Personally, I'd go with the gray too. White on white is modern enough to go with your place, but I think the contrast will look better and all the natural light is ideal for it. In a modern application, I'd be worried it could have that sterile feeling if everything is white. Just my two cents.

I really like the grey.

Thank you for your help. I think I agree with you all on the grey as well.

Ooooh! I didn't realize you'd decided on a course of action. I like the idea of grey witht the thick gabled quartz countertop. White is very modern, but grey is as well, and will be more unexpected.

I think you'll really like the IKEA cabinets. I know they're not Henrybuilt or Kerf, but they are an excellent product. I don't think you'll be disappointed, and you may wind up liking them enough to just leave them.

jakabedy, I just love your kitchen. You all convinced me to go with ikea. Plus, the extra cost to build a custom kitchen that I am not ready for wasnt worth it, in light of all the other things that need work in this house, on my limited budget.

I am glad you like the grey. I am still a little nervous, as it seems an unconventional color. I have the white abstrakt in my condo, and I wanted not be looking at the same kitchen again, if that makes sense.

I like the gray! Please make sure to post lots of pics, your home looks fabulous!!

I like the grey.

We were thinking of using the grey for a basement bar area but I am worried it will be too dark for the basement (sure wish it was a tad lighter...).

I agree with the above posters about the grey rather than white. I am concerned though that you are having second thoughts. I too think the white could give a sterile feel. But since we see jakabedy's kitchen in wood, would you consider that as an alternative? I can understand that you would like to see a change. But, don't do it just for the sake of a change. Of course it is fun for the architect to encourage something different. It makes his job more intereting. But, he/she is not living there.

I think either one would look good but I view gray as more contemporary. If you currently have white and want a change, it makes the decision easier. Personally, I would have leaned toward the white otherwise because it is so versatile with coordinating and changing the look over time. The whole looking sterile argument is not how I view it. White on white can be daring and dramatic.

While white can be more easily done as other styles, the gray has been traditionally modern (is that contradiction in terms or what? lol). I know Martha has recently made gray popular for country style kitchens, but the slab front glossy gray cabs give no doubt what style they are. Gray looks great when going for a very sophisticated look. I think you can really play around with decorating to make it a sleek look. It would definitely work in your MCM home.

I am glad this is not my decision, as I obviously like both choices ;)

Thanks guys! i will post pics. I did consider wood, namely the wenge type, but I thought the glossy abstrakt might look better for modern. I dunno though. I am definitely not cut out to be a designer. I just cannot viualize the final picture. I could see the potential for the house when I bought it, but when it comes to details, I just cant do it.

I vote gray. I did a wall of floor to ceiling white, base cabs in ikea's nexus yellow brown (like jakabedy) and white ceasarstone with the quartz side panels on the island. It's a lot of white!! If all my base cabs were white too I think it would be blinding. You could also buy the slab doors and have them sprayed a diff shade of gray if it's that particular shade you don't favor.

Thanks lolog72. That is a huge help. I was worried it would be too much white...a large island, 16 run of cabs, and the built ins....

Rocky... here are some pics. My kitchen and island is much smaller than yours, but just visualize if all the cabs were white. It would be a bit stark. And your 3" countertop will give the appearance of even more white.
{{!gwi}}
{{!gwi}}

lolog! I love your kitchen. Did you do two inch thick on the island? Maybe I should change to 2"? Where did you get the stainless toe kick from? Is the toe kick wider than normal for ikea? What are the lights hanging over the island? Which faucet is that? Thank you! Now I am wondering if I should have done a mix like you did...

My countertops are actually 1.5". They seem pretty thick to me so I can't even imagine what 3" would look like. The stainless kicks are custom. The only reason I did custom was because that far wall with the white was built on an 8" platform in order for the cabs to meet the ceiling. Since that wall had to have custom kicks I carried it throughout the kitchen. Honestly ikea's SS (a silver/gray fool finish) looked really good for the price. If I didn't need the 8" kicks on that wall I just would have done ikea. If you're not on your knees examining the kicks you can't tell what they are.
The lights over the island are 3 globe lights from West Elm. Love them and they were really affordable. The faucet is Grohe's Concetto in chrome. Love this too. It has the pull down spray feature rather than doing a separate spray. I know from your house pics that you're in AZ (so am I) and they have this faucet at Great Indoors if you want to look at it. But I ordered it online because it was cheaper.
And there's no reason why you couldn't do a combo of gray snd white cabs. Maybe white built-ins and gray on the island??

lolog - I LOVE your kitchen. IKEA rocks!

Youre in AZ also? Wow. That's great! Great choices for your kitchen! It looks great!

I think maybe the 3" is too thick? The architect thinks it is. I can still change it. I wonder if I should do white for the built-ins. I didnt buy the built in part yet.

I was thinking of this faucet:
http://cgi.ebay.com/WHITEHAUS-METROHAUS-Kitchen-Faucet-WHLX78557S-PC-/370300501387?pt=US_Faucets&hash=item5637a13d8b

It is 26" tall though. Not sure if it is too tall.

@lolog72 - Just wondering if you have any splashing issues w/ your Grohe Concetto faucet?

Also, can you describe how the spray/stream function works? Can you lock it on spray? if so do you have to turn the water off to get it back to stream?

Thanks!

(sorry for the threadjack!)