I have Diamond cherry with chocolate finish. They look dark brown almost black, love them. Have had many compliments.

Hi bama...

I have cherry cabinets from Kraftmaid with a Peppercorn finish...They are a deep dark brown as well. Kraftmaid actually does have a painted black finish too...I have seen black kitchens in photos, and I really like the look.

Here's a link to my kitchen, to give you an idea....

KA:)

Here is a link that might be useful: Peppercorn Cabinet Kitchen

One of my favorite kitchens is CrownPoint's black "Early American" kitchen. I also saw a kitchen with black cabinets on a real estate site once and wish I would've saved the pic. It was so stunning with goldish marble countertops.

Malhgold has a gorgeous kitchen, too, with almost black cabinets on her perimeter with black counters:
http://www.thathomesite.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg0117042621646.html

Here is a link that might be useful: Crown Point black cabinets

Congratulations on your daughter's wedding! No pictures, but my MIL recently remodeled her kitchen using black cabinets with a fairly matte finish and lightly distressed/rubbed edges. It looks fabulous! The house is in FL, so they get lots of natural light. Actually, not sure that matters, because it's stunning after sunset as well!

Thanks everyone for your input! Kitchenaddict: Your kitchen is beautiful! I'll send my daughter the link to look at it. They are living in Savannah, Georgia which is a beautiful place to start a new home! It sounds like she is coming up with great ideas to use. Keep the pics coming if you all have any! THANKS!

Hi Bana12,

I have a bunch of black kitchens but not all are glazed
as you describe. Here are some images, I hope they help
~boxer

You are looking for...
dark glazed (almost black) color for cabinets, and either
Santa Cecilia or New Venetian Gold on countertops.

Taditional Kitchen with Cream Scheme and dark

9D kitchens

Rupert O'Brien (Marble counter)

MMHASSA 2
(looks Like New Venetian or Millenium Cream granite)

Home Paradise

Corridor Kitchens

Not New Venetian Gold but a similar stone.
Your daughter will need to think about the edge of her
counter, under cab lighting and here is a great image.

Genuine Style

Interior Design Yourself

TVs in the kitchen (from a electronics magazine)

I think this is Millenium Cream granite or something
very light like Kashimir White

Similar to a Venetian or Santa granite

Formica that looks like Granite

Santa Cecilia (not as dark or black) This image is from
Marble Corp. You can find more granite there.

Santa Cecilia

If you need more black kitchens rather than the dark
stained let me know. Usually black kitchens have very light
almost white or marble kitchens like this below. I can find
more images for you but I have seen very few with SC or NVG
granite.

My first reaction to the black cabinet pictures is that they are all the same kitchen. The black (or very dark brown) color seems to obscure the details of the cabinetry - it could be inset, overlay, doors, drawers, panel, slab - they all look pretty much the same. My second reaction is that those kitchens sure do look ''formal''. Kind of like a black tuxedo. Which, by the way, pretty much all look the same.

Having said that, I do think it is a striking, cool look. I don't know what it would be like to live with long-term.

I'd probably use black paint (versus a very dark wood finish) so that I could change the color if desired. And I wouldn't spend extra on lots of cabinetry detailing that won't be very visible.

We have cherry cabinets stained so dark they look black. In person, though, it's quite translucent and the grain shows through nicely. I think black or almost black kitchens still show lots of detail and personality in person. Some of that is lost in photos - which actually happens in photos of many styles and colors of kitchens.

Black is dramatic. It can be modern, traditional, country, what ever you desire.

Here are mine. If your daughter does decide to go this route, she should be careful about the door style. We have a shaker door and all the dust gets stuck in the lower ledge. I think it's much more noticeable on black. It's also harder to see dirt/grime, but when the light shines on it in a certain way, you see it all. My kitchen is fairly dark, so it's not that big of a deal, but I might be concerned if it got a lot of bright light. In the end, I wouldn't change a thing though. Really happy I went with the black. I'm also including a link to members' kitchens who used black.

Here is a link that might be useful: Black Cabinets

TO me, mahgold's kitchen (which is one of my favorites) has a very different feel than the other pictures, because it has black as a strong element but is not ''everything-black'', and because it has an open, light feel including a big spacious white wall with no uppers.

I may be particularly sensitive to the "light" issue because I live in the Pac NW, the gray land of gloom.

She should discuss the hardness and tone of the underlying wood. I have alder cabinets with a relatively dark brown stain, not black, and the soft yellow-white wood underneath shows through every scratch and dent. Those are fixable, when I'm having big company and I'm cleaning the cabinets, I repair with scratch cover - it is just a pain.
The real problem is that the doors haven't held up well on the heaviest used - like the garbage pullout, the finish has completely worn away and so has the wood - get hardwood, I couldn't afford it I've got a lot of cabs.

I LOVE the look of dark cabinets and light counters, especially with stained wood cabinets that show some grain (as opposed to a flat, painted black).
I think this is a classic combination but the look also seem to be very popular right now, per the NKBA-spotted "trends".

Here is a link that might be useful: NKBA 2011 trends

Thanks everyone for the helpful advice..! Boxerpups...your pictures are amazing! Can't wait to hear what my daughter thinks! Mahlgold..your kitchen is beautiful! Thanks again and more pics and advice is welcome!!

Still love all the gorgeous pictures..! THANKS!