Peemps, I'm going through the exact same thing right now! I just couldn't figure out how to put it into words. I'm leaning towards a white kitchen with black counters, because I had it in my head that would look "classic". Then, I start researching on here and find out it's the latest trend! ARGHHHH!

Then, I look at wood cabinets, which I like, too, but they seem like they'd be too dark in my house because I don't have windows in the kitchen. I don't even know what to do anymore.

Let me know if you figure yours out and I'll do the same for you. :)

You and your husband should go through magazines or the internet and choose your inspiration pictures. Then perhaps find a nice blend of the two styles/colors. Maybe white base cabs with cherry top cabs. Or white cabs throughout with a cherry island.

Jodi-

Absolutely! Why not do off white cabs with cherry floors? It's a beautiful combination and the cherry floors will help tie all the rooms together. At the same time, the off white will give you the flexibility of being able to change your accessory colors any time you want which can be fun during holidays or if you live in an area that has a change in seasons.

every. single. day.

Do you have a collection of inspiration photos? Are there more that are painted or natural wood?

Have you thought about consulting with an interior designer? They might be able to bring more perspective to this question than a KD.

a thread where the smart people here helped me with this problem

Something that has (I think) helped me was to come up with a description of my style. This helps with my entire house, not just the kitchen, so maybe that's what you need as well. Get an idea file going and see if you can identify common themes.

Why can't you do both cherry AND painted? Lots of people do this-just scroll through the Finished Kitchens blog to get inspired. I am planning to do a combination of stained wood and painted cream, as my look is inspired by the 'unfitted' kitchen'. Pick the areas you would like to highlight, such as the area around a range/range hood, hutch, paneled refreigerator/flanking cabinets, or even just an island. Choose whichever finish you are drawn to most, and use that on the focal points, and then use the other finish on the rest! You don't even have to use the same style cabinet!

I was also in the same dilemna. Stained wood tied in to the the ajoining rooms and DH preferred it. I wanted ivory to lighten it up. In the end, I did an ivory island and ivory free standing hutch and everything else is stained. Think of mixing it up a bit.

Great advice from everyone else to find photos of what you love. Have you looked through the Finished Kitchen Blog slideshow for ideas?

For years I couldn't decide between white beadboard cabs/maple floors (to match the rest of the house), and maple cabs/floors TBA. My KD helped me with what I think is a nice combination: maple perimeter cabinets and cream (not white) beadboard island. I planned cheap tile floors (blew the budget on granite) but ended up with a medium-dark wood floor, which I never would have planned -- my maple floors had been discontinued. Sometimes real life gets in the way of the plans!

Thanks everyone for your advice. I do have tons of magazines and I have seen the finished kitchen blogs. I would love to do the cream perimeter for cabs w/ a stained island, unfortunately we don't have enough room for an island. DH doesn't care for the combo look (except an island if we could've done that). I feel like I'm trying to talk myself into cherry because DH likes it and I guess it makes sense because of the rest of the house. I do think it's pretty, but I'm just afraid of making the house too dark with all this cherry. I'm really considering an Int. Designer.....maybe that's the answer.

Oh my yes. Same dilemna. My latest thinking is to have a pantry wall made from all the best panels of our 80 year old gumwood, and do the rest in ivory painted. This would ease my remorse about taking out the old cabs, ( and hopefully appease DH) and also get me the lighter kitchen that I really want. Well, that's today, anyway.

Hi Peemps,
I was in your shoes not long ago... I wanted painted cabinets (sort of a medium to dark moody gray/taupe). My husband wanted white. We ended up going with off white. I am very happy... it is still the kitchen of my dreams even though it isn't what I would have envisioned for myself.

I like so many different types of kitchens and am constantly drooling over what I see here on GW and in the magazines and some of those resemble what I have and some are completely different (modern, craftsman, dark wood cabinets, etc...).

One look I was thinking of in terms of your husband liking cherry was the kitchen that Jaymielo is putting together. It is going to be absolutely stunning. I am posting a link below for you... in finding the link, I realized her cabinets are quartersawn white oak with sort of a cherryish stain. My in-laws have cherry and they are on the lighter side and really very beautiful (although not inset and I am a sucker for inset).

Keep us posted.

Here is a link that might be useful: Jaymielo's thread

every single decision has been and is driving me mad.... I never seem to know what I like best. It's making this process ungodly slow. I do feel your pain.

good luck

Yes, I do feel your pain. I envy those who have a clear vision and a handful of inspiration photos that all pull together for them. Even hiring an interior designer doesn't help completely because if you aren't able to articulate your vision, they can't help you deliver. And it is scary because you're most likely doing your kitchen once and living with it for a long time.

I did get through that indecisive phase but it was very painful for me. I am now awaiting cherry shaker cabinets to be delivered 9/8 after which my kitchen will be torn out. I still don't know about lighting, backsplash, or even counters, but I do have a good idea of where i'm going with this kitchen.

Best of luck to you. I have no advice but I definitely feel your pain.

Anita

I too can relate. I, at first wanted soapstone counters. Couldn't afford the soapstone. Then I wanted marble. Couldn't swing the marble. Then I wanted painted cabs. White ones. Then I found out painted cabs are 25 percent more than non-painted cabs.

