Grey and greige cabinets in Wilmington

Greige is doing the work

Most kitchens sold as grey are really greige — grey with enough brown in it to stay warm. A true cool grey is striking in a photograph and cold in a room, particularly a north-facing one. This is the finish where a sample on the wall for two days matters more than anything we can tell you.

Where it beats white

Grey hides a working kitchen. Fingerprints, splashes and the scuff a dog's tail leaves on a base door all disappear on a mid grey and announce themselves on a bright white. For a family kitchen or a rental at the beach, that is a practical argument, not an aesthetic one.

What it is built from

Painted grey in the same catalysed finish as the whites, and the same advice about where paint belongs and where it does not.

A two-tone shortcut

Grey on the base cabinets with white above is the most requested combination we install, and it costs nothing extra. It grounds the room and keeps the top half light — see two-tone kitchens.

Works with: white quartz, soapstone, polished nickel, wide-plank oak.