I love painted cabinets. My kitchen will look something like this:

Here is a link that might be useful: [beautiful kitchen![(https://www.houzz.com/photos/gatsby-victorian-kitchen-boston-phvw-vp~445166)

Pretty, Carsonheim!

I went back and forth about this very thing in our planning stages. My husband is making our cabinets. I thought for sure I wanted our cabinets to look like the ones listed in the link below. We had originally purchased African mahogany wood for our kitchen and dining room cabinets. So, my husband went out and purchased maple wood. He started making the laundry and pantry room cabinets first out of the maple. We've decided to stain those in a mahogany stain.

So, when he got ready to start building the kitchen cabinets he planed the mahogany wood to see how it looked and we both fell in love with it in its natural state. So, we decided to use mahogany in the kitchen and dining and probably any cabinets in our family room as they are all open to each other. Our plan is to go with a tinted (mahogany) Danish Oil treatment before the coats and coats of finish he'll use. It's similar to stain but a better blending (or so he says). :-)

Here is a link that might be useful: Painted cabinets

I again could have wrote this! I initially wanted painted and still do. The hubby could care less. We have a 2 yr old and the cabinet maker told us that stained cabinets would look better longer, be more durable, camouflage better, an be easier to touch up. I don't know if this is true but he does make cabinets everyday. I wanted creamy cabinets with some sort if glaze but my better half thought they looked cheap. We even looked at some stained special walnut with a chocolate glaze which looked nice. He's making up some samples doors. I have no idea what to do, love me some painted cabinets though, good luck!

We went with stained...the kitchen is open to our family room with our more rustic wood stove area so we wanted the warmer tones in the area.

GF also went with wood in her kitchen, though she chose a lighter stain than I did and a different door style....both kitchens were from the same custom cabinet maker.

We went with a stained cabinet.

I don't mean to hijack this thread, but Annie, what granite did you choose? It looks great with your cabinets.

Do what you like and what goes with the style of your home. You will most likely still be using the same kitchen long after the white shaker trend is gone.

Our area also has mostly stained cabinets or cabinets that are painted ivory with a glaze. There is almost none of the pure white shaker style you see alot here. Personally I prefer a mix of painted and stained pieces. We choose white for the light airy feeling. Stained is definitely more durable, but I do love our white.

Cabinets and trim (base, cove, window, doors and door trim, etc) are all very personal tastes. But your best bet is, whatever your final choice is, do them all the same in order for maximum harmony and consistency. Nothing creates more discordant contrast than to have cabinets one finish and have wood base, window trim, doors and door trim all differ (at least in a given room or space). If your house has distinct rooms with doors that close one room from another, then you can easily change finishes if that's your preference.

Generally speaking, stained cabinets and trim always look darker and make the space look darker than painted finishes using lighter hues and values. For example, just look at the cabinets pictured above--they create a quite dark appearance.

Painted cabinets and trim, on the other hand, give an opportunity to not only create a lighter room, but also one in which carefully chosen and harmonious colors can breathe much more life into a space than, say, the ever-present walnut stain.

Which is easier to maintain and touch up? I'd suggest that neither will be fully resistant to a 2-year old with a hammer or similar hard object in her/his hand. But a painted surface is much easier to touch-up with a bit of matching paint than trying to sand, restain and refinish the entire stained cabinet door as a reult of two dings at the bottom.

Everyone has their own experienc and preference, so I hope this is helpful. Good luck on your project.

I had a white kitchen in my old house, and I never considered stained for our new house. While I admire many kitchens with stained cabs, for me, kitchen = white painted cabs. I adore light, and I adore painted trim. Every time I see a white kitchen on the cover of a decor mag...I stop and look. Truly addicted! :) Here are a couple of shots of mine. The cabs are painted maple.

I vote for painted cabinets in a white, cream, or light gray. i like the fresh airy look.

I'm seeing mixed cabinets now too. for example, painted cabinets with a stained island

nini804, I LOVE your kitchen! It's so pretty! Since you mentioned magazines, your kitchen could definitely be in one! :) Update: the wood samples I received from my cabinet co. for cherry cabinets were TERRIBLE. They now tell me that cherry takes a year or so to darken. The inconsistency in color in cherry itself, along with it darkening over time, caused me to "officially" sign off on white cabinets today! I do agree that wood will probably hold up better over time, but I went back and reviewed my pinterest and houzz boards, and 99.9% of my kitchens I've saved are white, light & airy kitchens! I chose white perimeter cabinets and a painted warm gray island. Now they're off to production and I'm not thinking about this again! Now I'm moving on to granite! ;) * I appreciate you all taking the time to respond. Many thanks!

I am putting pearl painted cabinets my new build...I needed to keep it light because it is going to be small.

Phoggie, I know what you mean! Another reason I chose white cabinets (actually off-white) is because I do not have any windows in my kitchen. I have a wall of windows in my breakfast room, but the actual kitchen doesn't have any. I thought light cabinets would work in there.

I'm in the south (LA) and we did white cabinets. Starting to see a little bit more of it where I am. I have to say I love how our kitchen turned out. I need to take better pictures now that we're pretty much settled (moved in the weekend before Thanksgiving):

Hoosier, my counter is chocolate truffle caesarstone.

GF's kitchen is Verdi Karzai granite.

This post was edited by AnnieDeighnaugh on Thu, Feb 7, 13 at 9:33

We're putting painted white cabinets in our new kitchen. I love the look but not sure I have any friends or family with white cabinets, just been scouring magazines for the last few years. DH didn't like the idea of all white so we will have a cherry island in a chestnut stain.
Southernmum glad you came over to the "light" side, lol.

nini804 & dash3108: Your white painted cabinets are beautiful! I am looking for a cabinet maker outside of California who makes a great white cabinet. Will you share your cabinet maker name?

