Benjamin Moore Blue Gray Kitchen Cabinets

THE MOST POPULAR NAVY BLUE PAINT COLOUR IDEAS FOR CABINETS & FRONT DOORS

Whether you're painting your kitchen cabinets, bathroom vanity or front door, there are FEW colours as classic and versatile as navy blue.

Navy blue has been kickin' it a LONG TIME in the design world, and while its popularity ebbs and flows, it's hands-down, one of the colours with serious longevity when it comes to today's trends.

Now, I can't tell you that your cabinets, built-ins or front door will SUIT navy blue, not every home can visually support it! You need the right environment, finishes and colours to support the strength of navy blue, but these ideas will at least get you off to a good start in your colour journey! And if you find out that blue doesn't work for you – I've got more!

I love to show RELATEABLE & REAL homes, so ONLY use photos from my Online Colour Consulting clients. This means I don't always have the quality or TYPE of pics I need, but DEFINITELY have some SUPER helpful info to help you on your way!

Now, before we get into the GOOD stuff, let's chat for a minute about two important points…

1. THERE ARE THREE TYPES OF BLUE PAINT COLOURS

• BLUE-PURPLE
• BLUE-GREEN
• BLUE

Looking at these two paint blobs, if you looked at EITHER independently of the other, they would look pretty darned navy blue, yet COMPARED to each other, you can see that subtle shift.

When choosing the best blue for you and your home, you need to figure out which TYPE of blue suits the hard and soft finishes in your home. For example…

• Many marble or marble-look countertops suit a blue-purple vs a blue-green
• A beachy look often suits a blue-green over a blue-purple
• A transitional or traditional style home usually suits blue-purple vs a blue-green

The thing with blue (and many paint colours) is that how they look is subjective based on who's looking at them AS WELL AS the products and OTHER blues they're partnered with. A relatively neutral blue might look slightly blue-purple if you partner it with a blue-green. On the other hand, that same neutral blue could look a bit blue-green if partnered with a stronger blue-purple!

WHERE'S MY WINE? Seriously, it's a lot to think about.

2. IT'S ALL IN THE SHEEN (not including Charlie, he's a hot mess)

SHEEN affects how paint colours look, so when sampling, it's important you do four things:

1. Have your samples made in a SATIN finish. Although, I've found the sheen on the darker colours from SAMPLIZE is pretty close (darker colours tend to carry more sheen).

2. Pick up a PAPER chip sample of Benjamin Moore Black (2132-10) or Sherwin Williams Tricorn Black. Darker paint colours can look DAMN dark on the small scale and by taping a sample of black to your larger samples, it will give you a better frame of references as to their ACTUAL depth and colour!

3. Hang your samples 100% vertically. Light reflects differently off vertical surfaces and horizontal surfaces – looking lighter and brighter vertical. It's VITAL that your samples are totally vertical – even a slight lean can skew things (also a reason why you shouldn't drink too much wine while sampling)

4. Pivot your samples to the left and right to see how they catch the light. Doing this will show you how the SHEEN plays with the natural and artificial light in your room.

Cool beans? Alright, let's DO THIS!

1. BENJAMIN MOORE CHEATING HEART 1617

LRV 6.89

Cheating Heart has MY heart when I'm looking for a KILLER dark and striking approach to navy blue with a subtle blue-purple cast. With its LOW LRV, Cheating Heart is close to the black end of things but has some gray and blue in there to lift it up from the depths. If you have SUPER LOW light, Cheating Heart could look slightly blackish and you'll need decent interior lighting to help it out.

If you compare Cheating Heart to Sherwin Williams Cyberspace (coming shortly), you'll see they have VERY SIMILAR LRV's, however, Cheating Heart has LESS navy blue/more gray, which is how it casts that bit more black at times.

Cheating Heart with Sherwin Williams Pure White walls

You can even use Cheating Heart on INTERIOR doors…

FULL Paint Colour Review of Benjamin Moore Cheating Heart

YOUTUBE Video Review of Benjamin Moore Cheating Heart

And it's on the garage door too…

2. BENJAMIN MOORE HALE NAVY HC-154

LRV 6.3

Hale Navy is a CLASSIC choice when it comes to navy blue paint colours that have a slight blue-purple undertone – but look pretty damn legit navy blue.

