i have seen it done....there are a few in the fkb but i can't remember their names. maybe so veterans will respond with help.

i think it is a really pretty look and you would enjoy having both! i'll get back to you if any names pop into my head.

i'm not so sure about mixing up the top and bottom cabinets, but I would like to suggest doing maybe an accent cabinet area, something like a built in china cabinet in a different finish. I've seen alot of photos lately where that has been done. That would be the same principle of doing an island in a different finish to add some contrast in the room. I like both finishes too myself. I am going to be starting my remodel soon. I will be doing painted and glazed perimeter cabinets and my island will be stained. I'm just not sure which stain yet.

We considered doing that with our cabs but decided to stick with the same finish. In our case the kitchen is quite small and there's already a lot happening.

I've seen gorgeous kitchens with light uppers and darker lowers, but never glazed and unglazed of the same color. Unless you do a feature area that seems to have a reason to be different (different style, particular detailing, etc.) as Teppy suggested, will the base cabinets just look a little naked?

missmary---i may have misunderstood you. i was thinking of what rhomr410 said...light uppers and darker lowers.

Maybe I misunderstood...Did you mean something painted light, then glazed, on the top and the cherry wood on the bottom? That I could go along with. :-)

i don't know that you'd see enought of a difference between the glazed and unglazed cherry for it to make a statement, but it could just end up looking like a mistake. kwim?

not sure about this at all. but of course i could be wrong. have you seen this done before?

Sorry! My Fault.

I am thinking bottom cabinets that are rich, "antique" cherry stained, and top cabs that are painted white and glazed. The glaze would be something that harmonizes with the cherry tone -- like umber, or something like that.

MissMary

Sounds gorgeous. I love that look. Does it work with the style of your house? Will you continue to love it even if it goes 'out of style?' It gives you fewer options for 'easy' updates, like you might be able to do if the cabinets weren't making such a strong impact of their own...or might be less neutral if you ever need or want to sell. I'm not saying this to talk you out of it, because I am one for doing what you like, and don't put stock in resale over what is best for my family, but just throwing out things to think about that I know might matter to some.

Good comments. I have been thinking that it probably is an automatic "dater" of my kitchen.... 10 years from now people will say "she must've done this in 2008 when two finishes was in style". I can make my peace with that IF I like it for myself. If I like it for myself, then that is the main thing. BUT, I am still trying to find pictures and/or figure out IF I will like it for myself in the first place.

When we were looking for a home about 18 months ago, one house we particularly liked had an updated kitchen. When you walked in you thought "Wow!". Then when we found more out about the house - what was new when - we discovered that the kitchen had been "updated" 10 years earlier. TEN YEARS! So, we analyzed why it looked so nice and new to us.... we think its because everything was "classic" --- the design, the fixtures, etc. The cabs were rich cherry stained - and the cabinets were beautiful! That does tug at our "decider" a bit -- it takes a long time for a "classic" kitchen to go out of style.

On the other hand, I know my personal taste includes an affection for contrast - lights and darks together. I love the richness and "classic-ness" of a cherry stain, but I also love lightness and brightness in a kitchen. That is what is causing us to consider BOTH. Even though it'd be 1/2 of each.

Thanks for all input!
Miss Mary

I have seen something simular done and though about it myself since I wanted white and hubby wanted stained.We compromised and he got two really different shades of stain and then let me make the rest of the choises. One of the kitchens I liked had stained lowers and a cream glazed uppers with the color of stain from the lowers worked into the crown molding to tie the two together. That kitchen had a very classic feeling that that would have worked well for our older home but probly not for a modern home.

missmary....put a post out called " calling all light uppers, dark lowers, pics please!"......i've really been trying to remember who's kitchen i saw but just can't. someone posted a few months back with a backsplash question and i remember their picture being just that. maybe if you send a specific post, you will get a response. good luck!