I too could have written this original post. Our cabinet company happens to do a fantastic job with stained wood. I almost wish we needed more cabinetry from them because their stained wood is that gorgeous. But, in the end, we decided to do painted cabinets in the kitchen. Originally I wanted white, but ended up with Farrow and Ball light blue. I honestly could not love it more. We had them hand painted and the color and finish are absolutely perfect. My inspiration was Plain English Design's Spitalfields kitchens because they make sense with the Georgian aesthetic. Our cabinets are incredibly simple (though it took me months to realize that simplifying things was the right thing to do) and, if we tire of the light blue we can paint them easily. I realize the light blue is not everyone's "cup of tea," but it really suits me and our house. The room is full of all kinds of things and we don't have cabinetry or lighting in, but I'll update with a photo in a month or so when you can get a good idea of it.

Laura, there are several really fabulous images on houzz with kitchens that have both stained and painted cabinetry. I had a hard time ignoring those as I went down the direction we decided on.

We'll be doing cream-colored cabinets. I've been living with super-dated oak cabinets for the last 11 years, and I am soooo sick of them. I don't like darker woods, though, and I'm not particularly fond of blond woods, so that doesn't leave me many options ;)

Painted. I had cherry cabinets and had them painted BM linen white. My new house will have white cabinets.

These kitchens have been my inspiration for my new kitchen as we build. The wall of windows above the sink and the whiteness just make me so happy:

[Modern Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/modern-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2105) by Providence Interior Designer Kate Jackson Design

[Modern Other[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/modern-other-home-design-ideas-phbr2-bp~s_2105~r_33) by San Francisco Architect Charlie Barnett Associates

We are in the process of looking at different cabinet choices. But am fairly sure the cabinets will be off white, as well as the trim, and the island will be painted a different color. Thinking of maybe a sage green for the island. Our last kitchen was cherry and there weren't any windows in the kitchen, so it always felt dark. Looking forward to having lots of light and light colored surfacesI

We are doing a mix. An off white with chocolate glaze for most of the cabs while the island will be stained to match the chocolate glaze. I can't wait to have pics to show.

I'm a fan of painted cabinets. Ours are maple and painted black onyx.

Stained is less expensive than white painted so people often settle for stained because they can't afford white

I would love to do painted (but not white because it's too common these days) but my sons are door slammers and like bulls in a china shop running through the kitchen. :( I will unfortunately not get my beautiful painted cabinets but will probably get stained.

Carsonheim, Those cabinets are a bit upscale for me down on the popcorn farm, but the overall look is lovely -- especially the backsplash! I'm going with something very similar, and I'm excited about it!

Annie, I think your reasoning -- the kitchen is open to the family room -- is one of the biggest reasons people choose to go with stain.

PPS7, Your advice to "go with the style of the house" is great for the few people who live in a Victorian or a Craftsman, but my house (and the vast majority of my friends' houses) don't particularly "suggest" any particular style or era.

To zorroslw1:

You are right about the more expensive beautifully stained exotic woods chosen by fortunate people who can afford them. They are stunning. But I see a lot of stained maple in my area and very little painted white and while pricing them out I see why some people may choose stained vs white in some circumstances. White painted is difficult to achieve if on a tighter budget.

Nbouchard2, I've always thought the same thing: You can't do white WELL without spending money. If you want the really lovely white -- like the lovely, creamy, sunny white Carsonheim showed in the above picture, it's not cheap.

Cheap white looks ... cheap ... whereas cheap stained looks ... average.

Nbouchard2

i agree about the stained maple not always looking good. In the master, I have a stained maple vanity and it certainly doesn't come close to the cherry kitchen cabinets in looks. Maple is known for not taking a stain well. Maybe I will paint it:)

For me, white doesn't feel right unless it's inset or full overlay. Obviously others have different tastes. I still might do a QS oak island and priced it out vs painted maple and cherry... The price difference was a few hundred dollars, so nothing huge. I think it's more asthetics. I am also much less concerned about white painted cabinets around my three hellions (er.... Boys) than I would be dark stained, mostly because we have had a lot of dark stained furniture dnged up by them!

The 'look' isn't only color -- it's also the door styles. Inset doors look like 'furniture'.

Our lower cabinets/drawers will be slab either bamboo or natural cherry stain. Have not decided yet. Our uppers will be glass and metal.

suellen -- Very pretty. Be aware that there is an inexpensive 'laminate' that looks very much like bamboo.

Can anyone tell me how there painted cabinets are holding up? I want to use white kitchen cabinets in my new home but don't want to find out later they look shabby because of worn or chipped paint. I cook a lot so they will be used.

I went with white painted cabinets in my previous home. They were gorgeous, but after two years of living there, they definitely showed wear -- mostly little spots on the lower cabinets where the paint was chipped, especially on the ends of the island. In my current build we've chosen stained wood lowers in the hopes that they hold up a little better.

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No one uses pine for painted cabinets except a hack. Hard maple is what is used. Automotive clear is exactly the wrong product to use of hygroscopic wood cabinets. Amateur hobbyist misinformation and personal biases stated as fact.

Wood is hygroscopic. Metal is not . Thus the failure of coatings designed for metal when applied to wood.

Yes, there have always been white cabinets and stained cabinets. But just because they have been around a long time, doesn't mean that at a given point in time they aren't particularly trendy. And it doesn't take much time on these boards, or HGTV to see that frameless white shaker with some type of marble or marble like countertop is particulary popular right now.

I don't think there is any real point in continuing this (now deleted) discussion, we will go back and forth for days and no one cared to begin with. I suspect that you are more interested in not being wrong than you are interested in being right, so I will agree to that. You are right.