The 2 (stained wood vs white/cream painted) are very different looks, and I'm afraid if you've been dreaming of one, you may be disappointed with the other. I think accessories, textiles, etc. can add color, if you're worried about things being too light. To add more interest maybe you could consider a similar look in another color? Light olive or light gray, for example? I don't think painted cabinets should be out of place in a Colonial...Kind of classic, especially if you already have cream colored woodwork in the house.

As far as cleaning, the paint finish should be pretty easy to wipe down. It won't hide anything, but then you'll see things right away and get them wiped off. That can be a good thing, and you'll always know your cabinets are clean.

I don't think you can ever guess what a possible future buyer might like. But it's not like you're planning something outlandish and unusual that only appeals to a small group, so it seems safe to me.

You could also consider adding a piece or section of cabinetry in stained wood if you feel its necessary and you'd like it.

I don't care for white kitchens. Never have, never will, wouldn't consider a house with one.

Others will chime in with the opposite opinion.

The only real question is, which do YOU like?

I, too, am really into the Christopher Peacock scullery look. We will start our major overhaul/bump out this summer. (1889 Victorian.) I started the kitchen obsession last summer, buying all of the magazines, etc. just to tear out one photo. Thank goodness, I found this site! Much less worried about making regrettable mistakes, now. I have been worried that my kitchen will look cold and uninviting, like the Peacock kitchens. I think that part of the problem is that his kitchens are way too large--make sure you don't go overboard on square footage. The lighting is so important, too--I have seen some which look very cold and sterile, and many others where the owners have achieved a glowy, cozy look, even though everything is mostly white. I have also decided AGAINST carrera marble because 1)it would clash horribly with my miles of BM Bone White trim, and 2)it is very, very cold and sterile. I might use it if I lived somewhere with lots of warm light always coming in, but not in Minnesota. I also plan to use a black island with something whitish on top. (and black countertops atop the white perimeter cabinets.) Materials TBD! You should go for the white kitchen, if that is what you have always envisioned. I think it is especially nice in a classic colonial--would prefer natural woods in a bungalow style, of course. You can make it really warm and inviting, even if it is white.

M2mom, read the attached thread from bluekitchenobssessed that deals with her post kitchen thoughts on wood vs paint. Some really good food for thought.

Eliz

Here is a link that might be useful: Blue's Post Kitchen Thoughts

go for what you want and like. if its the look that you've always dreamed of, do it. there are always ways to add contrast and interest. i was going all white at first too. now, the longer this reno goes on, i have veered off a bit and am now doing a different color on my island and am using two colors of granite. you could do a stained island. if you knew that you were selling soon, or if you were doing this just in order to sell, then yes, i would think more of what would sell, but, this is your home that you will live in. its yours, do what you want.

White cabinets have been around forever, and will always be around. Same can be said for subway tiles and butcher block and marble and to an extent honed stone/simple granite. Classic, timeless and will always be attractive to a large group of potential buyers (should you ever decide to sell), whether that be the Hamptons/Park Avenue/Greenwich Peacock crowd or some other crowd. The more faddish darker styles and granites and finishes come and go from year to year, and thus, more prone to looking dated in 5 years. Just my 2 cents. Cheers!

I just went thru this same debaucle...I was going to create a copycat Peacock kitchen...I decided against it because of all of the conflicting reviews of black granite and/or soapstone and marble...too much maintenance for me...I also have a home with warm colors---gold, sage, cranberry...I JUST ordered a creamy-yellow cabinet...Cabico Dijon...I love it...and I will do a warmer toned granite...

I am a huge white kitchen fan. I am building a Colonial house. I live in a Colonial house and my DH is from CT where everything is Colonial! His parents' house is 100+ and has white cabinets. She put them in in the 80s and they still look great today. All of that being said, go for what you like. Maybe you could do a wood island to add the wood to the mix...

I would take a step back, look at all the magazines, etc. and pull out about 5 kitchens that really appeal to you. What do they have in common?

