35 White Kitchens That Are Anything But Bland & Basic

Let’s face it: the fresh, clean aesthetic of the white kitchen isn’t going anywhere soon. This classic look can vary from all-white everything from floor to ceiling to a kitchen with white countertops to a bold, contrasting cabinet and colorful walls. Perhaps the best thing about a white kitchen is the ability to morph to fit whatever aesthetic you choose. 

While some people automatically assume a white kitchen must be a minimalist space, that isn’t always the case. Your monochromatic eating space can also take on a coastal vibe, or rustic, contemporary, industrial, bohemian, vintage, or sleek — the adjectives can keep on rolling. 

These 35 dreamy white kitchen ideas all bring something unique to the table.

The minimalist kitchen in this Scandi-inspired Canadian apartment is clean-looking and peaceful. A few eucalyptus sprigs and pastel dishes add welcome pops of color in an otherwise completely white space.

You can pack a lot of functionality in a small space. Just take this tiny studio apartment in California, for example. The simple white kitchen features stylish open shelving.

A mid-century modern kitchen with clean lines and simple wooden cabinets, like the one in this Barcelona apartment, is always a welcoming space.

This warm and inviting Buenos Aires kitchen — with its bright white cabinets, filled bookshelves, and wooden island — looks like it came straight out of a Nancy Meyers movie. What more could you ask for?

When in doubt, you can’t go wrong with a simple black-and-white kitchen. In this U.K. studio apartment, wood floors and counters add a touch of warmth.

The combination of white and blue in Peggy Wang’s Queens kitchen works perfectly with the copper accents. It’s an elegant look that isn’t dark and moody at all, despite the use of a rather dark shade of blue.

This timeless white and gold kitchen will never go out of style. Anchored by a white CornuFe stove with iconic gold accents, this all-white kitchen belonging to St. Louis resident Leslie Sumner is totally gorgeous.

These U.K. homeowners harnessed the power of white to create a calm and cohesive look throughout their diminutive space. The white kitchen flows right into the dining room and living space beyond.

This attractive Amsterdam kitchen nails the balance of rustic and modern, with exposed beams and a sleek, white countertop. We love how the homeowners balance the contrast with natural-hued accessories and barstools.  

Is this a white kitchen? Yes. Is there a lot more to love about it? Also, yes. This Seattle kitchen features an attractive patterned tile backsplash and blue cabinetry, along with plenty of colorful accessories. 

You would be surprised how much a kitchen could change with a slap of fresh paint. In this before and after, Alexis Joseph painted her dingy brown cabinets a fresh white and an unexpected mint to bring some personality into the room. Her original kitchen setup also had dark granite countertops, but she switched them for crisp white ones to create a more delicate palette. The two-tone look is a great compromise between all-white airiness and playful, more adventurous color.

For those who can’t afford a kitchen renovation that guts its cabinets, there’s still a budget friendly way to update your space. This before and after only cost Wendy $600, staying well within her price range. She hid her brown laminate cabinets underneath white chalk paint, popped sticker tiles over her beige backsplash, and resurfaced the counter. The end result was a pretty white kitchen with some personality.

This particular before and after took more muscle, where Kim Wardell knocked down her kitchen wall to create a better flow to the dining room, and took down her top cabinets for white shelves instead. It created a more uncluttered and spacious layout.

Syd and Shay of Studio McGee wanted to transform this wooden kitchen into a monochromatic, modern space. Shay acknowledged that many people love to redo their kitchens into all-white spaces, but it’s the small details that really take it to the next level. And when you notice her gold frame lanterns and gray, Chippendale chairs, you’ll be forced to agree.

Kate of Centsational Girl originally wanted to tear down her kitchen and start from scratch, but she decided to put the architect on hold and work with the bones of the space instead. She took down the dark upper cabinets and opted for open shelving (a common yet controversial move these days), and focused on swapping out the wooden cabinets on the bottom for new white ones. Matte black hardware and lighting keep traditional Shaker cabinet fronts feeling modern.

Sadie and Dana made their rental Santa Barbara apartment feel more like home by repainting the 1940s cabinets a crisp white, accenting them with gold hardware, and throwing down a colorful rug that warmed up the galley.

Andrew and Kiel’s Milwaukee home has a very “Scandifornian” feel. (Their word!) It’s very coastal and beach-like, but also has a minimalist, Scandinavian vibe. You can see that perfectly in their kitchen: Boasting light gray countertops, an industrial pendant lamp, and a colorful kilim, it’s simple but packed with beachy details at the same time.

