Teacats - Thanks for posting a pic. I really love all the white in your kitchen! Powermuffin - I've considered different colors. I love Frenchkitty's kitchen and thought about yellow at one point but I don't think I'd like it in my kitchen. Her floors are gorgeous and the whole thing has lots of great detail. Tina - I had my Dad cut out the corner cabinet panel and put the metal screen in. I honestly wouldn't want anymore doors showing through though because then I'll have to be neat behind then, lol. Could always do frosted glass I guess. I love Reno's island too! I didn't discover CL until after we bought appliances. Not so long ago someone was selling all their stainless appliances for a heck of a deal. Usually you just see a piece here or there. Fabricmarilyn - If you start a new post with photos I'm sure you'll get lots of responses. It's really hard to make suggestions without seeing pics. Homebodymom - You'll have to let us know when you take the plunge with yours. Maple will look much nicer painted than oak which is another thing I'm concerned about. Jan - Oh, I remember seeing your kitchen before and I love it!! I really like the whole set up how the cabinets are broke up nice. Do you happen to know the paint color or any other info about it? Juddgirl - We should swap! :) Marita - Very nice! Love the dark counters with it. I'll be sure to check that color out. Tuesday and Kmcg - I'm sure I am. I guess it does sound funny that I'm ok with black appliances and creamy cabinets but unsure of the cream color with white. I'll have to buy a few popular white/cream samples and try to limit myself with that. Paint huge pieces of poster board and hang them around the kitchen for awhile. Anyone know how to photoshop cabinets? A visual would really help me with this one. I tried using the fill feature in photobucket but it goes way out of the lines and isn't working well.

island, I agree with you. I came to that realization today that I don't have the room for any special treatment behind the range since it has a back to it and there will be a vent hood going in so there is just not that much space available. I was trying to figure out how to get a center medallion of a cat! I know, too taste specific. DH suggested a piece of our granite but enough of that. So today I am trying to determine since the hood is not yet installed how much in height I really need behind the stove and if I can get away with simply raising the pieces behind the stove rather than running behind the stove down to the counter to avoid a seam. I found three different web sites with this type of tile but no selection of just one tile in different heights, just 8x20, 12x24 or the wall height which might work if it is tall enough to allow me to cut it in half because most of the wall I would need 18 high (the space from the counter to the bottom of the wall cabs) except for behind the stove. Silly me, I never considered a grout line, I thought they were just glued to the wall and simply lined up vertically! I have a lot to learn and I have to do more research. And yes, it does look great in that hallway but you know what I thought of when I saw it, it would take DH just one drop of the vacuum to break a tile. Silly me . . I'm still stressed over this whole affair even though I have a working sink finally after 8 weeks and tonight I am making my first home cooked meal - ravioli and meatballs and garlic bread. :-) mpagmom, your kitchen is SO BEAUTIFUL and I saw it today with those gorgeous tiles. What a calming space - I love it! That stove wall is a work of art and I do think the smaller tiles go great with the stove wall tiles. I hope you are enjoying your new space. Thank you for the link. Yes, I am planning on going with the beadboard tile. DH is against subways (although I love them) and I couldn't talk him in to an exposed brick look. I think the plainer backsplash would be very complementary to the granite. I can add more color with window valances or countertop accessories and an area rug. I noticed in SusieQ's beautiful kitchen that there is no top or bottom to the tile but you can buy "caps" or finishing ends on the tile web sites. Does anyone think that is necessary? Probably a picture of my stove wall would help. THANK YOU!

@MarylandHomebody that's true about the shirt, but we painted our kitchen Simply White and it looked green. We were painting over the previous owners dark green so of course at first we thought it was that. So we primed and painted again and still green. I hated it. Eventually we went with Opaline the same color we'd painted in the living and dining room. It's the palest blue/green/grey color. I love it and it completely got rid of the ugly shade of green we were seeing that I eventually figured out was a result of our green evergreens outside. I wouldn't have wanted to live with that ugly pea/yellow green and am so glad we repainted and didn't just take somebody else's opinion that it looks good when I knew inside it did not look good to us as that's ultimately what matters.

I have had a really busy week and didn't look at Houzz. Hope what I have to say isn't too late for your decision deadline. When deciding on cabinet color you want to choose something that works with the counter you are choosing and works with your overall color palette. Pure White is one of my favorites for cabinets because it is just slightly warm and doesn't limit your other choices as much as either Extra White (more cool / gray) or Alabaster (warmer/ more yellow) If you knew you loved fall colors, warm gold, greens and burnt oranges, I would say Alabaster would work better with the overall palette. That is not what I am hearing from you and not what I am seeing with your other finishes and flooring choice. I think Pure White (left) is much prettier with your flooring than Alabaster. I think Pure White is prettier with Taj Mahal than Alabaster. Pure white will be easier to work with than Alabaster as you make other color decisions for your home. Here is a picture of Taj Mahal with Alabaster and yellow walls. It is a lovely combination. I think pure white would have been too white with the yellow walls and golden floors and may have felt stark, too modern. This is a kitchen with Taj Mahal counters and "Pure White" cabinets. Not specifying SW Pure white, but what I would expect Pure White to appear next to Taj Mahal.