I love white kitchens (have one now, but Euro style) and was sure I wanted painted white cabinets and dark counters etc. But it took me over a year to decide on a layout and in that time, I got so sick of looking at white kitchens, they were everywhere, that I really started to question whether I wanted one. I ended up ordering cabinets in quarter sawn white oak with a medium dark stain...talk about a change in vision. I got a little nervous after reading Bluekitchenobsessed's recent thread, because I'm still drawn to white kitchens, but I think I'll love my new cabinets and how unique they'll be. Having said all this, if I hadn't found the QS white oak, I probably would have stuck to painted cabinets because there wasn't any other stained wood that moved me. Is there a wood that you really like?

I was also concerned about maintaining painted cabinets because I'm very hard on my kitchen. I currently have laminate which I have thoroughly abused with no ill effects, giving me very bad habits! Most of the folks here are very happy with the durablility of their painted wood, though.

As far as resale and tying in with the family room, I don't think you can go wrong with a classic white kitchen. I'm sure it will look beautiful.

Hi.
I waffled on the white, too. I love the classic, scullery look but was concerned about it with two babies and a large dog. My biggest concern was little (and big) feet kicking at the island while seated.

I knew, though, if I went in another direction, I would feel regret every time I saw such a kitchen.

So, we are still doing white perimeter cabinets with soapstone, but a darker (walnut) stained island with a honed marble top.

My thinking is if we're going to spend the money and be there a very long time (we're building the house), I better love it.

I would hate to drink my coffee in the morning and look around with a "coulda, woulda, shoulda"...

JMHO...Good luck!

I have to echo what rhome410 wrote in the first reply to your post. It's normal to get cold feet and make second guesses just as you're getting ready to pull the trigger and get underway, but if you've been pining for white, I think wood stained cabinets will leave you wanting.

I have natural stained cabs & medium toned granite in my home. I like it a lot. In the lakehouse we built last year I have white cabinets and soapstone countertops. A completely different look and feel. To me it feels so classic, fresh and light. I really love them.

I know it's totally subjective, but I am only underscoring the importance of going with what you want - not trying to imagine what a future buyer might be looking for, or what will make covers on next year's design magazines.

Our lake kitchen is open to the dining and living areas. Like you, I was concerned that white cabs might pull the warmth from those areas. I think our choice of warm toned wide plank wood floors throughout the entire space countered the antiseptic look of white and stainless. The walls are all creamy white, but I chose rugs and furnishings in the adjoining rooms that make the place look warm and welcoming.

We do a lot of entertaining at the lakehouse year round. I have lots of "help" in the kitchen and guests of all ages. This is my first time owning white cabinets, and I haven't found them any harder to clean and maintain than any others I've had in the past 32 years.

I'm so glad those big choices are behind me! I understand the anxiety behind making decisions that are so costly and that you'll likely live with for a long time. I wish you the best of luck with your project.

I'm in the same boat! I have always want a Christopher Peacock white kitchen forever. Lately, I'm suffering from a bit of a sensory overload from all the white cabinet white marble kitchen I've seen all over the magazine. That "something gotta give" kitchen if you know what I mean.

So now I'm considering darker cabinet & white marble. This is very different from my original concept of white cabinet, marble & shiny chrome hardware. Peacock has his rectory collection in darker wood and it's so beautiful!

I don't think you can go wrong either way. White kitchen is a classic & will not go out of style. I am having a white kitchen right now and it's not more difficult to maintain.

I have also been very drawn to the white kitchens I have seen, but I wanted a warmer look. I went with a very creamy color (think the color of brie cheese) for my perimeter and stained maple for my peninsula. I also did mock up's when I was waffling back and forth on cabinet colors and that confirmed my decision. Picking the cabimet colors was by far the most difficuly decision I made. Go with your gut.

I haven't read this far so may be duplicating badly, but take a look at TigerNY's new "Ikea kitchen 75%" complete thread, with the ceiling and wall color. It's a great illustration of a designer's recommendation I was once again reading that for a white room the "trick is to have subtle tonal variations and a variety of patterns and textures..." Your family room paneling should be a good start if you do decide to go that way.

As for keeping clean, today's high-quality factory finishes can hold up to years of scrubbing, so that's not a problem, but since white does show everything and won't hide weeks and months of buildup, a good rationalization is just think of it as part of keeping the family healthy.

