink. Though a bubblegum pink won’t look that good with gray. Instead, if you choose a dusty pink color, it will accent the gray really well. Now the question is where to add a dusty pink color? You can add pink by painting the walls. Perhaps if your island is painted, you can switch it to pink. Pink has a tendency to add warmth to a room. So, if by chance after getting gray cabinets, your kitchen looks too cold, add pink over the walls. You can also put an appliance or two in pink color. Here we would like to suggest that accents of rose gold/copper also look great with pink and gray combos. So, you can put rose gold drawer pulls. You can also hang a copper or rose gold pendant lamp. The subtle hints of rose gold will seem to be in the same color family as pink.

Throw Some Cheer with Yellow

Gray looks beautiful with yellow. The amount and saturation of yellow color totally depend upon you. But ideally, if you choose deeper yellow less and pale yellow more, you can achieve a stylish effect. Saturated yellows work best when used as hints. Punctuate gray with deeper yellows, perhaps at the backsplash or the cooking range. For pale yellows, you can use them to paint the walls. Lighter tones are safe when used expansively. Let’s talk about the floor in such a kitchen. If you have chosen medium gray with pale yellow, the kitchen might lack warmth. So, to balance it, you can lay a warm stained wooden floor. You can achieve the same effect with vinyl flooring, as well. In a kitchen where you have used saturated yellow, keep the floor light.

Mix Gray Cabinets with Stainless Steel Appliances

Do you want to stick to the gray look of the kitchen without mixing any other color? Are you also concerned about adding a little glamour to the kitchen? With just gray, that might not be possible. But you can keep the beauty of gray preserved by adding stainless steel appliances. Stainless steel will reflect light without actually adding any second color to the kitchen. We can regard it as a fancier version of gray too. The lighting in such a kitchen should be abundant. You can use lots of lighting fixtures but with a soft gleam. For a warmer feel lay a wooden floor. Tiles would work great too.

Mix Gray Cabinets with Neutral Tones

Gray cabinets look fabulous with neutral elements. Such as this kitchen. It has a unique backsplash. The backsplash has a rough edge marble panel. The marble panel has a white and gray texture. The marble panel then extends into beige subway tiles. The same marble of the backsplash is also on the countertops. The kitchen hood is also dull metallic. This way, the gray still maintains its charm and character. The drawer handles are also muted metallic. There is no such element as too bright or polished in this kitchen. Even the metallic details tie in well with the neutrals. Regarding the floor, it is up to you. To achieve a neutral look, clad the floor with beige or gray tiles.

Style with Glossy Gray Kitchen Cabinets

High gloss cabinets are sleek. If you like contemporary decor, then lacquered gray cabinets are meant for you. If you have a small kitchen, then lustrous kitchen cabinets are a great choice. Glossy cabinets reflect light, thus making the kitchen appear visually bigger. Even in a darker shade of gray, lacquered cabinets won’t make the kitchen look cramped. They are easy to clean. If any accidental splashes happen, they can be wiped away in the blink of an eye. Your cabinets will stay the same for a very long time. You won’t have to worry about any staining at all. A downside of lacquered cabinets is that they can get scratched if used roughly. Fingerprints are also more visible on such surfaces. Though you can clean them from time to time.

Pale Gray Cabinets can be a Substitute to an All-White Kitchen

White cabinets no doubt look really classy. But they have a lot of cons too. The biggest concern of homeowners with white cabinets is to keep them clean. So, an alternative to an all-white look is pale gray. It looks as elegant as white. Moreover, pale gray cabinetry will also prevent the kitchen from looking too bland and stark. In the picture above, there is a kitchen with light gray cabinets. A white subway tile backsplash accents the pale gray cabinets. If you combine white cabinets with white subway tiles, the kitchen will lack life. And, if you think pale gray and white still lacks some warmth, then add a dark floor like this one. The combination of white, light gray, and black will achieve the perfect balance.

Choose a Gray on Gray Look

If you are willing to go for an all-gray look, then you can go for gray countertops too. There are some materials such as marble or quartz that has a gray look. You can use those materials for the countertops. The shade can vary a bit. But the overall look will be magazine-worthy. You can extend the use of gray to the backsplash too. If you change the shades of gray a bit, you can keep the individuality of each element. This kitchen has different shades of gray. There is a white kitchen hood to break the monotonous look of gray. Some gold accents make it glamorous.

Mix Gray Cabinets with Farmhouse Style

Farmhouse style is all the rage these days. From the entryway to the laundry room, and every place in between it can be seen. Gray cabinets seem to work really well with farmhouse style. You can add features such as rustic wood floating shelves. A square farmhouse sink and white subway tile will also add farmhouse vibes. You can add texture and complement the gray with bamboo shades on the windows. Team up the gray cabinets with a repurposed distressed paint table island. The good thing about the farmhouse style is that you can do all the cabinets gray. They won’t look boring at all. There will be enough hints of the farmhouse theme to punctuate the extensive use of gorgeous gray.

A Dual Tone Combo

You can also work with two shades of gray. You can keep the cabinets in one shade and the island in another. You can also add a tint of green to both the grays. This way, they will look even better. The gray will not be too exaggerated. With a greenish hint, the gray will look chic. In the summer, a greenish-gray kitchen will look cooler. In winters, it will still look warmer compared to just pale gray.

A Floor to Ceiling Gray Cabinetry

If you want to have light gray cabinets, then think of building them from the floor to the ceiling. By doing so, you can add width and dimension to the kitchen visually. This type of cabinets will work well in a small kitchen too. Where space is a luxury, you can always think of ways to make it appear broader. Floor to ceiling light gray cabinets will suit all kitchen sizes. The combination of white looks great with such cabinets.

Combine Gray Cabinets with a Wood Top Kitchen Island

A wood top kitchen island looks warm and rich. It will be a different choice from the traditional quartz and marble. To make the kitchen even more unique, you can go for glass pane cabinet doors. This way, even if you choose a deeper tone of gray, it won’t be overpowering. The color will break due to glass panels. And it will look chic too. Keep the base cabinets and the island sides in the shaker style. Shaker style and glass cabinet doors work tremendously well together. You can still use quartz or marble on the top of the base cabinets. White subway tiles and some floating shelves will complete the picture. Go for a wooden floor in such a kitchen for additional warmth.

Gray Cabinets with Arabesque Tiles

Gray cabinets look beautiful with arabesque tiles. You can extend the use of tiles on all the walls, and not just the backsplash. Here again, you can install glass panel upper cabinets. Go for shaker style lower cabinets. Choose marble or quartz for the countertops. A farmhouse sink and a couple of vintage pendant lamps will make it a wow-worthy cooking space. You can go for a painted shaker style kitchen hood too so that the whole look is cohesive. Cover the floor in wood planks or wood-like vinyl peel and stick planks. Keep the lighting plenty in such a kitchen. Because light gray and white tiles can make it look cold. So, lighting will create warmth.