Petlovermarcie - I'd love to know what you decided on: White or dark cabinets? I'm in the same situation you were in and I can't decide! :)

There is no right or wrong. It's what is most appealing and comfortable for you. Both are great choices. There are different feelings you will feel from light vs dark. It also depends sometimes on your current style and furnishings that is you, unless you prefer moving in a different direction. I don't think one of these colors is the only right way to go. Design can be trendy, doesn't mean it's considered correct or the right choice at the time. Not fond of trends :)

Classy comes in many styles and colors :) It is about all the choices in a room to make it feel (your definition) of classy.

It's really comes down to personal preference. But for smaller kitchens you can hav a darker lower cabinets with a light upper ones.

@petlovermarcie: if you're considering thermofoil, search on the pros and cons on houzz. I would go with wood or paint. But hopefully by now your initial concept (wood) has been validated.

Hi,
A quick note about our experience: We consistently design between 70-90 kitchens/year (for over 34 years) and have designed thousands of kitchens.....We also design full structural including below-grade foundation plans.....Our 2 Chicagoland offices cover the Wisconsin to Indiana borders and we've recently opened a new satellite location in S.W. Michigan.....Anyway, there isn't a really right or wrong answer since so much depends on your taste.....To answer your question, we do a lot of dark cabinetry.....It's still very popular but your room light can be a factor.....They will darken the kitchen.....Perhaps a combination of both?.....On our Houzz page take a peek at the "Dado", "Miha" and "Pearl" kitchens.....Hope this helps a bit.....John & Brigitte

I agree with John & Brigitte. It is really a matter of taste. I love the look of light cabinets and dark counters in some spaces and dark cabinets and light counters in others. I think it is
more important to use all of your vertical space and build your cabinets to the ceiling than it is to use a light cabinet color. Do you have kids? Dark cabinets are better at hiding dirty finger prints.
Hope this helps!
Celia
www.celiabedilia.com

It's your kitchen, your home there for it's your taste that counts. Go for something you love and are likely to love in the future. A kitchen isn't seasonal it's also not a fashion accessory don't follow trends follow your style, if you go with other peoples taste you are likely to tire of it quickly there for it's a false economy. Decide if you are traditional, country cottage, contemporary, bachelor pad, minimal and just go for it.

you guys are awesome! Thanks for all the comments. I absolutely pained over these cabinets....along with a few other selections (building a house is stressful, and I've found myself second & third guessing many things). I decided to stay with the Dark Espresso Shaker-Style Cabinets, beautiful Tumbled Travertine elongated tiles, placed horizontally, and Brown Persa Granite Countertops. I'll post pics as soon as everything is installed, which shouldn't be too far off now since they just finished sheetrocking!

Great.....Will be fun to see!.....John & Brigitte

I live in South Florida, where you would think everyone would have white cabinets, but not so. ( I am not in South Beach, however! LOL) My friends lives in a high end neighborhood that is Mediterranean Style, (this style is all over our area). She is on her second home there, and both of her beautiful kitchens were very dark wood. In fact I have never seen a white kitchen in the whole neighborhood.

Where I live (a Key West Style neighborhood) the builder offered cabinets in a few stains, white, and a beige painted with a glaze. I would say at least 25% of the homes that I have been in have the darkest cabinets that were available.

In my remodel I am going with a coastal style, so I am using beige with a glaze because it goes with the Key West style of our neighborhood, and I prefer that over white cabinets. But, I have always felt that the stained cabinets looked warmer and higher end (which of course has nothing to do with the cost!)

It's too bad I only have one house, otherwise my second house would be in the mountains in Banff, with deeply stained wooden cabinets and a large stone hood over my cooktop!

How dark are the cabinets and the granite? Just curious :) Is there some contrast between the two?

Why not mix it

I am a Realtor and I am seeing the new builders doing everything from dark to light/White... I think it has more to do with the overall look of the home and style. I personally think these trends mean nothing when it comes to style... I have seen White kitchens look cheap.. but another house will have incredible White painted cabinets with light granite and look stellar. I would stay away from contemporary cabinets (they are a hard re-sell unless you are in a Downtown City with lots of young buyers) stay traditional and you should be good. BTW Gold is coming back... I am seeing it more and more in new homes (although again it is not the same brassy Gold that was so popular in the 80's/90's.) I remember when honed granite was all the rage a few years ago... it is out (as it is hard to live with.. but you know designers.. always pushing the unlivable/unreasonable) I would also stay away from Cement/glass/stainless counters (odd and a hard re-sell) I would stick with tradition and you cannot go wrong. Shelley Sellars www.MyAgentShelley.com

Dark stained cabinets with a lighter granite counter sounds beautiful. I'd look at a different color on the island (paint or stain) just as an option. White cabinets have been very popular for a long time now. They make a nice, clean, bright kitchen. But the stained wood is a nice, rich look, and the lighter granite will create a nice balance. Thermafoil tends to start peeling after a number of years--it's my least favorite kind of finish.

