Hi, here's one picture I saw last week that might help you visualize.

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[contemporary kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2103) by austin architect Tim Cuppett Architects

Here's light and dark cherry paired together.

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[contemporary kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2103) by detroit general contractor M.J. Whelan Construction

And while this isn't the wood combo you're looking for, maybe it will be helpful

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[traditional kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by seattle architect knowles ps

What style are you going for?

Here are 3 views of the same kitchen.

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[contemporary kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2103) by toronto design-build Schnarr Craftsmen Inc

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[contemporary kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2103) by toronto design-build Schnarr Craftsmen Inc

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[contemporary kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2103) by toronto design-build Schnarr Craftsmen Inc

And one more, I know it's not your color combo, but isn't it striking?

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[traditional kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by austin general contractor Soledad Builders, LLC

Finally! I think this is the color combo you're looking for and therefore it's getting a big picture.

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[eclectic kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/eclectic-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2104) by detroit interior designer Tracey Garcia

Last one for now. The table is a little lighter than what you specified, but this picture gives a nice overall look of how the colors work together.

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[traditional kitchen design[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by san francisco design-build Harrell Remodeling

eidtionk, thank you so much for posting those pics. Would love to see more if people have this kind of wood combo in their kitchens. We are definitely not going to mix colors on the perimeter, as one of the photos above did. And we will have stone tops on both perimeter and island.

I noticed that the first couple had the perimeter lighter and the island darker. Our idea was to have the perimeter the darker rich cherry and the island the lighter maple. But our kitchen layout guy (we are probably buying Merillat or Kitchencraft) suggested we flip the wood colors to have the perimeter light and the island dark.

We haven't yet chosen either floor or countertop material, but we are planning on a stone or porcelain tile floor in a light color (though wavering since some say tile is too hard on legs and back) and on counter that is light with some dark accents.

This is slightly OT but answers one of your comments. A lot of people love tile and have never had issues with it. We moved out of our house for our renos and into a house that had tile on the kitchen floor. Within two weeks my feet and ankles were so sore and I didn't know why. Until it dawned on me that I was on tile - I bought a couple of thick rugs and indoor shoes that had a gel sole and within a couple of weeks my feet were better. We put hardwood in our kitchen and have never had an issue. This is just my personal experience.

Susan - we can find more pictures, but it would help if we knew more about your style. What door style are you looking at and what overall style do you want for the kitchen?

Also, from the pictures I've seen as I've been planning my own kitchen, it's far more prevalent to see white/color, white/wood combos than it is to see wood/wood combos. It might be difficult to find a lot more pictures.

I don't know what your budget is, but maple tends to cost less than cherry. If budget is a concern, it makes sense to do maple on the perimeter and the higher priced cherry on the island.

That being said, here are a few more. This first one is black + cherry + maple. You'll have to look past the black and take from it what you can of the cherry + maple combo you like:
http://www.decoracabinets.com/custom-cabinets/kitchen-prd.aspx?id=137

Image 9 at this link (3rd down on the right):
http://www.kitchenartdesigncenter.com/transitional-style-kitchen-cabinets.html

One more:
http://chicago-kitchen-cabinets.com/portfolio/cherry-maple-glaze/

Here are two more - wish I knew how to give you clickable links. Regardless, both here have cherry islands and lighter perimeters.

2nd picture down shows finished kitchen:
http://chicago-kitchen-cabinets.com/portfolio/cherry-maple-glaze/

Here's another from the Decora site, you might want to poke around on their site:
http://www.decoracabinets.com/custom-cabinets/kitchen-prd.aspx?id=11

Editionk,

Thanks for all your input. Our house is a craftsman style bungalow from the late 1920's (in California). The architect wants us to stay in period, but we have rebelled at several points. We are more interested in function and personal appeal than in staying in period; for example, we have large rectangular skylights throughout the house, because it's sometimes in the shadow of a tall structure next door.

Cost is something of an issue,but probably not enough to affect which part is cherry and which maple (if we do go that way). We are going to use Merillat Classic or Kitchencraft rather than having cabinets custom made. If Merillat, Somerton Hill is the door style we are most likely to choose.

