There are plastic laminates that are imitating this effect quite well. I too prefer real wood. I would like to know from the builders what wood they used here as the base. We are considering vertical grain oak. This is beautiful.

These cabinets are made of koto wood with a charcoal aniline dye.

Theresa Franklin, I'm wondering if you can inform me about the therma foil cabinets, which unfortunately are in my kitchen. They are dark with a darker glaze (supposedly an upgrade the previously owners paid dearly for), dark granite, wood floor similar in color to the cabinets which makes my kitchen very dark (I am slowly losing my night vision, which translates to difficulty with this dark kitchen). I would love a white kitchen, but don't know if we can paint these cabinets or should just bite the bullet and replace everything. Any information on how to go about painting (pro, auto shop, etc), assuming it is possible, would be much, much appreciated. Thank you! Photo attached.

This link explains how to paint thermofoil cabinetry. Good luck!
http://www.doityourself.com/stry/painting-thermofoil-cabinets#.UJSpMIb63KE

Thank you very much for responding with this information. I'm voting for completely replacing the cabinetry. Maybe this will convince my husband not to attempt to sand and paint. Thermofoil, it seems, shouldn't really be sanded because the veneer is very thin. And our cabinets are in excellent shape. Maybe he would like to hang them in the garage. Anyway thanks so much, Theresa.

@missyme- A cost effective solution might be to simply reface the cabinetry. Meaning, replace the doors and drawer faces and any exposed finish panels. If you are planning on going with a painted finish you could simply paint the cabinet box faces and hang the new doors on the existing, repainted boxes.

T2THES DESIGN + BUILD - that is a simple idea I didn't even think of. And that would also solve another issue, which is that our cooktop is downdraft, with a very weak fan, and it is in a small island. I don't like it there. I like a perimeter cooktop with a strong hood fan. I had read that you couldn't put heat sources near thermofoil, which is why I had an island cooktop. So it would seem you just solved 2 problems for me and I am very thankful that you took the time to give my post some thought and respond. You are very kind! Thanks so very much!

We're happy that we could help! Good luck with your kitchen renovation!