There was a great thread a while back called something like "what makes a white kitchen work?" that might be worth a look... Also my very first post(!) after discovering this forum was titled "how to be vintage and also unique." I had a white vintage kitchen with black soapstone counters in mind when we started planning our kitchen, and then all of a sudden, that's all I saw in the magazines, which was a turn off. But a lot of people responded on the thread with ideas on how to make the space personal. Hope this helps.

I really loved the idea of a white kitchen but in the end, I chickened out and went with dark stained red oak cabinets and natural quartersawn white oak floors. My house plan is very open with antiques and I was concerned how the white kichen would look, being so visible from the rest of the house.

I have a white (white, not cream) kitchen with black island, white (carrara marble) countertops / backsplash on the perimeter and butcherblock on the island. I LOVE looking at our kitchen. I really do. The marble turns out to be the easiest surface in our kitchen. Go figure.

I have a four and two year-old, so I totally hear you about keeping things clean. While cleaning the cabinets (all are painted) is really easy, truthfully this weekend I was feeling so discouraged, like "will I ever not be wiping down these cabinets?" And the black shows just as much as the white ... don't be fooled! If we'd gone with stained it would've hidden things better -- it'd still be there, but harder to see.

My two year-old and his father are the main culprits: the four year-old and I are pretty neat and tidy. The two year-old may or may not grow out of his messy ways; I know FOR SURE their father won't. And he also won't wipe a cabinet to save his life (and pretty soon he may be forced with that choice: me killing him or him helping wipe up his mess!).

So I just wanted to pipe in as I'm feeling discouraged about the upkeep (although the painted finish really has proven indestructible), although I still love love love looking at and working in my kitchen.

And I do still have pangs when I see other creamy kitchens, but I have to remember that I chose this color for two reasons: 1) a white kitchen has been my dream and 2) in our north-facing / no direct-light kitchen, the pure white is cheerful and bright without being neon / fluorescent, and I know if we'd gone with any cream it'd have felt dirty / sallow / sad. However, the trim in the rest of our house (inc. the adjoining family room) is the yellowest cream, and I think it all works together really well (and we even have the pure white wainscoting facing into the family room).

Sounds like you have been dreaming of a white kitchen for sometime. Also seems like you have all the other details worked out as well. Do you really want to start the whole process over?

I always wanted a white kitchen, planned it in my head for years. I finally have my dream and I love it. I don't think clean-up is any more difficult. Things just show up more on white, so they get wiped up right away. Much easier than trying to scrub off a hardened spill that you missed because it was camouflaged.

This is a wonderful forum and you will get all kinds of responses. In the end, you get to live in your space, not us. Get a stack of magazines and flip through them. If your eye is still only drawn to white kitchens, go for it!

I am having my white kitchen cabinets installed and I still love them, but it's making me realize that white painted wood cabinets present special problems that wood cabinets don't. For one thing, any joins between cabinets are very apparent, so the install must be very precise. My guy is doing a good job, but if these were stained-wood cabinets, the seams between cabinets and between fillers etc. would be totally invisible. I also understand that I'm going to run the risk of seams opening up on the cabinet doors with expansion and contraction, and that will also be very apparent. This happens with all cabinets, but the painted finishes show this movement much more.

OK, so that's my .02, maybe this won't affect your decision, but if you are looking for a flawless kitchen cabinet install, the stained wood is a bit more forgiving.

I have always loved white kitchens, and that is what I am putting in my house. To keep things warm looking, I will have warm wood floors and creamy warm walls and warm colored granite.

I had a white kitchen before for 5 years, and 5 little kids. Yes, I did spend about 5 minutes a week wiping cabinets, but I didn't regret painting them white for one minute. Yes, there were the occasional nicks and chips, but again, very easy and quick to fix once in a while.

One other note, when I watch all my design tv shows, they are constantly painting kitchen cabinets white to prepare the houses to sell. I have never heard the real estate experts come into a home with white cabinets and say "buyers won't like those." It's always the other way around - saying that such and such stained wood cabinet gives the home a dated look. Honestly, if I saw a home with a gorgeous white kitchen I would start salivating and make and offer based on that alone. :) So there are buyers out there that like them.

So, go for the white! You won't regret it.

