I recognize this syndrome. I too had it. When I started, I was going for the French bistro look. Marble tops and back splash. Black cabs and creamy white uppers. Very classic.

Then I saw the price of the marble and realized my kitchen was too small for all black cabs on the bottom. I also found out that the painted cabs that I thought would be cheaper than stained, actually cost 30% more than stained cabinets.

So, I decided to go for soapstone on the counters. Well, the soapstone I liked was $43 a foot and that didn't include the fabrication. Yes, I have the gene that directs me toward the most expensive things on the planet.

So, I was going to go with a quiet, white granite. No movement. Calm, peaceful, tranquil. Uh huh! Subway tiles on the backsplash too. Right!

I have some of the loudest granite on the planet! Lots of movement. Lots of different colors. Decided on granite back splash as well. No more micro hood. I was getting the chimney hood I always wanted. Had the plumber install a line for gas for a duel fuel range. Goodbye electric coils forever!

I love white appliances--well, I bought stainless for the fridge, micro, DW, stove, etc. Was going to have the DW paneled. Nope. Went with the stainless.

I decided after 30 years of country, I was sick and tired of it. I wanted something more modern. I have shaker style natural maple cabs with an espresso stained sink cab (black). I have a wild Danze faucet. I decided the wild granite would keep my interest for the next 50 years which is when I might have some $ to renovate again.

I say go for what moves you! Break out of the mold. Express your creative self!

I too changed from wanting a white kitchen. My original idea was white painted cabinets with soapstone counters. I was very sure of this. I worked with a KD who told me the downside of paint--the eventual but inevitable cracks that would appear in the finish. I probably could have lived with this, or found a company with a superior finish, but somehow moved to a whole different world.

I ultimately chose rift oak cabinets with a flat finish, and quartz counter tops (though my first choice probably would have been marble). As I sit in my kitchen now, I honestly can't believe how beautiful it is to me. I've seen incredible white kitchens on this forum, but boy the look I ended up with really works for me.

painted distressed cabinets with black granite and glass subway tiles, wolf range, and i'd keep the soffits...

and this was "just" going to be the kitchen remodel. $300gs later...i have a whole new housewith not a painted cabinet in site, nor a soffit :o)

My kitchen is turning out the exact opposite of what I thought I would have. I had a vision of cream cabinets with a brown tone granite and wood floors. All appliances were suppose to have wood panels...I am not sure how it happened but I am getting stained cabinets in a warm chestnut, black granite but it has a ton of brown swirls going through it. I am getting a french pattern travertine floor. Six feet of refridgeration all ss....

I think you have to be able to recognize an evolution or other positive and helpful change vs the impulsive "I'm kind of bored with my old dream and want to stir things up a bit" which might cause regret about the loss of the dream later.

First I wanted black counters and a shiny tile backsplash in a variety of dark, rich colors. But we changed house plans, and the style of the house called for a more craftsman look, and I headed toward quartersawn oak in a med-dark Mission type stain, still with dark counters and dramatic backsplash. But DH decided to use fir that we cut on our property throughout the house for trim, doors, etc., and the Mission oak just wasn't going to work in combination with the vertical grain fir.

My yen for black and dark kept being challenged by the draw of lighter, farm and Something's Gotta Give type kitchens. I knew I didn't want white, but the dark wasn't going to give the feel I wanted either. I did renderings of the dark, rich dream I'd had and the lighter, more organic scheme that was calling to me. I put them up and gazed at them over a period of time. The kitchen I wanted to walk into every morning was the lighter one...The one I felt would feel sunny, warm, and welcoming, and not so 'in your face' with it's boldness. Maybe it was age and the desire for more calm and comfort over strength and sophistication; Less to prove and more to enjoy. I'm VERY happy I followed my heart to the new destination... I haven't missed the original vision at all.

