My original KD made us a sample of the lightly-stained cherry that we were planning to get. I left it leaning in one place with a floor tile sample leaning against it for a couple of weeks. When we moved the tile there was a very distinct difference in the cherry that had been exposed to light and the covered area--a nice, distinct rectangle. I didn't love the colors that it was changing to either. I wanted a honey, praline kind of color and it was getting what looked like more orange/pink to me. The color change is not even across the grain either. Unless you know how it will change I think it would make it hard to coordinate colors with backsplashes and other finishes in the kitchen. I was told that the color-changing is typical of cherry that is on the light side and not really a problem for darkly-stained cherry. We switched to maple since I wanted that light golden color. My sample of maple doesn't have these issues.

mollie - the paint in the kitchen and mudroom is from Ben Moore's new Affinity line in their Aura paints - it is AF-345 Honeymoon. The powder bath is AF-235 Warmed Cognac and the large bath (not our master, it's actually a main level bath for used w/ the mudroom) is HC-143 Wythe Blue. The tile is from Cerdomus out of Italy (but not expensive, you have to check it out in a store near you, it's wonderful and super industrial-strength!) - it's from Cerdomus' Kairos line in the color "Ocra" - I also considered their color "Ruggine", it's really pretty.

HELP!!!!! I am overwhelmed by choosing cabinet stain color for a new kitchen am looking for advice from the sage kitchen forum people.. I am using KM cabinets and looking mainly at Cherry wood - chocolate or cognac stains. That being said I love contemporary kitchens and can find pictures of most stain colors that I like if done properly. The beams will be removed and the fireplace will match with whatever wood is chosen. Door style is Sedona (slightly more detail than shaker). Here is a link that might be useful: Current Kitchen

Where do you want to go with the rest of your house? I think your woodwork is lovely, but by the looks of your furniture and accessories, you're heading towards a more modern look for your home. Since you're already removing the beams, have you considered painting your trim? Normally my knee-jerk reaction is to gasp, "no way!" when someone wants to paint their stained trim, but painting the trim white/offwhite I think would give a more modern look to your house and give you more options to do what you want with dark cabinets. My flooring is red oak, and I think it looks great with my dark cherry cabinets.