Thanks for all of the responses. Before I address them, I think I'd like to give some background on why this kitchen means so much to me. I love to cook, so the primary purpose of my kitchen is to be functional. Honestly, the most functional kitchen I've ever had was my small galley kitchen in an apartment in Hoboken, NJ. The secondary purpose is to be beautiful, in my eyes. I have never had anything that approaches a beautiful kitchen. The kitchen I have now was an '80's kitchen in a house built in the '90's so was outdated when I bought it when it was 4 years old. The cabinets are golden oak with arched rasied panels. The wallpaper looked like it belonged in a bathroom, the backsplash was pinkish, glossy tile and the laminate countertop was that fakey "marble" which also verged on pink. See below: I did change out the wallpaper to something bright and cheerful that I hated to take down for the "refresh" we did for eventual sale of the house. But, I did know that it had to go. For the refresh we also installed Giallo Napoleon counters, a lovely stainless finish pullout faucet, a new Ticor sink and DH ripped out the tile and redid the backsplash in tumbled marble with onyx accents. The cabinets are staying unless a real estate agent says otherwise because there are houses selling in our area that still have those cabinets and everything else that was original. So, really, not a bad kitchen, but nothing to make your heart go pitty-pat. What y'all need to know about is "The Kitchen from the Ninth Circle of Hell" hereinafter referred to as the NCH kitchen. This was the kitchen in the my first house which I bought with my EX in NJ. Take the absolute worst kitchen you have ever seen in "before" pictures on GardenWeb and raise that to the Nth power and you might approach the NCH kitchen. Let me 'splain. The house was a Dutch Colonial Revival built in the 1920's and owned by an artist. It had good bones and the original chestnut floors and trim restored, but everything else was bizarre. The foyer and the bathroom had kitchen foil crumbled, smoothed out and then applied to the walls with Elmer's glue. The light fixture in the parlor was an inverted barstool and in the dining room it was an old wooden table with lights laid on top. The EX did replace the latter because you could smell smoldering wood when the lights were on high and he thought it _might_ be a fire hazard. There's more. But, the NCH kitchen - OMG! The floor was a vinyl made to look like red brick with grime so ground into it that I could never get it clean. The countertops were fire engine red laminate. The trim was painted another bright red. The wallpaper was a white background with huge red and black poppies. But, the thing that totally broke my spirit was that the wallpaper was applied to all the cabinets, as well. I don't think NCH kitchen is even adequate. Was there a tenth circle of hell? Now, of course, after clearing safety hazards like wooden tables used as light fixtures, one would think that the next upgrade would be the kitchen, right? No, not with my EX. The plans were drawn, the money was sitting in the bank from a refi for the reno and he never would agree to go ahead with it. Years later, we relocated to TX and once we moved out of the house, he had the kitchen reno along with a bath reno, painting, etc. done so that we could lease out the house. So, I had a beautiful kitchen in NJ which I never even got to see, much less enjoy. Fast forward to 2010 and dearest DH & I (notice the EX is an EX - wonder why?) are planning to build our forever home. I want it to be classic; I want it to be perfect; I want it to be everything that I never had. And ... DH just doesn't like dark countertops like soapstone so a truly CWK is not in the cards. Does it sound like I am repeating a pattern of subjugating my wants and needs to that of a man? Not, really & here's why: Just after Christmas, we put DD on a plane to begin 6 months of missionary work halfway around the world. On the way home, we stopped at a slabyard along the freeway just to distract ourselves. As we walked from slab to slab, DH kept falling in love with each choice wilder than the last. When we got home, I stewed a bit (never a good thing), and burst out with "You're not going to let me have the beautiful kitchen that I want!" and began to boohoo. In the midst of the sobs, I told him about the NCH kitchen. At the end he had tears in his eyes & said, "If I could have fixed it for you then, I would have. And, if I had ever known, I would have redone this kitchen right after we got married so you could have had what you wanted for all these years." That's all I needed; he understood. We're a team and teammates make compromises for each other. Large amounts of black/gray bother him, so no soapstone. The ideal of the CWK isn't worth having him uncomfortable all the time. We both adore granite, so granite it is and we'll have our own version of a "Not So Classic White Kitchen", but it will be ours and not someone's ideal that would never quite fit. Thanks for all of the understanding & support - Jo Ann P.S. I showed DH the pictures of of dotcomgone's wonderful white kitchen & he said, "Wow! I really like that marble." Luckily, I have a lot of hair, because otherwise it might all be gone by the end of this build from constantly pulling it out. LOL!!!!

We updated our kitchen this past winter. It sounds like we went to white cabinets, dark counters and natural floors like yours. We used a range of tan. The darker above the range is C2 Fusion (it actually has a grey/green tone) and the lighter is C2 Shaker which then continues into the adjacent Family Room and through the 1st floor hallway. The red wall is to compliment a French accent theme. Good luck with yours. Here is a link that might be useful: Kitchen Album

Breezy- You are not a pain!! You are wonderful and very helpful. If it would not be for you I would have a misplaced prep sink!! I was just looking at the paint chips. And then today I went to BM and one of their consultants helped me. She did not like the idea of the beige colors or the true grays. We both really liked "Gray Wisp" which is almost identical to RH Silver Sage (she had a color chip for it)and "Quiet Moments". The first is more green and rich and the second lighter and more blue. I am really leaning towards the first. She gave me really large swatches to take home and try out. So I will let you know what I find out. Also the mud on the drywall is taking longer to dry so the earliest they can paint is Friday. So I have a wee bit of time to figure this out. Slush- Would love to see your photos of Revere Pewter and Carrington Beige. Since the living room/hallway is all monroe bisque is probably a good idea that I stay away from beige for the kitchen/dining area since those two rooms open into the LR and that is just a lot of beige. Lavender- Thanks

Like most of us on GW, I have a large folder on my computer filled with inspiration photos. But of all my inspirations kitchens, this is the one I have consistently returned to over the years. I cut it out of the November 1996 Better Homes and Gardens while home on maternity leave with my youngest son. I guess I was already feeling dissatisfied with our little 1959 starter home ranch kitchen. I think I bought our current home in 1998 in part as place to create this kitchen. Of course what I ended up creating is not nearly as grand as this kitchen. But still the overall feel was the inspiration. Note that this is a photo spread from 1996 in the not high- end magazine, Better Homes and Gardens. Already we see so many of the features we still use in our kitchens: bridge faucet, "vintage" pendants, stainless built-in fridge, microwave under the counter in the island, furniture-look feet/legs on the island, "pro-style" 36" range and stainless hood, and wooden perimeter counters. The dishwasher and chairs in the breakfast area are the only things that make it look a little dated. I know that no kitchen is "forever". But this one still looks great 16 plus years later. Here is a link that might be useful: Taylor residence