Well, budget and husband got in the way of my original vision which was (like many others, I see) an off-white painted cabinet kitchen with dark counters, subway tile etc. First, I learned that painted was more $$ than stained plus DH really doesn't care for the painted look (if $$ was even I could probably have beaten him down, but . . .). So we are getting beautiful stained maple in a tone that closely resembles a natural cherry color. I went from wanting a big pro-style range to getting a 36" cooktop with double ovens (for greater flexibility and budget reasons). I am getting a warm brownish/goldish counter instead of dark (which I would have also done even w/ the painted cabs since I ended up not liking dark granite in person like I did in pics). The biggest issue I have now is what type of backsplash to get since subway tiles just won't work so now I'm thinking tumbled stone . . .
In the end I think I'll love my kitchen and it will certainly stand out a bit more. At least around here (new england) the white kitchen is everywhere. I still get a few pangs when I see some of the gorgeous white kitchens then I think of 2 little boys filthy hands . . . .

Sometimes visions change because they were wrong to begin with. I was sure I needed to have painted cabinets because my house has soooooo much stained wood (walls, floors, ceilings) already. The problem was, I really liked white painted cabinets, and white would be too stark of a contrast with all the darker wood. I struggled to pick another color I thought I wouldn't tire of in a few years. I had pretty much settled on a "safe" yellow-ish (I believe it was called "amber") color when I saw a natural cherry finish in a cabinet place and fell in love. Once I got past the "Aaack! Too much stained wood!!" reaction, I became more and more enamored with my new vision. Turns out that it fits perfectly in this house. The original vision was a result of not being able to "see" the alternatives--the new one was recognizing what felt right. The number of people who have come in and said "I can't believe how well your new kitchen just 'fits' with the rest of your house" has confirmed that my change in vision was a good one.

Oh, me too. I was so set on the darkest stained cherry cabs I could find with light granite. The DAY before we were set to place our final order I was sitting in my kitchen staring at the sample cabinet door and thought to myself, "I HATE it". It's not that I actually hated it, it's just that it totally didn't fit in with our style and the rest of our house. In a hurry to get our order in so we could cash in on a promotional deal, I went with my gut and switched our order to natural maple with a coffee glaze and very dark granite. Instead of lighter stone tile floors we went with slate. Instead of tumbled marble for the backsplash we went with slate mosaic. Instead of keeping white appliances we went with stainless. My whole vision changed and although I have since realized what my dream kitchen would be (this isn't it), I love my new kitchen and it works with our current home. Knowing that this isn't our forever home, I have time to work out the details and plan better for my dream house and kitchen.

pamela - would love to see pics of the rift cut oak. I am considering quartersawn oak for my island. Thanks!

Funny, I was having this conversation this morning. A big thanks though, since I now know the look I'm trying for is "french bistro". I probably spend an hour a day on average looking at kitchen porn, and have yet to see what I want 100%. I hope I can pull this off.

Oh yes, suffered fr. same syndrome - I thought our 1930 colonial should have white inset cabs w/soapstone counters - then a visit to the cabinet maker totally changed my vision - the species of wood stained cabinetry were truly beautiful - I had a hard time deciding
Fir
Qtr sawn oak
Rift sawn oak
Cherry
mahog

Went w/mahogany & am grateful we did

Malhgold - I didn't even know about the rift sawn until we went to the cabinet maker - that was really in the running - eventually took 2nd place but it is stunning
link below to the cabinetmaker - may find some inspiration

View the "arts n crafts" gallery

Here is a link that might be useful: kennebec

Pamela,

Please, please post pictures of your kitchen. I've gone through the same process. For years & years I planned to redo my dark cabinets to all white. I was so sure.

And then, in the course of actually getting ready to do it, and wanting to see the various layouts people had, I went to see some of the all white kitchens in my neighborhood that I had longingly admired. Looking at them with a more critical eye now, they just were not for me. Too . . . white, not enough . . . something, I don't know.

Then, for months I thought I would have a combination - rift cut oak bases & white uppers. I just couldn't give up on the white in one big leap. Then I changed my mind - for the wall with appliances but no counter, I went from the white to the wood - it seemed like the wood would be so much prettier there. And then I started wondering, what was the point of keeping those white uppers? They just seemed like an afterthought, and the whole kitchen seemed to be too much of a mish-mash - wood here, white there, stainless here, glass there.

