Who says neutral has to be colorless? Who says only beiges and browns are neutrals? IMO almost anything that comes from the earth is neutral. That means all granites and all wood tones, as long as they are not painted, are neutral. This includes deep reds, greens, yellows, golds and purple (amethyst). I did my kitchen in dark cherry stain and peacock green granite, which has bursts of green, gold and black. The knobs and pulls are ORB. The nearby family room has dark brown leather sofas, dark cherry wall unit and matching tables. BUT... there are large bright green throw pillows, a huge multi-colored abstract painting on the wall with burgundy, green, gold, black and silver, and there are sage green curtains. Lots of color, yet it's all neutral, expecially the big ticket items. I can change the color scheme by changing the wall hangings, pillows and curtains. Also, the furniture and cabinets are traditional style, yet the wall coverings, pillows and lamps are contemporary-and it all works beautifully! Start thinking "out-of-the-box" and don't be afraid of color. Just be careful when considering pastels, like pinks, blues and oranges, which aren't necessarily neutral

For what it's worth, we had the same situation in that we originally costed based on custom cabinets, and then decided we needed to cut back the budget substantially. The first thing to change was the cabinets. The GC was initially very reluctant, but my DH basically sat him down, told him this was what we'd decided, and if he felt it would be beneath him, or not good for his professional reputation, we would quite understand if he wanted to refuse the job. He confirmed that he did want to do the job (and I do know he's not short of work) and would accept what we wanted to do. He's worked on the house before, and we know him pretty well by now. He raised his concerns with me only once more, but I didn't get into it much: just reminded him that this was what we wanted, that I appreciated him raising his concerns, but based on my experience in the UK, this was what I'd chosen. Since then, we've worked together closely on all the ordering including all the trim pieces necessary, and so on, and it's been smooth going. Incidentally, for those that don't know, all the cabinets for the US market are manufactured in the US, but in accordance with German environmental standards, which are the highest in the world. And there's a 25 year warranty. Particle board is pretty much the norm across Europe and my friends are very surprised at the reluctance of US builders to use something so tried and tested.

I wanted to think long and hard about a response to this thread... and then I realized I didn't really want to. I think I get to play the offensive one for this round. Before I do the offensive bits, I wanted to agree with Florantah, Plllog and Idrive that I have always considered Bmorepanic to be one of the "ins" and I'm sorry that she doesn't see herself as such. Okay! Time for things that might be offensive: Some of the kitchens here are nicer, better, friendlier, weirder, etc than the others. Some are just plain freaky. It's true! Some people have ugly babies too. Not everyone gets the dreams/abilities/money so you get different results. Those kitchens will often get less results; Our familys always said "If you have nothing nice to say... " but that is a weird road to follow on the internet. So YES it is possible that you posted a kitchen some of us didn't like. It's also true that there is an "in" group here... just like every group youve ever been a part of. Just like high school, just like college, just like work. Some of us are more "in" then the others. AND it will always be that way. That perfect group where all are equal? It doesn't exist. What changes things is that here, on forum, the "in" croud isn't the same people it is in real life. In real life, I am an outsider at/with my clients, and insider with my husband, and outsider with a fantasy football league and an insider with a star trek marathon. YOU TOO can become an insider. TO BECOME IN YOU HAVE TO PARTICIPATE. Just like high school, college and work you have to put it out there. You don't become in by (the desire to quote the velveteen rabit is huge) waiting in the wings. I have been on the forum for over a year and I believe that slowly people are getting to know me and becoming familiar with me. It takes a long time and a lot of committment. Why should YOU be in? Lastly, and firstly, I want to say how amazing it is that a thread that started off about showing gratitude became a thread in which people who have recieved a lot of help from all of us and each other felt the need to anounce thier emminent departure because they don't like us. I'm really just floored by that. It's really a strange thing to do. I liken it to my neighbor who is such a great guy he mowes our little lawn with our big riding mower for free! He's a great guy who is also grumbly, grumpy and a PIA. I wonder what he would do if one day as he was mowing my lawn I wandered up and said, Yep, can't wait to get out of this house and leave all of you jerks behind... I really respect several of the posters who said they were planning on leaving once their own projects were done and I wish them the best luck.

This indeed is a bit early for the year, this thread revival. I say what I want to say. If it is December 25th, I say Merry Christmas. If it is December 21st (MY actual holiday) I say Blessed Yule or Blessed Solstice. Otherwise, since there are so many of them, I say Happy Holidays. However, I will note if a shop clerk says "Merry Christmas" to me at checkout, I'll parrot back with the same. I hate seeing people bent out of shape over this "issue". The idea is that you are wishing someone something happy and joyful, or so I thought. PS, I call mine a Solstice Tree. I'm quite happy to call yours whatever you want me to call yours, as you probably don't share my religion, and so yours is probably a Christmas Tree. And yes, those things I mail out early December I do inevitably call them Christmas cards (although I don't buy the religious ones), and I hope we are still able to mail them this coming December. (You hear me, USPS???). And I love getting any I get, no matter religious, spiritual, or just simply fun the impetus is behind your sending them to me...