Thanks, alku05 and bill for the clarification. I have been reading up more on through body porcelain and I guess its not really what we want for the wall. One more q-is glazed ceramic ok for shower wall? It turns out that the Keraben tile we picked is a glazed ceramic tile(NOT porcelain as the tile shop said) and the technical data says that the water absorption is greater than 10%. Wouldn't such high water absorption rate make it bad for showers? The other tile we were considering is a Florida Renaissance tile that is also a glazed ceramic. I can't find the water absorption rate listed anywhere for that. So the basic question is can a glazed ceramic tile be used for walls? Thank you for any input-I am going crazy trying to sort through the terminology here. Vinaya

I took the doors down, and the handles off, I did leave the hinges on( lazy I know but you are only swiping glaze and I was careful) I cleaned them with ammonia and water with a drop of dawn. A professional painter may recommend something different but it worked for me. The gel stain was Minwax. I used Aged Oak (medium warm brown) which I think would be a nice color and would consider for my own green buffet. I did thin down the glaze slightly with regular paint thinner so it wasn't so gel like and it moved around longer. I think if you wanted to go with the gel I would thin it a bit too, it'll spread faster aqnd give you more working time. My first coat was Aged Oak slapped on lightly and evenly. It did change the red hue from red to a red brown, but when I wiped off it left barely no noticable difference in the original color of the red or if it did it was so subtle I didn't see it. I would slap on glaze/gel over entire door. With old towel wipe off everything but what you want to remain in crevices and let dry. You can always go over them again if you want them darker or browner. I would say offhand maybe 1 minute to slap on, three minutes to wipe off and finish? Dab with towel in hard to reach corners. My process was two parts, one for the brown glaze, one for the mahogany. Then I did do one coat of poly. I'd say you could do it in a weekend. Thursday night wipe down cabinets, take down doors and hardware, set up work area. Friday glaze and let dry(I would do the cabinet face frame too just in case there is a slight tone difference- after the glazing just wipe it completely off) Saturday poly. Sunday morn rehang doors. I did mine over Martin Luther King weekend. It went fast. If you have some old painted boards do a few practice slap on's and wipe off's. Plus you'll be able to see if the wiped off glaze does leave any noticable color behind. If you have painted cabinets then you certainly have the skills for this, it's just a more one door at a time project, than painting all the cabinets all the same color, each door is it's own project.

I also don't think you'd need to change the slate in the entry. Does it have a color you can work off of and love for the kitchen? If you don't think light painted cabinets will suit your taste or lifestyle, then don't use them, or use them sparingly and do the rest in a wood. There are so many colors and species of wood to choose from. ...Or one of my favorite kitchens is one of Crown Point's 'Early American' kitchens done in black painted cabinets with a combo of wood and grayish granite counters...So light colors are not your only option with paint. I've seen 'Colonial' done in reds, greens, and gray blues. What other colors are going on in your house (on architectural elements as well as your other furnishing and decor)? What other color of wood? Is all the trim painted or wood? I think that besides continuity of style it is good to have continuity of the architectural detail colors, like on wood trim. Keeping it simple is good advice, since that always seem to better stand the test of time and fit into more types of styles and decor. If the builder wasn't fanatical about doing authentic colonial details, which would give you cues from which to work, I wouldn't worry enough about the integrity of the 1970s version as to limit all of your material options, like granite color. You just want to avoid styles that will jump out as being different from the rest of the home...as if you've stepped into a different house. But you should have the flexibility to allow your own personal preferences and style to shine through. Here is a link that might be useful: crown-point black kitchen

I have Diamond/Omega maple cabinets with the Pearl finish. I was going to go with the straight white offering and my KD discouraged me from doing that. She said the white was pretty stark and looked like a thermafoil finish, IHO. Like you, I was concerned about clashing with other whites. My kitchen is open to the dining and living areas, which I wanted to paint a cohesive warm white shade (I chose SW "Creamy".) Add to that, my trim is white (SW "Snowbound".) I'm really happy with the Pearl finish on my cabinets. There is a slight contrast with the walls, and they don't look dingy against the white trim, which is what I most feared. In the lighting in our home, I don't read grey in mine - it just seems to be a richer, creamier white. Don't know if that helps with regard to your choices. It just reinforces the advice given above that you probably should get some samples in your home and check them out in your own lighting.