One thing I have noticed through the years is that white is always in style. Lots of people like the darker cabinets as well.

We are renovating and have ordered dark stained cabinets. Why? I had white at our first home in the 80s, Cherry in our last home, and now want something different. My neighbors may gasp or discuss the longevity of my choice, but I am going to walk into my kitchen every morning in search of my java and smile. I will think, "I like it!" This is my last move. Future buyers can deal with it. Whatever.

A comment from a reformed flipper......after 10 houses, 20 yrs, extensive entertaining, 2 children & white cabinets of every variety and build I hope to NEVER have to clean another white kitchen. The glaze eventually fails and the color is no longer available or the bead work separates, or the new cleaner you purchased makes a stain.

If you enjoy cooking and entertaining remember to mention this to your designer. They can help you identify sturdier natural alternatives.

Going through the same dilemma - white, cream or dark cabinets? I do like them all, but have to be true to myself, I am drawn to the richness of cabernet-stained cabinets. Sure they might be "early 2000", but what is so sought after in 2014, will be "out" in a few years. In the end, please yourself and don't worry about resale or what others think. My style is "transitional".

Exactly what anokasams said ... took the words right out of my mouth! I'm in the same boat, currently planning my custom build and trying to decide between white painted maple and stained maple (medium dark, like what I currently have). If you have kids, I wouldn't do white -- they will be dirty all the time unless you like to clean constantly. If no concern about the dirt-factor, just go with what YOU like and think will be happy with long term. Who cares what the trend is currently? Good luck!

I didn't have time to read all of the posts. Dark wood is coming back. I'm an authorized dealer for three cabinets lines. They have all introduced darker wood stains both this year and last.

As I had stated above, I am so happy I stayed with my choice of Espresso Shaker cabinets. The only issue I have is that they show dust horribly, and grime way more easily than lighter colored, wood grain cabinets do. I find that I am constantly having to wipe them clean.

I'm personally sick of seeing white kitchens but I think the most important thing is to find a style and color that works with architecture of the house. White kitchens would fab in a colonial or cape cod, darker would look great in a mediterranean, medium wood tone would do great in a mcm. That is a oversimplification of course, but keep in mind how much light your kitchen gets, what detailing would compliment your house, etc. and you'll probably start to see design come together that fits your personal aesthetic.

What makes kitchens look bad is when a cookie-cutter mentality is used with no regard for how it fits in with the rest of the house. Every style and color will have a place where it looks fabulous regardless of what the 'trends' are.

There are a lot of different colors your cabinets can be. From the light or dark -- even soft blues or greys. Check out more here http://carolinaheartwoodcabinetry.com/our-products/premium-paint/

I choose a darker red-brown stained alder in a shaker style in a rental I plan to move into because I love painted shaker cabinets so when these get trashed I can paint them teal. I would never buy new teal cabinets, but I would paint old ones in a second.

2 year old post.

We are building a house and I too am having a difficult time with kitchen cabinet color. We are thinking about installing shaker style light maple cabinets with "pebble" quartz countertop or white.

Keep in mind...there will always be a lot of painted cabinets out there, which by no means makes dark cabinets out of style. If you purchase a house that has stained cabinets that you don't like, you would paint them. If you want to update your existing cabinets that are stained, most likely you will paint them. Since the economy crash in 2008, we have had more people remodeling on tighter budgets. Because building was down, more people were remodeling, and on tighter budgets. That lead to a lot of painted cabinets! Rest assured, we still sell a lot of dark stained cabinetry.

I just recently ordered cherry cabinets with a cinnamon finish. I too could not decide, but I have always wanted dark. So I went with my first decision.

Old post.

