I've had both: in a previous house I painted our cabinets (I really spent my time doing the prep and painting) and in this house we have a catalyzed lacquer finish. Our cabinets were made by a local custom cabinetmaker (who had the cabinets painted) and they have a low sheen (I didn't want any gloss). Maybe it's a satin finish? Anyway, so it's funny, because in the short time we've had this kitchen we've had a number of dings, all by the appliance installers and floor crew! None by my children, my pets, my husband or myself. Go figure. The cabinetmaker gave us touch-up paint for the dings but I haven't touched them up yet. They're small and I have to really look for them, plus I'm lazy. In the kitchen where I painted, even though I did a good job there were dings, and those were from us (just my husband and me -- hadn't had children yet). But you know what? That was back in 2001 and paints have changed a lot since then! If I had to do it now, I think I'd go with Benjamin Moore Impervo or Cabinet Coat. Have you seen pirula's kitchen? She hand painted her kitchens and has written that she's had no problems with the paint holding up. Or bayareafrancy's in-progress (of being painted) kitchen? She's using the BM Impervo, and it's painting like a dream. We have wainscoting and trim which is painted with the BM Impervo and I can tell you how terrifically well it holds up to scrubbing! No burnishing -- it's amazing. I have sticky fingered children, plus my youngest likes to draw with chalk / pens (when I'm not looking, that is) and again, it comes off the BM Impervo painted surfaces just like that! But I have a harder time getting it off the catalyzed lacquer finished cabinetry. Anyway, so based on my experiences, I think both can be really durable, but with one you get a "hand made" appearance (paint), and with the other, you get a really smooth, even finish. It depends on what you're ultimately after for your kitchen.

So, in line with this thread, we had completely custom cabinets crafted as part of our kitchen remodel one year ago. We had a good many difficulties with our cabinet maker and believe that the painting was done hastily because he was late. We were told that painting was done 'in the booth'. He used a pre-catalyzed lacquer color matched to Benjamin Moore Atrium White (not BM paint,however), formulated to California requirements. Well, the doors (and cabinets) under/around our sink have been repainted twice and the doors are peeling and chipping yet again. Yes, water does drip down (we have a farmhouse sink and water drops down the front tend to be a pitfall), but we are very good about monitoring this and these doors DO need to be able to stand up to some moisture (they are flush inset doors). In any event, the paint cracks follow the joints of the doors and the peeling always starts at a seam or joint. The latest painter who's attempting to fix this says that the doors weren't primed properly in any of the previous paintings. This is not just ridiculous -- it's expensive to have these doors repainted 3 times a year. I know about the restrictions on formulations in CA. So, I'm wondering if there are cabinet companies elsewhere where we can send our doors and a paint swatch for repainting -- and appropriate baking to make the finish more water resistant. That won't help failures on the cabinets themselves, but the doors are by far the worst. Any ideas or recommendations out there?

I just put in a porcelain tile that mimics a soft golden/orange/tan color terra cotta look. I guess it is supposed to look like old flooring from Crete. It is a bit lighter and less orange than true Saltillo. It is from the company Panaria Ceramica, the tile is called Le Crete, and the color I chose is called Tabaco. I also looked at the Cotti D'eremo, but it had a bit more tile-to-tile variation in color than I was looking for. My tile has color variation within one tile, but all of the tiles are in the same color. Sorry I don't know how to provide a link, but if you do a search you can find the Italian website for Panaria ceramica. This tile was inexpensive and available in multiple places locally (California). I wasn't willing to have to seal tile, so I didn't go with real terra cotta. Plus, the porcelain is tougher. I have gotten many compliments on my floor.

Fortunately you have the doors and drawer fronts so you are matching only secondary parts. That is possible as a close match is all that is required since the two surfaces won't be perfectly aligned. I have done this a few times and built a large colllection of dyes, toners, shellacs and stains from miscellaneous sources. First I must warn you this won't be cheap because the quality products are not cheap and you may need to buy a few different items to get a passable match. I suggest starting at Rockler or similar as they will be the best chance of good advice, with a true paint store a second possibility. My local paint store will attempt stain matching but their system only gets you part of the way and the rest is trial and error. When I attempted to match the stain for birch doors, I started with a two x four sheet of cabinet grade birch plywood (ReStore find!) and taped sections with painter's tape. After doing a first round with some different bases of bare wood, dyes and shellacs, then I went the other direction with different colors of stains ending up with a grid pattern. At that point, I picked the best two matches and did larger samples to completion. Be sure to write the relevant info on the sections of painters tape as it is hard to remember once you move the boards around. You may find that the solid pieces of the face frame take stain differently than the veneer panels of the finished sides and back. Most importantly, be sure to have enough material to finish the job once you find the magic combination. If you mix stains together, make plenty as you do not want to run out. I prefer staining pieces before gluing, otherwise be very, very careful to get all the glue cleaned off unstained pieces.