mccarthy3, I have painted black lower cabinets & a mahogony colored floor. It as an old, 1922 heart pine floor that we restored by using floor boards from a closet in our attic. Yes, we have Heart Pine floors through out the house including the bathrooms (covered in tile). I chose a color on the Minwax chart & left it for the refinisher to copy. Do to a miscommunication, the floor was stained Mahogony (dark w/red tones)while I was at work. Nedless to say I was shocked when I got home & saw how dark the floor looked. I have to admit that the color has grown on me. It looks so rich against the black. It will also look so classic when I get the carrera marble installed on the counters. Best wishes with your choice.

In my previous home (2004 reno) I had charcoal/black painted maple base cabs. They were simple and traditional in style. I had chosen butter cream yellow uppers to go with it. My island was an antique pine piece from Scotland. It was all really beautiful together. Before placing the cabinet order we decided against uppers of any kind and instead I painted the walls the same yellow butter cream color the uppers would have been. I had crisp white trim and lots of art on the walls (both vintage and pops of contemporary). My countertops were cambria Victoria and that tied in the yellow and black together very well. It was a beautiful kitchen and I had many compliments on it. It was one of the biggest selling factors last year. I know dark painted lowers are not the same as your dark stained cabinetry but they have the same value. I've seen some examples in magazines or books...but I cannot remember where. I'll keep an eye out and if I find your combo of uppers and lowers I'll post again. For the what-it's-worth department, I can easily visualize your idea and I think it's fantastic. I'd do it in a minute. It surely didn't hurt my resale at all...even in an economic downturn. It only took 45 days to sell last spring.

it really is a personal preference, but i am doing my perimeter cabs in a cottage white with distressing and the island will be a tuscan sun cherry with distressing. i wanted to be safe at first and do it all white, but each time i flipped through a magazine my eye went to the contrasting color on the perimeter cabs and island. good luck with your decision; i don't think you can make a "wrong choice".

When you have scratches like that, the wood fibers get torn and those microscopic, fuzzy pieces preferentially absorb more stain when the floors are being stained. Once this happens there really isn’t a solution other than sanding the floor down. If this didn’t occur when the floors were stained, it means that something has been applied to the floors after scratches occurred, but the effect is still the same. The only practical solution is to ignore them.