So yesterday I finally signed off on all rift cut white oak (and stainless appliances & sink). I'm so excited but so nervous. I lived with that other vision for so long. It's nice to know someone else came to the same conclusion and is happy with the results.

Please, please pictures.

When I started planning for my kitchen remodel I really had NO vision at all - pretty much a blank slate with just a couple functional/layout things in mind. So I spent alot of time looking at pictures and displays and pondering what to do. Once I saw a couple kitchens with dark quartersawn oak, shaker type cabinets I "knew" that was it. I did have a file of photos of home ideas I'd saved for many years - thinking I might build a new home some day (not likely - just a new kitchen). My ideas in kitchens were very, very similar and probably twenty years had passed. So all in all I guess my taste in kitchens hasn't ever drastically changed. Part of that probably also has to do with the fact I am the type to choose what I really like and I'm not too swayed by what is popular at any given time except to the extent that you just can't get what you might really want (colored appliances vs. stainless for example).

It's so funny that most of you switched from white to stained instead of the other way around.

Laurie

Oh, well I switched from stained to white!

I always imagined a cherry kitchen. But the more I thought about it and looked at samples, the darker it seemed. My floors are wood, and all of the trim is stained very dark. Having darkish wood cabinets would have made everything seem very heavy. In a kitchen with lots of sun all day, that would be fine. But that's not my kitchen, unfortunately. And a very light wood didn't work at all, despite my many attempts with sample doors from the kitchen showrooms.

I just couldn't settle on a kitchen I liked, so one day I sat down with my enormous stack of inspiration pages culled from years and years of home magazines. I pulled out the dozen or so that I liked best--and lo and behold, all but one were painted white or off-white. And that was that. The room/house were practically screaming for a painted kitchen. Once I started listening, everything became easy. I am now going with off-white on the perimeter cabinets, and a dark stained cherry on the island. And a medium-tone granite with creams and browns. I think it will be beautiful!

I think everyone goes through this back and forth. Add a spouse or SO and it gets even more complicated. DH wants white kitchen and I want dark brown or mahogany. He wants shaker and I want ornate raised panels. I want black appliances and he wants stainless. He wants tile floors and I want wood. We can both live with either version but one wouldn't be too thrilled about it. I have a feeling both of us will drastically change our vision for the kitchen

mmme, you sound alot like me. I have gone from one to the other so many times, that I don't even know what I really do like anymore......but am "leaning" toward creamy white for the cabinets and a dark brown stained island with countertops of cream and brown of some type (and can not decide about that either)...so if you get your kitchen done soon, please post it....but by then, I'll be back to the richness of a darker cherry~~~ Why can't I make up my mind about this? I know that I definately want hardwood flooring...tile is too hard on my old knees.

I have a bunch of pictures that I'm not very satisfied with, but here's a link to one. I think the benefit of this one is that you can see the difference when the grain is vertical (on the cabinets) vs horizontal (on the little row of drawers below). The kitchen design place I went to also had doors that were all horizontally grained (is that the way to say it?) which gave a very sleek, modern, clean look, almost like bamboo. Not what I was going for in my 1919 house, but it would work for some. They also had darker stained quartersawn cabinets on display, and they were gorgeous, but I was concerned that they'd be too massive and dark in my house.

I think I also went through something like holligator was talking about--I have maple floors throughout the house, and we opened up the kitchen to the rest of the house by taking down the wall between the kitchen and the dining room. And I was afraid it would be TOO MUCH wood, all medium toned and boringly monochromatic. But I love those cabinets. I do think the walls will need to be painted because it's a little too creamy at the moment, but the cabinets are the best choice I made.

Here is a link that might be useful: rift oak cabinets

This is a wonderful thread!!!! It is so comforting to know others have been going through the very same process!

I have folders filled with white kitchens but am just afraid it won't work in this house -- stained gumwood throughout. Have been going back and forth --white, stained. We live in upstate NY and don't get a lot of sun, especially in winter and really wanted to have more light. We have a sunroom in one corner of the house -- just a small room with a tile floor and windows on three sides, all dark wood. Very little wall space -- they are dark green. This room gets lots of light and we spend so much time there during the day. DH and I both had the thought that we wish the kitchen could be more like the sunroom -- which led to the idea that what we really should consider doing is making the window larger -- even though that means getting new leaded glass and doing a much more expensive remodel and giving up storage space. So the white/wood question grew into a much larger question. Not sure we will do it but I think the only solution is just to sit with it for a little while and see if it feels right . . . .