Do I love Hale Navy? HAAAAALE YES I DO! Hale Navy is a classic navy blue with just enough of a neutral base to calm it down, so it doesn't look like it's trying too hard.

And while I WISH I had a shot of Hale Navy on an island or bathroom vanity, it's still looking gorgeous on this front door!

FULL Paint Colour Review of Benjamin Moore Hale Navy

YOUTUBE Video Review of Benjamin Moore Hale Navy

If Hale Navy is TOO BLUE for you, check out Sherwin Williams Cyberspace (coming shortly).

2. BENJAMIN MOORE NEWBURYPORT BLUE HC-155

LRV 8.28

Sitting right under Hale Navy in the fan deck is Newburyport Blue. If you find Hale Navy a bit darker than you wanted, Newburyport has a similar approach, just a bit lighter and brighter and pretty dang blue.

This photo below is NOT a cabinet OR a front door (obviously), but it'll give you the Newburyport Blue vibe! Remember, I don't always have THE images I need from my E-Design work, so I do my best to showcase colours in other ways.

Read more: Where Should I Paint a Feature Wall and WHAT COLOUR Should it Be?

If Newburyport Blue is too light for you, go back to Hale Navy or check out Sherwin Williams Naval (coming shortly).

3. SHERWIN WILLIAMS CYBERSPACE SW 7076

LRV 6

Cyberspace is my PERSONAL fave when it comes to the best navy blue colours for kitchen islands and bathroom vanities (even feature walls!). It picks up where Hale Navy left off, with a good shot of navy blue, but a more SUBDUED look to it as the gray comes forward just a bit more, but the navy of it is ALMOST true, leaning only a bit blue-purple.

In this next photo, my client wanted to update the look of her oak kitchen without painting ALL of the cabinets. Cyberspace did the trick and pulled nicely into the flecks in her countertop.

Read more: 5 Ideas to Update Oak or Wood Cabinets

In the next two photos, we did Cyberspace on the built-ins beside the fireplace as well as the kitchen island…

FULL Paint Colour Review of Sherwin Williams Cyberspace

YOUTUBE Video Review of Sherwin Williams Cyberspace (COMING SOON)

If Cyberspace is more muted than you wanted, bump back to Benjamin Moore Hale Navy or check out Sherwin Williams Naval (below)!

Undoubtedly, you'll be heading out in the near future to grab paint samples – stop right there! I want you to check out SAMPLIZE. Samplize offers peel and stick paint samples that are more AFFORDABLE, EASIER and more ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY than traditional paint pots. Here are just a FEW reasons why I recommend Samplize to my clients…

• Samples arrive ON YOUR DOORSTEP in1-3 business days, depending on location
• At$6.99, they're more affordable than the samples pots/rollers/foam boards that are needing for traditional paint sampling
• If you keep the samples on their white paper, you can move them around the room

Visit the SAMPLIZE website HERE

4. SHERWIN WILLIAMS SEA SERPENT SW 7615

LRV 7

Sea Serpent is a navy blue paint colour with a striking approach to blue that leans just a touch into green (compare it to Cyberspace).

If Sea Serpent isn't TRUE BLUE enough for you, Sherwin Williams In the Navy (coming shortly) or Naval should do the trick!

Read more: The Best Navy Blue and Teal Paint Colours for Your Front Door

6. BENJAMIN MOORE WROUGHT IRON 2124-10

LRV 6.16

If you thought Cheating HEART was dark, wait until you see Wrought Iron! Wrought Iron is an ALMOST BLACK blend of black, gray and navy blue, but a blue that reasonably into blue-purple.

Compared to Cheating Heart, the blue takes more of a backseat and the black-gray comes forward. In some lights, Wrought Iron can look more like a SOFT BLACK, than anything blue-inspired, which is why it's SO IMPORTANT to have that little paper chip sample of Benjamin Moore Black handy for comparison.

This next photo showing Wrought Iron on a side door demonstrates how it comes to life if given some light to play with!

