My kitchen has different colour cabinets (wood and white) AND the cabinet doors are different. But somehow it works!!

http://wafflingdesign.blogspot.ca/

I agree, and these cabinets look fantastic. I had installed new dark brown cabinets and then a hutch also I had installed indistressed black oak so that thehutch looked like an antique piece and broke up the brown. The black also fitted in well with some of the appliances as well as a black wood stove that was already in the kitchen. I do like the idea of the darker bottom cabinets making the ceilings look higher as the white top cabinets blend in with the walls. Something to think about in the future. Thank you! Frances Seward.
www.francesseward.com

I love it! We just renovated our kitchen last winter and decided to go with white and dark brown cabinets. We couldn't be happier. Here's a link to before & after pics. http://www.eco-modernism.com/2012/01/modern-kitchen-makeover-yet/

In my condo kitchen I put up contact paper as wall paper. It has a soft green background; kinda like a minty green with scrolled white flowers. So I painted the cabinets that same green on the bottom and left the drawers and doors white. The cabinets and doors on top stayed white.The knobs are wanna be glass green knobs.
It's so much nice to walk into my little kitchen now.

I've seen this done with 2 different woods and with wood/painted. Both are just gorgeous! I love the visual interest it adds.

And Anitano - LOVE your kitchen. Seriously L O V E.

We bought this kitchen and the pantry is red, and the rest of the cabinets are black and white.

http://www.cozinhasitatiaia.com.br/cozinhas-de-aco/stilo.html

It is completely modular and the material is metal painted with car paint. So we can repaint it at any time at a car shop :P

I'm going to paint my wood kitchen cabinets (not solid wood) white for the uppers, and either black or some other dark color for the lowers. I've been admiring this trend for some time.

LOVE THIS!

When I sold my 100-year-old house last spring, my agent recommended painting the dark wood cabinets with a midtone neutral on the bottom and a lighter version on top (and changing hardware from brass to nickel). It felt odd at the time but turned out great.

In the 1954 house I now have, the kitchen has a grand total of 43 cabinet doors, all with raised molding around the edge and a raised oval medallion in the middle. All of that in one color was too much (and mustard medallions/trim on white created a polka-dot effect). We've painted all the cabinetry various shades/sheens of white, including the medallions; the rectangular trim is a medium green on the lower cabinets, lighter at eye level, and lighter still for the highest ones. So there's variety, a sense of grounding, an homage to the current ombre fad, and a kind of cheerful naivete that suits the midmod vibe -- countertops are original (?) cracked-ice formica. Every time I've seen or done this multi-tone effect, the darker color goes on the bottom. I'd be interested to see if anybody has done the reverse. ...

My kitchen was originally oak with black dishwasher and stove. I painted the lower cabinets black and the upper white. I am happy with it, it looks less like one big built in.

Viola Park makes this look super easy www.violapark.com

I love these and have been contemplating whether or not to do this in my kitchen over my ancient oak cabinets for a long time

One of the few trends I can really get behind- my kitchen is up for a re-do and I'd love to try this, but am having a hard time committing since my enthusiasm for it seems to completely obliterate any ability to be rational about whether this is a simple fad :(

My tiny house kitchen/dining area are about 150 square feet. The kitchen part has a bit of a dropped ceiling and it's a galley. I painted the walls and ceiling a bronzy-orange and hung a crystal chandelier over the sink. The cabinets are 50 years old, made of steel and in great shape, so I painted them. The uppers are a deep, saturated yellow, the lowers are cobalt blue. There's a small bit of wall between the two rooms, which I painted turquoise (with the back kitchen door to match) which forms a transition to the sand colored dining area. There's another stretch of cabinet in the dining that I painted purple. Sound odd? Maybe it is, but it's also Fabulous and everybody who comes in is crazy about it. Most of all, I adore it!

@TALBY - What's more important is what you want to do. Everything at one point or another is called a fad or a trend..but if you enjoy it,and you like it, do it! You can always paint them a different color later.

Thanks Ms. Vickie!

YUP! I did this in our kitchen only a little less contrast.

http://www.janelletubbs.com/at5053/2011/06/17/year-one-at-5053/

I love the red cabinets in #3, and I like the dark/color bottom vs light upper cabinets look in general. It's a great way to add colour in a non-overwhelming way.

I think I will hop on. Our appliances are white, but high end, so I would never think about replacing my Miele dishwasher. I love that thing. They were all purchased by the previous owners almost fifteen years ago so while they are all whites, they are different shades. I think a solid non-white on the bottom and whitish on the tops would make the kitchen a lot brighter without making the appliances look mismatched.

I saw bi color cabinets for many years, so I don't think it's going away any time soon. I also like the practicality of it too. I noticed my previous all white cabinets, esp. the lower ones, were getting dirty constantly from drips, kids, and general living. Lower darker cabinets hide some sins temporarily until you have time to clean them. I also like how it brings another color/texture to the room.

I saw go for it if you can envision it, draw sketches of it, or find real examples, whether it's in a showroom, someone's home or in magazines, Have fun!

Thank you so very much for the reference!! I deeply appreciate it! I simply adore your site and feel very honored! As a lover of your project section, you may be interested in my post, Adorable DIY Ideas for Kids' Rooms, which I hope is not to presumptuous to suggest!

I live in Italy, and this is really the only thing you are seeing right now in kitchen design. I have really grown to appreciate the look, and we are now in the process or redoing our kitchen and have decided to opt for this style. (Also because it's so hard to find anything else over here!) In our situation, it's a way to bring both rustic and modern elements into our country house. The bottom cabinets will be natural oak, and the upper cabinets white. We're hoping this will help tie into other furnishings in our home, which are a mix of modern and rustic.

Lighter cabinets really open up the top part of the room. But the darker cabinets are a must for the lower half. Deeper shades hide a multitude of sins… like when you whack into them with the vacuum.

A light color base looks beautiful on an island, and would be my preference. I think it opens up the room if your kitchen isn't huge. But anyone seated at a dining area carved into the island must be careful not to kick or rub the base. Even though we don’t wear shoes in our house, it only takes one guest at a party to rub her black shoes all over the inside of your seating area—ugh.

TRI-COLOR IS WHERE IT'S @!

@Bee for Brian and @MrsLupinski ... Your kitchen descriptions sound wonderful. Do you have any pictures online to share? A girl can daydream (I just moved into a rental that has a huge kitchen with wood cabinets, but they're all stained the same medium shade of brown -- and that won't change!) ...

All these people seem to have white subway tiles on the walls, and white restaurant type dishes in their glass cabinets. Amazing!

I have an old Lake House and not enough money to redo with all new kitchen cabinets so I paint uppers a very light grey and bottom a darker grey. I love it!

@Bee for Brian - I would love to see a picture of your kitchen!! It sounds amazing!! I have a section on devoted to cream/white kitchens on my blog, and opted for a cream in my kitchen.

I added crown molding to mine and a mantel shelf with pull out spice racks above the range. Pics can be seen: http://adetailedhouse.com/category/kitchens/.

I'm so in love with this trend at the moment. It adds a bit of sass to a kitchen without going all out bold colour. Brilliant!

I like all cabinets of your site. thanks for sharing. .

My home is from 1929. Very small kitchen. I bought a black fridge and a stainless steel stove and bought a black counter top. The cabinets and walls are white. I am thinking of painting the lower cabinets black and doing a ceramic tile black splash...wondering if this would work? I put in a black ceiling can up against the white ceiling and a French door off to the side entrance.