Here is an old thread on a similar topic:
http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg0306095410155.html

That said, the finishes on Brookhaven by Wood-Mode and Wood-Mode doors may arrive with cracks in the finish. There is a problem with the way they are doing the finishes that makes them somewhat fragile when exposed to unstable humidities, from what I have been told. The finish can further crack in your home, immediately or over time. I have been advised to always keep the temperature about the same - not too hot and not too cold - in the kitchen to prevent the wood doors from contracting and expanding which may contribute to further cracking of the finish. Sorry pic isn't better. Look at the vertical hairline crack on the perimeter where the slats come together. Many doors are affected.

Example:{{!gwi}}

I didn't choose between those 2 colors but i just can't picture a white kitchen in a 1911 house especially with what I'm guessing is a lot of quarteresawn oak built ins.

I, myself, have a 150 year old vistorian and when i recently redid the entire house i used white umber (from Porter Paints) on the trim and am now dissappointed that I didn't use something creamier more in keeping with the flavor of an old house

Here is a better photo of the cracking in Wood-Mode and Brookhaven by Wood-Mode finish. This is Lace with a Glaze - available in either line. Extra varnish that came with the cabinetry was called Antique White but was much lighter without the Glaze.
{{!gwi}}

People should see what the "cracks" look like as they are usually not shown any examples of cracked finishes in Brookhaven or Wood-Mode showrooms but are told when the product arrives that these are to be expected.

pence & live_wire_oak, thanks for your input. we were starting to lean towards antique white but now we're leaning back towards french vanilla. crazy!

plumeriavine - thanks for the info on the cracks. our wood-mode salesperson too told us it happens, and as live_wire_oak said, it's normal for wood doors. how long have you had your cabinets? has the paint "worn off" around the handles, corners or edges? scuff marks? fingerprints? do you have to clean it often?

For the choice between antique white and cream, a lot of it depends on the other colors in the room, your appliances, etc.

Personally, I'd choose cream to go with pastels, and the antique white to go with darker, richer colors. But that's an extreme generalization. Get sames and see how they look with your other finishes.

colickyboy - Here is my 2 cents:

Yes- the cabinets do need more clean-up than my old darker stained cabinets. Every speck does show. The glaze instead of a uniform finish is somewhat helpful as it does seem to provide a touch of camoflauge for minor specks.

I am still glad we went lighter with cabinet color, but I wonder if a lighter stained finish would have been smarter. Then, there would not be any of the unsightly hairline fissures. Four guests have now reached up to touch the hairline fissures on the cabinet doors. It is that noticable.

Clean up should be very gentle on the finish. Damp rag generally works OK. I expect to clean up high traffic areas often during the week.

We haven't had any real scuff marks yet, but, in one place we have a small factory finished Wood-Mode countertop that matches the cabinetry. That seems to be prone to scuffing as articles have been placed directly on it. I am super-vigilant about what gets placed there, no dragging, . . .

To answer your inquiry about paint wear and edges:
1. We did get scorch marks around the edges from the undercabinet lights that were originally installed. That's not readily visible, thankfully.
2. Paint chipped off around the outlets in a beadboard panel at the hands of the installers.
3. Paint chipped off in places where the Shaw sink is scribed into a cabinet. The paint came off there almost like a veneer would come off, if that makes any sense. The Wood-Mode finish is rather thick, so once it is cut - scribed - it seems to be vulnerable.
4. Paint on the tops of the drawer fronts was scratched off and scored by the countertop installers.
5. The paint did crack badly where a drawer bank was exposed to a small amount of water when the new air gap leaked water onto the counter. The drawers themselves warped.

There may be solutions to some of these issues. I am hopeful Wood-Mode and our dealer will behave honorably. This is still an in-process project.

The cabinets have slowly trickled in starting in September/October. There is quite a long list of pieces that have still not been delivered to us.

Some other comments about the painted finish:

The finish seems incomplete and thin on the edges of some of the drawers - inconsistenties from drawer to drawer.

I had higher expectations of Wood-Mode paint finishes - I had thought that the reputation for Wood-Mode paint finishes was that the products were remarkably well-matched once you selected a color. On some of our cabinets, there are different shades of cream.