However, on these shutters, you can see how dark it can POTENTIALLY look…

FULL Paint Colour Review of Benjamin Moore Wrought Iron

YOUTUBE Video Review of Benjamin Moore Wrought Iron

7. SHERWIN WILLIAMS NAVAL SW 6244

LRV 4

AN LRV OF 4? HOLY FREAKIN' DINAH! To be honest, to LOOK at this colour, I would never say it has an LRV that low, I would've pegged it closer to 6, but it's the GOOORGEOUS rich navy blue of it taking it to those lower depths (blue-purple). Make sure you tip that sample to really see how the light plays off this bad boy and brings him to life!

If you're looking for a STRIKING navy blue that doesn't mess around with much gray, then Naval could be the navy blue for you!

Before, the colour on this door was cute but wasn't any screamin' glory…

After, Naval came in and did the job…

Compare the front door to the welcome mat – the comparison will help you see the COLOUR of Naval a bit better.

Read more: The 8 Best Paint Colours for Your Front Door

8. SHERWIN WILLIAMS IN THE NAVY SW 9178

LRV 4

Are you humming along with me '…in the navy, yes you can put your mind at ease'? Those words have NEVER been truer as if you're looking for THE NAVY BLUE OF ALL NAVY BLUES, this is it.

In the Navy pulls NO punches with its dark LRV and striking approach to navy blue, making colours like Benjamin Moore Hale Navy and Sherwin Williams Cyberspace look NEUTRAL in comparison (not really, but I'm just trying to make a point here).

And at some point, I'll have some FABULOUS photos of it in action – hopefully soon! Until then, you can see it on Pinterest.

9. BENJAMIN MOORE GENTLEMAN'S GRAY 2062-20

LRV 7

Gentleman's GRAY? PARDON ME? Gentleman's Gray is about as far from gray as you can get when it comes to the wild world of navy blue! But, this is one colour that ALWAYS throws me, because while it's classified as a blue-purple, compare it to ANY OF THE NAVY BLUES on this page and it'll look considerably blue-green in comparison. I'm still wrestling with this as I BELIEVE it's a blue-green (even if scientifically it isn't). WHERE'S MY WINE?!

However, overall, Gentleman's Gray is a STRONG approach to navy blue with much less gray in it than many of its peers.

10. SHERWIN WILLIAMS INDIGO BATIK 7602

LRV 8

Indigo Batik is a GORGEOUS navy blue paint colour (slightly blue-purple) that's a bit softer, but cleaner, compared to the more classic navy blue paint colours. It's VERY comparable to Benjamin Moore Newburyport Blue.

When sampling Indigo Batik, you might be SURPRISED at how much lighter it looks when the light hits it is and may want to go a bit darker, in which case you could go back to Benjamin Moore Hale Navy.

Read more: QUESTIONNAIRE: Should I Paint My Kitchen Cabinets or Leave Them Stained?

11. BENJAMIN MOORE WESTCOTT NAVY 1624

LRV 8.01

Westcott Navy is a gorgeous dark navy blue paint colour with JUST the right blend of navy blue (slightly blue-green) and gray so that it's saying 'navy' all day long without yelling it from the rooftops.

If you liked Sherwin Williams Cyberspace, Westcott Navy is really a subtle, slightly bluer tweak of it.

12. BENJAMIN MOORE DOWNPOUR BLUE 2063-20

LRV 5.5

If you're looking for a blue with a little more PUNCH to it, Downpour Blue could do the trick! While being the STRONGEST, brightest navy blue on this page, Downpour Blue stops shy of being a 'primary' blue as it has a subtle bit of gray-black to calm it down…a bit.

NOW, do me a favour and compare Downpour Blue to Gentlemans' Gray and TELL ME that GG doesn't look blue-green! Truth be told, even Downpour Blue can look a wink blue-green. Anyways…

If you're looking for that NEXT LEVEL in brightness in your navy blue, check out Benjamin Moore Blue 2066-10 or Benjamin Moore Patriot Blue which is WICKED gorgeous.

So, there you have it – some GORGEOUS navy blue paint colours for almost ANY paintable surface in your home!

NEED HELP?

CHECK OUT MY ONLINE PAINT COLOUR CONSULTING PACKAGES

Chat soon,

READ MORE

The Best Blue-Green Paint Colours

The Best Paint Colours for a Kitchen Island

The Best Front Door Paint Colours

Benjamin Moore Blue Gray Kitchen Cabinets

Source: https://www.kylieminteriors.ca/the-12-best-navy-blue-paint-colours-for-cabinets-islands-front-doors-and-more/

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