White Kitchen Design Ideas

Room for All

Crisp white kitchen cabinets go to the ceiling in this kitchen and create a spacious feel, while the large gray island adds weight, along with seating and prep space. A textured backsplash behind the sink gives the white palette added interest. Touches of black add to the glamor of the design.

Modern Finishes

Subway tile comes in various colors, layouts, and sizes, but traditional white ones fit any kitchen style. Used as a backsplash and paired with open shelving, the subway tile here provides a blank slate for sparkling finishes and a bold blue range. White cabinets paired with brass hardware complement similar finishes found on the pendant light, faucet, and range.

Colorful Neutrals

Neutrals act as a splash of color in this all-white kitchen. White walls and base cabinets provide a blank canvas that's waiting for some color. A butcher-block island countertop, wood stools, and wood shelving disperse rich honey hues throughout the space. Although wood is a neutral, the red tone in the grain instantly warms the space.

Setting the Stage

With countertops and a backsplash as beautiful as this, there's no need to dress up the rest of the kitchen. If you have your eye on a stunning marble countertop, consider going all-white for the cabinets and walls and let your kitchen's stone surfaces do all the talking. Pair the cabinets with simple nickel or chrome handles and drawer pulls to complement the gray finishes.

Live Large

If your kitchen is smaller than you'd like, continue the paint color into the surrounding rooms. This will remove the visual barrier and suggest a more open layout. White also bounces light around a room, making it feel more spacious. This trick can even physically expand your kitchen, because the undefined space allows you to place breakfast bar stools in the living room area.

Simple Beauty

A cool blue paint color inspired by the subtle veining in the marble countertop adds life to this white kitchen. Simple cabinet fronts, stainless-steel accents, and subway tiles finish the classic look. Silver appliances and light fixtures pair well with white. white modern kitchen.

Here are our favorite white kitchens.

Cozy in Cream

Here a white kitchen is made cozy by a warm palette and textures. Creamy white paint and intricate details create a tried-and-true traditional look. Chicken-wire cabinet fronts and collections on display add a bit of country flair.

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Ultimate U-Shaped Kitchen

Small, but mighty, this white kitchen is all about function. The U-shape layout is practical, while the glass tile backsplash adds pretty to this hardworking space. White countertops connect all three walls and keeps the space from feeling closed-in.

High-Contrast Space

Light pours through the wall of windows into this high-contrast white kitchen. Pops of green and yellow add playfulness to the room, while the classic white kitchen cabinets and coffered ceiling are seriously traditional. Decor ideas that reflect the nature outside are refreshing.

Tradition with a Twist

Furniture-style details help this all white kitchen stand out. An oversized island is perfect for a trio of bar stools accented in cobalt blue. Precious blue and white pottery continues the color scheme around the room.

It's a Classic

Unlike fads—the 1970s gold and avocado, for instance—white will never look dated. Straight-line cabinets with hefty hardware look solid and promise longevity. In this white kitchen design, gray granite countertops add contrast and help incorporate the stainless-steel appliances and brushed-nickel hardware.

Check out these pretty small white kitchens.

Mass Appeal

The neutral setting of an all white kitchen is a positive feature that feels easy to live with. A combination of stainless steel appliances, crisp white cabinets, a large island, and hardwood floors creates an appealing work space. The gray-blue of the island acts as an exciting neutral in the space.

Budget-Wise Decision

White appliances are usually in stock, and they often cost less than other finishes. Paired with white kitchen cabinets, you can't beat this ultra-sleek look. What's more, buying white appliances lets you splurge on other products, such as flooring, light fixtures, and countertops.

Here are our tips on buying cabinets.

Wide-Open Spaces

White cabinets and appliances open up a space, which is perfect for a smaller layout. In this kitchen, the large island provides much of the room's counterspace and is situated to provide a solid working triangle between it, the stove, and the refrigerator. The island also provides storage for cookbooks, which would otherwise take up valuable cabinet space.

Here are more white kitchens we love.

Open Up With Light

Pale surfaces reflect natural and artificial light to help a cramped kitchen feel bigger and brighter. Just make sure you do the research before painting the cabinets white, so you get the best result. Affordable paint comes in hundreds of white tones. Choose a warm shade if the room faces north or east, and a cool one if it's oriented south or west.