I belong in this group too! I dreamed of ivory glazed cabinets for 7 years. Like holligator and pamelas, I have a lot of stained wood. I then hired a KD for a consultation who advised me that I should never paint the judges paneling in my breakfast area and family room which are open to my kitchen. She said it would de-value my home as the wood was a very good quality. DH, family and friends all concurred. Well o.k. then. The new kitchen will be the same stain color as the old with one exception - an IVORY island!!! Probably not a practical choice with two little boys who will sit there kicking the island, but I will have my token ivory accent.

The remodel is not complete yet, so the jury is still out on how I'm going to feel when all is said and done. One things for sure though, the new kitchen will be 100 times more functional and hopefully beautiful too.

Yes - I went from wanting a contemporary dark espresso cabinet to a contemporary light maple cabinet. I also flirted with horizontal oak grain along the way.

I'm thankful I've been able to use the BH and G software - it helped me visualize everything, including color tones for cabinets and granite. I think I must have spent at least 150 hours working on layout and countless hours since then researching everything else...

My cabs are in and I love em - granite is due next week. I want to do a before and after like on Divine Design :)

Like sophie_blue says, add other people to the mix and it's even more complicated. I got the simple stained cabs I wanted, but dh loveslovesloves granite, so pouf! went my plan for PaperStone or IceStone. Now, because of the granite we've chosen (together, I hated the ones he chose on his own) I have to re-think my plan for a colorful glass backsplash because it won't work with the granite.

As rhome said, you have to recognize the difference between a positive evolution and a whim. I've been planning my kitchen redo in my mind for years and have ruled out tile every time considered it. I love wood floors in a kitchen, but didn't really want to continue the cherry we have adjacent to it (wrong color for the pale, cool colors I want in the kitchen.) Then two things happened at once: I saw a picture of a stone floor that I loved, and the cat water bowl spilled for the millionth time. Suddenly I realized I just didn't want to deal with refinishing wood. I hope I won't regret the stone tile decision. I can't always distinguish between the whims and the evolutions. Drives my husband crazy when I want to change something after a few years!

I guess I'm in the minority. We moved in 2 1/2 years ago after 9 months of building and 2 years of looking at the plan. Neither my house or kitchen vision ever changed. I did have to go to a lot of cabinet shops before finding "the one" to make the vision come to life. My DH and GC kept saying we were going to be without a kitchen. I told them fine by me. I wasn't going to settle!

Scroll down to French Gray Island Kitchen for pictures. You can click on them to enlarge.

Here is a link that might be useful: My Kitchen

We were going to create a new kitchen from the back of the old foyer and the old dining room. We were down to studs. I walked through the new kitchen and sat down on one of the builders lunch chairs for a little break. Looking out the window I saw quite a bit of wildlife and the sky and beautiful trees. I thought to myself that the view would never be appreciated in the kitchen so that room became the new living room. We created the kitchen out of the old kitchen and an unspecified area (we called it area 51). The old living room is the new dining room. The builders just shook their heads and went to work. The cabinet guy measured the new location and tossed the old plans. It was one of the best decisions we made - the very best decision was building an amazing home theatre over the garage with a 100" screen on the wall. We live in there.

Our kitchen remodel evolved over a span of 5 years from when we first began gutting. We weren't living in the house...we couldn't! Originally I wanted white cabinets and then I wanted oak, then settled on cherry. We had the upper cabinets at varied heights and then settled on them going to the ceiling. Cabinet placement and style changed pretty regularly. DH and I debated on the flooring for most of that time until I won out with wood. The ugly cambria quartz on the island was replaced with granite.

I can see light at the end of the tunnel...a really small light but there's a light! (I think)

I thought it was horrid that I would have to put off my remodel last year.

