I agree, the whites won't most likely match and its hard to say without a picture, but what about the gray? I would think it would look better with the white and gray walls than the black. Even if it is a neutral, at least you're not introducing yet another color.

Hi Tosca, here are pics of our walk in pantry beneath the stairs. It's a funky odd space but we made good use of it. Pic 1 - the door is right next to our fridge (fridge & rest of the kitchen is to the right). This opens up to the section that I think is under the top of the stairs or perhaps it's under the 2nd floor landing. The ceiling is pretty high. Pic 2 - the pantry then wraps around under the stairs and behind the fridge. The door to the right leads to the furnace which is also under the stairs. Because the furnace may someday need to be replaced, we opted for a rolling cart for our coffee maker rather than a built in cabinet. Not shown: the wall directly behind the fridge. We have our mops and brooms hanging on that.

mark_rachel, that is what I told my husband! And, Oak & Board, I've been studying this off and on for at least a year. You are one of my favorite commentors. I have learned a lot from you. Both of the samples are solid hardwood not engineered. KD is pleased with the quality of the floor and barely there bevel. Haven't seen a white oak floor yet in Michigan. Well aware of matching existing flooring of which we have none. Need a little more visual interest than the white oak. Considered natural hickory and I think it is too much for me. In my area, everyone is used to red oak. Boring Detroit area suburbs. Not a high end home.

The counters look like they may be Corian, or a similar product. Although they do not do much for the wood of the cabinetry, perhaps, since they would be a significant cost to replace, use them as the basis for your design. I’ll suggest something rather daring, which is to add a deep periwinkle blue to the color scheme. Make sure to bring several paint samples home and hold them next to the countertop in different parts of the kitchen to see how it looks both in daylight and nighttime electric lighting. Paint any part of the wall you don’t tile including above the cabinetry. Honestly, if it was my personal kitchen, I’d paint the cabinets that color. You could paint them all, or a slightly lighter shade of the same color or white, just on the uppers is another option. Oak has a texture to the grain that “telegraphs” through the paint, and so you might want to experiment to see if you liked that, or the other option is to add the periwinkle blue to everything else, walls and backsplash. If you put up a tile backsplash, you MUST ABSOLUTELY remove the small existing backsplash first. Not to do so would be a mistake. If lie the idea o the color periwinkle, but are not sure about tiling or painting the cabinets, leave the corian backsplash, and paint the walls that color as a first step. I am certain you could find a pretty ceramic tile, perhaps a subway tile but with a deep bevel, to lend some interest, but look at other shapes and even combinations of tile. If you keep the cabinets the natural wood tone, do a periwinkle backsplash, but a white backsplash with periwinkle painted cabinets would be pretty, Here’s a white one from Lowes: