LakeGirl, the cabinets read ~soft~? Look at the picture with the library ladder. The sink and the fish platter are stark white. You can definitely see the difference between the cabinet color and the sink color. Can you see how the sink makes the counter look really gray and the wall look really yellow? The Creamy White just sort of softens the hues. So, I'm not sure how to answer your question. Yes, but no, not really. They mainly just look old in a well cared for sort of way. Another thing I will say about the creamy white as a trim color is that it seems to work with antiques and oriental rugs better than a stark white would. Hobokenkitchen, I love the honed quartzite. It is absolutely bulletproof. I didn't want any shiny surfaces, and to me the whites in the stone came out more when it ws honed. The honed Virginia Mist on the island is a little more tempermental. If you lay a stick of butter on it to soften, you will have a darker spot the shape of the stick of butter. It sops up oil. However, having had a few big parties over the holidays, with gravy, flaming baked alaskas, and whiskey sours christening it, all stains just become part of the story. A good scrub with a dishsoap and a scrubby sponge mellows the marks. For those hankering after a library ladder.My cabinet maker (Gary Luke at The Town Carpenter) made the ladder for me. He bought the hardware kit from the outfit linked below and used my flooring. He made sure to get an adjustable roller connection at the top, because the height needed for the bookshelf was different than the height neeeded to clear the counters on the lower cabinet. Here is a link that might be useful: rolling library ladder

Hi Wensilvernell, Thanks for the compliments! LL was very easy to work with. They gave us several samples while we were deciding on a final color. When it was time to install, DH took our golf cart trailer to their warehouse near downtown Jacksonville to pick it all up. We had no problems at all dealing with them. I will caution you that the pine dings pretty easy. Underneath my bar stools is pretty dinged up, but the kind you can only see when the light hits them. I think this is pretty common with pine. It adds to the character of the house, I think anyway...I wouldn't change it. I had floors in my last house where I freaked over every footprint and scuff. These are so much easier! Good luck with your build!

i actually do not as I have not made major changes. We ended up deciding to replace or update issues after prioritizing those that we think annoy us the most. For us, that was the exterior lighting (changed from gold to black), the first floor powder room (changed from a brass shower door to orb) and several of the fixtures. Next, we are going to swap out all of the outlets and covers from almond to white and the door levers from brass to chrome. The brushes nickel chandeliers that we installed made a huge difference. In the spring, we decided to get all new flooring, do something with those columns and paint all trim to white. The reason we held off on painting the trim was because we figured it would be easier and less expensive if we waited until taking the flooring off. Lots of work but we are happy in this house and breaking it down into manageable steps is working for us. Thanks

any suggestions ???