Have you looked at Wilsonart's Luna Series? They have two whites that may work for you. I just had Luna Night (very black) installed Tuesday and it is beautiful!

Here is a link that might be useful: Luna Series

dmwbcc: according to an independent kitchen designer who had or has her own TV show, you just choose any light colored counter, and it goes with the light colored cabinets.

I'll quote half of an article I saved a couple years ago:

Be big where it counts. Aim for long runs of counter space for preparation areas. Forget triangles: they can leave the chef feeling cramped. Even in small spaces, focus on making the cook feel that there's room to spare.

Keep it light. We can all love bold, dramatic, cutting-edge colors. But face it: most of us are looking for a kitchen that stands the test of time, and that makes you feel good every time you enter it. A need for enduring style and timeless choices guides you to choose a lighter shade of pale for the fixed elements, such as cabinets, and then go nuts with a bold accent colour on the walls that is both inexpensive and easy to change if, by chance, you should find that it is less pleasing later.

But do it two ways. Just because it's light doesn't mean it has to be white. Torn between a desire for something new and a need to appeal to the greatest number of people when selling the house, settle on light, but not white. Once installed, two light colours pick up the variations in both the counters and the backsplash, and create a subtle two-tone effect. I can't say it's bold, but it's way better than plain!!

Don't give in to granite. Although it has a reputation as the practical choice for stone countertops, you don't need to give in to the speckles, the flecks and the hues that this material offers. And dark is out of the question. If counters are dirty, you want to see what's on them, please. Marble, a classic no-no, is good: kitchens can develop a patina like a bistro with counters bars and table tops in carrera marble; you have to be willing to live with counters that will develop stains over time. There's a choice for light counters: engineered quartz stone! A composite, it comes in beautiful shades, and won't stain, crack or discolour like natural materials. It's stunning.

Minimize allowances. The rule says you need 42 inches to open the refrigerator, dishwasher, oven, or to get around a counter, but you can push the limits by reducing the clearance (down to 36 inches) in favour of achieving more counter and storage space. Lets face it, preparing meals is not a group effort, and you don't need space to choreograph a dance routine. No one has ever complained after their kitchen went in: it's only a problem on paper.

...
The designer is Sarah Richardson.

She says any two light colors play off each other and make the whole.

She says for you to look for light color quartz.
I've found there are about 20 manufacturers of quartz, although only a small number of them are highly available everywhere. I found that Cimstone made the largest variety of light color quartz. Go see their web site to find out who would be able to show you samples where you are. E.g. Barents, Grimsey, Arcadia.

davidro1- you rock! Thanks so much!!! I would be particularly interested in the rest of the article/anything you've saved from her! Would you mind emailing me the article? kurtanddeanna@earthlink.net

This puts my mind at ease!

Davidro1: Thanks for the advice from Sarah Richardson for dmwbcc -- this is great advice for us all. Sarah Richardson -- I can't get enough of her.

francoise47- I feel the same way, can't get enough. Something about what she does is so timeless.

Here is the whole article

Here is a link that might be useful: Sarah Richardson

I did not read the whole article, but I strongly disagree with several things she said in the excerpt, above.

Don't give in to granite. Although it has a reputation as the practical choice for stone countertops, you don't need to give in to the speckles, the flecks and the hues that this material offers.

Seriously? So she is saying only use non-granite materials that have no variation in color or visual texture? Oh, wait, no - that can't be as she later says marble - a stone with variations in color and texture - is a great choice. She also likes quartz, many patterns of which try to emulate granite! I think we can all agree the quartz has speckles and flecks.

And dark is out of the question. If counters are dirty, you want to see what's on them, please. Actually, if you have been hanging out here at GW for any length of time, you know that many homeowners WANT counters that won't highlight every little crumb left behind.

The above statements can be attributed to a designer speaking their opinions as fact, which is understandable and not uncommon (I do it, too!). But then she goes on to say...

Minimize allowances... ...Lets face it, preparing meals is not a group effort, and you don't need space to choreograph a dance routine. No one has ever complained after their kitchen went in: it's only a problem on paper.

This is like design malpractice! No, Sarah, quite often preparing meals IS a group effort. People often complain that their kitchens are too tight. NKBA guidelines are what they are for a reason (the first being safety), not just to make kitchens more difficult to lay out. If she were speaking to a single person with a 300 square foot city apartment that is one thing, but to make a blanket statement like that is just irresponsible and WRONG!

I have never watched Sarah Richardson, but I don't put too much credence in what TV experts say. Ever since I once saw a HGTV "bathroom designer" refer to a tub surround as a backsplash, I figured out that they don't all know what they are talking about.

Nicole

Here is one of my favourite kitchens and she used a light laminate in a marble look. It looks great with her cabs. Just a bit of contrast.

Here is a link that might be useful: Marylynn's kitchen

If you LOVE the formica, why not get a sample and compare it to white cabinet colors. If you have decided on a cabinet company, compare to their whites. Or if you will have the option of using your own paint choices, compare to Benjamin Moore samples to get an idea if you like a brighter white or a creamy white. If you already know wall color or accessory colors, or possibly a backsplash, you can add that in too. Then, if you know what you want for sure down the road for a countertop, you might double check that with the white you have chosen for the cabinet too.
I don't know about that specific formica, but if it is a plain white, I would not want to match it exactly with the cabinets. First, it would be alot of white and maybe difficult to do, and probably boring. I would think it might lean towards very contemporary too.
What about the Sweeby test? If you want white and white, how will you bring other elements into the design? What style are you hoping to achieve? Where would color, texture and design come into the picture?

budge, awesome. I love it, and you just made my choice a 100% choice! :)

Nicole- I think it's one of those classic advice columns where I realized no ONE designer (good, bad, new, old, on TV, not on TV) is the defining authority on what looks good. I think if you happen to like their style, then their advice speaks to you! If not, it sounds ludicrous! I personally prefer to be in the kitchen alone, to create my masterpieces! LOL ....sans kids, dogs, husbands. So, that speaks to me. I like a "line" in a kitchen- years of professional work, so I ignore a triangle.... I can go on.. but I don't think anyone here said that advice was the only option in life, for sure. How boring would that be? I think the article was great for someone like me who's looking for a light on light kitchen, without granite- thankfully David posted that. I feel very comfortable in MY choices now! Which, as I keep learning on this forum is the only thing that matters!

Happy Day!