Very Versatile

It's easy to update your white kitchen with the latest colorful surfaces, small appliances, and decorative accessories. Try accenting white cabinets and appliances with a painted island, or put colorful dishware on display. With white as the base color, it's easy to update and freshen your kitchen with splashes of color.

Ideas for white kitchen cabinets.

Choose the Best White Cabinet Color

Painting kitchen cabinets white seems like an easy job. At least, until you see the wide variety of white paint colors. Choose the right white for your kitchen with our top white paint colors for cabinets.

Disappearing Acts

In open-plan kitchens, installing white appliances with white cabinets keeps your range, dishwasher, and refrigerator from standing out. Avoid visually harsh dark holes without the cost of trim panels. All white can feel stark, so adding a natural element, like this butcher-block counter, warms the space.

Show Off Collections

White is the ideal backdrop for collections, like ceramic dishes and colorful glassware. It's a great way to showcase tone-on-tone ironstone or bold art pottery. Glass-front cabinets and open shelving in this kitchen showcase dish collections.

Keep It Current

For a new look a few years from now, just change your cabinet hardware. Switch from subtle white-painted wood knobs to fanciful glass or ceramic accents, or try metal pulls that echo appliances, such as this range hood. This kitchen has stayed up-to-date with the latest trends.

Call of Nature

Organic and natural materials, such as wood, stone, shell, bamboo, and wicker, feel calming and harmonious next to white's cool purity. In this kitchen, wood beams, a stained-wood island, and stools with lots of texture make it much more than just another white kitchen. Ideas like this make all-white feel more natural.

Blank Slate

White kitchen cabinets and fixtures partner with sleek stainless steel and glass, blurring the line between contemporary and traditional in this kitchen. Add in some vintage country or rich traditional furnishings for even more personality. Strong pops of color add personality to the space.

Formal Foundation

This white kitchen is open to the dining and living room, so the homeowners chose to continue the formal look with painted cabinetry, dark granite countertops, and splashes of red inspired by artwork in the adjoining room. Instead of backsplash tiles above the stovetop, the homeowners used a thick pane of glass, allowing light to stream in all day long.

Cozy Cottage Style

White kitchen cabinets, marble countertops, and the range hood provide a background for this kitchen's soft green backsplash tiles. The subtle color and texture of the glass tiles serve to elevate the style, while stools fabricated to match tie the design together.

Supporting Role

Changing paint colors and light fixtures are quick, easy ways to update white kitchens. In this one, the key elements are all white, including cabinets, island, and tile backsplash, but the homeowner added color in a truly unexpected place—inside the coffered ceiling. The blue ceiling and colorful accessories provide some serious style.

Mix and Match

All white kitchen cabinets don't mean you can't use color elsewhere. A colorful island adds personality to an otherwise traditional white kitchen. The blue island coordinates with the cool gray countertops and stainless steel accents.

Must-have tips for painting kitchen cabinets.

Modern Appeal

Flat-panel white cabinets topped with stainless steel set the tone for a modern white kitchen. If your own doesn't have a built-in island, add a stainless-steel chef's cart or a stand-alone island. Adding castors to the cart makes it a portable prep, dining, and serving space.

Great Sink

Even though this kitchen has been newly remodeled, the apron-front sink, furniture-style legs, and curving faucet give this kitchen an air of history. The oil-rubbed bronze cabinet pulls were inspired by dark flecks in the granite countertop, and help break up the wall of white. A large window, uninterrupted by shades, lets natural light bounce around the room.

Whitewashed and Wonderful

These unmatched chairs around a farmhouse table are unified by a coat of white paint. Varying shades and textures of white—in the wall treatment, cabinets, appliances, floors, and chairs—bring this kitchen together but keep it from feeling flat. A normally traditional white-on-white kitchen has a collected and casual vibe.

Balancing Act

The combination of reflective surfaces in this all white kitchen is offset by the natural wood beams overhead and textured rugs below. Industrial-style light fixtures and metal stools provide depth and personality. The mixing of styles makes this modern kitchen one to behold.