Now that I have been planning and staring at this site for a year...many things
have changed since my original vision. I am really glad I had the time to think more about my original ideas. You learn so much in the process.

Rhome: We have comtemplated using vertical douglas fir on the kit cabs because the trim in the house will be in fir. Did you use fir on the cabs? I have been going back and forth on this because I thought fir would be too soft for a cab. Would you be willing to show photos of your kit? I would love to see what fir cabs look like - it would make the decision making a lot easier for me! Thanks very much!

Just love this thread because it is so much about having the confidence to figure out what you want and not be swayed, (except as a conscious choice). I have been tempted to call a KD but I just know that no one is going to care or put as much thought into this project as I will, and if I don't think it all through down to the last detail, and just abdicate, I will probably be sorry. I also love that this thread is giving me the courage to change my mind, take my time and stay open to new ideas. Thank you all for sharing!

My kitchen was going to be cherry with a very dark stain and dark granite and that was that...until the KD and cab maker suggested a creamy painted cab with antique stain. They felt my kitchen was too small to support so much dark cabinetry. So now I've got the cream painted cabs and a beautiful cherry island (not installed just yet) but the vision has definitely changed and I'm just fine with it.

Not a major drastic change, because I kept the cabinets and flooring... but I had all along been looking for light but sort of dramatic granite countertops(think golden river, white spring) and went with dark relatively consistent counters (sapphire blue granite). It works so well, of course now I need the backspslash, but it is so totally different from what I was envisioning. I know I need to post photos and will do so shortly.

allison a, I think your kitchen is my absolute favorite kitchen ever! If I'd had your vision from the beginning, I wouldn't have changed it either. My new kitchen is NOTHING like yours (doesn't fit in the style of my house) but yours is definitely my inspiration for my next home (hopefully my forever home)!

No, in our case the evolution of the new kitchen came gradually over 8 years as we knew from the beginning when we bought this house that a new kitchen was due once we can finance it. It was a slow development that gradually finalized what we wanted. By the time we were ready to talk the the kitchen designer/contractor only a few smaller changes came about.

Also, dh and I come from quite different cultural backgrounds and while he prefers rather traditional furniture styles I love the contemporary look. We always meet somewhere in the middle so drastical changes never work for us ;-)

I always wanted white, but for about 6 months I seriously considered natural maple or stained cherry as a result of kitchens I saw on this forum. In the end, white won out. I did add a bit of contrast with a stained cherry hutch.

I am right brain dominate. I have always had a good sense of the feeling I want for my kitchen. In the design process, I have tried many, very different layouts, colors and finishes, as some of you well know. So my vision of (feeling for) my kitchen has not changed. The kitchen hardscape and design have changed quite a bit. Some have said, 'wild swings' at the different concepts.

Cabinets considerations were painted from black, yellow, cream to white; stained light to dark. Wood cherry, oak, maple, and one I've forgotten. I am working up an order with a custom cabinetmaker for cherry cabinets in the kitchen, and light painted breakfast/beverage hutch, room divider/beam support and pantry.

I'll be happy to put my TKO mind to rest and be able to think about a few other things for awhile. DH will be thankful for that too!!!

A couple of years ago when we first started thinking about a kitchen remodel I remember showing DH some maple cabinets at Lowes and telling him that is what I would get if I was picking right then. We both like bright and airy rooms, but my kitchen does not get a lot of natural light. The pictures I kept going back to in the magazines were always white or cream, so I decided I would go with an off white but no glaze. I kept thinking that glaze will look dated in a few years. Guess what I got--white with a taupe glaze! When it came down to making the final decision I liked the looks of the glaze and decided it would hide a multitude of sins like chips, cracks, and dust! I am pleased with they way they look and the people who have seen them so far seem to really like them. I did add a bit of stained wood by going with a quartersawn oak island with a coffee color stain. I hope to have pictures ready to post by the end of the week.

jayjay - can't wait to see the island. I too am considering a quartersawn oak island but in natural. Any chance you can post a pic of the island now? You can always email me directly at malhgold at optonline dot net. I don't want to hijack this thread. Thanks!!

