There’s a good chance we’ve all looked through inspiring interior design portfolios, Pinterest boards, and dreamy Instagram feeds and wondered how to match paint and hardware as the pros do. Or maybe it seemed like an easy choice until you started considering upgrading your home with fresh paint and the best cabinet hardware.
But as soon as those new kitchen color ideas struck, you were stuck—would brass, nickel, or matte black go better with the blue paint you chose? Coming up with the best cabinet paint and hardware combinations that together reflect the space’s style and the homeowners’ personalities is a real talent—but one that’s not as unattainable as you might think!
Christopher Scott is one of those cabinetry and design professionals who knows exactly how to match cabinet paint and hardware, and he doesn’t gatekeep. The more beautiful spaces we have in the world, the better! So let’s walk through a few basics of how to match paint and hardware to achieve the beautiful home upgrade you’ve been looking for.
Best Cabinet Paint Colors and Hardware Combinations
There are dozens of the best cabinet paint colors and hardware combinations out there, depending on what look you’re going for in any given space of your home. Some will feel traditional, some eclectic, some trendy—but remember, changing out hardware (particularly if it’s the same size as previously installed handles and knobs) is one of the simplest upgrades you can do in your home. Enjoy that whatever cabinet hardware you choose this time doesn’t have to be a permanent decision.
LEARN MORE: Choosing The Right Cabinet Hardware Finishes
Let’s look at some of the best cabinet paint colors and your options for the best cabinet hardware.
Best Cabinet Hardware with White Paint
One of the very best cabinet paint colors of all time is white. We know, no shock here! White paint is a traditional, bright, and easy color foundation for almost any room in the house. White bathrooms can feel squeaky clean, and modern. A white kitchen may feel traditional and bring in farmhouse vibes. A white living room can help ensure that changing decor and furniture remain the focal point throughout the year.
And the nice part about starting with one of the most versatile colors in the world is that finding its perfect match in cabinet hardware is a breeze. The right white paint will go well with any hardware finish you may want. The key is finding which finish matches your design scheme because while a brushed nickel knob will look great on white cabinetry, it may not be the best pick for a farmhouse-style kitchen. A better choice for the entire style to come together would be matte black or oil-rubbed bronze. A more trendy bathroom may opt for polished brass drawer pulls, while a colonial-style space would call for monochromatic painted cabinet handles.
READ MORE: How To Install Cabinet Hardware
Check out the images below for some of our favorite ways to match white cabinets with their perfect hardware.
Best Cabinet Hardware with Black Paint
Black is a bold choice for paint colors for the home, but we are 100% behind it—in the right application and household. We’ve created custom cabinetry for black kitchens, black entertainment centers, black bathroom vanities, and more, all to gorgeously moody effect. The cabinet hardware that complements the black paint is always key in bringing the entire look to life.
DISCOVER: Cabinet Handles, Knobs, And Pulls Types
Black and brushed gold or brass has returned to our hearts as a bold but classy combination. Consider pairing the two together in a modern kitchen setting, as you see below, with pretty but fairly slim profiled hardware pieces. Chunkier gold hardware may read more cheaply and not give the effect you’re looking for.
Another option for black cabinetry is silver cabinet hardware—a timeless combination, as seen in the double sink bathroom vanity here. It’s a look that will never go out of style and can be well-complemented by any number of towel, art, or decor colors brought into the rest of the room.
Another of the best cabinet paint and hardware combinations is black paint with antique brass. It’s a subtle and somewhat masculine look that would do well in a study, master closet, or custom mudroom built-ins.
Best Cabinet Hardware with Blue Paint
So how do we match cabinets and hardware finishes when using blue paint in the home? That answer will come in what kind of blue you choose. As with most colors, the variations in shade, tone, and vibrance of the color blue are nearly endless—so the warm, antique brass hardware that matches so beautifully with the deep dusty blue found in the office builtins below may not work as well on the kitchen island you see next. That happier, robin’s egg-like blue of the island calls for a more delicate tone of brushed gold to complement it. Meanwhile, the truer blue found on the colonial-style bathroom vanity embraces its purity with identically painted knobs, complemented by polished chrome fixtures’ bright, clean look.
