Your granite appears to have brown tones. Is that chocolate? I love black lowers...I had them in my previous home, but I wouldn't paint your cabs black with that granite...at least what I can see of the colors on my monitor. If that is chocolate brown in the granite, I think chocolate brown on the cabs would be rich and sophisticated. There is enough of the golden colors in the granite so it wouldn't be too dark overall, especially if you paint the uppers a rich cream color. I think that color combo would look great with the floors too. If you say the granite is black and not chocolate brown all I said it negated of course. ha

Thanks storklady! I do have some chocolate brown tones in the granite, but there are more black "movements" in the granite. I did consider the dark brown color (LOVE all the rich dark brown kitchens in the finished kitchen blogs), but the SW color consultant thinks black would go better .. Thanks again for taking the time to respond!

How about painting the lowers black, with a gold from the granite in the wells around the raised panels, and black frames on top, with the doors gold, except for the wells in black. That would be very dramatic!

Or black on the bottom with the raised panel in cream and the well in taupe, and cream on the top with the wells in taupe.

Or black on the bottom and a light taupe on top.

Or all the frames black, the outer rims of the doors cream, the wells taupe, and the raised panels alternating black and cream.

Or the frames black and the doors taupe.

Or all cream.

Or all gold.

Or all gold paint gold, with a little gilding wax rubbed on for good measure.

I sure hope you like black. There are some of us who would not even consider it.

Not only that, but there are some of us who ask "is this the before or the after picture?" I know you want a change, but your kitchen is very fashionable and is pleasant and airy right now. Beware of what you wish for.

I LOVE your granite... what kind is it? I think it is great idea to paint the island black (or even black/brown). I plan to have black/brown island and glazed cabinets... The glazing has much more depth and character than pickling. My opinion... I think having all black cabinets would look good, but think it might take something away from your granite. Have you considered glazed cabinets? I think that would look good too. I see some tile leaning on the wall... Is that the back splash you plan on using?

Wow! plllog, I had to read and re read your post to try to visualise what you are saying (I am just not good at envisioning stuff..) Now, I am more confused than ever! I will have to take my kids' color pencils and draw/color some cabinets, that might help! Anyway, thanks for your suggestions!

Florantha, I appreciate your frank comments! I am having a hard time making the decision, that's why I decided to post this! I do like the "light and airy" feel of the kitchen, and I think that's partly the reason I am afraid of doing black! We built our house 16 years ago and chose the pickled maple cabinets, and altho they are still in good condition, I think they look "dated". So, I feel that a coat of paint will really spruce them up. The question is, what color? Thanks for your honest opinion!

Oh! If you want light and airy forget everything I said before. Really. From the colors you mentioned and way you said them I thought you were going for drama and pizazz.

For light and airy, do cream with the kind of backsplash tiles you have in that picture, or a light taupe with white tile.

I vote for black island and cream with glaze for the perimeters. I DO think it will update your kitchen. Not that it looks bad, but I think the black will make it more "sophisticated" rather than country like the pickled cabs. I know what you mean...I had a serious country thing going for many years and I am now moving to something just slightly more sleek and modern-ish.

I think the room would NOT look too dark if you painted the island only black.

Paketa, the granite is spectrum classic. I haven't even considered glazing the cabinets (I read somewhere that painting over stained cabinets is easier than re-staining?) I am still deciding on the backsplash, I wanted glass initially but could not find the right shade, so decided to go with ceramic/porcelain tiles. The ones in the pics are my top choice currently! I have such a hard time picking one out! Thanks for your suggestion!

As someone who recently posted regarding our plans to paint our pickled oak cabinets off white, I can definitely understand why you want to update yours :) Our kitchen has a similar layout and tile floor as well. Wish we had your beautiful granite, though!

Are you planning to stay in the house long-term? If so, you can be a bit more bold and go all black. Might not be my first choice as the kitchen may seem too dark depending on your lighting.

For resale (and my personal taste), off white throughout or off white perimeter with black, brownish black, or dark brown island would look great. Glazed off white/cream painted cabinets instead of standard off white would look good as well ... would lean more towards black/brown or dark brown island in that case.

