I LOVE "rich and dark" wood. My new master bath vanity is stained a deep chocolate color. I used it on our ash paneling 26 years ago when we built our home...a dark walnut stain. BUT I also know it's harder to keep. It shows dust and finger prints quicker. I know in the bathroom (we're not finished yet) that the tp dust, Kleenex dust, powders, mineral makeups are all going to show faster than on a lighter wood or a lighter painted surface. In the kitchen and FOUR boys??? OY! But if you love it and it's the WOW factor you're looking for, then do it. Just make an informed decision. It is more formal looking but I'm sure you can pull in color and elements that will lighten the "feel". Will there be lots of natural light in the kitchen? That will help too. A concern for me would be a wood floor in the kitchen with 4 young boys :o But hey, I get nervous just walking into my mom's (wood floor) kitchen. I'm always afraid I'm going to drop or spill something.
Monica

i have a similar worry. i just could not help picking dark cherry cabs for my kitchen and they are currently being made. haven't picked the exact stain yet...waiting on my guy to do up some samples first. but they will be dark. i know exactly how you and your husband feel. there was nothing that grabbed me as much...yet i don't want a formal kitchen and i know dark tends to swing that way. to make matters worse, i also picked raised panel....could make it even more formal.

however, i am holding out hope that i can spin it more relaxed with other choices...i'm pretty sure i will keep my appliances bisque, will be careful on countertop and paint choices. i also picked 2 glass cab doors to help lighten the look. i'm thinking of steering away from canned lights...not quite sure what type of pendants or others i may use. accessories might help, like maybe even a regular smallish table lamp, or even the type of cut flowers and containers (silly example but say, daisies instead of roses).

i asked some questions, including dark cab question on another thread and got many pictures. check it out to see what others look like and don't forget to take the links within the posts....some very cool stuff and not all formal. they are not all cherry, but most are dark...hope it helps.

Here is a link that might be useful: dark cab thread

I would say create the "look" you love even if it means changing plans. The fun, friendly, and casual come from your heart-from your attitude and the tone of your family. I really like the idea of the light painted glazed island and the darker perimeter cabinets. You get to change your mind...my husband doesn't think so (he freaks every time I get a new idea) but I say go with what you love...not what you "think" you "should" do.

I will just pipe in about your flooring. I have Brazilian cherry also - it is quite dark. I love the look of it - but I will tell you it is one big PITA to keep clean. I am down to 4: me, DH and 2 teenagers - and it looks dirty almost as soon as someone walks on it.
If you are totally in love with it - or it cannot be changed - then just be prepared. with 4 young boys you will be sweeping and spot cleaning daily. My old kitchen had an old ash & oak mix - which is in my current front room - yes it needs to be vacuumed - but I cannot remember the last time I washed it - it just does not get dirty, of course the kitchen sees more action so it is not a totally fair comparison. I just did not want you to be disappointed with your choice.
also - maybe your cheery floor will not be as dark as mine and that would help too. there are pics on my page - I think you can see the floor so you can compare.

looking forward to seeing your cabinet and flooring pictures

Very important on brazillian cherry flooring- it is going to darken. Make sure that the sample you are looking at is aged. Otherwise you might end up with dark cabinets and it may not be what you intended. BC wood will darken a lot.

It is true that it will be a lot to take care of unless you can get it in a very very low sheen- I have that and its easy.

Lighting will have everything to do with how the kitchen will come off with dark cabinets.

It can help to have some cabinets on top with glass fronts so that it does not look so heavy. You can use glass that you can't see through totally. Or if you can see through it, you can have bright or light colored plates showing through which makes it look brighter.

I agree that the amount of sheen on the finish will make a difference. I think the granite or whatever countertop you choose could also affect the overall look. Again, I think less gloss will look less dressy/formal. Honed or satin granite or marble would look nice, as could concrete. If you'd consider dark, soapstone could also be nice and less dressy.