Ok I need help please! I have a small kitchen and it's dark not much sun light coming in. I would like to paint my cabinets but I'm not sure if I should go dark espreso or white. my furniture is modern for the most part. I have dark brownish granite and brown/ kakhi tile backsplash.

scadena1, I think you might get more help by starting your own thread and if possible also have some pictures:)

scadena1 - a white kitchen will make the room appear larger. Espresso in a small kitchen with no light wouldn't be ideal. Modern furniture would look great with white, look at the houzz contemporary and modern white kitchens. As an alternative, look into contemporary and modern kitchens that use white rift oak...very modern, light and will be timeless. White rift oak might be easier to clean, but if the kitchen is small a white cabinetry will be nice too. I'd do one of these two options.

I don't really care for the "paint everything white" fad that seems so prevalent right now. In my new kitchen I have Maple cabinets in an "Allspice" stain, so it's definitely darker. I love it. It's your kitchen, so what YOU want because you can't please everyone! :)

I love my cherry cabinets and we replaced the white ones that were originally here.

I've been wanting dark cabinets for years now, but after looking at almost 100 houses before buying our current house, I am over the dark cabinets. I like the crisp, clean, and spacious feel of white. I've always thought white was dated, but with s/s appliances and the right fixtures, countertops and accents, it is very up to date.

Just built a new home moved in Set 8, 2016. Builder said I was only one currently being built with dark cabinets, they match my hardwood floors. All trim is SW Divine White. We have a mixed color of cream, tanish color, and brown streaky looking granite. Backslash is tumbled stone kinda beige. Color on walls is SW Macadamia, ceiling a lighter color on SW paint strip. Have heavy crown moulding also in SW DIVINE White.

Hall bath cabinets are dark, but I went with white in Master Bath.

Love. Love the dark cabinets and so much easier to keep clean. (Messy husband) I'm 78 and he is 81.

Still living independently.

Hope info helps.

LB is correct. White phase will pass as all colors do. If you are not worried about immediate resale, go with what you want to wake up to everyday. Just because it is "in" right now does not mean it is right for everyone.

I've always wanted white cabinets for my kitchen area but I ended up with Espresso Tahoe which I found it nice that blends with the interior and exterior natural scheme of the house that I am bound to build. So overwhelmingly a lot to choose from at the Design Studio Center but to make it simple and black and white came great altogether with the marble backsplash and Emser Melbourne tile flooring .

I just remodeled my kitchen with dark, andI LOVE it! New island light is going up, today.

Here it is with the new lighting. I think it is a more elegant look than white. Just MHO.

And I think maybe you can show off your new (medium-wood) kitchen somewhere other than a 5-year old thread! Is it even the same question at that remove?!?

Sorry, acm, but I don't understand your question, "Is it even the same question at that remove?!?" :-)

Okay guys, sorry it took me 4 yrs to follow up on this original post, but to tell you the truth, I just really finished decorating above cabinets with the Eat/Drink decor...I've been looking for ideas, and I'm a big fan of word art, so here it is, in all of its rich, dark, dramatic glory! I am so happy I stuck with espresso cabinets. Let me know what you think!

I think it looks great. I need to choose colors for my new kitchen and I was planning on a similar style so this thread has been extremely helpful!

your post has been extremely helpful! We are building a house and I have appreciated reading the back and forth...light versus dark cabinets. I'm still trying to make up my mind. I noticed you have a double oven ...we're also going back and forth between having a range with a possible extra oven, or doing a cooktop with double oven. We have the space, I'm just not sure I really need the double oven. We do entertain about 4 times a year and I do like to bake, but have made due with a simple 30-inch range up until now. Have you ever regretted getting your double oven?

What color did you end up using for your island?

Dark cabinets or painted cabinets will always be in style as far as I am concerned. The design, accessories, and the functionality of the kitchen are more important than picking gorgeous cherry cabinets or painted white and colored cabinet. Design your kitchen stove first and hood above. Always choose a gas cooktop. You will have no regrets and will love cooking even more. I prefer a double oven, and an extra large refrigerator. Design a large kitchen island that can sit at least four people. White perimeter cabinets are my absolute favorite, easier to decorate. Paint will pop better, decorations on top of cabinets will stand out. Double stacked cabinets are gorgeous to display things in. The kitchen island is where the fun begins. Blue kitchen islands are all the rage, any blue that matches your decor. Cherry islands are gorgeous, too. White cabinets on the island are beautiful, too. Countertops choose anything that you want to see for the next 30 years! Something that makes you happy!!!

@Donna How are you liking your cabinets. Do you feel the same now as you did when they were installed? I just put in same colour but now I am having doubts as Insee so many nice whites, greens and blues