Like all magnificent things, it’s very simple.

— Natalie Babbitt.

From time to time the National Kitchen and Bath Association gives word to kitchen designers that white cabinets are on their way out. We hold our collective breath.  A world devoid of our favorite white cabinets? It can’t be! Oh, tell us it’s not true!! We spend our nights tossing and turning, our sleep haunted by visions of white-less cabinets. Our days are spent in dismal disbelief.  But every time our prayers are answered, and white cabinets are still America’s favorite. White is, and will always be, the favorite color overall for homeowners, as well as, designers. Why?  It’s bright, light, beautiful and there’s nothing you can’t do with white shaker cabinets! And when we pair our favorite white with the Shaker door style it’s fantabulastic!  Here is why:

1. White actually makes the kitchen seem brighter by reflecting light.  And not only does it look brighter it makes the kitchen seem larger by making the walls seem to recede. And if the wall and ceiling is white you can create a kitchen that is seamless without boundaries or edges.  To keep an all-white kitchen from looking cold and sterile use contrasting textures and recessed-panel Shaker cabinets and some crown molding to create interesting shadows.  That’s just one reason we like to pair white with Shaker door styles. 
2. White is a classic. Shaker cabinets are also a classic. When you pair two classics can you get anything less than classy? It’s like our little black dress, we can dress it up or down.  It works with any color. White Shaker cabinets with black granite countertops? Fantastic! White Shaker Cabinets with blue soapstone countertops? Amazing!  White marble countertops? Magnificent! You simply can’t go wrong with white Shaker cabinets!
3. Whatever appliance color you fall in love with will work perfectly with white Shaker cabinets.  Consider black countertops with black or slate appliances for the classic black and white. Or choose stainless steel appliances with a metallic and glass tile backsplash and give the kitchen a clean, stunningly Contemporary look.  White Shaker cabinets with bronze faucets and bronze appliances, you can take this kitchen anywhere you want it to go. Or white shaker with nickel hardware and faucets and black stainless steel appliances. You literally can’t go wrong! 
4. White Shaker cabinets are the perfect start of any kitchen style. They work equally well in a Traditional kitchen as a Contemporary kitchen.  They are casual enough to be perfectly at home in a cottage or farmhouse kitchen.   
5. I think one of the main reasons we love white Shaker cabinets is simplicity. In the chaotic world we live in simplicity is a welcome break. It’s not so much a lack of complexity but rather it allows us to focus on only what’s necessary. Simplicity allows us to focus on the important aspects of the kitchen without a profusion of other things demanding our attention.  Simplicity is a feeling.  An emotional response.  It’s a way of bringing out the best of a room by only noticing what is essential.

At the heart of the Shaker movement were practicality and simplicity that can be seen in the Shaker style cabinetry.  The classic simplicity is what makes it work so well with all kitchen styles, colors, and finishes. Natalie Babbitt said it best “Like all magnificent things, it’s very simple.”