Fabuwood Azul Marino Matte Kitchen Cabinets

This is a dark color before it is a blue — closer in weight to the charcoals than to a mid blue, and in a shaded corner it can read almost black. What keeps it navy is the violet lean in the hue; there is no green in it at all, which is what separates a true navy from a slate. The matte face is completely flat and carries no pattern, so the color arrives as one solid, uninterrupted field across the door.

Light is what decides whether this looks like navy or like black. Under north light it holds its blue surprisingly well and reads cool and clean. In warm afternoon sun the violet comes forward and it looks richer. Under warm bulbs at night it deepens and can lose its blue entirely from across a room. Because there is no sheen to lift the surface, a dark corner with no light on it will look like a dark corner — plan under-cabinet lighting accordingly.

Navy is what nearly everyone says first; black is the second guess. It is not a teal, a denim or a periwinkle — there is nothing soft about it. The comparison that matters is with Azul Indigo Matte, the other matte blue in this series: that one is lighter, grayer and easier in a small room, where this one is deeper, more saturated and considerably more of a commitment. Choose between them on how much weight the room can take.

Azul Marino Matte belongs to Fabuwood’s Illume & Ovela series — European frameless construction with applied gloss, matte and textured surfaces rather than paint or stain.

Every Fabuwood cabinet is fitted with Blum soft-close hinges and drawer systems. Fabuwood backs its cabinetry with a lifetime warranty, with a separate Blum warranty on the hardware, and lists CARB2 compliance and ICC-ES and AWI/QCP certification.

Fabuwood groups its colors in tiers. Azul Marino Matte is a Designer color, which is made to order rather than stocked, so it is worth allowing for that in the schedule.

In a large, bright kitchen a full navy run is a handsome thing, and the matte finish keeps it from looking glossy or nautical. In most rooms, though, this is a lowers-and-island color: navy below, white or cream above, which is one of the most requested combinations we do. A navy island in a pale kitchen gives you a centerpiece without changing the character of the room.

It works in contemporary rooms and, because navy has a long history in painted cabinetry, it also sits comfortably in transitional and traditional-leaning schemes despite the slab door. A navy bathroom vanity under a white stone top is close to a sure thing. Mudroom lockers in it hide everything a mudroom collects. A home bar or office in this depth of blue feels finished rather than dark, provided the lighting is up to it.