Beef's Maria Bello loves this 'dated' kitchen cabinet color for its space-stretching effect and timeless appeal

When it comes to choosing a color for your kitchen cabinets, you can't go far wrong with white. Evoking purity and cleanliness alongside confidence and sophistication, white is a wonderfully versatile color for kitchen cabinets.

Popular in homes the length and breadth of the country, a white kitchen scheme is an effortless way to bring a relaxing and calm edge to kitchen design. For fans of contemporary kitchen ideas, it’s the ultimate clean and minimalist shade, but white also suits traditional, transitional, farmhouse, and Scandinavian kitchens, and more equally well.

American actress and writer Maria Bello's kitchen, shared on her Instagram social media feed, further highlights the popularity of this kitchen cabinet color. If your goal is to create a 'wow' kitchen, but you want to maintain a classic and timeless style in your home, then white kitchen cabinets are an extremely tranquil and liveable option.

White cabinets are an enduringly popular choice among the range of possible cabinet colors. It will reflect the light, and because of this quality, it’s frequently selected for small kitchens to make them feel more spacious. It can also help counter the lack of light in period or cottage kitchens with small kitchen windows.

With matte or gloss finishes on offer, white kitchen cabinets can look wonderfully different, and there’s a tremendous variety in its shades from the crispest of pure whites to those with subtle warm or cool undertones. White is also the perfect partner for other kitchen color ideas and materials, whether used as major elements or accents.

‘As expected, a white color scheme will be very beneficial for smaller kitchen spaces, particularly combined with light worktops,’ says Tom Howley, design director at Tom Howley bespoke kitchens.

If you've heard rumblings about white kitchen cabinets falling out of favor, don't be deterred. Elegant and timeless in their simplicity, white cabinetry is here to stay. The important thing to consider is how you style around them. 

Using a white or natural palette is all about adding depth and contrast in different layers and textures, says Jane Landino, creative head of studio at Taylor Howes. ‘To make a white palette feel designed and considered it’s important to mix and match patterns, albeit neutral ones and occasional accents of color. Just because your kitchen cabinetry is white doesn’t mean your whole kitchen needs to be minimal or plain: think about adding texture and pattern elsewhere – timber kitchen flooring or marble kitchen countertops, as an example. 

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