Hello to ALL, So very grateful to ALL of you....these pictures and Ideas are invaluable to us! Like that Tile Back splash, a lot, so classic! sparlekitty - just love your Kitchen, please make a copy and send to me, right away...I mean the real thing!! What are those amazing counter-tops and your floor and your Range, we still are looking for one? Do I SEE a WINDOW above your Range HOOD! This just looks wonderful! TODAY, we were seriously talking about cutting out a Window sized Area, into our WALL above the Range - this is the WALL between the Kitchen and the Dining Room! This would give the Kitchen a direct VIEW out of the front Dining Room Windows and look out to all the trees in the wooded area, across the street!! Also, the front of our new, old house faces SOUTH - so all that lovely light might be very welcome in the long winters, here! Or do you think that we will have enough light from the door into the Dining Room and we should just add more cabinets on the Range Wall? Has anyone cut out part of the wall in one of these 80+ year old houses? Is this really difficult? Yes, we still are giving very serious thought to selecting the Cherry Cabinets for the upper & lower cabinets on both sides that will have a counter-top! You are right, since the Pantry Cabinet and the Frig. Built-ins are already white, trying to match those does not look too great...we tried this week-end, again but were not happy with the white Cabinets that we found at three places! DH really likes the Adel Cabinets from Ikea but we have to try and figure, a layout using their non-custom sizes? Should we just remove the Soffit above our Sink Wall - will the Kitchen, Look Better without the Soffit? And then we can use the 39" Ikea Cabinets, right? Here is another picture of the last corner in the Kitchen - See where the Counter and lower Cabinet is recessed about 6" ? This allows the large old door to close, where the back hallway comes in? We do not want to take down any of the original wood doors, they are just too beautiful to us. And the powder room is across the hallway. You can See the Soffit above and this only goes across the Sink side of the room. Has anyone used Ikea, lately - are these any good, we went to one of their large stores near Cincinnati, today, never been there before, lots of walking and looking! We have always wanted the very simple lines, like you see in the Adel shaker style and this may be the answer to the budget! These are not real Cherry Wood, which we really love - does anyone have any suggestions for finding simple Cherry Wood cabinets at the Most reasonable cost, that have a descent looking finish? We would be happy even if they are nearly natural and even with the lightest of stain - since we have had Cherry many times before and we know that they will darken on their own, in time! Forgot to share that we are going to try and finish the 3 season Sun Room, into an insulated 4 Season Room with new windows and floor - before the weather gets cold here!! So we really need to save money on the kitchen cabinets, we feel that the windows are just as important and we will really miss our Sun Room when we move in less than a month! Every time I think about the count down - I get giddy, scared and excited, all at once! Just like all of you, we are afraid of making a mistake on a big ticket item! This G W and All of you, really keeps our sanity and we are so grateful for ALL of the Ideas that keep us thinking - too easy to get frustrated and we want to stay positive! Thank you all, again, this help is really appreciated - Does anyone think that we should try to Open up the Wall above the Range, how much and how far above the back splash on the Range is good! As you can see from the pictures, there is no Hood above the Range and maybe we can keep it that way since we mostly bake or use the GE Advantium? We will be able to hang the GE Advantium under the cabinet to the left of the sink. Is it better to have the new Opening that will look out to the South or to have the Range hood and extra Cabinets? Cannot figure out how to do both on the same wall - guess we can take the Tall white Pantry Cabinet out of the corner and use in the hallway since it is finished on 3 sides! Then we may be able to make more room for a new Opening - but should the Range be centered on the Kitchen wall? Will try to add these Pictures, Thank You All for looking and helping us to decide! roseofblue

Thanks for your suggestions amysrq! I guess I should have included a pic of our current color...I have already had most of the lower cabinet doors removed, but the most hideous of them is still on...right at the kitchen sink...you will see that the scuffs are a deep gray to black in color...which is why I was kinda trying to match my 'dirt' LOL!!! I am thinking of maybe distressing them, so maybe that will make them look like they are supposed to that way. Anyway, we might leave the uppers the way they are, if it does not look too mismatched. I have bought some 18x18 granite tile that is kind of black white and gray that I think will look nice with a lot of color options...so I am thinking of doing the tiles first,then figuring out our paint. I sure appreciate the input...I don't really have anyone to bounce these ideas off of anymore, so all your help is invaluable to me!! I am going to try to post a picture of my current kitchen...please ignore the hideous mess!

i`m glad YOU asked the question because I too am thinking of painted cabinets after not feeling that stained wood is the look I want. The only stained wood cabinets I like are the espresso, chocolate, etc. I`m afraid that I would get tired of dark after awhile. I like the look of painted cabinets and have never had them."not white, but Kraftmaid Mushroom and Sage with a brown glaze). At first my husband was not for it, but after showing him pictures and trips to the showrooms to look at door samples, he is starting to like them. Being a new construction, I would have to go with the few color choices they offer or buy unfinished wood cabinets and paint them myself, thus having a multitude of color choices. I`ve been thinking about my kitchen for 4 months now and it is driving me crazy trying to decide what I like and what would go with the rest of my furniture. Will kitchen designers actually come to your home and look at your furniture, pictures etc. to see what would be fitting with my decor?

Pictures would be helpful. Field painting a prefinished cabinet is never a good thought. Did you get touch-up with the cabinets?