Kokeena Modern White Kitchen Cabinet Sample 5 x 8: The French Grey Undertone That Only Shows Next to Pure White

The sample sat on my kitchen windowsill for three days before I noticed anything odd about it. It looked white. Nice white, actually, a little softer than I expected. I’d more or less decided on it.

Then I taped it to the door frame.

Next to the Trim, It Went Grey

Our door frames and window trim are painted a bright, plain white, the kind that came with the house and nobody ever thought about. With the Kokeena Modern White sample taped flat against that trim, the panel suddenly looked a shade darker, almost as if it had picked up dust. I wiped it with my sleeve before I realized nothing was on it.

That’s the French grey undertone. Kokeena describes Modern White as a very universal white with a slight French grey undertone, and “slight” is fair. You won’t see it on its own. You see it the second something whiter sits next to it.

My partner’s first reaction was, “Is that one a bit dirty?” Which is exactly what I’d be hearing every morning if we’d put twenty of those doors against that trim.

Kokeena Has Three Whites, and I Nearly Ordered the Wrong One

Their names are close enough that I had the wrong tab open when I placed my first sample order:

• Modern White: the one with the slight French grey undertone.
• White, which the brand describes as warm, with subtle yellow undertones.
• Pure White: no added color tones at all.

The Modern White sample is a 5 x 8 painted panel, about 1/4 inch thick, and it was $7.50 when I ordered it.

If I’d known then what I know now, I’d have ordered Pure White at the same time. Holding the two together would’ve shown me the grey on day one instead of day four.

The Oak Shelf Made It Look White Again

Here’s the part that kept me from giving up on it. We have a small open shelf in solid oak next to the stove, and when I moved the sample over there, the grey vanished. Against warm wood, it looked like a clean, plain white again. Kokeena says the color pairs well with wood tones and accent paint, and on that shelf, I believed them.

So I’m not sure the undertone is a problem as much as it is a choice. A kitchen with lots of wood and not much bright trim would probably love this color. Ours has both, which is why it took me so long to decide.

What I’d Do Differently Next Time

• Tape the sample at door height from the start, instead of leaving it on a windowsill.
• look at it after dark too, since our bulbs made it look warmer than daylight did.
• hold it against the trim first, not last.
• a sheet of printer paper works as a stand-in for Pure White if you’ve only ordered one sample.

We have a north-facing window, and on cloudy afternoons, the grey looked stronger. I honestly can’t say how much of that was the light and how much was me staring at it too long.

Kokeena also sells a painted door edge sample, which I didn’t order and probably should have. Our kitchen is open on one side, so the door edges will be visible.

I still haven’t decided whether we’re repainting the trim or picking a different white. What I do know is that seven dollars and fifty cents saved me from a kitchen I’d have spent years calling “slightly off” without knowing why.