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Green and White Kitchen Cabinets with Dark Green Bottom Cabinets

In 2010 on white paint cabinets were all the rage, I hopped right on board. It was such a welcome change from the dark kitchen we had for years. Recently, I felt like I was a little bit tired of an all white kitchen and wanted to paint green and white kitchen cabinets. they are such a great complement to each other. The white was nice, but I wanted something a little more striking and dramatic, and it have been on my mind for a while to do something different with our cabinets, but I wasn’t sure what. At first I considered a sage green or even an emerald, or pewter green, because there are lots of green paint colors and green shades, but in the end I knew I wanted dark green cabinets.

Dining area wall painted with a deep dark green accent wall with Midcentury modern art,  a hanging plant and a dining table with chairs with a plaster vase in the middle and a candle

After painting the dark, green moody wall in our eating area and then the black wall in our living room, I decided I wanted to go with dark, green cabinets by painting bottom kitchen cabinets a dark shade of green.  I picked the green paint color because it’s so calming and changes through he day. The green hue shifts to being very green and with a moss undertone in daylight, and at night, the bold green becomes mellow and moody. It’s really a next level green paint.

Repeating the wall color from our accent wall eating area (Benjamin Moore Deep River) on the lower cabinets was a great way to carry the color across and the unify the spaces and create a focal point.

Deep River Benjamin Moore

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It’s been so long, I’ve almost forgotten what our original kitchen cabinetry looked like, and how much paint can change things. When we had hopped on the white cabinet trend, and added brass hardware too and it made such a difference. We also took out old cabinets on the other wall and added a free standing piece of furniture and open shelving. The buffet was also painted dark green to bring the kitchen together and looks amazing with the wooden shelves above to feel more like an open kitchen even though it’s vert cozy.

Kitchen before white painted cabinets

To me the biggest thing about our bottom painting cabinets a dark color is that we had come from that place of a dark and heavy kitchen 10 years ago with all old oak cabinets, and I didn’t want the cabinets to be light sucking again and have an entirely dark green kitchen. I still like a light and bright kitchen. I love the crisp whites and subway tile on our backsplash. I would love marble or white countertops, but we aren’t ready to change that yet from our butcherblock countertops. Find the hand-painted wallpaper above the doorway here.

White kitchen with wood countertops

The perfect solution was to only paint the bottom cabinets for the dark contrast and keep the top cabinets white. It would also contrast well with the natural wood of our kitchen island which acts like a neutral. I always get a ton of compliments on the towel bar under my sink that holds my dish towels. Here is the link if you want to grab one for yourself!

Painted dark green buffet with marbel top

On painting day, I took the day to clean the cabinets with a magic eraser and  soap to get all the grease and things that you don’t realized are on your cabinets until you start cleaning them. I then gave them is light sanding to rough up the surface so the paint would adhere better to the already painted surface, after a quick tinted primer coat, It took me about two hours to paint over the bottom cabinets.

Painted dark green lower cabinets with white uppers

When painting cabinets a dark color, they may need to be given up to 4 coats for complete coverage.

Painted lower cabinets with contrasting upper cabinets

The hardest part about painting over light cabinets with dark cabinets is having to do multiple coats and keep them smooth. Because dark paint always needs more than one coat, I ended up with up to three to four coats of paint in some areas.

Painted white upper cabinets and dark green lower cabinets

When it was done, it was so worth it! We absolutely love the way it looks and how much the dark green paint updates our kitchen. It goes well with our butcherblock counter (still hope to get a marble countertop one day!), and I adore the Target runner even more. The color looks great with our wood floors too!

Contrasting painted upper and lower cabinets colors

With the upper cabinets remaining white, and painting just the lower kitchen cabinets a dark green color,  we still get a brightness at the top of the kitchen…not light sucking. It really makes an inexpensive, but updated statement.

Painted dark green buffet with marbel top

I’m actually still debating on the tall pantry whether or not I leave it white, or paint it to match the rest. What do you think? The buffet also received a faux marble countertop paint treatment. You can see how to paint your own faux marble countertop here.

White upper cabinets and painted lower dark green cabinets

Paint is just one of the many ways to update a kitchen on a budget. This homeowner painted over her granite countertops to look like marble. It made such a huge difference in making her ktichen feel fresh and new for a few hundred dollars and some time. So if you bought a home with ugly stone counters, there is hope for that weird colored granite yet!

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8 Comments

  1. The cabinets look amazing! I have always loved that dark green color. I am dating myself in the 80’s it was called hunter green. I used it in my home and loved it. You always have an eye for great design and trends

  2. The dark color sucks the light right out. Sorry, but I think you will regret this decision.

  3. I love the color you chose! I think I would paint the pantry cabinet the same as your lower cabinets, unless you feel it may make the kitchen to dark.

  4. Love the lower cabinets in the dark grey-green! Adds a sense of solidity and interest to the room… brava!
    13 years ago I painted my lower cabinets black & left the upper cabinets white, and have never regretted it.
    Light bounces around my kitchen from the windows and white upper cabinets, and the lower black cabinets give the room a feeling of being grounded.

  5. I have a long wall of just lower cabinets with a black faced dishwasher and oven mixed in. So I painted all the lowers black. That gives me a beautiful seemless wall of cabinets. I love it. Before they were light wood lowers broken up by the black faced appliances. So much better now.

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