Fori, I think FritzCat would object to being replaced by an orange tabby so we will really have to stay with modern/contemporary rather than vintage. ;) Jerzeegirl, yes, a lighter colored wood will likely show wear and tear more than something darker (as long as one doesn't go all the way to black) and with more pattern. But the light floor seems to work best with the cherry. Actually - our last floor (beech) was almost as light as the maple and the scratches didn't get bad until some time between 10 and 15 years. Then we refinished and that didn't hold up as long as the original factory finish. My husband is even more anti-bevel than I am. I did pick up a sample of the Mirage with micro-bevels today so we can talk about it. I've noticed even on the sample boards that I can feel a slight level difference between the square edged boards. The salesman today claimed that the bevel was also an advantage because sand that got tracked in would tend to settle into the bevels until it was vacuumed up instead of sitting on the surface where it could grind against the finish. We aren't on slab. The tract MCM houses like Eichler and Streng were normally (always?) on slab, but our house has a raised foundation. The back patio and pool area is higher than the ground under the house so that there is no going from the living room or family room to the patio so when people see that, they sometimes think the house is on slab.

EAM44: Thank you for your feedback - much appreciated! When you say white cabinets, do you mean white painted? ( I'm a newbie to kitchen renovations so please put up with me). I did think cherry would be lovely and it was our first choice but we had to look at the whole. The problem is that the adjacent family room is all oak - walls are paneled, oak beams on ceiling, wood floors. It looks pretty, though, and has a fireplace surround done in the same brick as the kitchen cooktop area. This oak was continued in the current kitchen cabinets ( by the builder) and the ceiling light fixture ( which we will be changing to recessed lighting at a later date) is edged in oak as well. Also there is a recessed ceiling in the dining area of the kitchen - it is beautiful..but has oak molding. We wanted to keep this latter feature as it visually connects with the family room wood along with an oak 'sill' on a pass-through to the family room from the dining area. Cherry cabinets in the kitchen would clash with the oak, but white or cream cabs will look nice and actually lighten the space and give it an airy feel. When you say, "as long as you lean toward the red," are you referring to the countertop or to the underlying color in the light-colored or white maple cabinets ..or perhaps both? What kind of countertop would *you* choose with the white cabs? Thank you so much!

I really enjoyed reading your reveal. Read it on my iPad this morning lazing in bed and pored over it for a good 1/2 hour. It was more engaging than a book, lol. I totally LOVE your new kitchen, and this is one of the best reveals I've seen. Enjoyed reading the goals you had for the new kitchen, seeing how all your choices came together, the peeks inside your drawers and doors, and reading about the things you decided that others might consider crazy. Not crazy at all! The whole point of doing the research is to consider the alternatives and then choose what works for YOU. While I might not have made all those same decisions, you wouldn't have made the ones I chose either. That's rather the point, right? You don't live in my kitchen and I don't live in yours, LOL. There is something very freeing about deciding what works for you and just going regardless of trends. And I totally get where you're coming from on the slide in range with glass top. I've had a glass top range in the past and really liked it. Not everyone needs or wants a spendy induction or gas range so I say good for you!! Things I particularly admire: The new layout moving the fridge wall and getting a wider opening. The great new views from your sink and peninsula area -- what a difference that makes. Your drop-dead gorgeous cabinets! Your lovely granite. Drawers and the use of space -- the mostly 4-drawer bases without a lot of stacking was a wise choice. The new fireplace wall (wow, what a difference the black paint makes). And a small thing, but I like that you carried the toekick past the dishwasher, it looks really nice. Great job. Enjoy your new kitchen and may it bring you many years of new and happy memories!

Million dollar question - how do you determine the color hue of the grey tile? This is where a lot of people go off the deep end with the undertones nonsense. As in those undertones are sneaky and you have to watch out because they are hard to see and only people with a "trained eye" can see them blah, blah, blah. Hue family and undertones are distinctly different. Detailing the difference is long so I'll skip it, but trust me they are not the same thing. There are two ways to determine hue family. The most accurate is to measure the color with a device like a spectrophotometer or a colorimeter like a Color Muse. The resulting spectral data defines the hue family for you. This is how color experts do it. I never go anywhere without a Color Muse or a NIX sensor. If you don't know how to measure color with a device and use the resulting data to determine hue family, then you have to eyeball it. And you do that by comparing colors. Compare the uncategorized color to a big chip of red, blue, green, yellow, etc. and the hue family should be obvious. Color responds to its context. Comparing one color to another is basic context. It is no different from human kids and parents. See a kid running around at the playground and he looks like any other kid. Put him in context with his family and suddenly you are able to recognize similar features and compare attributes, and it quickly becomes apparent that junior is a chip off the old block. Same thing happens with color. Through the process of comparison, you will see the hue family to which a color belongs. More info on this link with a cheat-sheet of hue parents to use for comparison from Ben Moore and SW.