That green is awfully light on my monitor. Is it so pastel in real life? If it is, I think you need a more medium toned wall color with those black counters adding so much weight to the room. They need a balance. More dark elements elsewhere. Which brings me to your hardware choices. Black iron or ORB that match your light fixture would give you that dark element to balance those counters. The glass knobs would be a nice touch on a couple of special cabinets, but not all of them.

GreenDesigns: Thanks for your reply! Hmmm...interesting point. (Yes, Fernwood Green is definitely a light green. I tend to gravitate to soft pastel colors when it comes to paint.) If we kept the birch butcherblock a wood tone instead of staining it black, would the silver toned hardware work then, or would you still recommend black or ORB? Thanks, again!

Of your 2 I like the brushed nickle. I had it in my last house and this one. I like the old fashion look and it is so easy to take care of. Just a wipe with a damp cloth, no need to dry.

If the butcherblock was left undyed, then I think the slight yellow tones that the brushed nickle has picks up the warm tones in the wood.

I like the fern green paint on my monitor. My kitchen is going to be a softer green paint, white cabinets and soapstone, I think it will look great!

Cabinet pulls... I really, really have struggled with this! I don't personally care for the bark bronze hardware, and I have been leaning to an antique brass, or antique pewter. I decided against the brass (I don't know why - I'm still drawn to it!). So I decided on the brushed nickel. I think it will be easier to keep clean, however, I am using a chrome faucet!

eandhl: Thanks for your vote! (Easy to care for certainly sounds good to me!)

francoise47: Thanks so much for your reply! Which do I like best - hmmm...I do like the classic and blingy look of the chrome (plus we had brushed nickel in our last kitchen so I thought a change might be nice), yet, I wondered if the yellowish tone of the brushed nickel would go better with the off white cabinetry and soft green paint. So, I'm pretty much torn! Maybe I should pick up a cabinet pull in each color and try them on for size.

GreenDesigns: We're going to consider both the dyed and undyed options. I originally wanted soapstone, but it was WAY out of budget, and some GardenWebbers suggested staining butcherblock black like brickmanhouse did. Thanks for replying again and suggesting brushed nickel with the natural birch.

tinker_2006: Ah! Our kitchens sound like they have a similar color scheme. (Except you are getting my dream countertops! Be sure to post pics so I can live vicariously through you! Lol!) You have given me lots of food for thought. Thank you!

I usually prefer satin nickel, but I like the chrome faucet a lot better with the sink. Either would be lovely. I don't like the idea of ORB - it's just a totally different look. Trying a couple of each is a great idea.

The green doesn't look that light on my monitor. You can always paint a little darker if you find it's too light.

By the way, have you seen porcelain beadboard tile? I'll link it below. Somebody here used it in their kitchen and it looked great.

Here is a link that might be useful: Porcelain beadboard tile

I love both faucets! Which looks better with the stainless steel appliances? I love the frameless Ikea Adel White doors you chose and I thank you for telling us it is a match for BM Cloud white since I read somewhere it is a match for BM Simply white. I have sample boards here and in my lighting, the BM Cloud White looks the best.

I find the green a pretty shade and on my monitor it looks nice.

Please keep us updated on what you decide and pictures as your progress please.

Go with the chrome and you will have an easier time coordinating other finishes with it.
Chrome is also very durable and unlikely to scratch.
To me, it is livelier and adds a little bling.

mpagmom: Thanks for your chrome vote and link to the porcelain beadboard (what a neat idea!). :)

lynn2006: Ohh, good point - we'll have to consider what looks best with ss appliances! We're planning on doing our own trim for the Ikea cabinets, so I've done a bunch of googling on paint matches. I read that Simply White (which happens to be our trim color for our casings; I love it) is a match for Lindingo. While Ben Moore's Cloud White and Ralph Lauren's (potentially discontinued) Studio White WW09 are good matches for Adel White. The Adel White Ikea cover panels that we bought Do Not seem to match the doors!!! They are a brighter white and much glossier!! I don't know if we are the only ones with that problem, but we are returning them and plan to make our own (hopefully better matching, and cheaper!) cover panels instead. (This may have been more info than you wanted - sorry about that!)

dianalo: Thanks so much for your advice and chrome vote! Durability is important to me (and some bling is nice too!)

