JMHO, but the dark cabinets do have a trend feel to them, and I don't read farmhouse when I look at them. Very nice home BTW.

I would go with what you love. As for style, farmhouse,I think you can add in decorations and other elements.
Beautiful home.

How much natural light will your kitchen get? Those cabinets are awfully dark. I like the lighter ones. Pretty house!

While the outside of your new home reads Farmhouse (I love it!,) the inside has a more modern vibe with its open concept and no door moldings. So I think the dulce would be fine, and I agree that with your floors, a middle brown could end up looking monotone.

Your cabinetry choice is more of a farmhouse style, and not a sleek modern style, and so could be a bridge between a finish that is more of a modern one, and the farmhouse feel you want.

I like the lighter ones with the licorice finish. Without the finish I think all the woods in the same tone is a bit boring. If it were me and I got the dark, I would stick to a very white top. The white countertops would definitely give it the country look.

kismet08-

The exterior of your home is beautiful, and I love an open floor plan, but I don't care for either cab finish. Frankly, if stained is the only choice, I would choose the natural, the other two feel very dark and very - dare I say it - trendy. I also agree with rafor that the amount of light will make a difference.

If it were my house, I would choose a painted finish for the cabs, in a fun color that I loved, JMO, but I think painted finishes work better with farmhouse/cottage style.

Good luck-

sandyponder

Thanks guys, keep the opinions coming!

Rafor, I think I will get plenty of natural light. The kitchen is open to the family room and one entire wall consists of 3 sets of french doors, 8 ft doors with transoms. Plus there is a triple set of 5 ft high windows in the breakfast nook adjacent.

If we do the middle brown color, what granite would you guys suggest? I really like the gold tones, New venetian, santa celcelia, etc. but I'm thinkin that would be brown overload!

Sandy,

Painted was my first choice, but because of our time crunch and the fact that the cabinets are not custom - paint finish was not available. Actually, they had one paint finish, but it was really unattractive and when I spoke to the cabinet rep, they said they were discontinuing it because it was so unpopular. It was an offwhite that was so offwhite it read dingy yellow.

I think in my mind, I was looking at the dark finish as achieving the contrast I was craving that I would have gotten with the paint. I suppose if I really hate it, I could always paint them later, but my understanding is that a paint finish done on site is not going to be as durable as a paint finished that is baked on by the cabinet maker.

Ditto what barb said. I love the dulce and yes, it can be painted later if you decide you prefer the painted look. A professional painter, using the correct paint, can give you a durable finish.
IMO, your home is a style that doesn't demand the interior be 'country'.

What granite were you considering for the dulce?

annz,

with the dulce finish, I was thinking Colonial Cream or similar. Something light in the backdrop, with the movement picking up on the lighter tones of the floors.

If we stick with medium brown tone, I'm thinking santa cecilia or new venetian gold, although I think colonial cream would work with it too.

Suggestions on that welcome too. I've got to pull this altogether by next Tuesday.

I like the dark cabinets much better. To me, the others are just blah and not terribly interesting, although I am another who would prefer to see painted cabinets and the dark mimics a dark paint, I think. Have you though of going with a marble countertop and backsplash or something that resembles it? That could look wonderful.

I'm not a fan of the mid-brown stain. It certainly looks country, though.

I like the darker stain. It does seem modern in the spec home, but I think that is because the crown moulding is very plain/sleek and that there are no embellishments. If they could give you a different crown that is larger and has some shapes in it, I think it would instantly change the tone of the room.

I would also go for a white countertop if I wanted those dark cabinets to look country/more traditional. I think that combination would be stunning. Colonial cream could work, but I would try to find a slab that is on the whiter side (if possible.)

If your kitchen also has an island, maybe they could wrap it with your baseboard to embellish there.

Can you get the cabinets in the butterscotch finish? It's light and not as yellow as the natural finish.

Here is a link that might be useful: Quincy Cabinets

Suero, yep - i could get that. In fact, I think that is what the island is in the model home pictured above, only I think that has a glaze on it as well. I think it literally fades into that flooring though. My husband and I both tend to like at least some contrast between the floor and cabinets.

I guess I like the mid tone cabinets better but the dark looks alright, too. If you think you might be moving again in the next few years the cafe color might be a better choice, but otherwise get what you like!

