Antique White Kitchen Cabinets (Design Photos)

This page showcases antique white kitchen cabinets in a variety of layouts to give you ideas and inspiration. Kitchens with antique white cabinets are popular because they look beautiful and elegant. Often found in traditional culinary space designs the look of antique cabinets is timeless and highly sought after.

Not only can antique white kitchen cabinets give your design an elegant ambiance, but they can also feel warmer than regular white. Kitchens with antique white cabinets can be matched with practically any color scheme. In addition, there is not such a dramatic contrast when paired with dark countertops or flooring, when compared to regular white cabinets.

The picture above features classic luxe full-length white paneled kitchen cabinets along its back wall, complete with oiled brass handles and glass-framed display cabinets. The stainless steel appliances recessed into the casework are signs of functional modernity, but the solid wood carved dining table, silver chandelier, and trio of circular pendants over the wood-topped kitchen island bring elements of classical luxury to this kitchen. The dark rippling wood plank flooring completes the whole look of this white kitchen.

Antique White Cabinets

Antique white cabinets with Neo-classical trims, plinths, and details give a Classical look to this all-white culinary space, particularly in its use of fluting, Ionic scrolls on its plinths and scroll-shaped brackets over the range hood. The use of glass framed cabinet doors and bronzed wrought iron cabinet handles also add to the vintage feel of this culinary space and is continued by the beige tile floors, grey tiled backsplash and mosaic tile accent backsplash behind the stovetop.

Best Paint Color 

Antique White cabinets make quite the statement with their highly detailed surfaces, glazed finishes, and carefully chosen hardware. Your paint color should support and continue that statement. That doesn’t mean that you have to go colorless, several tones go great in a traditional space.

A great place to start for kitchens with white cabinets is with historical colors. Most paint companies offer a line of historical colors they can recommend. A light, muted grey or soft ivory is perfect if you want your wall to fade gently into the background without being boring. Muted Navy and toned-down Paprika reds really make those white cabinets glow if you are a fan of darker colors.

If you prefer something less neutral than reds and blues but not as neutral as grey or ivory, go with green. Not a bright jungle green, think more along the lines of the silvery green of sage or reedy green of seagrass. You can even echo the tones in your cabinet glaze, and go with a soft mocha or caramel. The trick is to stay muted, bold, bright colors will overpower the antiqued look of your cabinets and will look garish in such a traditional space.

Make sure to choose a high-quality paint made for kitchens, this is not the place to use an eggshell finish. Take samples of your paint colors home, and see how they live with your cabinets and countertops. It is really important to see how they will look in your lighting, the lighting at a paint store is not going to allow you to see how your lighting and finishes will affect the paint color.

Design Tips for Old-Style White Painted Cabinets

To achieve the perfect antique white finish you can use off the shelf paint of the same name or try mixing a combination of brown with white. Mixing together colors such as burnt or raw sienna with burnt or raw amber is one way to achieve these results. One should add the brown color to the white rather than white to brown to avoid overdoing the shade. To achieve a warmer tone add a touch of yellow or red to the mixture.

The picture above features a traditional kitchen with white paneled antique white paint cabinets with drawers with large-profile cornices are matched with vintage style black metal cabinet handles. The granite stone tiles used for the flooring are a classic element, matched with the quarried stone tiles used for the backsplash. The kitchen island is the centerpiece of the entire culinary space with its salt and pepper granite countertops in a double-level design, and held up by a rich dark wood base featuring a latticework for wine storage and ornate scroll-shaped brackets to hold up the breakfast bar. The pair of black metal and crystal chandeliers on top of the breakfast bar further give this kitchen an almost Southern vintage feel.

Best Granite Color 

You’ve decided on a look, traditional, antiqued, grounded in old world sophistication and splendor. You know you want granite, but you aren’t quite sure which color is best suited for your antique white cabinetry. A few pro-tips will help you on your way to making a perfectly harmonious, beautifully designed culinary space.

If you’ve glazed your cabinets with a glaze that brings out dark tones such as browns or back, go with a highly variegated granite with touches of dark brown. To bring in some color, find a granite that has small pops of muted colors such as Jade or a watery dark blue. Mocha glaze over white cabinets, cocoa granite, oversized stone tile flooring, and rubbed bronze fixtures look stunning together.

Stay away from the solid granite colors as they read more modern. If your glaze is more towards the grey or black side, chose a granite that is mostly white with veins of soft grey and pops of black. A striated granite would look beautiful paired with glazed white cabinets, antiqued pewter cabinet hardware, and reclaimed walnut flooring. With cabinetry that has a more reddish glaze, granite in tones of russet and dark reddish-brown with flecks of bronze add that extra bit of warmth and tradition.

When choosing granite for your antique white kitchen cabinets, try to keep the glaze and granite in similar color families. Choose granite that have more variation, too little variation can look jarringly modern in an antiqued space. Don’t be afraid to take a cabinet door with you to the granite yard or ask for a sample to take home, view it in different lights throughout the day, and see how it plays with the other surfaces in your culinary space.

