Stacyneil - Great posting and picture. When I look at this picture, I definitely think high end...and then see it's from Ikea!!!! It is gorgeous! And Natschultz you wrote "Seriously! Why, and I am dead serious here, do people WILLINGLY spend close to a year's salary on a kitchen redo and SETTLE for cabinets that are NOT MADE TO LAST? Why do I feel like the ONLY person on the planet that finds the cost of crap cabinetry ABSOLUTELY OUTRAGEOUS?!?!?" My father taught me alot of things in my 40+ years....one of the most important is - Never count anyone's money. Meaning it's not your place to tell people (or consumers) where to spend THEIR money. If someone wants to spend 5K on a new kitchen it is their choice, as the same if someone wants to spend 150K. I'm pretty sure no one asked for your opinion on how much they should spend on their kitchen. And I'm sorry if this sounds harsh, but you are definitely showing your ignorance by blasting all kitchen designers based on a few articles you have read or have experience with. The harshness in your words are really not appreciated on a forum that offers so much help and assistance to many many people. I'm apologizing to you now.....does that make it all ok?!?!?!

Ive seen them all. The voxtorp is very matte and paperwhite. You also have the matte walnut and the glossy beige/ivory. No hardware of course because of the integrated handle. I think this style looks best if you keep the lines the I reheated handle creates aligned throughout most of the design. If you need many different sized cabinets with both doors and drawers, I would personally not go for this front. The Veddinge has a low sheen and is a hint warmer- very classic and standard looking- you can play it up with hardware. Ringhult is like veddinge, plain and smooth only in high gloss. IMO choice of hardware is more limited with a high gloss front due to the style. It will reflect light beautifully (I had a Ringhult kitchen 15 years ago) but does it suit the rest of your design and age of the house? High gloss can work well in older buildings (my apartment was from 1929) but I think it takes a little more thought.

I have a semi gloss finish on my navy cabinets. My kitchen leans traditional, definitely not modern / contemporary. I see every finger print, smudge, etc on the island and fridge / freezer doors... wherever I have navy. Even when I think everyone's hands are clean, they leave marks. I'm constantly wiping my fridge and freezer panels, which are high-touch surfaces. I'm not type A or a ridiculous clean freak, but this bothers me greatly. If I could do over (which I'm not), I would not opt for any type of sheen or gloss finish. My perimeter cabinets are white with a matte finish. I do see food splashes, drips, etc, which I also clean. But for some reason the fingerprints drive me bonkers.

I happen to like when not everything is neutral and the same. I don't have an issue with the flooring you selected if it is something that you fell in love with and it fits with the color palette and design of the rest of the home. There are tons of styles that I can admire in the abstract or appreciate in someone else's home. But I know what I like and what feeling I want when you walk into my home. I find that I liked modern, but if it was too modern I tired of it. The high gloss cabinets would fit into that category for me. Just playing I dropped your flooring into a couple of kitchens. I thought I would like the cream cabinets better, but I do like the white cabinets. If I loved this flooring I may compromise between the two and do a less shiny finish in a creamier white than the first picture, but not near as creamy as the second. I may consider either a walnut island or more likely I would go with a navy island. What will your living room look like? Which look is more consistent with the other rooms of your home or the look you are trying to achieve? Or, are you second guessing the flooring? I always buy a single box of flooring and lay it out in a room to get a feel for what it will look like before I commit and have it installed. I would also buy a single cabinet door and bring it home to look at next to the flooring. Compared to the cost of a mistake, the cost of buying a few items is negligible.