Why are you doing an entertainment unit at all would be the question I would ask? The days of giant space hogging furniture are over thanks to flat panel TV's and IR repeaters.

The second thing I would say, is that check to be sure that the bones of the home support so much white wood in it. In an open concept, you have to ground things in the style of the home first. Secondarily, you have to plan the use of the color around the entire open space. You can't do dark wood cabinets in a space that has bamboo floors, white sofas, and a pale gray wall. It would weigh down that side of the room too much. It's the same with white cabinets. They have to be integrated into the space as a whole, and not just float on the kitchen end with nothing to balance all of that lightness out elsewhere in the room.

Step back and look at the room as a single room design. Because it IS!

Since the entertainment center most likely wont be near the island, no need to be concerned about matching. I think the overall style should be the same, but you could have a white Island and an espresso EC, a dark island and a natural maple EC, etc......you want things to blend, not be matchy-matchy.

I am definitely beginning to agree. I don't want to be tied forever to a built in unit in this room. We haven't chosen the furniture for the room yet, and this would give us the freedom to choose what will work, and not be too matchy. The dining room table is natural maple and we have dark brown leather parsons chairs.

I guess the problem is making this major decision before making the furniture decision. I'm looking for the safest choice.

We have one big open space containing the living/dining and kitchen. It is a decorating challenge, but I think it's turned out quite well. We have white shaker cabinets in our kitchen including a white island. Our dining room has stained built-ins and our family room has both stained furniture as well as gray painted furniture. Our style is eclectic so perhaps it's easier to mix and match.

I would do the island in whatever appeals to you. If you already have furniture for the space like dining table, coffee table etc. then I would choose an island that coordinates in style and stain color. You can have different stain colors In the space but that tone should repeat in several pieces.

Work off of what you have now. If you are starting with the kitchen, do something you love which can launch ideas or the feel for the rest of the space. Even if you were to select materials and furnishings for all rooms at this point, by the time you got to or could afford to do the other areas, those particular selections would have turned over anyway.

This post was edited by snookums2 on Thu, Jul 11, 13 at 19:10