This color difference is more pronounced in real life. I don't know if you can see the two shades on this box, one on the side panel of the box, the other on the top panel of the box:

{{!gwi}}

I had the same dilemma recently and ordered white over soft white because I have little natural light in my current kitchen. I lived in a southwest-facing kitchen for a decade and I really miss the brighter natural light. I had a sample soft white cabinet door in my kitchen for a couple of weeks and wanted so much to like but it just looked dingy in the northern light. Sometimes it even had a yellowish cast going on. I chose white for that reason. I don't have an old home...nothing period for sure. I ordered full overlay doors...they are not inset. I also don't have an older home. There is nothing period about it...unless you consider 1979 to be special! :-) My cabinets are on order. I'm a bit nervous as I don't want my kitchen to look clinical...but I know I can warm up white up with paint and flooring....at least that is what I tell myself! ha

White or cream it is more important the quality of the
cabinets. But I see this has already been talked about
so I will just say I agree with getting the best quality
cabs you can afford.

If I had to choose, for what sounds like a wonderful
house you have, I would say go for the creamy off white
or vanilla. You will be happier. You sound like you are
leaning towards vanilla. It will look lovely in what
you describe to be your home.

I chose a soft white but it is definitley white for
my kitchen which is traditional. I do have to clean the
paint (I painted myself) but it is fairly easy. My
kids are older and less messy. I love having painted
cabs. I have had every other kind and painted white
is my favorite. I have no issues with paint wearing
off. But My cabinets were not painted by the cabinet
maker/company so maybe that is why.

~boxerpups

thanks, fellow GWers, for the additional advice concerning cabinet color with our style of home. as always, i learn so much from you all, even if i just lurk.

plumeriavine - thanks for your feedback on the paint durability. did you happen to notice if your installers were a bit rough or do you think it's the quality of the Wood-Mode finish? i did notice the difference in color but what was more noticable was the "crack" in the corner molding... is that Wood-Mode's fault or the installer's fault? My neighbor has something similar for one corner of light valance molding and I assumed it was the installer's fault in leaving that gap.

Maybe this should be a new post but any other Brookhaven/Wood-Mode owners have this kind of problem or is it just poor luck?

I think it depends where you are in the design process. If you've already picked out your floors or countertops, then I think you base your "white" decision on that. All white is relative to what else is in the room, so you either start with the cabinets and make the rest of your choices from there or you start with the the other things (maybe you are in love with a specific counter) and choose the cabinet color from there.

I'm linking to a post on how to choose the right white for your kitchen. I think it's totally fascinating.

Here is a link that might be useful: White kitchen cabinets

Regarding the crown molding - - there are apparantly two ways of doing crown molding from Wood-Mode, not sure if both ways apply to Brookhaven as a semi-custom line. One, the designer orders long strips of the molding and it is mitered on site by the installers. This is supposedly the cheaper way to go. Two, the designer orders a factory mitered crown molding with the factory finish. Two different ways, two different results. I had no idea. I was never given a choice. I received the first way. All miters were manually done on the jobsite. I'd bet that showrooms usually order the pre-made mitered moldings for showroom kitchens.

I have been told that you can order a Brookhaven kitchen with elements from custom Wood-Mode added in, so, depending on your designer, you could probably order moldings with factory finished miters. I'd definitely have paid an extra 30% for my moldings to be factory finished.

I do have bad miters and loose moldings. That particular piece in the other picture is attached to the cabinets with only one screw, so the piece moves around on its own. It can actually go in circles!

I do intend to ask for advice on how to fix my loose crown moldings on a separate thread.

If I were ordering a new Wood-Mode or Brookhaven kitchen, I would indeed want to know if my crown moldings could come with the factory mitering. Pay attention also to mitering, if any, on light valences. Those can also be ordered either as intact units or the installers can piece together the light valence with their own miters. I'll show you what I mean on another thread sometime.

Hairline fractures in finish, water resistance, color differences and thin finishes are Wood-Mode manufacturing issues.

Where the Wood-Mode painted finish is intact and not fractured, the finish looks very nice and smooth. Where it is fractured, it does not look nice and smooth. The hardest part to stomach is the prediction that I've been told that the finish will continue to spontaneously fracture over time as the wood breathes.

Where the Wood-Mode painted finish has been cut on site, the paint shows signs of stress. It doesn't cut nicely, at least not with the tools used on this job.

My installers were also not the most careful blokes on the block when scribing/cutting/handling/sawing etc. Not sure if my installers were average or below average.

Here is another pic of a site-cut miter:

{{!gwi}}

wi-sailorgirl - love the link...fascinating indeed. thanks much!

I think it is important to coordinate with house trim color. if you do creamy white (or stark white), you need to make sure that the "undertone" works withthe existing trim color, if there is white trim in the house.

