Ellen Kennon has a range of gorgeous Full Spectrum Paint colors. Full Spectrum and Ellen Kennon have been discussed on this site many times. A search may turn up some helpful threads. If you are not familiar with FSPs they are fabulous colors produced without using black. The effects can be absolutely stunning! If you are wanting to create something special I urge you to check out FSPs and also take a look at the photos on Ellen's website. EK's colors are made with ICI paints. Ellen sends the formula for your chosen color to your local ICI dealer to mix for you to pick up. Mine is always ready within an hour or so of placing the order! I am linking Ellen's website below. Here is a link that might be useful: Ellen Kennon's Full Spectrum Paints

Love it! Looks great. I know what you mean about the black surface. I love how it looks but I once stayed in a condo with black counter tops and I knew I wouldn't be able to handle it. I did put them in my laundry room and LOVE them there since I don't spend as much time working over them. I had Corian before the granite and I loved how it felt so soft and smooth and was basically worry free. I do love my granite too, but that soft feel of the Corian is so nice. Enjoy your new kitchen! Good luck with the paint. It's so hard getting paint right on the first try and it seems to change throughout the day too. I never seem to get it on the first try and sometimes not on the second. Frustrating... But at least that is the least expensive fix : ) This post was edited by gr8day on Tue, Jul 29, 14 at 8:33

Whether you go with white or dark cabinets (personally, I prefer the dark, even with white appliances) is your choice. However, keep in mind that if your cabinets are in good shape, they will outlive your appliances. You're not enamored of white cabinets, do you want to commit yourself to them "forever"? Unless you plan to redo your kitchen when the appliances die, you will have a similar decision to make when you need new appliances...and they won't die all at once, so you'll be re-committing to the color over and over again. If the cabinets are in good shape and painting is intended to be your only redo of them in the foreseeable future, then paint them the color you want, not to match your appliances. As Rosie mentioned, you can paint the appliances if they really bother you (using, I think, appliance or auto paint or a paint meant for metal). The bottom line is this: If the cabinets are not going to be replaced when your appliances die, paint them to please you, not the appliances. Then, for your appliances....(1) patiently wait for them to die and replace them with black or stainless, (2) sell them on Craigslist and then buy new, or (3) paint them now. I would wait b/f I decided what to do w/the appliances until you've painted your cabinets...then make the decision based on how you think they look! (If it were me and I didn't like them, I would probably go with option (2) or (3).) (If your cabinets are in only fair or poor condition, then you may be replacing them sooner than you think/plan! So, if you're willing to live with white for a couple of years, then it might not be so bad. Oh, and if they are in only fair or poor condition, don't put an expensive countertop on them now...it would be a waste of money b/c existing countertops very, very rarely fit new cabinets...even w/the same layout...and if you end up replacing cabinets, I recommend looking closely at your layout and changing it to be more functional if it's not ideal now.) Good luck!

Yknow, IMHO, I wish we all could drop the "D" word from our vocabulary. If we love it , if its well made, if its functional - then a place can be found for it, period. In other words - your china cab is just fine, and it does look good on the side rather than viewed head on. That said of course we like our rooms freshened up now and then - but I think you can jazz it up in other ways incl choosing a new color ILOVE greens/browns/tans, but the pea soup color Im kind of tired of. (or so it looks on my monitor anyway, which has been known to be wrong.) Definitely think about going deeper richer. Dont know if Penny's or Anglo's deep dark colors are good for you but it gives you an idea at least of what deeper/richer could do for you. If all else fails maybe you could just take the living room color and just go a few steps darker/more intense with it. Let the DR be cozy and intimate complete w/ a big china cabinet - why not? The DR should relate well to the LR, and that would be one way of doing it. Minor quibble - I would think about that wall space where the china cab was - is there a third pic that could fit in there? With cabinet moved, that wall becomes very significant. Not liking just the two pics , needs to be 3 I think..... Or some other wall decor or arrangement .... minor thing, so perhaps just wait for the inspiration or right thing to come along.