Best Cabinet Hardware with Gray Paint
Gray paint is another popular choice for many places in the home. It can be a warm or cool “upgrade” from white as a wall color or a great accent choice for painted cabinetry. And again, as with many paint colors, several hardware finishes will work with gray. It will mostly depend on the style you’re going for and which undertones you want to bring out of your choice in gray paint.
TRENDING: Cabinet Hinges Types And Styles
Below you’ll find black, brushed silver, and brushed gold hardware options to match with gray paint. It may seem obvious, but it’s time for a test: which of the three gray cabinetry options below speaks the language of farmhouse? Which one has a classical feel? And which one pops with modern warmth? Okay, okay—too easy, we know! But it helps to say the styles out loud and match up your vision with what styles, shapes, types, and finishes of hardware you’ll want to complete your custom cabinetry.
Best Cabinet Hardware with Green Paint
We have several favorite green paint colors, examining three similar shades of green in different homes and their complementary-finished hardware. Each is a beautiful choice but brings a different feeling or mood to the painted cabinetry. So, again, when matching cabinet paint with hardware, it’s not always about finding the only hardware finish that works—rather, it’s about finding and choosing the one that works for you and your style.
First, this lovely green home office. There isn’t a ton of hardware to be found, but what’s there isn’t meant to make a statement. We opted for a subtle, brushed nickel hardware finish, echoing the metals in the light fixtures throughout the space. It’s a cooler metal choice that lets the wood of the beautiful accent ceiling do all of the warmth work in the room.
Next, this sweet corner of a nursery finds itself with little hardware needed. But what is there is perfectly suited to the style of the space. Small, round, brass knobs boost drawerfronts without stealing the show, adding warmth along the floor and window seat.
A third option is presented by these custom mudroom builtins in a similar green paint shade, which is left alone to make its statement. And rest assured, it is a statement. Those monochromatic knobs are chic but homey and even slightly bold. Can you imagine if the homeowners switched these knobs for taller, silver cabinet pulls? The look would change drastically!
Tips For Coordinating Cabinet Paint and Hardware
We hope it’s becoming clear that when it comes to learning how to match paint and hardware, it’s just a practice of feeling out the vibes of color and the style you want to bring forth. If you wanted a white bathroom with pretty, feminine vibes, you can see why it simply wouldn’t fit to bring in thick, rustic bronze bin pulls. Rather, you could play with pretty glass knobs, delicately turned gold drawer pulls, or even floral-shaped silver knobs. In another world, designing for an industrial chic kitchen, you’d likely lean toward darker hardware options and white or deeply wood-stained cabinetry.
Here are a few tips to help guide you as you learn how to match paint and hardware in your spaces.
- In the beginning, stick with common style and color pairings. For instance, farmhouse style is often expressed in white, light grays, and blacks matched with more straight-lined hardware in darker finishes. More modern spaces will feature colored walls, cabinetry, and unique brass hardware. A simple study of the style you want to exhibit will often help guide you here.
- Avoid extreme statements in either paint or hardware choices. We say this not to limit your options or squash unique tastes but to help you better understand style principles (contrast, balance, emphasis, proportion, hierarchy, repetition, rhythm, pattern, white space, movement, variety, and unity). Balance and unity are key here.
- This may seem odd, given the last tip, but don’t be afraid to mix finishes. Great harmony can be achieved in space by mixing metals, paints, and materials, as seen in a few of the example photos above. If you choose this route, choose complementary tones (warm vs. cool) and hardware styles to achieve a cohesive, albeit dynamic, look.
- If you have your heart set on a particular set of hardware and want to find a paint color to match it, observe these loose guidelines:
- Gold and (not antique) brass hardware—warm-toned neutrals complement these finishes. Think olivey greens, warm greiges, and whites.
- Brass hardware—deep, rich colors match well with brass. But you can also add warmth to cooler/more muted jewel tones with brass hardware.