White Stained Cabinets

This classic traditional luxe culinary space features simple white paneled drawers matched with ornate brass cabinet handles and hanging cabinets and shelves in a rich brown wood finish. The range hood also features a wood finish in its brackets, cornices and trims, and hangs over the vintage tile backsplash. The beige random coursed stone tile for the flooring adds to the classical look, as does the kitchen island, highlighted by its painted brown body with pedestals and red granite stone countertop. A silver chandelier hangs over the kitchen island and brings unity to the vintage space.

Open Concept Kitchen 

The culinary space’s off-white paneled kitchens and large pair of French doors display vintage elements while the black stone countertop and stainless steel wine fridge and wash basin contrast with a more modern feel. The trio of hanging lamps over the kitchen cabinet also add a vintage chic vibe to the bright, airy space. The Scandinavian wood strip flooring brings linearity to this open plan house’s culinary area.

Beige Countertops

The beautiful beige hues of these raised panel cream kitchen cabinets go well with the antique dark wood finish for the kitchen island base and black leather of the button-tufted barstools. A large stainless steel refrigerator and range hood with glass guard flank the beige granite countertop, also topped with a trio of hanging decorative glass pendants. The darker beige walls of the culinary space complement well with the lighter beige paneled cabinets and beige and brown mosaic tile backsplash.

Black Island

This antique style white country kitchen features splashes of mint green on its walls, but the cooking space basically sticks to a more classic neutral tone. White paneled kitchen cabinets and drawers mixed with glass framed display cabinets set the tone for the antique style culinary space, and goes well with the beige and grey diamond tile backsplash and wood plank flooring. A pair of antique glass and brass orbs hang over an accent kitchen island with its beige granite countertop and black painted wood body with gold trim accents.

Light Tile Flooring

The antique white paneled kitchen cabinets and glass framed display cabinets in this antique style culinary space match well with the small sandstone tiled backsplash and larger random coursed sandstone floor tiles. The kitchen island serves as a centerpiece with its beige granite countertop and dark warm wood paneled plinth and base. The chrome-finished gooseneck faucet on the island also adds to the culinary space’s vintage charm.

Brown Granite Countertops

Beautiful antique white kitchen cabinets with an eat-in dining island topped with brown granite. The space features luxury elements such as a vaulted ceiling with a wrought iron chandelier, French windows, a hidden refrigerator and high end Viking oven. (1) Pebble Beach Estate from Vimeo

Mocha Glaze

Create a subtle antique look with white glaze on white cabinets or a dramatic, traditional look that really brings out the details in your woodwork with a mocha or bronze glaze on white cabinets. The glaze will settle into the corners, carvings, and molding on cabinet and drawer fronts, giving your cabinetry an authentic looking antique patina.

Whether your look is traditional or transitional, antiqued cabinets make a bold statement. Pair them with oil-rubbed bronze fixtures and heavy detailing for a more traditional feel. If you lean more country and have wainscoting detail on your cabinet fronts, the glaze will settle in and make your culinary space look warm and inviting. For a more transitional look, keep your cabinet details simple and use minimal, pewter or steel fixtures, the glaze will pair nicely with the more modern details and create harmony between the new and the old.

Replace some of your upper cabinet door fronts with leaded glass panels, glazed kitchen cabinets combined with glass fronts can give even builder-grade kitchen cabinets look like custom-built works of art. If you are considering remodeling, look into glazing your existing cabinetry as an alternative to replacing them. Do the prep work, such as painting the base coats yourself, then hire the glazers to come in and do the finishes to help save a little bit of money.

If you are purchasing new cabinetry, you can find pre-glazed storage spaces or you can purchase the raw materials and choose your level of antiquing. For the budget-conscious, keep your existing traditional cabinetry as is and have your kitchen island glazed. It will add interest, depth, and warmth to your culinary space without taking over your entire remodel budget.

You can also DIY your kitchen storage spaces and apply the glaze yourself, there are several books and internet tutorials available to guide you, and although this route is recommended for those with more DIY experience, it isn’t advised as a first DIY project.

Glazed kitchen cabinetry is one of the best ways to achieve a traditional look in your culinary space. It tones down the harsh brightness of white storage spaces, brings out the fine details of carvings and moldings, and adds a lived-in but sophisticated glow to your space. When paired with dark wood floors, granite counters, and ceramic or stone backsplash, glazed kitchen cabinets are the crown jewel, creating the look of a hand-crafted Old-World culinary space.

Chocolate Glaze

This upscale pantry features white paneled glazed culinary storage spaces, drawers and casework, and a double-level breakfast bar with black leather upholstered barstools. Grey and beige subway tiles run along the backsplash and is accented by a patterned tile above the stove top. A pair of bell shaped black iron and frosted glass lamps hanging over the breakfast bar add a vintage feel, as do the random coursed rough limestone tiles used for the flooring.