So you are not talking about the faces having two colors, right? You are planning to leave the outsides natural and stain the insides darker? No reason you can't do that, but it may make the insides seem smaller, like a dark cave. But it would look fine, if that's what you want to do. Sorry...no pictures for you. My cabinets are the opposite....stained dark outside and left natural with clear poly inside. Most cabinets are lighter inside than they are outside, for some reason.

If they were so unpractical, how come they are so popular? Lots of popular things aren't 'specially practical! High heels and sports cars, for example. Going to see your team play at the stadium isn't as easy or cheap as watching them on TV in your comfortable living room ... ditto for going to a concert. Going out to eat is more expensive than cooking at home, and it's a fleeting pleasure for the money --not 'specially practical. The list could go on. Practical and popular don't necessarily gang together. Are white kitchens one of those things? Depends. Are you the type of housekeeper who likes white because it'll allow you to see the dirt ... or would you welcome stain because it would hide the dirt? Something I don't think has been mentioned yet: White is more expensive than stained cabinets. And painted cabinets have a shorter lifespan than stained cabinets. So, yeah, from a value point of view, maybe they aren't the most practical option. My suggestion: Go to Pinterest and make a new folder. Go through and click every kitchen that really "speaks to you" ... don't stop to consider what you like, just click ... then go back and count how many are white vs. how many are stained.

OneRidgeOff - That's a lovely color - Some of the stains I saw specifically named when I was looking at the Crown Point Galley did have a glaze on them and I was drawn to them although I had never contemplated glazing as I had associated it with those obnoxious Tuscan kitchens from the Real Housewives shows. I'm having the cabinets done custom so I can do anything I want - subject of course to the actual wood and also whether glazing would drive the costs up stratospherically :-) My dilemma is that I actually love them all. I don't hate the red (the first is the Sapele which is naturally red but has a quiet grain) but when I went to look at flooring yesterday, my friend and designer said red tones are limiting potential because they make a statement. The rest of the living area will have some green or teal green - I am keeping a 1920's dark green Chinese Chest; have two Chinese Art Deco area rugs I am keeping and am going with a teal blue upholstery or elements that go with that color. And I actually like REAL golden oak. I had to part with a gorgeous buffet from the turn of the century and I don't mind the color or look at all. But I hate the modern "golden" oak kitchen cabinets that were ubiquitous a while ago - they look completely different to me for some reason. Posting pictures of the Golden Oak Curio Buffet cabinet (which I had to part with) and the Chinese Chest (which I am keeping. I like the dark stain on an abstract level when I see it but I think that it works better when you are really restoring a period home or going full out Mission/Stickley :-). I am also having the den/office area done with built ins that would match the kitchen/dining area hutch and that would be a LOT of dark heavy wood. And then I think - maybe cherry with a light natural stain instead of Quarter Sawn White Oak - EEK - the brain is really disintegrating with this decision. It's ironic as yesterday went to the stone yard - and immediately fell in love with a particular slab of Calacutta and no second thoughts - no buyer's remorse but this wood stain is a new brain worm :-) Golden Oak Antique Curio which I had to rehome as there is no room at the inn for it :-) This is the Chinese Chest I am keeping - it's green but a very drab - not Christmas green. The stained glass window in the background is being repurposed as the mirror in my guest bath with mirror substituting for what had been clear glass. Ironically all these years so many of my female friends instinctively went to it when they needed a mirror :-) I don't mind the color of the wood floors which are being replaced. They are innocuous oak floors which were finished on site but not stained as I recall - just finished with the finishing agent so they were light but not bleached or white - just floors not making any kind of statement :-) In terms of flooring, I am bucking the trend for wide planks as I want rather narrow ones - 2 1/4" or 3" at the most. They are difficult to find - especially when coupled with getting a stain I like so I might have to just go with raw wood finished on site to get the width and color - assuming I decide on colors before my brain explodes and they find me in a quivering heap in the crash pad I am renting while the remodel takes place :-)

I see no reason, you need to do anything to the cabinets, from your pictures. They look good. Gel stain isnt as easy to use as you might think it is. Once you put it on, if you dont like it, you are pretty well stuck, at refinishing, or at least a lot of sanding and prep work to paint cabinets, that looks pretty nice to begin with .