We were going to repaint our perimeter cabinets and add new cabinets in other parts of the kitchen. I planned to have the new cabinets contrast the perimeter. I went back and forth between dark cabinets or white cabinets for the perimeter (existing dark oak cabinets). Finally the thing that made me go white perimeter and dark island was one simple thing. I like to use dark rich colors on the walls. When the cabinets were dark oak, I never could use browns or taupes. Plus, my adjacent dining room is chocolate brown, and to have the dark color continue through the kitchen on the cabinets, might be too much, I felt. So, after much staring at my space and imagining how each option would work, I went with the white perimeter and peppercorn island. I love the fact that I can paint my kitchen walls any color and it will work. I just hated the fact that my kitchen cabinets in my "old" kitchen dictated my color choices. I like to change my colors every now and then. So take into account how the other rooms nearby are decorated/painted. Think about what color you might want to paint that room. See what works with your choices. Good luck, and like so many others have said, keep looking at photos and real kitchens...see what speaks to your heart.

Wood floors are like jeans. Some prefer a dark rinse, some prefer faded, and some like the regular medium blue denim. I love gray jeans, but they are harder to find. They all work and you don't have to match the color to anything. The very dark wood floors have been more popular the last five years or so. They aren't as warm as lighter floors, but they still look great. They aren't necessary for contrast if you already have white cabinets/black counters, but they are part of a look that many prefer. I chose a medium stain for the floors in my white kitchen with dark counters because they show less dust and look great with the area rug in my great room. The shade is similar to the floors I once had in a Victorian house built in 1895, and it is similar to the floors my friend has in her house built in the 50s. I consider it to be warm and neutral and I can't imagine ever tiring of it.

Agree with both of the somewhat contradictory statements above. Let's use a very clear case to elaborate-the pine plantation. So, in my area, there are numerous plantations of especially red pine. These are installed initially at a rate of somewhere in the neighborhood of 900 trees per acre. Then in time, it is common practice to do a thinning cut, and the result is precisely what your friend states-the remaining stems are able to take advantage of the increased light and resources, and do show a bump in both height and girth increment. So that's the most obvious case. Right off the bat, your situation is at least somewhat more complex, in that you have more than just the one species. Because we don't really know the exact composition, age class(es), site index (How good a given tree species is able to grow on a given site), and myriad other factors, I would say only very generally that what your friend says has some truth to it, but that you should avail yourself of a good consulting forester, explain what you'd like to see happen with the stand, and then let him or her draw up a plan. There are lots of moving parts in such forestry. Rhizo mentions the very mature forest case, and indeed, some special considerations often exist in such cases. BTW, off-topic a bit, but I can't resist: It seems that trees not only compete with one another in the forest, but also help each other, and in surprising ways. Studies have proven, for example, that a large, mature "mother tree" can shunt resources to young, struggling offspring via the mycorrhizal fungal network that apparently connects all or nearly all trees within any given forest stand. We always stress the competition, but that's just a part of the story, and maybe not even the biggest piece! This is interesting stuff to geeks like me. Please keep us apprised of where you go with this. +oM

Do you love the kitchen and how it functions ? If you do then refacing can be an option otherwise it is a waste of money. What I seee in that space is you do not have enough storage and that to me as buyer would be the first thing I would notice . The lower cabinets are dated as to function the upper as to style but it looks like a decent kitchen if you were selling right now. I assume you want to enjoy this space and IMO 40K to fix the things that can't be fixed without new more functional cabinets is a mistake. 5- 10 yrs down the road who knows what people will want .. Declutter it is amazing how much space you can find when you get rid of stuff you honestly don't use. The first step to that is empty all the cabinets then put back only what you actually use and near the place you use it. I start by telling my clients to get rid of all plastic storage stuff and get some glass pieces to replace what you honestly need with a DW it is really minimal what you have to store for leftovers etc. Change all the light bulbs to LED 4000K and then look at your kitchen . What do you really want to change for you. I will say the color choices you are thinking of will be more dated than what you have.