your budget isn't huge (i know that dosen't sound right...given you can buy a car for that amount of money...but cabs are dear) so first off i think you need to think about priorities for the spaces and your design hopes. if blue granite is your dream...you're going to need to go with a simple and pretty basic cabinet to keep your costs down. inset doors for instance...they're about an average 20% upcharge...paint, ditto that. but if you want formica, or a less expensivee granite say prefab from china, you can do more with your cabs. keeping your door styles simple saves a lot on the budget. my son's bathroom cabs were rediculously expensive...but thats because i fell in love with a very expensive finish and door style...thank god he dsen't have many cabs! personally i went with the best built cabs i could afford. i like the look of those simple consoe sinks, but is there enough storage in a kids bth with those? an idea to keep some costs down are to use unusual items for your vanety...like an antique dresser or other cabinet. its an easy retrofit to a pretty oak piece to make it work well...add either a well finished top, or a simple marble top...and you have a lovely piece.

I recommend Merillat Masterpiece cabinetry. They offer 16 styles in Hickory with 10 stain colors. The standard drawer boxes are solid hardwood dovetail with undermount, full-extension drawer slides and soft-close doors and drawers. They offer standard furniture board construction as well as plywood sides or an all-plywood box and have a limited lifetime warranty. Merillat Masterpiece is made in the same factory as Kraftmaid. Whatever you do, look at the warranty. It's a statement of how long the manufacturer thinks the cabinet will last. If someone offers you a product with a short warranty, ask yourself if you want to replace your kitchen 5-10 years from now.

When all the samples were paired prior to install they looked great together. I wanted a white tile backsplash to add a layer of texture vs. colour. I had about 20 different white tiles and they were all bright white or warm white. So I opted for a multi tonal tile so it would pull all tones of white/grey. Unfortunately, the backsplash is so cool and the cabinets are so warm it has made the tone difference look a lot greater than it should. I have full sun on the cabinets from 11:00 am until sun down every day so its a lot. We rarely need to turn any lights until winter when the sun sets earlier. I know the sun is a huge culprit. I have having built ins installed in my living room which is directly across from the kitchen (so I would have to paint them the same as the kitchen white). The entire back wall of my house is windows so I know I’ll have the same issue there. This is why I need to have the cabinets sorted before because it will drive me crazy to see yellow everywhere.

Step 1: Cut the individual colors out of the sheet they are in so you can see the color directly against the stone. White borders are useful when viewing a sample on a color you are going to be painting over, but not useful when comparing a color to an element that is staying. Step 2: Throw out any samples that clearly don't work with the stone Step 3: View the samples at different times of day and under daylight and artificial light. Throw out any samples that clearly don't work at each viewing. Step 4: Put the samples on the floor. Do they work with your floor? Throw out any that don't work. Step 5: Move the samples around the room. View them on vertical surfaces, not just flat on your counter. Throw out some more. Step 5: If you are keeping wall and trim color, test the remaining samples against those and throw out any remaining ones that don't work. If there are any other elements you are concerned about playing well with the cabinets, do the same for them. Step 6: Now with a much smaller pool of candidates, order large swatches (or sample paint so you can paint your own). Repeat steps 2 through 5 with the large samples. Step 7: Pick your favorite. If you can't pick a favorite by this time, they are all fine; throw a dart and don't stress.