I love the look of your new home - congrats! I vote for the lighter wood. The dark is very pretty, but I think the others would work better in your home.

I always vote for lighter,I don't "get" painted, but you have to live there.

I agree that you want to have some contrast between the flooring and the cabinets. It looks to me as if the finish on the island is Praline, not Butterscotch. If I'm wrong, then the Dulce will give you the contrast you want.

what if you did the kitchen cabinets in the cafe with licorice glaze and then did the island in the dulce. would that look funny or nice, just thinking out loud.

lyban, I think it would look awesome, but our floorplan is slightly different from the model pictured above and we don't have an island! Otherwise, I really would have done that.

I think with the flooring you've chosen, the licorice is the prettiest. I like the dulce, but it does read more 'modern' to me.

I like the Dulce, but IMO a true farmhouse interior should have white or off white cabinets.

I live in Farmville, USA and have been in many original farm homes. Most are either stained honey or painted white.

Darker stains on cabinets gives a European look.

And if you're going to accessorize in the farm/cottage style, white is the perfect background for it.

I had dark cabinets for years with good lighting, but it still made the kitchen seem smaller than it was and I also got claustrophobic in it. I got sick of the dark cabs real fast. lol

My style is also farm/country/rustic and I ended up painting my cabs white and it made a huge difference and opened my kitchen up to use all sorts of colors to accessorize with.

The dark reads "Pottery Barn" to me. But if you're tired of the medium stain, having it again probably won't bring it back to life for you. ;) Is the site suero linked to your cabinet brand? If so, can you choose this finish, Sandstone Glaze?

Moonshadow,

Yes, that is an option. And it does look perfect on the website. But, in real life, it's very off white, nearly yellow. Here is a an example. Note the white door and trim in contrast.

the link below demonstrates it even more, with white appliances next to it. I'm not sure I'm as excited with the yellowy look. It's actually not hitting yellow, but going beyond off white to me.

Here is a link that might be useful: another example with white appliances

Oh wow, I love the sandstone. can you just not paint your trim not quite so white. I have very off white cabinets and similar floors with a whiter (vanilla bean) trim and I think it looks fine together. I really like the feel of painted cabinets with the farmhouse style. Beautiful home!

This is an old photo I had on my computer but I could do another with better view of trim and cabinets if it would help. My shutters are also the lighter trim color. Honestly I wouldn't want my cabinets the exact same as my trim.

I love the creamy kitchen...even with the white trim. I think a contrasting wall paint color might blend the two nicely.

Your new home is beautiful! I am sure you want to stay in budget but you know how important these kitchen finishes are and you must keep at it until you are satisfied. Cabinet color and granite are very important expensive decisions - they need to make you HAPPY!

Here's a link to the FINISHED KITCHEN BLOG. I am not that computer savvy so I hope it works. If not just google FKB and you will find it. A gazillion finished kitchens to look at!

AND, just to confuse you even more....here's another link of just wood kitchens.

ENJOY!!!

Tracy M.

http://finishedkitchens.blogspot.com/

Here is a link that might be useful: pictures of wood kitchens

Your website image of the cream colored kitchen with white door and trim looks odd to me, and I don't think it is because of the cabinets and door trim. The back splash and counters have a lot of pink in them and I would not have used that with these cabinets at all. With the pinks out of the picture the color would probably look a lot better with the white trim, or an off white. It would be fun to "photoshop" out the back splash and counters and put in a lovely granite with more light color movement. The current counter is too homogeneous as well. I would either go with a lively lovely pattern or a solid background pattern counter top. There are so many great examples of kitchens on this web site.

traceee, that is a fabulous link to wood kitchens.

Did anyone mention dust? Those dark cabinets are going to be like a magnet. My cherry stained cabinets are bad enough! I cannot imagine having to dust those dark cabinets.

In addition to what enduring pointed out in re: to the photo, the use of brass hardware with the SS appliances makes it look even worse.

I did more googling and found some more shots of the off white cabinets. This time with stainless appliances, ORB pulls, what looks like giallo ornamental granite (which is probably what I would pick) and a chocolate brown tile backsplash. THIS looks way better to me. You can still see that it is off from the trim, but maybe like mimi poited out, if I can select a door/trim white that leans more off than stark white, it won't be as pronounced. Or, it could just be the photograph, lighting, etc...ARGH.