I too worried, since all my furniture is dark cherry, that cherry cabs might be a bit much. I heard from my contractor that maple cabs tend to be a bit harder than cherry. I also love to see the grain in wood. So I went with plain maple cabs where I can see the grain (tiger maple).

However, I love the two tone look and did my sink cab in an espresso (black) stain. I have a teeny tiny kitchen and knew the dark colors and all black cabs might be a bit overwhelming. I built out my sink cab, three inches. It looks like a piece of furniture in my kitchen. I love it and everyone else does that sees it. This might be a solution for you. Perhaps plain maple (which will darken over time) and a white or cream or some other color painted sink cab. It can really be quite pretty. There are lots of examples of this on here for you and hubby to take a look.

Of course, I went wild on my granite, which I just love....ah, yes, originally I wanted quiet, neutral, zen granite--until I saw this mind busting one! (obviously, the kitchen wasn't done then so please excuse the hanging wires.

What materials do you want for your counters? It is easier to choose cabs to go with your counters than vise versa. Also, don't be afraid to push the envelope a bit. I have done the country look, traditional look for years. For me, I was tired of it. I pushed myself design wise, and I am so glad I did. Opened up a world of opportunity to me.

Would a two-tone look with cherry for lower cabinets and white/off-white uppers be an option? This would allow the main--cherry--look to flow on through the space without interruption, but the uppers would add lightness in both senses of the word and make the area feel more spacious.

How about white cabinets with a deep cherry island if you have the room. That would let you have white, and tie in the cherry. If you do use wood floor in the kitchen you can do them in cherry.

The best thing is to sit down and look through as many kitchen magazines as possible until you find something you love. Then either replicate it as is, or add your own touch to it.

I also felt your pain. I have an open kitchen, DR/LR. DR and LR have cherry furniture. DH wanted a cherry kitchen. Although I love cherry, I felt that it would be too much wood for my taste. I went with my heart and got creamy white cabinets with a maple colored floor. I'm SO happy I did. It's exactly what I wanted. (I've posted pictures a few times here if you would like to take a look.) Thankfully my DH said it's my kitchen, get what you want!

I think all of the kitchens here are beautiful. There is so much to choose from it certainly gets overwhelming. Every time I saw a creamy white kitchen my heart went a flutter!

Whatever you do choose to do will be beautiful! I know if I had gotten cherry cabinets it would have be really nice. But I'm glad I got what I did.

Good luck in your choice! Been there done that!
Barb

I hear what your saying! LOL!

I want to preface this by saying, I KNOW some women like stained cabinets, too!

We have built and sold homes on the side for years, our main income is our trim carpentry business. We are currently building our the 5th new home for ourselves. I have always put in white w/glazed painted kitchens w/ contrasting stained islands, on our personal homes, and in about small amount of the spec homes we have built, we have put in stained cabs in the kitchen. When it came to selling our personal homes, in the white painted kitchens, all women LOVED it, but not so much their DH. Ultimately the women always won out!

Funny, on the stained kitchens, on our smaller, spec homes they were all men that bought them, women weren't that crazy about them. Maybe this is a regional thing! Don't know...

I know, personally for me, I do like stained kitchens and do find them more warm, but, I think I would tire of them over time. I do think if you do have all that cherry in your home already, the white would be a good contrast. I love the above post about cherry floors and white kitchen. Glazing it would warm it up some.

I know you want to please your DH, also, but make sure you both get what you want, because kitchens are expensive and you will have to live with them a long time.

My DH always lets me do the kitchen, it is a VERY important area for me, and he gets the benefit of a home-cooked meal just about every night after a hard day's work.

Thank you all for your comments! I feel better at least venting a little and also knowing I'm not alone in feeling this way.

mustbnuts,
Your kitchen is beautiful! What kind of flooring is that?

bbtondo,
I will try to find your kitchen.

OT: Those of you w/ painted cabs, has anyone looked at you like you were nuts for wanting that? I seem to get that from a lot of people when I mention it.

Thank you for the nice compliment about my kitchen. I meant to say go with a natural cherry cab as it will darken over time, (not maple), and another color elsewhere if you want a two tone look.

The flooring is wood laminate--antique walnut.

Sorry, I forgot to say that the reason most folks will look at you funny when you mention painted cabs is they think of "regular" paint. They are concerned about chips, etc. When you get painted cabs from the manufacturer, they use a process almost like painting a car. It is a much harder finish. Not prone to chipping, etc. That is why it costs so much more.

You can always check out a glaze on the cherry cabs that might look more like paint. The espresso cab for my sink is actually a stain and not a paint. Much cheaper and someone would be hard pressed to tell the difference.

You might also want to go with a kitchen designer. They can help with choices, layouts, etc. Mine didn't charge a fee but worked his costs into the overall design, cabs, etc. Although I did my own research and pretty much knew what I wanted when I went in, I am so glad he worked with me. Made a big difference and I knew that things would work out OK in the end. If they didn't, it was his and my general contractors responsibility to make it right. Fortunately, everything went right!