Just be careful on the colors ... those cabinets look to be off-white and not white-white.

Cherry and painted white is really nice. I do think the kitchen shown is lyptus, quartersawn oak, or other base cabs with a dark stain. there are many ways to get a good looking island and coordinating base cabs in a med-dark finish. the idea of painted white uppers with wood elsewhere is really great . The kitchen shown has some nice details which is creating a lot of the appeal. If you are noting details, in addition to the two finishes, it might be wise to work w a designer.

whats tricky is making decisions on full height cabinets, like wall oven towers, full height pantry cabinets, and the cabinet panels on the side of the fridge. will they be upper or lower color?

i went with white uppers and lowers and quarter sawn oak on the island because it made it all simpler.

Yes it is a beautiful look. Warmth and Airy at the same time.

If you have tall cabinets have them match the uppers so that crown molding can continue across, so in this case white.

thank you all so much for the input!

I think that look works if the kitchen is very large and light. Otherwise it makes things too chopped up. A nice compromise is what ninigret chose.

Even though I’m not crazy about two toned cabinets I like the look pictured. I agree with freeoscar that it looks best in a larger & light kitchen.

freeoscar and K Laurence, the kitchen is about 18 x 10, do you think it would be too small or a right size?

Sounds about right, but I’m not a pro.

freeoscar and K Laurence, the kitchen is about 18 x 10, do you think it would be too small or a right size?

It depends on if the kitchen is open or closed off. Also that kitchen depends on what the style of the rest of the house is. No room in a house especially if it's at all open to other rooms should be done in isolation. All rooms need to be planned out at the same time.

I'm odd man out, but I dislike the two different finishes. Looks to me like the space is in the middle of a redo, and would leave me wondering which element is the one changing.

I'm generally not a fan of two tone kitchens. I much prefer something like ninigret posted, where the island is a different color. I think what I don't like about the inspiration picture in particular is that there is too much stark white, then it goes dark. The cabinets are light, backsplash is light, countertops are very light then all of a sudden -- dark cabinets. I think if there was more transition, like if the backsplash and counters were more taupe or something other than stark white, I would feel it made a better transition.

I like two-toned kitchens in general..and I love white plus wood even though I agree with chocolatebunny that on this particular picture the contrast seems a bit harsh, at least to me because of sheer size of the kitchen, I'd like softer transition in such a space..but in any case it is quite beautiful.

Whether it'll work or not-the two-toned look- will depend on size, light, as have been mentioned, and more than that-on layout. One needs approximately even amount of lowers and uppers to make the look work, or will indeed feel too chopped

Very good point on deciding what color the tall cabinets( pantry, oven, etc) will be -should be well-considered.

Great advice from cpartist as usual-always consider everything you plan in the kitchen in general context of your house

White/light Quarzt is cool(I have light off-white Quartz myself) and is usually very clean-because you'd be prompted to keep it as such, every crumb, you'll see it, and will be complelled to clean it right away.

-be prepared though to see seams when installed. You'll forget about them soon but first time comes as a bit of a shocker even if the seam is actually quite good. You see it like a very thin pale pencil line. "Who drew on my counter?" lol

The white and walnut look is a hot one right now, but tuxedo kitchens have been around a long time - and the look will date even more slowly if white is one of your colors (just make sure it's the same white tone as the rest of your trim but in the correct finish for easy wipedown).

White quartz is also a great, durable option that will last as long as your cabinets. If you're looking for a light but natural-appearing quartz, definitely check out Silestone Lagoon - I just recommended it in another thread since it has light movement and pairs well with both light and dark cabinets:

Cobalt Blue and White Reno · More Info

Using cherry is tricky since it will beome a much warmer color as it ages. If your counters are a cool white it may not turn out ok. Countertop selection is critical. I also agree it looks unfinished unless it’s just an island that is contrasting.

I love the 2 tone cabinets! Grounded yet light, perfect balance in my eyes. I just posted this picture on another topic about refinishing cabinets, I will add it here too....similar to your inspiration picture :)

Your inspiration picture is beautiful. I think the challenging things will be finding the backsplash to make the transition look good and the flooring selection to tie it all together. Not an easy look to pull together but beautiful if properly done.

I love this look! I really wanted to do this when we remodeled our kitchen but since our final plan called for only 2 upper cabinets, it wouldn't have looked right at all.

Gorgeous - I hope you did it! Can you tell me where you got that photo? Thanks!