Can You Have White Cabinets and Wood Trim?

Giovanni Valle is a licensed architect and LEED-accredited professional and is certified by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB). He is the author and managing editor of various digital publications, including BuilderSpace, Your Own Architect, and Interiors Place.

Finding the right balance between dynamic color accents and the overall unity of your kitchen design is no easy task. Making a choice can be especially tricky when it comes to molding. Specifically, many wonder if combining wood trim with white cabinets can be a good idea.

You can have white cabinets and wood trim if the wood tone matches other objects in your kitchen, like the island, kitchen table, or floor. While it is recommended for the trim to match the color of your cabinets, a purposeful contrast can add a lot to your design.

Having contrasting molding is an interesting idea, but you should proceed with caution. It is essential to avoid such a drastic contrast appearing accidental.

If you want to combine your white cabinets with wood trim beautifully, follow the tips provided in this article to create an elegant and unique style.

The White and the Wood

White is a great base color for interior design. It makes the room lighter and visually adds space. However, it is best to add other colors as well to create more dynamics.

Solely white rooms are often compared to hospital wards. That doesn’t sound like the cozy home atmosphere we aim to create.

Thankfully, the neutrality of white makes it easy to match it with any other color. It adds elegance to the room, while additional colors fill it with life and create bright accents.

Still, combining white with unpainted materials can be more controversial.

Are white and wood a good combination? Surprisingly, yes! It’s not exactly obvious, yet it has been a growing trend in interior design.

Wood is a material that adds warmth and coziness to your room. Lighter wood tones create a calming environment and brighten the room, especially if you have a lot of home plants to add some bright natural green to the picture.

Dark wood, on the other hand, can add a strong accent of its own and looks exceptionally stylish.

All the above is particularly true when we talk about kitchens. Combining white and wood cabinets, tabletops, and shelves is getting more popular.

However, such daring decisions have to be consistent.

Trim is one of the trickiest elements when we talk about contrast. Generally, designers advise making trim the color of the cabinets, as its primary purpose is to give a more unified and finished look to your kitchen set.

However, contrast molding can create a beautiful and powerful contrast if done right. Let’s discuss how to do it right in more detail.

How To Combine White Cabinets and Wood Trim

The wood elements have to be coordinated to create purposefulness in such contrasts. Otherwise, the wood will look random, almost like you didn’t care enough to paint it. How do you avoid this? Let’s cover the basics.

Be Consistent With All Molding Types

Molding is present in various forms in your kitchen. Let’s briefly describe the trim you will need to work with:

Crown molding: Crown molding is the one that runs at the top of your cabinets. It fills up the space between the cabinets and the ceiling, making the design look more finished.

Light rail molding: This can be found at the bottom of your top cabinets or, as easily guessed by its name, where the light rail sits. If crown molding is present, the light rail molding creates symmetry.

Base and toe kick molding: These are found at the bottom of your ground cabinets. Apart from adding to your design, they also bring more convenience.

Windows and door frames: These may also have trim, and if they are close to your kitchen cabinets, they shouldn’t be overlooked.

Some kitchens incorporate all molding types mentioned on the list, while others only have a few of them. Still, you should consider each while choosing your molding material and make sure they all match.

As mentioned, contrasting trim is a risky decision. While it can be done, it is strongly recommended not to have diverse molding in one room.

If you’re going for wood trim, be consistent with it. Consider all molding types you want to have (or already have) and coordinate them to create an elegant and thought-through look.

Commit to One Wood Tone

Apart from the molding, you will likely have (and should have) wood in other parts of your kitchen. Make sure to stick to one wood tone so your design looks united and consistent.

The most important part of the equation is the floor. It takes up a lot of space in your kitchen and sets the entire tone.

If you’re doing wood trim, it is also best to have a wooden floor, and the tones should match as closely as possible. Lack of coordination will result in a color mess instead of an elegant accent.

Other wood elements are also important. Having wooden chairs, a dining table, or an island will be a great addition to your wood trim, but they must also match.

Combining multiple contrasting elements is all about coherence, so don’t neglect it.

Instead of focusing on big furniture pieces, you can also add more small details: tabletop, dishes, wooden frames on the walls, baskets, etc.

Whatever you choose to do, make sure your wood trim corresponds to other elements in your kitchen.

When To Avoid Contrasts

As much as I want to encourage you to experiment with daring projects, I also have to acknowledge that combining wood trim with white cabinets is not always a good idea. Sometimes, making it work is just too difficult.

To avoid design disasters, let’s cover the instances when it is best to avoid drastic contrasts:

Your kitchen is small. Contrasting molding works best in large rooms, where there can be more corresponding elements and more space for the color diversity to play out.

There are more colors in your kitchen. Wood trim can look extremely out of place if your cabinets are not exclusively white or the other furniture doesn’t match the color scheme.

Other than that, there is no limit to your imagination. Remember that designers’ recommendations are not rules set in stone, and you can do whatever pleases your eye.

Conclusion

You can have white cabinets and wood trim as long as other elements in your kitchen match the color scheme and support the accent.

Avoid the wood trim looking accidental by coordinating it with the rest of your design.

If your kitchen is not spacious or it’s not possible for you to commit to the concept entirely, maybe you should reconsider going for contrasting molding.