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Cream coloured cabinets are popular choice for kitchens – they are a classic style that add warmth to the space and make it inviting. Paired with the perfect hardware and complementing wall colour they make the perfect, timeless choice.
Learn about the perfect cream colour to use on your kitchen cabinets and the complimenting paint colour to use on the walls.
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
The perfect cream colour
Looking for the perfect cream colour for your kitchen cabinets or kitchen remodel but not sure where to start? Tried and true, the perfect choice is the Benjamin Moore colour Natural Cream.
Natural Cream
Benjamin Moore Natural Cream OC-14 is considered a soft neutral. It is a light greige colour that is flattering with both warm and cool colour schemes. This means that no matter the direction your home faces the lighting will be flattering with the cream kitchen cabinets.
The undertones of BM natural cream are a mix of gray, yellow and white – its a muddy cream. It is similar to Edgecomb Gray but doesn’t have the purple undertones so this makes it a perfect for a cream kitchen cabinet colour.
See the full before and after of my cream coloured kitchen here! We used stock cabinets with custom fronts to achieve a high-end look. The before and after is amazing!
Shop my Kitchen
Shaker Cream Kitchen Cabinets
When searching for the perfect colour and style of cabinets for our kitchen remodel, I knew I wanted to keep the style timeless. This was a bit of a challenge to ensure the style matched the rest of our home. White felt a little too modern and stark, while grey felt too cold.
The original kitchen cabinets were a flat panel form a reno completed by previous owners 15+ years ago. The perfect solution for our kitchen remodel was a traditional shaker cabinet paired with the perfect creamy colour.
The cream cabinets needed to blend seamlessly with the breakfast nook in our kitchen and flow throughout the rest of the home. The home is over a hundred years old with many of the walls painted in White Dove so creating a seamless fit was an important factor in this remodel.
PRO TIP: For a fresh looking kitchen, mix brass cabinet hardware with your cream coloured cabinets. This adds more warmth and visual interest to the space. I used cabinet latches, bin pulls, and mushroom knobs.
Wall Paint colours
What is the best kitchen wall colour to go with natural cream cabinets? This is an important question I asked myself during the remodel. To give a fresh feel to the kitchen the colour I chose was Chantilly Lace by Benjamin Moore, this was the perfect fit with BM Natural Cream.
Chantilly Lace is a crisp white with very minimal undertones. This colour is a bright white, but it still has some warmth to it. It also creates a contrast between the cream cabinets, which ensures a fresh feel.
Not sure what sheen to use on your cabinets and walls? I like to use pearl on the cabinets and eggshell on the walls. I often choose to paint the ceiling the same as the walls but choose a flat sheen.
Looking for more ways to use BM Natural Cream?
- Window and door trim
- Wall Treatments such as board and batten
- Furniture
- Bookcases and other cabinetry
FAQ’s
The perfect colour to pair with your cream cabinets is Chantilly Lace, a Benjamin Moore colour that is a true white without any undertones. This is why it pairs with and compliments cream cabinets.
Cream cabinets are not out of style! They area classic colour for kitchen cabinets, though designers are seeing a resurgence of cream coloured kitchens over white kitchens.
YES! Cream is a great choice for kitchen cabinets because they are timeless as well as warm and inviting.
The best way to ensure your cream kitchen is keeping up with current trends and looks fresh is by updating the hardware. The perfect pairing to cream cabinets is brass hardware and would ensure you are keeping up with kitchen design trends. It is also important to think about the wall colour. With current trends, it is important to have a contrast between the cabinet colour and wall colour.
Enjoyed reading about my cream kitchen cabinets? Read more about the paint colours in my home.
More home decor ideas
- Paint Colours in my Home
- Kitchen Reno Details, Links, & FAQ’s
- Why I Chose a Breakfast Nook over a Peninsula
- Mixing Metals
- Make an IKEA Kitchen Look Custom with Retrofit Cabinet Doors
Love your kitchen! My cabinets are currently what I think is BM Ivory white. Can you recommend a paint colour that would work with that? Or should I repaint the cabinets?
