The 4 Best Kitchen Cabinet Colors for Stainless Steel Appliances

Cabinet color plays a pivotal role in crafting the ideal aesthetic for your kitchen. Modern stainless steel appliances, however, make the selection process a bit more challenging since the silvery hue sometimes clashes with colors in classic kitchens. Fortunately, colors abound that exploit the interplay between cabinetry and metal to positively impact the look of any kitchen style. Whether you want to cultivate a minimalist space oozing with contemporary charm or a traditional space that exudes inviting warmth, these four cabinet colors have you covered when you want your kitchen to shine.

Learn more about how each color creates a unique look in your kitchen for a new, improved look after your cabinet makeover. These time-tested hues offer a wide range of decorative possibilities when you want to curate the perfect spot in your home for food prep and making shared memories with family and friends.

Let's face it — classic white goes with everything, including stainless steel kitchen appliances, but they confer numerous advantages beyond the obvious aesthetic benefits. For instance, classic white cabinets open up your space and make it feel larger, especially in kitchens with large windows that let in lots of light. Likewise, whether you choose a cool or warm white tone for your kitchen cabinets, the lightness of the hue simplifies identifying dust, dirt, and stains, enabling fuss-free cleanup as needed. Lastly, classic white goes with almost any color scheme, letting you create personalized accent palettes and add complementary hardware like colorful mosaic options, sleek stainless steel that matches your appliances — or virtually any shade combination in between.

Cultivate a monochromatic look by pairing elegant gray cabinets with stainless steel appliances. For adding neutral appeal to your kitchen, gray cabinets come in many shades and tones to best complement other aspects of your home decor. For example, matte dark gray options offset the shine of your stainless steel appliances to create a sleek, sophisticated ambiance in your kitchen. By contrast, lighter shades of gray offer a bit of contrast for a more contemporary look, especially when you have much darker gray walls. Maximize the impact of elegant gray cabinets by completing their look with high-contrast hardware, such as oil-rubbed bronze, or options that blend seamlessly, like brushed nickel or chrome.

Nothing beats the warmth of wood when you want a traditional vibe in your kitchen, and rich espresso cabinet colors fill the bill. Featuring the ideal amount of contrast for eggshell and light beige walls, an espresso finish on your cabinets works best with stainless steel appliances when backsplashes and counters boast a tinge of gray, cabinets have silver-tone metal hardware, and sinks boast the same stainless steel tone as your appliances. You can combine this classic finish with muted blue and red hues for a modernized feel or crisp white walls for a clean, minimalist look that complements contemporary furnishings.

When you want to lend a nautical feel to your kitchen, coastal blue cabinets are the way to go. This balmy hue blends beautifully with the silvery tone of stainless steel appliances and meshes marvelously with other accent colors like yellow when you want a sunny farmhouse space and white when you want to bring modern chic to the forefront of your space. Maximize contrast by adding coastal blue cabinets to kitchens with navy blue walls for modern flair, or curate a farmhouse feel by adding white enamel hardware and accent colors throughout your space.