I found a couple. Hope they help. :) [traditional kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by minneapolis general contractor John Kraemer & Sons [contemporary kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2103) by vancouver architect Peter Rose Architecture and Interiors [modern kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/modern-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2105) by hawaii interior designer Archipelago Hawaii, refined island designs I bet the contrast would be lovely.

Humans are diurnal creatures. We are not bats. All due respect to other pro's , saving the planet, but the last hing I want in my home is daylight ALL the time. I especially do not want it in areas where that "day light" , even on dimmers , is not required. Lighting is no different than paint. There is not really a one type fits all . It's my experience that even the wealthiest client will walk around in near darkness, before it occurs to them to turn on a nine hundred dollar LAMP. OR , conversely, someone will flick on recessed from on high.. nearly all the time, forgetting they even OWN a lamp. An attractive and functional lighting plan is layered. It combines led, incandescent, it is high , it is low - as in ambient and task, and it can involve accent lighting in sconces, or picture lights. The weather and season will affect any paint, as will the lighting you would select for the moment and for that particular space. But to say any any kelvin, all the time , is the "answer"? No. It isn't. To me, that is akin to saying your bedroom should be lit as a potential surgical center, your kitchen as a romantic getaway, and your dining room for a tax preparation event . lol. Paint the walls as you tend to USE lighting. No matter your preference as cave dweller or surgeon. Leopards have a tendency to never change "spots"

It looks like you have beautiful wood doors, door trim and beams. Don't know what you have around the windows (not pictured). Looks like the stairs could use a bit of TLC. If I were you I would not be in a hurry to paint or refinish the wood. First year in the home should be figuring out what works, doesn't work, how the home functions and where to sink your money. Prime your walls - live with them for a bit and decide if you really want white walls. I know all the pictures on the internet today are white rooms, but they also have studio lighting. Not all homes look good with all white walls. White needs lots of light to really shine. Often a light neutral color looks better than white if you don't have giant windows, skylights or other great lighting. My last home had between 6 and 16 linear feet of windows in each room - natural daylight galore and I had white walls. My current home has more normal sized windows in most rooms and I am painting the walls that were white to something more appropriate for the amount of light. The white just isn't pretty with out sufficient light. With the walls all primed you can look at flooring and paint and make a better decision on what works best in your new home.

Kendrah Thanks for that picture, it's more in line with the size of my kitchen and I should have searched smaller spaces with dark cabinets before considering them. That's a lot of "dark" in a smaller space, one more aspect tipping me back to the original plan of white! K L Thank you. I understand sometimes (as in our case) soffits are necessary, and I don't mind them. I was mainly wondering if we should build soffit over the new part as well, and you have answered that for me. I think it would look off if we tried a different height of cabinet or crown molding just in that section. As for the little jut of soffit on the other wall, I think it has to go once the pantry underneath it is gone! My husband was thinking of leaving it so that it would balance with the new soffit on the other side of the door, both sides being equal distance from the doorway, but we've decided trying to achieve that balance on either side of the door isn't going to work if it means having a jut of soffit sitting there with no cabinet underneath it! JAN MOYER Thanks for the reply. I love seeing finishes other than white or wood in other kitchens, but it's too permanent a feature for me personally to go with a colour. I keep my furniture & large elements as neutral as possible so I can use accents to change colours with the seasons or what I feel like at any given time. I know a lot of colours can be considered a neutral, but my husband and I don't always agree on colours, so REALLY neutral is our safest bet. As for the coffee table, to each their own, I guess. I love antiques and furnishings in a classic style. If that's considered "old lady" to some people, so be it! My kids can trash it when I'm dead :) Norwood Architects thank you. I may not have been clear in my post. The picture you refer to is not my kitchen, it's one I copied from a website to show the darker finish I was considering. This is our flooring, which runs through kitchen and dining room. The walls in both rooms are Benjamin Moore White Down, so just a slight contrast to the white trim. We do have a fair bit of white in the house (window casings & trim, raised panel interior doors, all with dark bronze hardware). After reading all of the feedback here, and going with my gut, I think white cabinets with dark bronze hardware and a few accessories to tie it in will be the best choice to make the kitchen look larger & brighter, as you mention, and is the look I'll be happy with. Thank you.