- Black hardware—white paint will always make black hardware pop in a classic and beautiful combination. But you can also deepen already-moody paint colors by adorning them with black hardware. Just make sure to bring light in elsewhere so the room can breathe.
- Silver hardware—cooler-toned colors play well with chrome and nickel cabinet hardware. Brushed finishes deepen their role and can then work well with more warm options like a deep blue.
- Painted hardware—we strongly recommend a monochromatic look here to amplify the elegance of the option.
Our best tip for matching cabinet paint with hardware, though? Get a sample of both before committing. Even in a small space or on a small cabinet, the color and hardware will make all the difference, so you don’t want to risk a questionable option only to find it doesn’t work for your style.
Kitchen Color Schemes for Different Cabinet Styles
Though the suggestions mentioned above apply to the kitchen, sometimes it’s nice to see the space we tend to focus on most when upgrading our cabinetry through paint and hardware. Cabinetry plays a big role in the kitchen, and choosing the right paint and hardware can often mean paying attention to the style of cabinetry you’re working with. For example, the simple shaker-style cabinetry found in this first kitchen design is perfect for adorning with something simple—pretty round knobs and basic profiles on both styles of pull.
In this more modern and eclectic kitchen, the cabinet fronts are a modified shaker version, with more visual interest in beveling and trim. That said, the eye-pulling combination of white painted cabinetry and wood drawer fronts means that balance comes from yet another simple form of hardware—this time, silver.
This next kitchen shows, yet again, a twist on shaker-style cabinetry but with more variance in both the size and style of cabinet fronts. While you might think it would start to look busy to have three different types of hardware in this one kitchen built-in, each type perfectly coordinates with the style and works in harmony with the next. You’ll also notice that the star-like glass-front cabinets at the top gently reiterate the multi-pointed ring pulls below (the beauty of custom cabinetry at work!).
For a different look, let’s check out this deep blue kitchen island and its hardware. Weathered brass was the perfect choice to complete the mood for the center of the space, but balance is found in white upper cabinets and neutral-toned tile and lighting all around.
You’ll see that in this kitchen, it’s not just the white cabinetry and silver hardware working so harmoniously. The arched cabinet doors and toe-kick trim also play into the mix. With that in mind, think how different the space would feel with a clean-lined brushed gold pull on those arched doors. It would not be bad, but you can imagine how it would completely transform the kitchen’s style.
Our Favorite Ideas for Matching Cabinet Paint with Hardware Finishes
Our favorite ideas for how to match paint and hardware on your cabinets are scattered throughout this post already, but here’s one more bottom-line tip: pick either a paint color or hardware style and finish you love, and then reverse engineer the rest of the room. If you can’t live without a knurled brass knob, think—what are my color options? You’ll likely need to lean toward a warmer-toned paint. If you’re going for white, make sure it’s not cool blue undertones. If you want to bring color to the space, consider a lovely natural green or blue shade to complement the brass.
The reverse will also work. If you’ve found the perfect gray paint color, it likely means you know what style you’re looking for based on which gray that is. Warmer grays may mean richer surroundings and gold-toned hardware with a more substantial design profile, while cooler grays may lead you to sleeker hardware options in the nickel or chrome families.
And again, test a sample of both! It will always be worth the time, effort, and money spent to find out you don’t love something before a big and regrettable investment is made.
Finding the Best Cabinet Hardware for Your Home
Finding hardware that not only looks good but is also reliably high quality can be challenging. But it’s even harder to find both things at a reasonable price. Tradition Hardware offers timeless, elegant hardware options in diverse styles and multiple finishes, making it easy to match your favorite paint color for the kitchen, bathroom, living room, and beyond. Christopher Scott designs each of Tradition Hardware’s pieces—an expert craftsman with an eye for quality and detail that extends to his work in hardware design.
Finding the right hardware to match your paint, style, and custom cabinetry is made easy at Tradition Hardware. Shop their most popular collections today!
Need guidance or want to work with the expert behind the advice? Contact Christopher Scott Cabinetry now and find out how he can help!