Cindy Tung’s LA apartment welcomes a twist to the all-white kitchen: It brings in pops of color through accessories (and a hint of a icy blue backsplash). Setting up an industrial shelving unit, she decorated it with vibrant pots and pans, stacked cookbooks, and propped a cheerful print in the corner, adding a little bit of her personality to the space.

Sophie and Guillaume gave their Montreal white kitchen a minimal spin, opting for hardwareless cabinets that engulf the fridge, and a lot of open air shelving to give the room a more spacious, less-cluttered vibe.

Sarah Blake’s Greenwich Village apartment proves that small living quarters are ideal for white kitchens. She accented hers with rustic, wooden shelving and black countertops, adding some dimension and warmth to her white motif.

Annabel Joy’s Boston condo has a white kitchen with a twist: it has fun checkered floors! Her theme is “New England-Bohemian,” so she wanted to warm up the white room with a playful touch. The black-and-white tiles definitely do the trick. Another nice touch? The dark grout in the subway tile to make them pop.

For those who love a spartan, serene look, Kristen Ziegler’s Richmond kitchen is the one to copy. She designed the IKEA kitchen herself and loves the composition of the cabinets, as well as how the subway tiles all the way up the ceiling add a touch of texture.

Andrea Howe’s California home originally had a very dark interior and low ceilings. She flipped that into an airy, relaxing space filled with plenty of sunshine. Just look at her coastal-feeling kitchen with its acre-long island and minimalist light fixtures.

This Barcelona apartment is a mix between rustic and Nordic, which is how you can describe its white kitchen as well. Anna Alfaro chose butcher block countertops because they flowed so well with the wooden dining room table, and contrasted beautifully against the industrial metal chairs.

If you’re really trying to go all-in with the all-white glam look, consider getting clear bar stools and seating like Sydne Summer did in her West Hollywood home.

If you’re tired of subway tiles but want to add a tiled white backsplash, Tanya List’s Ontario all-white kitchen will give you plenty of inspiration. Chosen to accent her IKEA cabinets, the small hexagon tiles bring in an unexpected dose of texture and playfulness.

To break up the monochromatic look, feel free to add in a splash of color. Catherine Masi’s Santa Barbara kitchen dates all the way back to the 1920s, but she gave it a modern and quirky update with white paint and blue flooring to match the countertop edge. The paper fans over the window and the gold polka dots take the space to a place of whimsy.

Nathan and Charles’ Brooklyn home created a sleek and modern kitchen space by using white IKEA cabinets and light gray countertops.

If you prefer a more vintage aesthetic, take a page out of Carina’s book and decorate your all-white kitchen with knick-knacks and bric-a-brac. Her Buenos Aires kitchen has open air shelving that is decorated with her colorful bowls, pitchers, and cans, adding a charming touch to the space. But the real attention-grabber is the floating shelf that sits just above the window, decorated with artfully placed bowls and tea pots.

Elise and Ben’s Mount Washington white kitchen shakes things up with custom gray-and-white marble countertops. They don’t just span the tops, but make a statement by extending down to the sides of the breakfast counter. Sleek brass hardware feel glam yet modern.

For those who appreciate a slick, almost futuristic look, then Robyn and Sam’s Scandi-inspired kitchen will be something you need to bookmark.

The wonderful thing about all-white kitchens is that they can be molded to your personality and design aesthetic. Take Stacey Lipstein’s Toronto home, for example. Her space features hexagon floor tiles, a rustic white wooden table contrasted with black metal chairs, and a minty green refrigerator. Mix it all together and you get a rustic, vintage feel.

Audrey Morissette’s Quebec home has an all-white kitchen with open space shelving, glass-front counters, and a big kitchen island that boasts a wooden countertop. The copper pendants add a mid-century twist to the look.

Danica and Robin’s LA kitchen is a fun mix of minimalism and industrial touches. Their space came with very little counter space, so they repurposed an old bedroom dresser for larger kitchen supplies, got a freestanding bar cabinet from CB2, and added an amazing black hanging shelf to contrast against the Scandinavian touches.

Suzanne and Oliver’s Brooklyn kitchen added a ton of texture by not limiting subway tiles to just their backsplash areas. They extended the look across the room, engulfing it in white and breaking up the monochromatic feel with texture.