Hi Kubotabx2200, Thank so much for your suggestion. I have been debating a lot between NorthStar and Montmorency. Its not an easy decision for me. I love the look of dark red cherries. And they say NorthStar bears heavily too. And it stays a small tree. But since I already have two red cherries, my husband is pushing to get the dwarf Montmorency. Besides, my neighbor has a standard Montmorency (I am certain its a Montmorency, he does not know) and the birds and squirrels don't eat the fruit and they are tasty when cooked. Can you describe the flavor of NorthStar to me if you a little time? Yeshwant, I got my Surefire from Raintree and I planted it in 2004. It is a small tree no doubt. Now its just about 6 feet or so and upright. Last year it had flowers but set only a few fruit that fell off. This year it had many clusters of flowers and all of them have turned to baby fruit. I have big hopes for this tree(!) I don't have a picture of the tree in bloom but I could still take a picture now. But for the life of me I can't figure out how to post a picture into a message? So the answer is I think you will have to wait 2-3 years for good fruit on the Gisella 5 rootstock that Raintree sold it on. I live around Riverdale. Some parts of my yard does seem like 7a but some parts are definitely colder. The trouble with Starkbros is not that they sell you poor trees but that they don't tell you what the rootstock is so I don't have some important information. But I still did get some trees from Starkbros in the past and I ordered dwarfs only. However some of my trees turned out not to be dwarfs, they are huge. So I find them hit-or-miss. I think your Suerfire will grow quite a bit more, specially this year but it won't be a big tree. If I figure out how post pictures I will share. Katyajini

I'm confused. Do you want a white to coordinate with the existing tile or are you changing the tile and thus just wanting a good "kitchen white?" Do you like high contrast, cooler whites or lower contrast warmer whites? Either way, there are 500000 shades of white. Most of the discussion on here is with the Benjamin Moore colors. BM Simply White is very bright but not too bright. Chantilly Lace is also very bright, more like a true white white. White Dove is nice white with slight gray undertones. Cloud White is nice, bright but with some warmer undertones. Linen White and Mayonaise are Mascarpone are all more creamy... But lighting affects absolutely everything so you will probably have to paint up some sample boards and live with them for a while to see how they read in your home. For example, I was sure I wanted White Dove. My friend has the same color and it looks gorgeous in her kitchen... but it looked more dreary in my kitchen with little light. Do a google search "White Cabinets Gardenweb" and you will find a bazillion threads about all the different whites.

I actually have the magazine because I was thinking neutral. But true neutrals don't look great in our house, they turn gray due to the insufficient natural light. So in an attempt to brighten up the place we went with light colors in the LR and KFR, BM gentle cream and 1/2 F&B cooking apple. I previously posted day-time photos but the colors didn't come out right on those. These photos were taken in the evening (pardon the mess from removing the old corner cupboards): One paint coat only so far, so they might get a bit darker after the second coat. I can't say I love that cooking apple, but DH and the kids do love it and really want to keep it. It is a very happy color without being irritating but the problem I have with it, it is so "clean" that I am afraid of glazed cream kitchen cabinets appearing dirty. It would look great with white but I don't want white. I can totally relate to what ttodd said about very light off-white colors not being as rich as you hope. In this case the kitchen is right next to our "formal" eating area so I do want to end up with a rich cream which looks great in the evening. However the kitchen has no windows where the cabinets are going (dead corner) so there isn't a lot of natural light during the day (which is also one of the reasons for going painted and not dark wood) so it can't be too dark either. After looking at paint chips again, I am not even sure the dining cabinets and the kitchen have to be the same color, the lighting is very different. Any ideas?

Nikkidan, There is also marble, soapstone, and a couple of others that some here on GW have used such as cement, stainless steel, and even copper. Just the large number of choices makes it kind of overwhelming at times, let alone that each one has its own unique qualities. Maybe start with thinking about what you have now and what you don't want. Think about what your budget is and what your might look good with your cabinets. I think many people do granite, which I found to have a lot of earth tones in them. Granite does hold up to many of the kitchen issues like heat, staining, etc.... I found on GW that there were many willing to use soapstone and marble too. One reason I did not look at laminate or corian was because I thought you could not use an undermount sink with them, but I could be wrong there. Maybe find some inspiration photos on line or on GW finished kitchens or think about what you like in your family/friends kitchens. I used quartz, which is somewhat heat sensitive, so no pots right off the heat. I loved marble, but for resale mostly, decided to choose between granite and quartz. Good luck and have fun with the quest for your countertop. Maybe post a pic of some of your other parts of the kitchen such as cabinets and flooring.