One thing to consider- chrome is chrome no matter who it is made by. Brushed nickel tends to change between manufacturers, so if you plan on ordering knobs from someone, a faucet from someone else, etc you might see a different in finish. You may not, but chrome will definitely be easier to coordinate and should be worry free on that end.

You can't go wrong though- both would look great!

I love the look of polished chrome anywhere except by water. The constant spots drive me nuts in my bath thus I have brushed finishes in my kitchen. Just a thought and if water spots do not bother you than the polished is lovely and you should go with it.

What a coincidence, your kitchen set up looks just like my new kitchen to-be! Same cabinets, brushed nickel hardware and everything. Except, Im going for butcher block island and Carrerra marble tiles for backsplash. Did you use the fernwood green? If so, How did you like the color? thanks!

brianadarnell: That's a good point about chrome finishes always matching! This would make shopping much easier. Thank you!

roarah: Hmmm...water spots. Low maintenance would be nice. Thanks for your reply!

newmama1: You have excellent taste! ;) We used Fernwood Green in the kitchen in our last house and loved it. It's the one color we decided to use again. Right now our kitchen only has tinted primer (which is FAR off from what Fernwood Green should look like, so I'm anxious to see if the paint is a proper match.) I'll definitely share pics when everything is painted. Thanks for your reply!

Update - So, DH brough home some knobs and pulls from Home Depot for us to test out. At this point, I'm leaning towards the color of chrome, b/c I really like the contrast that it provides to the creamy white cabinets. The satin nickel samples have a strong yellow tint, and they seem to blend away into the doors.

I do however, like how the brushed finished reflects light (a softer effect than polished), so I may try to get my hands on some brushed chrome, stainless steel, or even brushed nickel that isn't as yellow.

Also, I'm considering possibly mixing finishes - maybe polished chrome for the faucet and brushed something (that doesn't have a strong yellow tint) for the cabinets.

I'll be sure to report back on our progress!

I prefer the brushed nickel for cleaning ease. I have chrome in my bathrooms and am always wiping them down because they have fingerprints, water spots on them. Brushed nickel does not show all that.

I have brushed and chrome in my kitchen. The bar sink area is where the chrome is which fits the space. But my main sink, pendant lights, and pulls, are all brushed. For your choices I would go with brushed as well. WAY easier to clean, and it doesn't scream out at you the way chrome does. Good luck!

it doesn't scream out at you the way chrome does

Gosh, I don't think chrome ever screams. It's so traditional that you don't have to notice it at all if you don't want to. I think chrome is always a good choice for the long haul, but either finish would look well in your kitchen.

"lynn2006: Ohh, good point - we'll have to consider what looks best with ss appliances! We're planning on doing our own trim for the Ikea cabinets, so I've done a bunch of googling on paint matches. I read that Simply White (which happens to be our trim color for our casings; I love it) is a match for Lindingo. While Ben Moore's Cloud White and Ralph Lauren's (potentially discontinued) Studio White WW09 are good matches for Adel White. The Adel White Ikea cover panels that we bought Do Not seem to match the doors!!! They are a brighter white and much glossier!! I don't know if we are the only ones with that problem, but we are returning them and plan to make our own (hopefully better matching, and cheaper!) cover panels instead. (This may have been more info than you wanted - sorry about that!)"

Thank you for letting me know since I have not looked at Ikea yet and I had planned to go with the shaker door and drawer without any slab drawers and fell in love with the inset but Home depot is having a sale and I got a good price on fancier doors that I first thought were not my taste but they are growing on me when I saw the price and how much better storage I would have and they are close to the BM Cloud White color which is what I wanted.

I may have to take a trip to Ikea and back to the local store with the inset cabinets and then price it all out.

Home Depot is offering free trash can and recycling bin and organizers, free hardware (but I am having a touching time falling in love with the free hardware), free double silver ware drawer, free paint finish upgrade, free pull out shelves (but I really wanted drawers) and I am waiting for a price on the granite counters and the removal of the soffit, removal of the old cabinets and the tile installation.

I love the Ikea organizers and my others choice is covering the soffit with trim since the bigger cabinets are pretty but I am not even 5 feet and have enough problems reaching selves right now and need a stool and ladder for the higher shelves.

I am not sure which to vote for yet since I have not begun this process yet but I chose the chrome for my bathroom since I liked the bling.

Chrome!

I stopped by at a store that sold kitchens after my hand therapy today before heading home to work. I really like the bling on the Chrome Faucet so I vote that way even if the hardware is nickel.