Check out the advice on white kitchens from colour expert Maria Killem at Colour Me Happy http://colourmehappyblog.blogspot.com/

plumeriavine, While I do have some complaints about my recently installed Brookhaven cabinetry I do believe that the poor miter joints at your crown moulding is installer error. It looks horribly cut and it would not be acceptable to me either. I really hope our Brookhaven/Wood Mode kitchens hold up..... I really cannot afford to redo my kitchen again in 10 years so I am really hoping that Brookhaven is better than you say.

OP: My house is 1923 and I LOVE the French Vanilla color I choose. Here are a few pictures. Best of luck.

{{!gwi}}

{{gwi:1576132}}

{{!gwi}}

{{gwi:1594119}}

Nice kitchen Buffalotina. What kind of countertop and sink did you use?

Thank you Dixie. There are still several finishing touches needed and then I hope to post the whole thing. The countertops are absolute black granite, polished. The sink is an Artisan undermount, 31 x 18, 9" deep.

Buffalotina, (A little off topic) Everytime I see glimpses of your kitchen on Kitchen Forum posts I think, "that is just perfect." You've nailed the charming 1920s kitchen better than anyone I've seen, making it very functional and modern while retaining the vintage vibe. I hope the Brookhaven cabinets hold up well. If you haven't already posted a full description of your design process, I look forward to reading it soon.

buffalotina - thanks for the pics. what complaints do you have about your brookhaven cabinets?

This is a tough decision, that I too just went through. I have a 1919 craftsman and decided to go with a white kitchen. In fact, very similar to Buffalo Tina's- thanks for those great pics!

The tile is white, the walls a soft butter, the trim is a creamy white. The floors are off white and black marmoleum, with black soapstone countertops on the perimeter, white shaw farmhouse sink (matches white applicances), and butcherblock on the black painted farmhouse table island. So, what color cabs with all this? I chose a creamy white which looks nice with the white trim, yet compliments the floor nicely. It also does hide messy finger prints a bit better than white.
What I did was purchase 2 doors and install them on one of my old cabinets and lived with them for bit to see how they held up with my lifestyle and which color I preferred.
Luckily I am painting my new cabinets, so was able to pick the perfect color and have it made specially for this application, which was a bit lighter than the vanilla and a bit darker than the white. If I get the color too white, then I can add glaze to change it before adding the topcoat.

My kitchen has a ton of light, so that helps in my decision. Also, what type of lighting do you have? If it's dark, consider adding a few lights to help make it seem brighter.

Good Luck~

francoise47: Thank you so much for your nice commenst. That is exactly the vibe I wanted and it means so much to hear that it looks right! Thank you!

colickyboy: I guess I should say more that I have had a few issues rather than complaints about the Brookhaven cabs and most of them were probably bad luck. Some doors and drawer fronts were delivered with black smudges and one was physically damaged in shipping. I think the packaging could be better, but my dealer says Wood Mode packaging is actually quite good compared with some other lines. Then some of the replacement doors did not exactly match the originals and some of the replacements arrived with cracks in the wood so they are being replaced yet again. I will say that BOTH my dealer and Wood Mode have been very supportive in getting it all resolved and actually today I feel much better as some of the replacement fronts were installed. I am sure there could be issues with any cabinetry and as long as the cabinets hold up then I will have no complaints. I guess I am seconding guessing a bit my decision to have the frameless particle board construction rather than plywood. Only time will tell if it is good enough and really I think they were well priced vs some other options. Again, my issues are being resolved and, as with everything else, it is the way issues are dealt with that counts. So far Wood Mode has stepped up to the plate and done a good job to make things right so I would not hesitate to recommend Brookhaven. I was also able to semi customize quite a few options which helped with my old house kitchen. I also really like that you get slab drawer fronts on the small drawers and frame and panel on the larger ones - not all the lines I looked at offered that and it was important to my overall vibe.

I was distressed to read that recent comment here that Brookhaven is a 10 year kitchen.....I sincerely hope it is NOT :)!

I DO LOVE the Brookhaven/Wood Mode French Vanilla color! I think I thought the Antique White might have had a touch of pink/peach to it and that I did not like as much. There are a lot of nice whites to choose from and I did really like the Brookhaven door fronts and hardware. Writing this all down reminds me of the reasons I selected Brookhaven in the first place!

Best of luck with your white/cream decision....Wood Mode spoils you for choice on that front!