Well, it's nice to know I'm not alone in being a bit of a kitchen chameleon! I still love white kitchens (especially the beautiful ones posted in the last couple of days), but it was not a good idea with my house or large family. The need to make use of every inch of space drove me in the direction of frameless cabinetry. And I guess the dark finish and stainless apps are a reaction to years of preschool clutter about the house-- I'm ready to embrace a little sophistication again. Fortunately my kids think contemporary is cool. Not sure what DH will think, though I've filled him in on the broad scheme. He insists "it's your kitchen," and wants to stay uninvolved, other than paying the bills. Well, I guess I can't really quarrel with that!

Kulagal,
We are using a combination of fir cabinets and yet-to-be painted ones in the kitchen. We used fir for our bedroom builtins and in all the bathrooms. I have emailed you through the link on your 'my page', so let me know if you don't get it, and I'll post some photos here.

mustbnuts - your kitchen sounds so interesting - I'd love to see pictures.

As many of you I have (and continue to have)different ideas of what I want. DH and I always thought of a dark kitchen but then I found myself consistently drawn to the creamy glazed cabinets. But then i would see a really dark kitchen and love it but afraid I couldn't live with that much dark. I think I tend to need light. Well, DH and I have argued back and forth and I think I've finally exhausted him to the point he'll do whatever I want. That would be great if only I was 100 percent sure what that was!!

So at one point i was loving espresso cabinets but as of today I am pretty sure I will go with the creamy (with some type of brown stain) for the perimeter cabinets and a dark island and then a dark kitchen table. I need to make these decisions soon but I'm so afraid!!!! AAAARRRRRGGGGHHHH!!

Pamela,

Thanks so much for posting your pictures. You're so lucky to have a kitchen you love. Actually my plan is to do all horizontal grain because I still want a very contemporay look, even though I've moved 180 degrees away from the white kitchen I thought I wanted.

You might be interested to look at the site for Poliform - Varenna kitchen cabinets. Very fancy shee-shee I'll see if I can find a link to it later or tomorrow. They also change the direction of the grain on the trim around their doors from the direction of the "panel." It's not really a panel - you'll see on the website which I'll link to tomorrow.

Jaksopcam--pretty soon I will post pictures of my kitchen! Cabs arrived from Canada today! It will be a bit before my granite gets installed. It is finally getting there!

My vision started with (don't laugh) blue knobs on a Thermador range at a client's house, but it was generally stuck in the "Something's Gotta Give" kitchen vs grubby boys dilemma that we're all noting. I still wasn't enthusiastic about the countertop choices because I was equating granite with brown speckles, tile with my old kitchen, and everything else with fake (wrong on all 3). I had natural maple hdwd throughout the rest of the house and vacillated between white cabs/maple floor/mystery countertop vs maple cabs/white floor (OMG! no way! not with boys who think it's a hockey rink!)/unknown countertop.

Then I found out that blue granite did exist, it was kindasortamaybe affordable, and the rest is history.

Subway tiles, farmhouse sinks, and bridge faucets started getting trendy -- or maybe I just started noticing them -- in the last year or two, all of which fit nicely into my evolving vision of a cottage kitchen.

I'd picked a boring beige HD cheap tile floor, secretly pining for hdwd, then halfway thru the remodel I realized I had to get hdwd. My maple hdwd had been discontinued, but through serendipity the same line's next lightest color, caramel, matched the glaze on my maple cabinets....

IOW, I went thru an evolution rather than a drastic change.

Helou, I went to the Poliform - Varenna web site. O.M.G. That stuff is so incredibly beautiful.

So, here is my NEXT dream--kitchen is done, next I use Giacomo (I've seen his advice/pictures on this site, he has the most fabulous designs for kitchens and baths) to design my (tee hee little tiny stuck in 1960) bathroom to look exactly like the modern styles shown on that web site.

There are so many beautiful choices, but Helou I really can't wait to see what yours looks like! I love rift white oak. It has such a deep feeling, I know the reason I love my kitchen so much is because that wood gives it a presence. It has vibes (and I am not a very vibe-y person!)

Here is a link that might be useful: Giacomo