I wouldn't usually choose a floor that matches the cabinets, but I've seen photos of cherry cabinets on cherry floor that look wonderful. Your flooring will have more variation which will also help.

I think you have to be able to adjust as you go with the materials you find. The exact thing in your imagination is usually impossible to replicate with actual things available. The other thing lesson I've learned is that it's best to keep all your choices 'tentative' until you find materials that will all work together. I have gotten into trouble when I've set all the elements but one, then can't find that one last thing to complete the look. The overall look is more important than having your favorite of every individual element if they end up not meshing well. The *wow* factor for me is when everything works together to create something wonderful.

I'm really appreciating all the posts, ideas, pictures and all. Thank you! I'm going to try to post some pictures (first time)and see how accurate the pictures end up looking.

The door style is actually what I chose for our formal dining room built-in and the cabinet maker was sharing with us different stains to choose from. That is what got us hooked on liking the darker stain...so the cabinet style could change. He is making us another one to look at this week.

This is the original stain that we were thinking about in the kitchen with a black painted island. I have some samples of the floor there too.

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Next are the darker doors that we are thinking about doing the kitchen in and then adding an island painted in a cream colr with a glaze in brown perhaps.

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The floors actually seem lighter to me in the photos, but hey that would be ok by me. The floors are really scratched up beacause dh and I have put them through many "tests." Let me know what ya think!

A lot of people warned me against a dark kitchen, but I fell in love, got it and love it even more than I thought I would. We debated between white vs. Cherry, Cherry won with our house type.

I love your original choice of stain, but agree that it isn't great with the floor. The darker, redder one looks wonderful with the flooring...Like they were chosen to go together. Personally, I would stick with the black for the island, as I think it's still enough of a contrast...But I always love black cabinets and don't go for glazed cream, so I am biased!

I like the last combo but the door seems to have a glossy sheen on it. I think you will like it better if its more matte. Here is my BC floor in the great room and the dark cabinets in the kitchen. The windows are changed now. My floor in the kitchen is a green tile that looks like concrete. To us this is casual. The very low sheen floor in both the wood and tile helps on that. Maybe you could do a low sheen countertop?

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Mommyto4boys, I thought I'd share a picture of my kitchen with you. We also chose a dark brown stained cherry cabinet with brazillion cherry floors. We kept the area light and cheery by choosing light colored granite and backsplash:

It's all about balance. If you have a lot of dark wood, choosing light counters, backsplash and/or paint will keep it from having a dark feel.

You are all awesome to help me with these decisions. I will have many more to come...hope you are up for it! Chinchette and Alku thanks for the pictures. You both have amazingly beautiful kitchens. They are wonderful and not formal as to I would be worried to have all my boys eat in there! I'm so excited! Thought, now I'm thinking more about the island. Both of these look awesome with the cherry islands! What does everyine think of the light, painted island? I did receive one opinion about that! Thanks! I'm so open to things, as we have now changed everything from the layout to the stains to the materials in the last week. So much for a year of planning and changing it up last minute. I'm postitive it is for the better!
Thanks for all the help!!!

Lighting! I scanned the posts (in a hurry, sorry) and wanted to make sure to chime in that lighting is such an important factor in choosing dark cabinets. My last kitchen had dark, rich cherry. I chose Bianco Romano granite (white/gray with blood red streaks and some green) and light tile. The recessed lighting, too, made such a difference.

Your idea of using a light island is a good one. I suggest pulling a color out of your granite and using that to go on your island.

I wish you the best. Follow your heart.

i was on the fence between white and dark cherry for my 8x11 galley. so, even though i chose the white, i did focus on this issue a lot. and i agree that lighter counter/splash will really work well. good luck with your choices!

We bought a new home that has darker cherry cabinets, American cherry wood floors and green granite counters with a darker gray tile back splash and we love it. We get a lot of comments about how nice it looks. I have always had lighter maple or oak cabinets and love the feel of this combination. Several of the upper cabinets have pebble glass so it lightens the look a bit. It is open to the great room and does look very rich.

