prill... I really am contemplating using IKEA boxes and DH will build the door fronts. The only doors I will have are at the sink base and corner. I'm planning on uppers only the long 10' west wall where the window is. I think I want SS and glass there; kinda like the horizontal IKEA ones (if not those exactly); but I'll play that by ear. The style will be a very wide rail/style shaker like this: That is the Ultracraft door that I first fell in love with in the red birch. I think it's gorgeous but I'm just not seeing the reddish tone in my kitchen with the bakers table and floor. What do you all think? wolfgang, thanks for the compliment. Those trees are Latanya palms. (not sure if I spelled it correctly) When the really mature, they'll form a canopy over the pool. OH... and about wood cabs. I also adore walnut and teak but wonder if it would be too dark or if the teak would be too "streaky" with the floor.

We have painted raised-panel doors. The cabinet doors are made of several pieces (not routered out), with only the center piece being MDF -- the rest is solid maple. Our KD explained that this is, in fact, a more expensive option because the MDF is more expensive than wood; but because the MDF doesn't shrink or expand with the seasons, there will not be visible cracking in the paint finish. The MDF is indistinguishable from the wood, and the MDF and maple both take paint beautifully. A friend of mine was re-doing his kitchen the same time as mine, but he went with modern, slab (full-overlay) doors with a white lacquer-like finish. His GC told him that MDF is the ONLY way to go with those; the shrinking and expanding of real wood makes it very difficult to craft doors that meet and close precisely. Here are my doors (before the horrible window treatments and wallpaper border came down...):

It really is a hard decision, but usually there is some sort of indicator to the right direction - you may just have to listen hard and dig deep to find it. People gave all sorts of good things to clue in on in this thread from just sitting and staring at your kitchen daily and it coming to you over time....to looking at inspiration pics and tuning into which ones make you sigh in wonder.....to just making a final decision one way or another and seeing if peace comes with it. For me, I did decide on white with my previous cabinet maker, and I was excited, but still felt very nervous about it. The glaze or no glaze choice was not sitting right at all either. I wanted the warmth of glaze, but not the potential to be dated or the lack of control over how heavy or light it was applied. In the end, we switched cabinet makers, and I realized that stained wood really does fit more with our house. That's what all our millwork and window casings/trim are. So that's what we chose (stained birch, actually), and I feel peace about it. There is something about the warmth of wood that paint can't really replicate. Yet, I get my white painted fix too - we have a cream fireplace mantle and surround, so I am adding to that in the adjacent kitchen with a creamy white island, hutch, and columns. I am still toying with the idea of using black or green on the island instead of white...we will see! BTW, our kitchen should be completed by the end of the year. Our aim is Nov 1, but I think that's going to be pushing it.

Oh, the floor stain. I about had a nervous breakdown last weekend selecting the floor stain. We finally choose Fruitwood (minwax) and I can't say I'm 100% sold yet. Everyone besides me thinks it's perfect. Anyway, my cabinets are white with a glaze that makes them creamy, and the island is maple with a stain and a glaze on it. Here's a pic with several stain samples. The ones shown are (L to R) golden oak, fruitwood, early american and the one across the bottom is provencial. The one I selected definitely looks best with the island - I just love dark wood. Wish I'd have selected Provencial. All are minwax stains. I took some pics since the floors were stained this week, but they aren't in photobucket yet. Will try to post tonight. Also, there was a similar question a couple of days ago. I have pics of my last house with the same setup - white perimeter, stained island and wood floors. The link to that thread is below. Here is a link that might be useful: Other thread