I can't see the photos.

hi Mandy & welcome,
in order for folks to see your pictures, you'll have to upload them onto the web somewhere, then link to them from inside a message here, using the code you can copy/paste from the photo website. Try Photobucket or www.tinypic.com. :)

Here is a link that might be useful: tinypic

I like a lot of contrast in woods...so if you're not interested in white (which has always been my choice, so I'm a little biased), how would a really dark brown be? Maybe close to an espresso brown. You could either do a plain, shaker style with the glass square cabinets above the regular 36" ones and then crown up to the ceiling--or, if you like that sleek modern look, you could do those shiny, patent-leather-ish cabinets (no idea what they're made of!) with the long pulls...some of them (I think) are zebrawood. Might look cool. But it's hard without seeing them.

Oh, and once you load them onto photobucket (if you use that site), copy the third line down on any photo an just cut and paste into your message here. Works like a charm;)

Sarah from Albany, NY

I can't see your photos, so can't see exactly the color oak you have...... but we just went thought this with our gold-colored floors, which are red oak. We originally thought we'd like a mid-toned wood like a slightly stained maple. We brought home sample pieces from the kitchen cabinet store, and looked at them against the floor on all kinds of light. The stained maple looked awful. The natural maple, which when new is really light, looked nice, but we knew that in a couple of years it would have yellowed, and look much the same as the floors. The natural cherry looked slightly light (because it was new and not sun-changed yet) but it looked the best; plus, within a few months cherry darkens up so it will look even better. That's what we chose.

I do think white would look great with the golden-toned oak floor... but I've just seen soooooo many white kitchens, and the style of our house begs for wood cabinets, so we chose cherry.

I recommend going to the cabinet place and asking if you can take samples home. They usually have stacks of little wood pieces for customers to try. Look at them in all light, day, night, sunny, cloudy. And remember that all wood will change with age. Cherry is one of the quickest, and it gets darker. Maple or beech will both darken and get a lot more yellow.

Stacey

I can't see your pics, either, but I have brand spankin' new golden oak floors ("golden oak" is the actual name of the stain, which was put on new white oak) and am using dark, espresso, almost black cabinets. They may be black by the time we're through with them, but my vision is a not-quite-black, sort of brown, espresso. I'm very much looking forward to the contrast.

I love a contrast between the floors and the cabinets, so either go with a dark wood cabinet or a light cream or white. Espresso is wonderful if you have enough light in the kitchen. Otherwise, go a little lighter than espresso but dark enough to keep a good contrast.

No pictures. Are you talking about the oak floors in your kitchen? I would think they would get 'messed up' during construction of your kitchen. You might need to refinish them when the work is done. If so, you could put a different stain, going darker or more neutral.

Just a thought.

Jane

I have espresso cabinets (Ikea Tidaholm) with golden oak floors-- specifically, Minwax golden oak stain. I actually chose this color, though many seem to run away from it these days! Sorry, these are not great pics, but I'm away from home right now and can't take more:

Here's a pic of the floors showing my cleaning pullout in action. Hmm, I guess the floor looks a little different in this pic-- time of day, I guess. Anyway, this I think is close to the color at midday (room gets lots of sun).

If you are attracted to white cabs, though, maybe this would be too great a departure. For what it's worth, I started out wanting white cabs with soapstone, and ended up with this instead. I still admire white kitchens but like that I have something a bit different. It is a very kid-friendly combination from a maintenance standpoint.

Also, keep in mind that you can refinish your floors if you want to change the color-- though it can be a major inconvenience and big $.

Thank you all very much, my kitchen doesn't get much nautural lights, so I can't go the esppresso route, but they do look very beautiful, love the contrast! So what stain should I be looking for to stay darker then the floor but also keep a nice contrast?
Here is a picture of my kitchen.

I personally love the look of a mixed expresso and cream cabinetry. I just want to know if you could fit all your current cabinets in an envelope and mail them to me. My cabinets in this house are almost identical to yours and I miss my pantry cabinetry horribly. I am in VA by the way!

Alicia

My cabinets have a cherry finish and I think they look fantastic with our oak floors: