Stinky, Layla Grayce is an online shop out of southern California. Bham Wholesale is and has been in Bham for a loooong time, but was purchased by two men from Lafayette, La in 2008. Honestly, I had a bad experience there last year and will no longer step foot in the store. Also, Kyser Furniture in Montgomery carries the same lines and has better sales during the year (if in the market for sofas, which is about the only furniture I do not buy vintage/antique). Tina, I've seen The Old Painted Cottage but only recently. Found it via Fifi (who I read now and then). Have never heard of the Pink Roses blog - there are SO many blogs out there! lol I've seen Southern Lady once or twice, but don't purchase. Newdawn, she lives south/southwest of Bham. LOL Just read your last line, Newdawn - that's the truth! Like I said Kyser in Montgomery! My parents furnished their entire lakehouse there and when we built a summer home in CO we ordered it all from them too. They received, then shipped all at once. Still less... then we added pieces and accessories from CO.

Ok now don't misread what I have posted ladies. I don't think white appliances look cheap in all instances. In many they're the only right choice! While I have stainless, I also have black appliances and am probably going to put a white stove (maybe black) in the new kitchen. White does not need to be top of the line designer to work well in a kitchen...it's the sum of the whole (as I like to say). White cabinets with black appliances also looks bad (IMO) as they look like either a cheap afterthought (maybe kept the old stuff) or a bad design choice unless the color is incorporated in other areas of the ktichen well (ie a black and white check floor etc). But black cabinets stand out in a world of their own. When done in an antiqued finish, they're rustic and yet elegant beyond any other cabinet color or style...yummy. And when done on a new cabinet with a tight wood grain, they're sleek and lucious. They're a wonderful design choice that too few pick because they fall too quickly in the "don't want a dark kitchen etc" camp that too many land in and end up with boring kitchens instead. But much like a colored cabinet, red, blue, yellow, if you do go black you need to do it right. The contrast of a black and white for cab and countertop is a great contrast. I'm always taken aback by corian because I owned it, know it was stupid expensive, and resented the cracks, scratches, stains, etc that were on my new corian counters....horrific stuff that costs too much. I don't get people who spend the same amount or close on corian that they would for something like stone or metal or wood (and before you think I'm all stone all the time, I have metal counters and adore them...I'd kill for copper...fabulous stuff, and love my stainless counters). I also have a wonderful formica, but my installer did wonderful edges so that wasn't a worry. I can understand the issue of edge worries if they don't do a good job. And if the only choice was formica with bad edges and seams verses corian...well of course I'd go corian. But as to the appliances...SS is fine, it's timeless, and it works, but in your sleek new kitchen I'd actually consider black far sooner than I'd consider stainless but they are the better choice to white so you don't have stark holes of color in the kitchen (think black hole gone opposite LOL) The stainless will work well if that's what DH wants (cave it's always worth it) :) And don't take any "white is cheap" comment to heart....it's not, it just has it's place as does any other material used in the decorating and design world. In your case, it could damage the look of your fabulous cabinets...that's all I'm saying. I'm sorry I wasn't tactful enough. It's been a long week and sometimes I'm too short. I was taken aback because of the high (normally) cost of corian and generally just don't get the choice. This is because I've had two corian counters in the past and they didn't preform. In addition, most people who put it in at full price expect top dollar when they're selling their home because they put in corian, but it's such a ummm gad how to say...specialty finish, that it's very hard to place someone in a corporate condo when it's in, so we always rip it out asap and put in anything else. No not just stone :oP Actually in your kitchen, if you want white appliances really badly, I'd go with builder grade black and white granite which is amazingly cheap (less than formica) and has a fabulous color sequence in it that would pull your black cabinets into the design with white cabinets and make the whole thing flow wonderfully. or go with a wonderful black and white glass tile backsplash in a checkerboard pattern to pull them together...it would be yummy, yummy yummy! Again I'm sorry...on a personal note, I've been blessed with the special needs challenge myself and don't want you to have to resort to calming medication though many times they'r so tempting heh heh :) But do enjoy something stronger than green tea while you're working on this kitchen....you'll need it! MsMarve...LOL I actually almosted called mom and asked if she'd changed her screen name.

Your builder will probably say no because he's a builder working with stock, and is afraid if you don't like it you'll claim he damaged your perfectly good brand new cabinets. But any carpenter, handy fiance, or even the guy doing your trimwork should be able to take it out easily and sand the edge. But really, you could just remove the door altogether and get the same effect. The builder doesn't even have to know!!! (shhhhh...!) Also, there are tons of people in blogland who remove doors and drawers and replace with baskets. One example to help you: go to "The Lettered Cottage" blog and in the search box type buffet table and see one of millions of tutorials on this kind of thing. Layla (at the Lettered Cottage) does cottage-y country and beach cottage looks but it could translate pretty easily into French Country with different fabrics.

My first thought was to go with a darker color -- black, chocolate brown or maybe green since the OP says some greens. I'm not a huge fan of oak, but these have more character and the only thing I really don't like about them is the hardware. Unfortunately, changing that and placing it properly will probably require painting. Going with white or a lighter color is more of a challenge because of the grain in the oak. Paint and grain seem to look better in deeper colors. I don't see the glazed look you are talking about looking good with your white. I also think it would replace one dated look with another and you might tire of it quickly. You probably want a brighter feel and thing dark cabinets will be darker. There have been a number of kitchens done with black or cocoa cabinets -- some in combination with white or cream uppers, that looks so bright and fresh. The contrast is so crisp and fresh that it creates a different look. Accent it with brushed stainless or something similar in your hardware, appliances if or when you replace them (or look into painting or getting panels for them if you prefer that over white), and possibly even in your small backsplash (it can be an inexpensive, designer look). I think it would feel a lot crisper and brighter, even though the cabinets might actually be the same or darker. When you do paint, I would think about taking down the valances over the sink and fridge. Take the shutters off and put a fabric or woven shade at the top of the opening. paint the area above the vent to match your cabinet or create a chalkboard there and put a fun saying on it -- but carry that color all the way to the ceiling. If you want the area above the fridge lower (a new fridge some day might be taller, but for now....) use a simpler piece of trim, no scallops. Consider a hanging rod for utensils in that little niche you have behind your cooktop. Update the accessories a bit and add a splash of function and/or color.