Author
If your ceilings are under 9′ I might consider painting the walls the same colour as the cabinets!
Hi there! LOVE your kitchen. Did you paint the Ikea bases also in the natural cream?
Author
Yes I did! Sometimes the lighting makes it look a little different
Absolutely beautiful! I’m definitely saving this to reference for our new home build.
I have Alabaster walls and (I think) Santa Cecilia granite countertops and I need to paint my cabinets. What would your suggestions be? 🙃 I love y what you have done!
Author
I would try out some off-white paint colours to see how they look in the space. Try White Dove, Cloud Cover, paints in those ranges.
Hi!
I am not allowed to order the colours from BM’s website. Do you know if they ship to Sweden? I love the colour and I would love to get the NCS-code, or the closest one if it’s possible 🙂
Thanks in advance!
Author
Hi, unfortunately, I don’t know but you could reach out to them and see if they could help? or maybe there is something on google about the code you are looking for?
Hey Emma, I was wondering if you used the Natural Cream as it is or if you lightened/cut it by a percentage? Also, were these photos taken with a white flash? I’m asking because I’ve been stuck on this color for our new construction project, but cant see it in the space yet.
Bests,
Jay
Author
Hi Jay, I didn’t lighten or cut the colour at all, but I do have a full wall of windows on one side of the kitchen. If you check my Instagram @emmacourtneyhome there are lots of videos of my kitchen without any editing so its easier to see how the colour looks in the space. I find that paint chips make the colour look darker than it is on a larger surface. However, if you are finding it a bit dark for your taste “sea pearl” is a beautiful colour just a bit lighter than natural cream! I think on a paint chip its one shade lighter than pale oak which is pretty similar to natural cream! I used both of those colours in my bathroom and love them.
Thank you so much. I agree. I’ve gotten several large paint chips from Benjamin Moore because I thought it was a lot darker than what I’ve seen online. I’ll check out sea pearl today. Thank you!
I love your kitchen remodel. i am going to use it as inspiration
for my remodel (painting cherry cabinets). I was wondering if you would share
a link for your subway tile. Thank you and great job!
Author
That’s so exciting! I got my tiles from a local tile shop in Toronto, however, I know some have had success with taking the details to a tile shop near them. The details are all in this post https://emmacourtneyhome.com/kitchen-reno-details-links-faqs/#Timeless_Backsplash_Tiles
Emma- I have 1980 honey oak trim…. we are keeping this. When looking to update my house, White Dove seems to go well with the trim; so thinking I will paint my walls this color… however I would like to paint my kitchen cabinets a cream color as they are a dark wood and seem heavy. What color do you suggest? I have paired the white dove with BM cheating heart for a n island-table… to provide some contrast.
Any suggestions on counter tops as leaning towards man made quartz.
Author
Gail, it sounds lovely. Have you tried natural cream? Or a lighter option that pairs well with White Dove is Sea Pearl buy BM. Maybe try some samples of those, I think they would pair nicely!
I love your kitchen table! Where did you purchase this?
Author
Thank you! I got it on Facebook Marketplace but it’s originally from Pier One! More details are here https://emmacourtneyhome.com/why-i-chose-a-breakfast-nook-over-a-peninsula/
Hi Emma,
If we are including moulding (crown), what color/sheen it be painted if we paint the walls and ceiling the same color? Assuming we use Chantilly Lace or SW/Alabaster? Crown will the continue throughout the house. Thanks!
Author
Hi Nicole, I am not sure if you have seen my paint sheen guide post: https://emmacourtneyhome.com/paint-sheen-guide/ which might help. I would paint the crown the same colour as the walls/ceiling but semi-gloss sheen for the crown and baseboards, eggshell for the walls, and flat for ceiling. I hope this helps!
This is so helpful!! Do you think natural cream cabinets would go with white dove or simply white walls?
Author
I think it truly depends on the lighting in your own home. Since this is. big decision, I recommend you buy a test can of paint for natural cream, simply white, and white dove and test it in the space!