I'm in the middle of designing our new kitchen and have gotten estimates from four different companies. The two truly custom shops don't upcharge for paint. The two kitchen design centers, which are basically middlemen who rep different cabinet manufacturing companies, will hit you with an upcharge. They told me that the reason paint is more is because there are more steps in the finishing process. Plus the good painted cabinets have a baked on finish...kinda like baked on paint with cars. The equipment needed to "bake" those cabinets is really expensive. Personally....I am going with a stained knotty alder because I just love the natural character and warmth of wood. I think all these white cabinets are very pretty, but impractical for us plus I worry about them looking trendy and dated years down the road. OK...I can lay money that someone will say that white is classic...maybe. But for the money I'm getting ready to plunk down...I'm going with classic, stained, custom cabinets that let the beauty of the wood speak for itself.