Can't offer any advice, but I'll say this about that... I *love* your cabinet selection. GREAT!

Thanks boxiebabe. I'm still having a hard time deciding whether to go this route. It seems to me it could be easy to miss the mark and end up a little too contemporary. Can anyone tell whether I'm making a big mistake with this look?

I am no designer, but to me your dining room (gorgeous, BTW) reads very traditional. I'd stick with your first idea although I'd do wood rather than cork. I think that would tie the two rooms together. Those doors are reading too craftsman / contemporary for your DR.

i like your cabinet choice and i like the dining room. however, they don't go together. i think that the cabinet door style will be the coordinating factor, if you want to blend with your dining room...and it should be raised panel. just MHO. i wouldn't try to match the dining room wood color though...go darker or lighter. i don't think of soapstone as really country or really contemporary...i think it goes either way. i would not, however, pair a farm sink (apron front) with a formal dining room if you can see one from the other. good luck! kren

I'm so thankful for this forum. Valinsv directed me to Allisons kitchen on FKB and I think you're right, these doors on their own are great, but won't tie in with the DR. I love painted cabinets. Maybe something other than white will work. I can't do the raised panel but was thinking of a recessed door with applied molding in a muted colonial color could look really nice. OMG...you've no idea how long it takes me to choose paint color!!!

kren pa: Unfortunately, the wood floor in the kitchen has to come up. Not only is it in bad shape, but we've no room for radiators in the new design so are doing radiant floor heat. We just found out the rest of the floors can't be refinished (not enough wood left!!) so we may be replacing them throughout the first floor, ugh. Haven't even begun to think about what wood or color though.

Thank you all again. I feel like I'm beginning to make progress. I'm trying to get this decision made by the end of the week (all but the color, of course.)

There are a number of cabinet companies that make full overlay doors that give a faux inset look but I think most of them are framed cabs. They are traditional in style but not raised panel.

Here's one from Kemper called the Warwick.

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Decora also makes one called Braydon Manor

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For frameless cabinets, have you looked at Kitchencraft or Ultracraft? They have a lot of door styles. Ultracraft has a doorstyle called Darlington in their Vision line which is frameless with an actual inset door. It only comes in an ecru color and is a veneer not actual painted wood but very affordable.

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If you like the faux inset doors and want frameless maybe you could get a custom cabinetmaker to create that look. Many have found custom cabinets to be similarly priced to mid-priced brands like Kraftmaid and Kitchencraft.

I think that white painted Shaker-style cabs (inset best but full overlay perfectly acceptable) w/ soapstone counters and wood (not cork) floors would look fantastic with your dining room.

I love wood cabinetry but am having trouble seeing the wood tones w/ what I think is a lovely Old House Victorian dining area...and especially if you replace your floors with new wood floors.

I agree, I get overwhelmed but too much wood too. And I just saw pictures of a finished kitchen with cork floors and it looked so much more contemporary than I thought it would. I wish someone made a highly durable floor paint because I think wood cabinets with a painted wood floor would look great. I think I'll let the price guide me on the inset vs frameless issue. I think the paint and glaze upcharge is going to kill me. Thankfully, it's a small kitchen!!!