DO THE CREAM FRENCH COUNTRY ISLAND LOOK, DO THE CREAM ISLAND!! I cannot repeat enough ahhahah. I could have written your opening page and for a minute I wondered if it was me talking ahhaha. We just completed our custom build. Kitchen designer talked me out of cream kitchen with cherry island (gut now says wish I had gone that route) it is such a light and bright feel all around. We did cherry cabs with chocolate glaze and although they are rich, elegant and beautiful they match the wood floor dead on too- it is rather dark at times. We almost went with a black island and I think it would have felt soooo cave like although I do love black islands, not with dark cherry cabs (sorry everyone) and a wood floor - too dark. I wanted to do a french country island and again KD discouraged me as my island is very small and literally talked me into the same island cab as the surrounding and I would have sooo much loved the cream island better. Moral - trust your instinct and ignore these persuasive kitchen deisgners who say "trust me on this one, do....". It is YOUR kitchen and noone elses. We did Giallo Ornamental granite and I LOVE it for lightening everything up with the Wow factor but if I were to do it over I would either definitley do the french country island hands down or do the reverse of all of it ( cream surrounds with dark island). Other poster is right, although my wood maple floor is beautful I am a SLAVE to it and would NEVER do it again that dark as every dog paw print shows as does every crumb or juice spill that my 3 young boys spill on it. I can even see if the dog leaves a water drool on it..UGH > I literally clean them EVERY SINGLE DAY and could vacuum twice a day. NEVER AGAIN! Hope that helps and good luck during this stressful but exciting time.

It's been said many times on this forum, that the cure to darkness is more light. If you have adequate lighting you'll be able to make a bright space no matter what woods you choose. And while I can see the attraction of a light island, I'm also a sucker for black. And, finally, I think that colors add fun to spaces; in addition to thinking of lighter counter tops, the paint color alku chose looks fun and casual to me.

I have BC site finished floors, and love them. They hide a lot of sins. They are matte finish. The dog is less wild about them since he can't grab hold as well....

I'm almost walking on air at the moment visualizing my new kitchen. I think I'm going to keep it a secret between me & you great designers here. Anyways, I'm feeling so great about the kitchen choices now! I'm going to try to look at some granite this week to keep the ball rolling. I went out to the new house today & rechecked the lighting for the kitchen. We have 6 cans/recessed lights in the ceiling, two ceiling lights for the island, a ceiling light for above the sink and cabinet lights. I think I'll be in great shape with lighting the room. I look forward to sharing the rest of the journey and decsions with all of you! Thanks!

i think your room/kitchen sounds very nice. i can tell even on the computer monitor that the first stain is a poor match for the floor...if you are looking at a bank of cabinets from a distance(as in across a greatroom), the clash with the floor will be a problem. the second stained door looks to be a much better match.

we used to have natural maple cabinets...they were bright BUT now that we have dark cherry cabinets we find that they suit our style better, which is casual.

hope this doesn't happen to you...but we have found that marker and other insults to the cabinets are less noticeable the darker the cabinets are. we do have a rule of no throwing anything in the house (even a superball) but if we had a greatroom, i don't think the kids could resist. and so...good to have something that hides the dings. good luck kren

Dear Mommyto4boys,

We've all agonized through these decisions. Here is my 2-cents...
Forget about the "rules". This drove me and DH crazy. Every time we thought we had an idea, one of us said "but is it O.K. to have (fill in the blank)".

After pouring through numerous magazines and going to model homes, we found every type of combination possible, and found what we liked best. THERE ARE NO RULES!!!! And if there are, you know they're gonna change next year anyway!

We love dark cherry cabinets. We also love dark granite. Our flooring is light and we didn't change it. We chose Peacock Green granite and lightened it up a bit by going with a creamy (not light) tumbled marble backsplash. It is warm and comfortable and definitely not too formal for my 10-year-old twins and their friends. Here are my pictures...