I had a ball looking at all the hardware, too. But, I'm getting some arthritis in my hands and wanted everything I chose to, not only look great with my news cabs and coordinate well with each other, but feel good to use (no sharp edges, etc). I love Igloochic's cool hardware, but most would hurt my hands, I think. I ended up going with bin pulls, two different sets of knobs and one other set of pulls for my kitchen, all in the antique pewter finish. I had the hardest time choosing the right refrigerator door pulls, as most were too thin or uncomfortable when I pulled on them. But, in the end, I found the "perfect" ones and they look great together and feel good to use, too.

I'm the same as you Basil50, so I understand how hard (and overwhelming) it can be. A couple of things that might help: - Look at pictures on the internet (and here in FKB) to get a feel for what color/style combo makes your heart go "I love that!" (For instance, are you drawn to light or dark, reds/greens/browns/creams/multi, simple/busy/chunky/ or flowing like the river, etc.). - Also know what budget you want to stay within. This will help limit what stone color/types to look at and will help the sales person/fabricator make the proper suggestions for you. It will also help you not waste time looking at those those that, although beautiful, don't fit "your" target dream look or your budget. - Once you know the above, when you see something that looks like it might work, ask if you could put the slab on hold and take a square sample (or 2) home with you (make sure it has the same tones). Or maybe even take a couple of samples of the ones you like at the same time. I know this option doesn't totally resolve the dilemma of seeing the big picture, but it will at least allow you to see all of the colors together in your own home, in the proper lighting, and with no pressure or distractions from the other stones. My experience unfortunately was not so easy, which is why I am suggesting what I wish I would have known then. I went in blind so it was quite a time consuming learning process for me (the GW crew here taught me a lot too!) When it came to samples, I found that most places didn't have (or wouldn't give) samples of many of the stones I was looking at, which I found very frustrating. Making a big $ decision like this without being able to see it in my home made me very nervous. So, like you, I started bringing everything with me (2 cabinet doors - light perimeter and dark peninsula, floor tile, and even a big board with my paint color). I looked at several different slabs at several yards over the course of a few months (the hours these places have made this process a whole like longer than it had to be!). Like you, I really liked many of the stones. But 1 day after feeling pretty drained & overwhelmed, standing right before me were 2 absolutely gorgeous slabs that my eyes opened wide for. They were exactly what I had been looking for and I knew I wanted them! They were actually on hold for someone else so I asked the girl if she could call to see if they still wanted them (I think she was shocked that I asked). She made the call and lucky me they didn't so the tag was switched to my name immediately =) Since then I have never doubted my choice. My counters are planned for installation next week - I so can't wait! Good luck to you, and take whatever time you need until it "clicks" =)

I am not a fan of glazes personally over lighter colors. I think they can add some depth and texture over wood colored stains. We are in Austin Texas and I was talking to the cabinet supplier and he said they are getting less requests for glazes these days and since trends can take a while to reach us that makes me think they aren't all that popular anymore. If they are loosing popularity here then they have been our for a while everywhere else. This of course is just my opinion. I think a warm white or ivory is the way to go. Not a stark white. Make sure your trim doesn't clash if there is a lot near the cabinets. I've been asking and the BM colors that seem popular for cabinets are Dove White This has gray undertones Mascarpone This is slightly yellower and Simly White Our builder doesn't use BM but we will choose one of the 1st 2 I listed and have it matched. We are also doing wood floors. We had 2 options with our supplier for painted cabinets. One was a factory applied "paint" over MDF and the other was a painted on site over maple and that's what we chose. I like the imperfection of a painted finish. The factory finishes look off to me. Almost plastic or something. WE are doing a white granite because we can't get Marble but if we could that's what I would get. We are also doing our BS in a white subway in a herringbone pattern. Appliances will be SS. Good Luck Are you doing a custom build or remodel? If I was doing totally custom I would do cabinets with inset doors. I love them.

Jam: The Lugano floor by DuChateau was wonderful! It hid dents and dog scratches and the color was exactly what I loved...and it was a great price! If you are fine without sand-in-place flooring (expensive!), then you should go ahead with this flooring. I am definitely going to have exactly the same brand/color when we re-do our new house in April. It got raves from relatives and friends, and while that certainly wouldn't be my deciding factor whether people thought it was beautiful, the fact that it was so darned great for our common area IS the most important thing. The variation in color didn't bother me...as you saw from the pictures, once installed they blended pretty well. Admittedly I did "throw out" three boards that were too dark. During install the workers put one in and immediately I saw it and said, "Not that one!". The rest were all good. I did find another oak flooring that came close to the color I wanted--it was a white oak with an oil finish but was more than twice the price. Since I had a 42 x 22 ft room, that added up pretty quickly and I opted against it. I think it was a custom stain too. They also needed 3x the amount of time to install since it was not engineered, but full wood. I can look back in my files and see what the name of that company was if you are interested. We didn't have the budget, but you might.