Hi Officewench. I see two issues here--the cabinet itself, & the the general level of (as you put it) matchy-matchyness, which is a dismissive term I don't like, even if I don't care for the over-coordinated look, either. It's the same difference between saying that a room that's been decorated gradually over a long period of time--a historic house, say, or maybe my own place--has an undecorated look and saying that it's a jumbled mess. At Malmaison in France, everything has been designed within an inch of its life, and the woods & the gilt-bronze hardwaree and the silk lampas fabrics are all perfectly consistent, but the results are gorgeous, not "matchy-matchy". Thus endeth the screed. OK, now that we've finished with semantics, let's get on to your actual question. If the cabinetwork in your entire house--except for this bath--is already done in white shaker cabinets with recessed-panel doors, I hardly think that adding one more cabinet in the same style is going to sink the ship. After all, if you like the all-white look, there can never be too much of it, and if you're already having second thoughts about having so much of it, I hate to say this but it's already too late, anyway, so don't expect a single cabinet to correct the balance. This has nothing to do with that. So, now that we've established that what goes on in the bathroom stays in the bathroom, you can forget about what's going on in the rest of the house as you choose your bathroom's vanity. It's time to focus on the here-&-now. Here's the thing: cherry's a funny wood. In bright light--and if the wood is in a fairly light-color stain--cherry can be absolutely beautiful, with a wonderful, shimmering, satiny luster that you otherwise only see in things like birds-eye & curly & fiddle-back maple veneers and (sometimes) in sycamore. On the other hand, in its darker colorations & without strong directional light to highlight its occasional chatoyance, cherry can also look dull & lifeless, with nothing but surface shine to add any sort of visual interest. That's why, in a very small room with no natural light, I might hesitate to use cherry: it won't show off to its best advantage, and, added to the fact that it will be the only time the wood shows up in your otherwise all-white decor, your vanity could end up looking like something you picked up merely because it was a good deal--rather than something you bought because you loved it--or worse, that it was a mistake, like the wrong cabinet showed up on the truck & you didn't have time to exchange it for the right one. face it: we live in a complicated world, and stuff like that sometimes happens, but when it does, there's no point advertising the fact, and there's even less reason to make it look like that's the case when it really isn't. You'll know which is the right answer. Regards, Magnaverde.

This thread is leading to unexpected places. We've noticed the relationship between our childhood experiences and our life style or homelife now. And, Flgargoyle is so right to note that you have to balance the elements of a very organized exacting profession with a home style that gives you some breathing room. In my case, working as a librarian for years and years, and being called upon for very proper and perfect language use, I would revert at home to using AIN'T etc. In my home, especially after I began work as a boat captain, I needed to have something alive around me. I began to indulge my passion for container plants. Never have liked fake plants. Over the years, I killed a lot of plants by leaving them outside during the months I was away at work on the oil field boats. These days, I have some favorite container plants that I drag with me, just like the parrots and the dogs, when I travel from Alabama to Massachusetts. I love to use live plants inside the house as part of my decorating. Better something alive around me than another piece of furniture. Right now, I am up north and the plants I could not bring with me for the stay, they are in good hands with a "babysitter." Ever since the show HOARDERS came on TV, I've been questioning myself about clutter. At what point does it become too much. My efforts to keep the house safe to walk around in, find stored items easily, and enjoy the things we have.....that is important to me. I'm not a neat freak. Things don't have to be high dollar, because I enjoy things which are rather primitive or old and abused. I like to have space around things so they will stand out. I also like to have enough storage that I can cycle accessories in and out of the rooms, and they will each have a time to star.

People have very successfully used a different door style and color on their island, as if it was a piece of furniture added to the kitchen...A very nice look. Could be more rustic or more elegant than the rest for a bit of style contrast even. Frenchkitty's is one of my favorites...She used cream perimeter cabs and chocolate island, with complementary, but different door/drawer styles. Her kitchen is in the Finished Kitchens Blog, but only 2 photos, which doesn't show the details very well. And she used the same granite on both, and I know others have done a different counter on the island. In our kitchen we have fir perimeter cabs with laminate counter, gray cabs around our stove with stainless counter, and a cream colored island with wood counter. The doors on the different colors are all a Shaker variation, but with slightly different profiles. Also the drawer fronts on the perimeter are 5-piece, paneled, but the drawers on the island are slab...and have different hardware than the perimeter cabs. Here is a link that might be useful: Frenchkitty's kitchen on FKB

I have seagrass in other rooms, but my husband hates how it feels underfoot. I can't say I don't agree. I hate walking on my seagrass in bare feet! :) We have a rug manufacturer here who will make any size area rug. There was one contender in the warehouse the other day, but I ultimately decided it was too dark for the space. We have a friend who is an expert in oriental rugs take a look at the one we are considering. He said it's from Pakistan and the price is fantastic. a 12x18 from less expensive brands is running $5k in his shop. I think we have a winner!