I like the look of stained because a hint of the natural wood shows through. We have cream/tan stain on maple and it's nice but we have a ceramic-look (lino) flooring.

I have stained cabinets with hardwood floors. I am a fan of the light color that really lightens up and opens the space.

I can tell you the painted route is definitely cheaper. You don't have to worry about having as high quality wood and the painting process is definitely less time consuming than staining.

We originally budgeted to do painted cabinets but ended up going with stained. In the end, like icequeen mentioned above, its nice seeing a hint of the natural wood through the stain.

Here is a link that might be useful: My Kitchen!

Most of the manufacturers I deal with charge more for paint. Perhaps the cheaper painted doors Scott speaks of were MDF? If you're getting painted cabinets, I don't know as the wood matters. Something like oak will look a lot different than painted birch or maple (just because it's got a wide open grain) but there shouldn't be a whole lot of difference between painted birch or maple and painted mdf.

Here's a pic of my stained alder w/ hickory hardwood floors.

Crazyhouse6, I love your kitchen cabinets and your floor is beautiful. I love how your island brightens up the kitchen and giving it that new updated look with islands a different stain/color than the kitchen cabinets.