Joanie, could you go for the freebie's and replace some of the upper wall cabinets to a quality white down the road? I know not everyone like's a two tone kitchen but I personally love that look.

Do you have pictures? Do you have pictures of the offered countertops?

Most of the two tone I like have white/light countertops.

Could you pay extra for a loved countertop now instead of the upgraded now cabs? Something that would go with a future vision?

Joanie, I edited above. What do you think? Not your thing?

I just went to the website. In the photos, they look quite nice. Did you see them in person?

I suspect that today's laminate is quite different than those in the past.

There is a reason why it is priced higher. I say stick with it! Personally, I wouldn't care for the cherry, black or medium brown.

Is there a design center where you can actually see all the finishes?

Thanks Terrilynn...those pics are nice! Im still doing research, but I cross posted in kitchens and a pro said laminate is better than painted cabs. Im tempted to leave things as is...Ill make a decision tomorrow. The wood color choices were dark except the one medium brown. I currently have natural maple which i like and even though Aristokraft has natural maple the builder isnt offering any lighter wood tones.....not sure why. So i splurged on the white just to have a lighter, brighter kitchen.

Granite counters are “free” so that is a help. Again....not great choices but I can live with it....we picked Giallo Verona....typical brown/gold. Quartz was $3,000 and none of the offerings bowled me over.

My brain is on overload from all the decisions!

Eld...thanks. The design center at the builder had all the doors. I should have realized they were laminate but one or two doors said white paint so I assumed they were painted. Then on the way home...a four hour drive.....i went to the Aristokraft website too look at them and saw they were laminate.

I will probably leave things as is. The brown is depressing to me and someone pointed out on the kitchen forum that i probably wouldn't remodel as soon as I think I would....five years will go by in a heartbeat at our age..lol.

Can you "upgrade" to white painted?

https://www.aristokraft.com/products/winstead/painted-white-kitchen-cabinets

Joanie, I'm confused as to why you didn't clearly get a choice between the laminate and painted.

That said, you saw all the doors, and like all of them. The laminate did not stand out as cheap and less quality than the painted, correct?

Joanie, I think your white kitchen with the Giallo Verona granite will look great. I just looked quickly and found this example but there are plenty on Houzz, both of kitchens and bathrooms.

Do you get to pick your slab by any chance? Some did appear to have more black and gray flecks in the slabs than others, if you are inclined to go that route and seems to look really nice with the SS appliances and dark hardware. Here was one example

Thinking ahead, is a tile recommended that goes with the Giallo Verona? The samples I looked at looked more gold than white, as in the above example that Outside just posted.

I had issues with my white cabinets and Giallo Ornamental. It was way too brown with the white cabinets. On my second installation of the BS I got it right. But, let me just say that it really was the only tile out there that solved the problem. I went far and wide and only one person came up with the Gracia Rixi in cream.

Eld.....thank you! Actually, I think i saw “white paint” on the craftsmen style door and got confused. DH says we should keep the white cabs even if I redo in a few years. Looking on the website, they do seem to perform better than white paint. I guess laminate has come a long way. The brown cabs would just be too much brown...brown floors, brown cabs, brownish granite....yuck.

I never thought to ask but im sure I cant pick my slab. This is a production builder. I shouldn't have any seams as there’s not much counter space. The color in your picture looks much less gold than the sample i saw.

The backsplash choices werent great so i just went with white subway....DH can redo if want a change.

Good idea to look at pics on Houzz of white cabs with the Giallo Verona granite...duh!

Oops...thanks outside! I confused you and eld...sorry.