Personally, I'm not a big fan of different color upper and lowers, but that's just me.

The pulls will depend on your cabinet color. The long stainless ones will look great with black or off white. You might want to consider something less modern if you go with glazed cabinets, especially if they're more cream instead of off white. Antique bronze looks great with glazed cabinets (even with stainless appliances), but doesn't go with your faucet.

I would take your cue for pendants from the hardware you end up choosing.

I have an almost identical layout kitchen like yours, with a french door on the right hand side off your picture and then family room with lots of windows. Because my kitchen has only one small window (just like yours) over the sink and the window is facing north, the kitchen was never very bright. I don't feel qualified enough to suggest what color to use, but I know for sure that if you want the light and airy look like I did, painting all the cabinet black will defintely not give you that.

My cabinets are white and I ended up picking a light colored granite.

Another vote for cream perimeter and a dark island. I think it would look fabulous!

Another vote for cream perimeter and a darker island!

Amy

me too--creamy perimeter and dark island

I think if you did black cabs, it would detract from your beautiful granite, plus darken the room too much. Another vote for cream perimeter (glazed w/ a dark brown) and a dark brown island.

You mentioned the SW lady suggesting black. One thing you could do to get a better color perspective is paint a large sheet (or two) of foam board black and then do a set in dark brown, then tape them to your island. Then, if you are still undecided, post those pics and we can vote :-) I have a feeling, though, that once you get a good look at your island w/ a large amount of the color showing, you will pretty quickly know which you prefer.

Yet another vote for a cream or very pale taupe perimeter and a black island. I think that would look divine with your striking granite and update your cabinets completely. Although it looks good now, painting the cabs will make it look like a completely new kitchen.

I agree with the others ...cream with a glaze for the perimeter. From the monitor, I would say chocolate brown for the island or black for the island. I think black perimeter would be too dark, too dramatic, and not the best match for the floors.

Okay, I'm going to be the naysayer here. I think in this particular kitchen having the island a different color than the perimeter lowers wouldn't be as nice as painting them the same color. There's too much similarity in visual weight. I think it's going to look confused to have them black and cream, like they're in different kitchens.

If you really want different colors, I'd keep them in a more similar light/dark value. Cream perimeter with light taupe island. Or light gold. But light, to preserve that light and airy look.

I see cream wall cabs and dark brown lower cabs and a cream island.

I am a SW paint "fan", but my experience withe All-Surface enamel was not good. We just finished renovating my parents' house for sale. We painted the kitchen cabinets with Pro Classic in "Creamy" and it was a pleasure to apply. Conversely, we chose a dark brown color for the master bath cabinets and the color was not available in Pro Classic. The paint was much harder to use and even with an additive it did not flow well and showed brush marks.

I vote for cream cabinets and island. Your granite is gorgeous. You can use a dark brown for kitchen towels to bring out that color. Your back splash tiles look beautiful. I'm sure whatever you pick will be great!!!

I'm another one on the cream perimeter and dark island bandwagon. I think that would look great with your STUNNING granite!

And regarding the SW pro classic paint not coming in black... I'm under the impression that they can mix paint in any color. (For example: I only wanted low VOC paint, but picked all our house colors from the 'big' BM fan deck -- not just their low VOC line colors. Then I found out that my painters preferred SW. So they mixed all my color choices with the SW low-VOC paint.)

So I'd ask again (another person if you have to, maybe call SW) whether you can get the color you want mixed in the paint line you want.

I vote for cream and a dark brown island...I just ordered some pendant lights yesterday..maybe you would like them too so heres a link..

http://www.potterybarn.com/products/hundi-lantern/?pkey=cpendants

If the link doesn't work just check out the pottery barn website...under Hundi pendant

I vote for creamy perimeter and a deeper, richer cream or taupey colored island. My thinking is that a black island will kind of swallow your incredible granite, with all the dark veins and rivers in it. I think a lighter paint on that island will make the top pop even more, and you will keep the eye floating around the room and being drawn to the drama of that stone.

But that is just me.

