No help here. But I share your dream! Love Hickory.
Diane

We have had our kitchen for about 3 1/2 years now and since we had a definate budget we went with Home Depot. We knew we didn't want maple and loved the look of cherry but heard cherry was a little on soft side and with 3 kids probably wouldn't be practical or budget conscious. We ended going with Charlotesville hickory in a spice finish and they have held up beautifully. And for the price ($6,000) i really can't complain. I would love to see your finished kitchen with the bead board. Our island is very simple but am also considering putting bead board on that so pics would be great. Not sure if you wand a more natural hickory but here is ours, again, in a spice finish!!! Good luck......

Here are some other hickory kitchens in the finished kitchens blog.

http://del.icio.us/starpooh/b1:Cabinet_Composition:Wood:Hickory

Natural shaker hickory. Sorry, the cabinets look a little washed out in the pictures.

Here's my hickory kitchen in my previous house. I loved that kitchen and if I ever remodel here, I think I'd like hickory again. It has so much depth and personality.

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athomewith3 - I'm dying to know more about your cabinets. I've been trying to decide if I want to stain my cabinets darker or paint them because I didn't think there was any way we could afford new ones. What made the cost of yours so inexpensive? Is it the brand? Is it the hickory? They look beautiful and I can't believe that's all it cost.

Laurie

msrose, DH and i just saw the different woods and to be honest with you i didn't find this site until a good year after our kitchen was finished. I really didn't know alot about different wood types but was more excited that we were actually doing a kitchen remodel. I LOVE the look of wood and the maple just didn't catch my eye. We saw a sample kitchen and without even knowing it was hickory we both agreed that the wood graining and wood tone was what attracted us. The cabinets are from Home Depot and are made by American Woodmark. They are Charlotesville style hickory cabs, in a SPICE finish. These cabs are as hard as a rock and have a good feeling they will last for many years. I have seen them done in a darker finish and those look beautiful as well. And the best part, the price. Yes, right around $6,000 for the cabs themselves. DH and i decided to have HD install them and that was an aditional $2500 but i am sure you could find install for less. Good luck and let me know if i can answer any other questions for you. Happy remodeling, how fun!!!

A few years back (like others here) I hung out in the kitchen forum. Alan, "The Cabinetmaker" had a stunning Hickory kitchen but alas, I can't find a link. You might ask over there if Alan still checks in.

Thank you so much for your responses. Your pictures and links have made me fall more in love with hickory cabinets. My DH and I are designing and building our own home. We thought we would be up and running by now but it took us a year to sell our home and another year to complete a short plat and now the winter rains will put us into next spring. To keep from going stir crazy I lurk the decorating and kitchen forums and dream dream dream. If you have been here for more than two years you may remember my delima of DH's love of rustic/cowbow style and my more Victorian/Country French farm house style. He likes iron I like crystal. He likes leather and I like silk. He hunts and I grow roses. We have coined our style "Guns and Roses"! I thought the beaded hickory in natural with open shelves and antique glass front doors would help to marry the two. To make it more of a challenge we have designed a very open floor plan.

Athomewith3: How do you like your saddle seat bar stools? Are they comfy?

Keaata: I love your natural hickory. What colors are you using in your home? I noticed that every picture with hickory the walls are green. I wanted to do our home in browns, gold and russet tones. I hope that won't be a problem with the natural hickory.

Thanks again everyone.

I love Hickory! Here's a pic of my kitchen from the realty brochure before we purchased (no frig!). I can take some closer pics if you're interested.
Russet and some of the brown paints will work well with Hickory, but it will depend on the stain. Mine fought with any of the gold/yellows and the walls are now painted a creamy beige so the trim and molding show up much better. I'm tempted to try a green like pf used.......but DH has a thing about light green!

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pat tea, our walls are BM Mannequin Cream. Working on replacing all interior doors/trim with natural hemlock. Light earth tones and warm naturals. We have a cottage-size house, among tall pines, so we don't get a lot of natural light

No help here. Just wanted to say that every time I read the title of this thread, I can hear Bing Crosby singing it to the tune of "White Christmas". :)