I currently have creamy white upper cabinets ,two 36"wide uppers have glass doors on either side of my corner sink. ( (Yes I love my corner sink) The lowers are dark stained birch. I have creamy white travertine look porcelain floor tile and St Cecilia granite which has a lot of orangish flecks so I painted my BS pumpkin. I did this house as a flip; we're living in it while we build The House. I picked the two color cabinets because the kitchen has two north facing windows and needed light, and it's smallish at 12X16. I wanted a white kitchen but couldn't convince my DH so we compromised. White on top, stained on bottom. Funny thing is everyone who comes here loves this kitchen! From friends and family to strangers who step in the door, to the plumber to the appliance repairman. All comment positively. So I'm doing a combo in the new house.

My answer is generally "not at all". When I design a kitchen--and they tend to be small--the lower has to have cabinets based purely on function. Sink base at least 30-36", DW 24, trash pullout 15"-18", range 30" etc. Also, the upper bank of cabinets is automatically 12" longer for each corner because uppers are shallower. I don't want to reflect the random widths of the lower in the upper, so I try to design those with doors as even in width as possible. The only time I match and balance with the lower is if I am doing an area that I want to look like a hutch or something.

Thanks for your comments all. Pantry idea: That's actually a good point. I thought we would have enough cabinetry but that may be the better idea to move the mudroom somewhere else, or we eliminate the coffee bar column next to the garage door and build another vertical column of cabinetry? It would be an open pantry if we had it where the mudroom is right now. Fridge: https://www.ajmadison.com/cgi-bin/ajmadison/RS36A72J1N.html That's the current fridge unit we picked out for the "budget" version. We thought about adding a fridge drawer down the line by having regular drawers in the island removed and changed out: https://www.ajmadison.com/cgi-bin/ajmadison/RB36S25MKIWN1.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cse&utm_term=RB36S25MKIWN1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIiLTz29KG3wIVi4rICh26SAMfEAQYBCABEgKwO_D_BwE But thats another 2800 or so in appliance cost that we are spending close to 8k for just refridgeration. Or we just go full hog, and forget about brand matching: GE Monogram https://appliances.monogram.com/us/specs/ZISP480DKSS#specifications-anchor We can get one for 9350. And this is 28 CU vs 20 CU with the FP Fridge (17) and drawer (3) The house is 3 bed, 2.5 bath, 2000 sq feet. I am building this with a small family of 3 in mind who works at the hospital or university that is just blocks away. And this house has the whole extended kitchen into backyard concept as a key selling point It seems like 17 CU a fridge may be small? Or am I just spoiled and distracted? It is starting to seem a lot more logical to bite the bullet, forget about brand matching as long as it is stainless to go with GE Monogram 48" 28 CU for about 3700 more than what I have to spend for just the FP 17 CU fridge unless I am overestimating just how much fridge a family of 3 that entertains truly needs.

Open shelving are great for photo shoots. They’re a terrible idea in reality. All the storage loss, the continual dust and visual clutter. Add another vote from me for removing the surrounds over the windows. And of course, scrubbing the uppers well before proceeding. You can take a door off and bring it in to be optically scanned for a color match. If you can afford a little work on the uppers, I would try a couple things. Find cabinetmaker who might be able to modify those doors by cutting down the trim around the doors and maybe applying a faux shaker trim to match. Also look into taking out the panels of at least a couple ad adding glass panes. Though I suspect that may start adding up to the same as replacements. No harm in discovery, though. You could keep the two tones, but I think I would paint to match (or even paint both a different color) despite the difference in doors. I would paint all the interiors bright white. If you take any doors off and leave shelves exposed or add glass, a colorful wallpaper or fabric in the backs would be pretty! Be sure to get the maker and style from the previous owner for future reference. A colorful backsplash will draw attention away from mismatched doors. Finally, change hardware for all to add cohesiveness. The knobs on the doors are visually awkward. They should all be pulls (get the same size as are already on the drawers) and they should be repositioned. Wood filler and touch up paint done well should disguise the poorly-placed knobs. Good luck and congrats!