There are so many shades people call "cherry" that I've learned not to assume I know what they mean. Do you have any pics of the cabinets or floor? How about inspiration pics? When I was looking at laminate, I loved the "Soapstones" by Wilsonart. Oiled Soapstone is black with a subtle pattern to it, and Pearl Soapstone is gray. Either strikes me as being neutral enough to fit a classic or contemporary kitchen. If your cabinets are dark, though, you may want an even lighter countertop color, like Formica Mineral Spa. When you say Formica, do you mean laminate in general, or are you definitely using the Formica brand? I can't imagine deciding on kitchen finishes individually. For me, it was most helpful to find inspiration pictures and choose the "look" of the kitchen as a whole to help narrow things down. Here is a link that might be useful: The Formica design center can help you visualize patterns in context

This is my kitchen, too. I don't have pictures yet as I am experiencing some problems getting the right size vent installed over the Blue Star range. Can't wait to start using it! Anyway, I have natural maple cabinets, golden-stained red oak floors, and was fortunate to find a reasonably-priced, beautiful slab of Costa Esmeralda (not installed yet, either), but I used BM powdered sand in my relatively dark kitchen. It reads light yellow except when the sun shines bright in the late afternoon when it is close to white. I really like how it goes with the natural maple. I am a green person (LR & DR) are shades of green, but did not want green close to the cabinets because in some lights, it makes the maple read pink and I wanted the cabinets to stay closer to natural.

Thank you so much for all the kind words, your interest and your support! I have been on this board for 3 years...just not recently. I took a break from these boards a little while ago, just because I was kind of getting depressed at all the gorgeous kitchens! I admit, I even felt a little jealousy! Then just recently I stopped coming because we had already made our decisions and I did not want to get confused or torture my DH with some possible tweaks and changes. I am so happy to see some familiar names here on this thread. I know this sounds cheesy, but all the kind comments almost made me get teary eyed. Like I said before, this really is the only material thing I have wanted for a long time. But I know that Gardenwebbers on the kitchen forum know that a kitchen is not a material thing ONLY...for folks like us it is (cliche time, sorry) "the heart of the home." I have been cooking incredible meals and/or entertaining non stop. It is such a joy and pleasure to me. outsideplaying-thanks for your comments and for your excitement for me! Maine_Mare-That is good to hear! He actually did not even do these as well as he could have, because he truly thought they would be in for a few months. Where he adhered the counters to the undermount sink, you can see some clear caulking. Also, the end of the peninsula has a gap where he came up a little short! But next time, he will do an even better job and if we can keep them for 7 years like you...then we will be doing great! But I am fine the way they are, truly. Very minor flaws. frmrsdghtr-I really really do not have an estimate. I think my husband said awhile ago that the cabs were about 5k? I could be wrong, and he just said that figure off the top of his head. Thanks for the compliment! Hi colorfast! Your kitchen is lovely, too! Originally we wanted wood stained cabinets, but the darkness of the kitchen (no natural light) plus wood floors and a desire to have butcher block counters (eventually) made us rethink that! I never dreamed I would have white cabinets, because I lived in a townhouse for 14 years with white formica cabs and I wanted a big change from that. I am happy with our white now, tho! I have considered SS for the hood and I have seen your style before, but for some reason I am stuck on white. I attached a link below of an idea, although I have heard mixed reviews of that futuro futuro company. I *really* liked some of their other styles. They look more like light fixtures than hoods. onedogedie-thank you for being so kind about my long post! It's true, it was such a crazy and long journey, it seemed it warranted a little more than "here is my kitchen!" I have read so many "finished kitchen" posts here, and whether long or short, I like the ones where I can *feel* the pride in the post! I wonder why plywood is not mentioned more often as an alternative, whether temporary or more long term? I just never hear it mentioned and thought my hubby was crazy when he told me that was what he was going to do. I had no idea it would look so nice. As a matter of fact, even he gets a little frustrated when the first thing people notice when they walk into the kitchen is the countertop! LOL. Good idea about the kick plate, I will mention it to my hubby. Thank you CEFreeman! :) Lake_Girl-Ohhh, you should see what he is doing with the chicago brick pavers that are the walkway in front of the barn! They were put in half assed by previous owners, so he has his paving equipment here at the house and is using fill and making it look PRETTY. A total do-over. My friends ask me if he can do stuff at their house (they are willing to pay, of course) but I say NO WAY...he still has too much to do here! I think we compliment each other well because I NEVER nag him. To be honest, there are some other things I think he should be doing rather than the brick pavers...but I also know that feeling when I feel "inspired" to do a project and I wouldn't want someone nagging me to do something else instead. mmhmgood-lol, inside the cabs we left it the natural wood color! So that is what you are seeing, it isn't orange, LOL. I can see how it looks that way, but heck, even *I* am not that daring or funky! lol rhome-I had posted to you awhile ago about the oven. Your comments made me VERY excited. So far I love it. Do you think if I do not use the self clean mode, I will be ok with the blue porcelain? Or do you think I will have issues either way? I will try to find out about the door, but I have a sneaky suspicion that it will be pricey. It doesn't bother me *that* much. Thank you for your comments and help! marti8-he had ear plugs in. He had already purchased that tile chipper years ago. he said it does chip up thinset, but you have to use a different blade. Thanks for the comments! Thank you soooo much, gscience, catlover, About togetdusty and KrisMA! Here is a link that might be useful:

It's not installed yet (about another 3 weeks or so - woohoo!) but ours are natural maple w/white appliances - that wasn't necessarily my first choice (I prefer "period" style painted white or dark quarter-sawn oak) but 1. we have a tiny space and everybody talked me out of anything too dark 2. we are on the tightest budget imagineable and wound up with a set of excellent condition complete set of 2ndhand KM Mission-style cabinets that I picked up on Craigslist for $1k. I really like natural maple, although I think it does lend itself best to a more modern look - lots of sleek ss and nickel etc which isn't necessarily the route we'll be going in our older house. However, I'm really happy with what we've got style and qualitywise. That said, I recently started considering whether maybe it's worth staining them down a couple of shades darker.... which would also help tie everything together (we had to buy 2 extra cabinets to round out the set and, while they match perfectly on the WRONG side of the old cabinets, the side exposed to sunlight has turned slightly golden - normal for lighter cabinets, I gather). In any case, I'll post pix as soon as there's something to share!! (And, despite all my musings and ruminations, I know full well there's a very good chance that once they're in I'll love them exactly as is since they're beautiful wood in a classic design!)