A Beginner’s Guide to Two-Tone Kitchen Cabinets

Whether you’ve decided to renovate your kitchen or are building the kitchen of your dreams in your dream home, you’ve probably spent hours deliberating over which kitchen cabinets to choose. With so many options, it’s a difficult decision. To top it off, there’s been a recent trend towards two-tone cabinets. With homeowners now able to draw inspiration from multi-toned kitchens, it’s made the decision of cabinet choices much more difficult. We’ve put together a brief beginner’s guide to two-tone kitchen cabinets that should help you narrow down your decision!

What Are Two-Toned Kitchen Cabinets?

Simply put, two-toned kitchen cabinets are simply kitchen cabinets that have multiple colors featured. Some homeowners choose to put the additional color on their island cabinets, or they choose a different color for their lower cabinets. Either way, it features cabinets that have multiple colors. 

Typically, cabinets are completely the same – the same material, same door profiles, same fastenings and hardware and even the same installation process. With two-toned kitchen cabinets, homeowners can mix-and-match features from multiple cabinet styles to maximize the kitchen of their dreams. Whether they’re incorporating textures, patterns or colors, two-toned kitchen cabinets make each kitchen unique and personalized to the homeowner. 

Are Two-Toned Kitchen Cabinets Expensive?

The short answer is that it depends. Every company has a range of cabinets with varying price points, and the addition of color choices is typically what drives the price. Since the manufacturers have to do more than just stain or paint the cabinets, there’s some extra labor involved. Despite the increased price tag, you still receive a unique kitchen design that’s perfect for your tastes and kitchen size. Our Wolf Classic cabinets have a great selection of colors and designs that are perfect for introducing two-toned kitchen cabinets into your space.

Another thing to note about cabinet pricing is how you order them. To reduce costs, you can always order RTA cabinets, or ready-to-assemble cabinets. This means you order the cabinets and they come in pieces, and you install them yourself or hire a contractor to do so for you. We recommend that you order RTA cabinets only if you’ve installed cabinets yourself before or you’re hiring a contractor. Unfortunately, if you try to DIY your cabinet installation, sometimes you can install them improperly and then have to pay for new cabinets, effectively doubling the cost. 

Two-Toned Kitchen Ideas

Here are some kitchen design ideas to consider as you plan your dream space.

• Nautical Navy: Shades of whites, blues and browns look great together. They immediately give a nautical vibe, perfect for a beach or lake house. Consider using white upper cabinets and deep, navy blue cabinets for your island or lowers, depending on the size of your space. Ash wood accents, such as your bar stools or even your kitchen hardware, are perfect to really bring home the nautical look.
• Earthy Greens: Deep, earthy green is a great cabinet tone for your two-toned cabinets! Accent it with gold hardware and gray or white uppers for a unique look. If you’re really going bold, consider black upper cabinets. You could also pair the green cabinets with a dark brown, but consider using brown in a butcher block countertop instead of the cabinets. Butcher block is a great alternative to more expensive countertops, such as quartz, but it does require some upkeep that other countertops don’t. 

• Bohemian Brown: The boho style has been a huge trend in the past few years. Incorporating a variety of jewel tones with neutrals, a bohemian brown kitchen would be perfect for the homeowner who’s well traveled and wants to show off their worldliness. Consider using bright brown cabinets for your uppers and lowers, with ivory or off-white for your island. Pair them with a unique tiled backsplash, such as one with berry or mauve tones, for a truly one-of-a-kind look. 
• Contemporary Grey: If you’re much more into the Scandanavian look, grey and black countertops are just for you! Feel free to mix it up a bit and go bold with black upper cabinets and grey lowers – or light grey cabinets for your island. Ensure your appliances are seamlessly incorporated into your cabinet design for a completely modern look. Keep the backsplash simple with a white subway tile, and make your floors fun with a black and white penny tile. Light wooden bar stools and metal pendant lights will complete the look. Black, grey and white dishware are good ideas, too, especially if any of your cabinets use glass doors or you’ve installed some open shelving.