Well, minwax has a color called winter white, and I would presume the effect would be somewhat similar to that. Of course it will depend on the wood--how open the grain is. Overall effect of the winter white is kind of whitewashed on open grain woods.

You can see tiny samples on the minwax sample board in a store that sells it.

My friend has off white stained cabinets. She had the stain custom made by the cabinet company - ovation.

I think it could be gorgeous; here's a picture I just googled up:

But you will have to take some pains so that it doesn't look like the pinkish white pickled oak so popular back in the 1980's. I'd definitely have your guy make some large, to-scale sample doors before deciding for sure. What kind of wood are the cabinets going to be? The grain will make a difference in the end result.

Oh, yes: also google for "limed" cabinets and you'll find more pictures:

H. Behlen makes a white pickling stain if you go to page 6 of their catalog you can see a description of the stain. I have used it on oak to match white "pickled oak" cabinets. In some cases, you might want to fortify it with some additional pigment. Woodworkers Supply carries solid pigments (Japan color) that can be added to stains (www.woodworker.com) - see the link.

If you enter the word "pigment" into the search window ("find") on their website it will take you to the page with the pickling stain and the Japan Color.

Here is a link that might be useful: Woodworker's Supply

"But you will have to take some pains so that it doesn't look like the pinkish white pickled oak so popular back in the 1980's."

That's because the cabinets were made with red oak and then the white stain was put over the red oak - red + white = pink. Not a stain problem but a base wood + stain problem.

If you white pickle stain white oak it comes out white. Or, if you know how to bleach wood properly it also comes out white when the white pickling stain is applied

I should mention that the Winter White is a much whiter white than pickling or liming creates. The white stained pieces I've seen are very white except for where the grain shows through.

"I should mention that the Winter White is a much whiter white than pickling or liming creates. The white stained pieces I've seen are very white except for where the grain shows through."

That's why you need to add the Japan Color to the pickling stain if you want that affect. I've also seen it done with white paint that has been thinned and sprayed onto the wood. To do that, you need to treat the wood with a wash coat of shellac (1-pound cut) or pre-stain wood conditioner to prevent the paint from absorbing into the wood.

Thanks for all the feedback. I'm glad that people have heard of the process. Does anybody have any pictures? Will it look like all the beautiful painted white kitchens I've been seeing all over GW? What is the advantage of staining white instead of painting white? We are planning on using maple for the white cabinets. I really really don't want a pickled look, for obvious reasons. I'm going for the classic white kitchen look. If it looks good, why don't more people do it? I'm a little concerned....

Painted cabs are often not warranted by manufacturers because of chipping and cracking of the painted surface.

Stain differs from paint mainly by the surface film formation of paint versus the soaked in effect of stain. Both could get multiple clear topcoats. Your contractor feels painted doors will be chip prone on cabinet edges. Think of your car doors. Stained doors can chip, but the clear is gone and not as noticeable. Getting the painted look from stain is technically challenging on a one-off basis. Something to discuss with the cabinet manufacturer. Some steps in the finishing process would have to be changed. You should expect to pay for the added research, testing and samples.

Here's a possible solution to suggest.
Woodweb knowledge base-
From contributor H:
We've always used Sherwin-Williams white vinyl sealer as a "white dye." It works great with the other SW dye concentrates. You can thin this stuff with acetone about 3 to 1 or even more, depending on how opaque you want your finish. If you're after a totally white finish, just grab some white pigmented conversion varnish.

This is preliminary discussion.

In the long run a solution to the chipping and cracking problems of painted finishes is progress and could be worth the effort.

Here is a link that might be useful: White dye

DH says to check out Olympic Paint-they made a white wood stain.