As for resale, I think for every person who wouldn't want to buy your house because of its white kitchen, there's someone like me who wouldn't wouldn't want it if it had stained cabinets and granite. :o) I spend so much time in my kitchen that there's no way I would want to design and decorate it with some future buyer in mind rather than my own preferences (unless I knew I would need to sell in the near future or were flipping a house).

I had white cabinets in my last house and loved them, and I can't wait until this kitchen is finished and I can enjoy them again. I have a lot of children and need to wipe everything down all the time anyway, so I'm not so concerned about the upkeep. I would hate knowing that crud might be hiding on my stained cabinets. With white, there's no fudging in the cleanliness department. ;o)

A friend sent me a link to this blog essay about white kitchens today, and I thought you might like to take a look. The writer focuses on the fact that while there are many commonalities with this style, there are also myriad ways to individualize the look so your own kitchen will be unique and special. There are TONS of pictures in the post, so it's worth having a peek.

Here is a link that might be useful: white kitchen essay/photos

worldmom, great link.

thank you, worldmom, what a great blog!

Yes, that was a really well put together piece (even though it looks like she would zap my white kitchen with colored appliances. LOL!) Thanks for that link, Worldmom!

BKO, I was alerted to this thread after posting over on Decorating.

Almost 2 years ago we bought my current house. The cabinets were already white, but had yellowed over time. We were in a rush, and had to paint them. I'd long been wanting yellow cabinets, but DH balked at them, and I was in too much of a hurry to flesh out the design I would have wanted, so I "caved" and just painted them white. (In my last house I had glazed cabinets, so I opted to keep these white.)

I *should* have been happy. After all, I love white kitchens, and that whole sleek "Something's Gotta Give"/Christopher Peacock look is one of my favorites. However, I have saltillo floors that are very, very rustic looking. The crisp white cabinets looked great, and the saltillo floors looked great, but not together. I'm a huge fan of mixing rustic/elegant, but it just never made my heart sing. I lived with the kitchen for over a year before I decided I'd had enough.

I decided I was going to paint them yellow. It didn't matter if it wasn't trendy. It didn't matter about resale. (I'm a Realtor, so that's a subject I know all too well.) It didn't matter that it would be a royal pain in the carcass, or that people kept telling me that the kitchen was not just "fine" as-is, but it was beautiful, and to leave it alone.

It just didn't make my heart sing.

DH and I just finished my cabinets, and now I can say 2 things:

1. They finally look like what I had envisioned, and I couldn't be happier.

2. I'm glad I waited before doing it, as it gave me time to pull together the look I wanted, rather than being rushed into it.

I'd say that if after 6 months or so if you still find yourself swooning over a white kitchen, do it. You'll thank yourself *every* time you walk in.

I'm shocked at how much I love my "new" kitchen, and find myself walking in there just to look at it. I just never felt that way when it was white, though it was pretty.

Ack! M2mom, I apologize. I meant to post all of this on BlueKitchenObsessed's thread! So sorry for the hijack!

We built our house 25 yrs. ago. It is a Louisiana creole cottage. Our cabinets were custom made and painted white the entire time our 2 sons were growning up and went to college. I never had a problem with them looking bad even with several dogs and a cat and 2 boys, etc... I have since painted them a very pretty gray green from Benjamin Moore. I think it is called Clarkesville Gray. I am going to put in black honed granite and keep the color as is on the cabinits. The walls are a creamy white as are the family room's. The ceiling is a much darker grey-green in the kitchen only and I LOVE the look. I guess all of this to say I lived with white for about 18 yrs. and was very happy with it. good luck with your decisions.

Choose what you love - not what you think you should like - and you will never regret it!

Our house is a Dutch Colonial Revival. Before undertaking my kitchen reno a year ago, I skimmed through countless magazines for inspiration. Over and over again, my eyes were drawn to the white/creamy kitchens. My mother and sister both prefer the richness of dark wood and criticized my decision to go with painted cabinetry. (I shouldn't have shared with them!)

Choosing the colour cabinetry was a very lengthy process for us. The white was too stark for the room and we opted for a creamy white with a dark stained island.

We're very happy with our kitchen. Absolutely no regrets!

Good luck to you!