What’s that one color we gravitate towards in order to find brightness, neutrality, and flexibility?
White.
We all love the look of the bright, fresh space accented with splashes of color throughout. Something about it seems clean, crisp and inviting.
In the kitchen, white has taken over as the go-to trending cabinet color. There is an immediate draw to its pure vibe and effortless pairing with countertops and backsplashes.
Manufacturers have caught on to the demand and now offer various glazes and accents to distress and customize the look of the white door.

If you’re one of the many that are considering making the dive into a brand new white kitchen, here are a few things to keep in mind.

White shows everything, as would be with any white object. Every smudge, every grease stain, every dirty fingerprint and every nick. If you’ve got kids or pets, the cost of the white cabinet will show itself in the daily maintenance of it’s bright color. Thankfully, these are not permanent marks and can be cleaned with a soft, damp cloth. The nicks can be filled with a touch up kit in a color matched to your door.

Hairline cracks are unavoidable in wood cabinets, no matter the quality. They occur wherever there’s a joint between pieces of wood with grain running in different directions. The pieces expand and contract at different rates with changes in humidity, since wood movement is much more pronounced across the grain than with it. A painted finish, no matter how good or how carefully applied, just can’t keep up. Every species and grade of solid wood behaves this way, although cracks will be more noticeable on light-colored cabinets than on dark ones.

While these hairline cracks will not affect the use or quality of your cabinets, they will be noticeable, and it’s our job to make you aware of this before you step in to such a big project. Maybe this will make you reconsider that trendy white kitchen or maybe it’ll just prepare you for what’s to come, either way it’s good to be in the know.

*Norm Abram, This Old House Magazine