I am going to attach a couple of renderings that the cabinet designer sent us. Unfortunately, they in no way represent the actual colors of the products, although they show the layout nicely. So no, we have no intention for the island to be kind of lavendar :-/

Here is one...
http://i1011.photobucket.com/albums/af233/flatman/Kitchen%20Oct%202011/289ec471.png

Susan, I've been thinking of your kitchen a lot today. A few things...

(1) Do you have a pantry / larger food storage somewhere that I don't see in your layouts?

(2) Have you considered changing the door/drawer on the left of the stove to a bank of drawers? Ditto on the one on the left of the sink.

(3) You mentioned dark areas/shadowy areas in your house. A dark red cherry finish in a kitchen with just one window might feel too dark. A few glass uppers can lighten the look a lot along with the right paint and backsplash. What are you thinking so far for those elements?

(4) Will you have a microwave? I think I see a TV in the layout, but no micro (unless it's in the island).

(5) I expected your door style would be Craftsman considering the renderings and your description, but the Merillat door style is quite traditional. The cherry Paprika color is nice, is that what you're considering?

I forgot to add this above. Your kitchen kept reminding me of one I'd seen here on GW.

It's kpasso's kitchen (link). Scrool though the thread for before, during and after photos.

Here is a link that might be useful: kpasso 1928 Brick Bungalow

Here's mine. The Island picks up the color of the fir trim around the windows and doors.

Thanks again to everyone for responding. We had not considered a white island, but that is something to thinks about.

Wow, kalapointer, thanks for posting the pics of your cabinetry. The colors are very close to what we were thinking of. We're beginning to back off the dark cherry, though, because of worries about its darkening further -- with only one window (and a large skylight), our kitchen might not be as bright as yours. We're not sure. Cabinet buy says cherry darkens, but maple yellows ...

editionk, you're right, kpasso's kitchen looks very similar to ours, it's about the same size, and it's laid out almost exactly the same with a similar size island! It's very helpful to see those pics. And in answer to your questions:

(1) Do you have a pantry / larger food storage somewhere that I don't see in your layouts?

Yep -- in the second picture you can see a door beyond the fridge. That's the door to the utility/laundry room. The pantry is to your left as you go through the door :-)

(2) Have you considered changing the door/drawer on the left of the stove to a bank of drawers? Ditto on the one on the left of the sink.

Hadn't thought about that. I think the only three-drawer stacks now are next to the dishwasher (for utensils) and across from the sink on the island.

(3) You mentioned dark areas/shadowy areas in your house. A dark red cherry finish in a kitchen with just one window might feel too dark. A few glass uppers can lighten the look a lot along with the right paint and backsplash. What are you thinking so far for those elements?

We are planning glass uppers on all the upper cabinets around the sink (two to the right, one to the left) and there are 1-foot cabinets on the wall across from the sink that don't show up in these renderings but that also have glass uppers. We were going to do glass uppers around the range as well, but decided that was too much.

(4) Will you have a microwave? I think I see a TV in the layout, but no micro (unless it's in the island).

Yes. The microwave will sit on the counter in the corner under the TV. My husband doesn't think it's safe to lift possibly heavy hot dishes from a raised area, and I see his point.

(5) I expected your door style would be Craftsman considering the renderings and your description, but the Merillat door style is quite traditional. The cherry Paprika color is nice, is that what you're considering?

I think that is the name of the color. It does seem to be pretty dark when you look on their website. I am not sure what a Craftsman door style is, but the cabinet design guy has mentioned Shaker style a few times. It's a bit too plain for our tastes, though.

We are also considering Kraftmaid cabinets. The frameless drawers are appealing because they have several inches more width for the same cabinet size. But the design we like would be about 35% more (!) than the Merillat Classic because not only is Kraftmaid more to start with, the design is much fancier, including curved wood on the face of the cabinet door. I can't remember the style name and it doesn't look easy to find on the Kraftmaid website. I wonder if those fancy doors would overwhelm our smallish kitchen anyway.

Susancf, we have a lighter maple center island and medium cherry perimeter. The contrast isn't as much as Kalapointers beautiful kitchen. The first photo is with natural light and the second is with all of the kitchen lights turned on.

Doonie,

That is one gorgeous kitchen! I like the color combination and I like the color of the floors. I have just about talked myself out of tile, but those sure look good!