Oh yeah, I forgot. I also found a shot of the cabinets in Cafe. The caption said cafe with the licorice glaze, but I sure don't see the glaze here. Also with giallo ornamental granite. This would be the stain option we were considering. The sample I have isn't quite as red as this, but it seems close. Again, I think lighting, flash, and the distortions of the monitor make a big difference.

I love cream and white together, but if you didn't, you could always leave out the crown in the kitchen and have cabinets that go to the ceiling. Similar to your above second photo.

I also like the look of your second photo if you go with stained. I think that either look will look more country than the black.

kismet, I love the picture you found of the off white with the chocolate brown backsplash. Honestly, we built our house so there were a million decisions to make and this was just before I found this forum. I sat up in bed one night when it dawned on me I'd chosen creamy cabinets and hadn't even THOUGHT about the fact that my trim is also an off-white. For about 24 hours I freaked out. I discussed it with my builder who said it looks better if the cabinets LOOK like cabinets and not like built-in extensions of the trim. Now my trim is an off-white, the cabinets a darker shade of eggshell sort of, the walls a creamy gold, and the granite shades of brown and tan. It all works when you get everything put together and I love the look of the painted cabinets with the hardwood floor. I chose a dark granite but the one you're looking at is beautiful, too, and will bring in even more shades off white/off-white/gold. I'm not trying to talk you into painted cabinets, I'm just saying all this to help you realize that the fact of the trim not matching is not a big deal AT ALL and don't let that influence your final decision. I wasted some time stressing that and I shouldn't have.

i would choose the midtone cabinet with the glaze-ABSOLUTELY!!

i personally don't care for the dulce stained cabinets with the flooring you've chosen...(i like contrast, but that combo is not that complementary to my eye...)

Thanks guys for all your input. I've got a question out to the builder to see if I get to select the paint for the trim and doors. I would think so, but this has all been so rushed. When we wrote the contract on the house, it was technically a spec, but they were still framing out the second floor. That was two and half weeks ago. He told me last week, he's planning to go to drywall next week!! He's basically throwing all his subs on it, or almost all, I think he's only building one other house right now and its a custom job that has been going on for awhile.

In order to get us in before school starts after Labor Day, he's really pushing and decisions have to come fast. To complicate everything, we're making them from out of state. Everytime he suggests something be "like the model", heck I can't even remember what the model looked like. We should have taken more pictures!!

The only other new homes we've had, one was also a spec, and the cabinets were already on order. The other was a model, so it was completely done. We've never built this far from scratch. I can't even imagine trying to do it from floorplan selection and making changes to that. This is supposed to at least be the fun part, and it would if I weren't out of state. *sigh* deep breaths....deep breaths....

*end rant*

Kismet, I really like that last picture you posted of the Cafe with a light Giallo, and probably no glaze. The granite really lightens it up and that lack of glaze makes it not look quite so "Tuscan"...I think the offwhite has a little of that too ornamented tuscan look, they also look they have been glazed or antiqued, not the fresh clean white or off white I associate with cottage looks.

In the kitchen forum you stated that you always "loved" white kitchens. Could you be having such a hard time because you really don't want wood this time around? Is white in your heart of hearts? Perhaps you should explore this option with your builder and either work it out or rule it out. Try a different direct approach such as: "I would like maple cabinets painted Benjamin Moore White Dove and the trim to match, AND to stay in budget with this...thank you!"

You seem to "like" a lot of different things, but you seem to be bouncing with the different choices. Perhaps this is the panic setting in! I wonder how that creamy kitchen would look without the glaze.

I also want you to know I am a little envious of you. It is easy for me to design YOUR kitchen, kinda a fantasy, but I understand the pressure is getting in the way of the excitement or fun.

Don't forget to ask about a vent hood instead of an over the range microwave too!!!

The home is BEAUTIFUL and the kitchen is BIG and wonderful! Do what it takes to make yourself happy!

TM

I found this link with gorgeous white kitchens.

Here is a link that might be useful: AMAZING WHITE KITCHEN PHOTOS