The granite is stunning, regardless.

The granite is so striking -- like a marvelous abstract painting -- the cabs are nice and plain and should be a quiet frame. The granite is the same on the perimeter and island, and it seems that the color of the cabs should be the same too -- I would go with a light taupe pulled from the tones of the granite.

Wow! Thank you so much for all your feedback! I did not expect to get so many votes for "cream/glazed" cabinets. That was actually my third choice. I am afraid of doing black, for fear of making the room look dark, so I was toying with the idea of a taupeish color, but looks like most people aren't too crazy abt "taupe" cabinets (including all my SIL's) The reason "cream" color was the third choice was that it would be so close to what I already have and hubby said "why paint, then!" .. What does he know! ...

I wonder if someone here could tell me how to photoshop colors on the cabinets. That would helped tremendously!

Anyway, I do have a contemporary home, and even though I love the look of glazed cabinets, I feel that they would not go with the style of the house? Family room has black leather sectional... Formal living is black and creams, maybe I have too much black already!

big bay window in the eat-in so I do get lots of light from it (all day long) I took this picture on a rainy day, so it doesn't look as bright ..

You can enter some photo forums and request that they change the colors and they would do it instantaneously.

Just google 'photo forum'.

"I sure hope you like black. There are some of us who would not even consider it."

I take no personal offense at that statement, but it's very narrow. Isn't that what makes the world more interesting...diversity? My previous kitchen was beautiful with matte black painted maple lower cabinets. I had no uppers...just art hanging in that space. the cabinets weren't heavy looking, nor did they make the room too dark. It was a beautiful space.....and understated...quite like the proverbial black cocktail dress, a classic. I had tons of natural light...one solid wall of windows and my wood floors were oak with no stain so they weren't dark. I would agree it depends on the kitchen, style of house, countertop, lighting, etc. Decora cabinets used to send potential clients over to see my kitchen anytime someone was considering black. I wish I could post photos, but I only have the real estate tour and you can't snag stills from it. The house sold in 45 days during the worst of the housing crunch. The buyers specifically said they loved the kitchen at the act of sale. So there are also those of us who would and have chosen black. Like everything else...it depends on the big picture.

I guess I feel the same way about taupe as some folks feel about black. Go cream!

There are so many wonderful ideas from GW.
I love the idea that you had of black.
Especially looking at the other elements in your home.
And taupe does not scare me at all but it has to be
the right taupe color (Not gray or green based). Then
the idea of cream and blackk sounds simply yummy.

I can not vote. Tooo many wonderful ideas.
But here are some images to imagine the possibilities.
~boxer

Kitchen 10 google image

Shadows and light kitchen remodel

Attic magic

Pensive blog This does look a bit dark but pretty

Syracuse

Christopher Lee Plumber blue granite

Astoria

Water Front Homes

This is from Traci29 A garden Webber

Lindsey Buckingham's Kitchen

Boxerpups, you are so kind to attach all those kitchen images. I love them, especially the astoria, waterfront homes and shadows and light .. Thanks for taking the trouble to find them!

I do feel that somehow I am drawn towards the "gray" and "taupe" kitchens! But based on the feedback here, I am going to try to imagine cream cabinets and see if maybe I could convince myself into doing cream!

Thanks again everyone for all your input!

Whoooaaaa Nelly,

If you feel drawn towards taupe and grey do that.
This is YOUR kitche,n and you want to love being in it.
As long as the colors match your granite it will be beautiful.
~boxer

I'm with boxer...dont' convince yourself to do cream when you are drawn to gray or taupe. She's right...as long as the color matches your counter it will be beautiful and it will be yours. that is the only thing that ultimately matters. Go check out the Zgallerie website....according to them gray is the new neutral.

I am with boxerpups, your kitchen with a beautiful granite. gray, taupe, black or cream would go beautifully. The black cabs she showed above are beautiful.

Oh, sclee, I only said yes to cream (vs taupe) b/c I thought that was a choice *you* wanted--if you prefer taupe, by all means, go for taupe! Not only is it your kitchen :-), I think it would look just as great as the cream I originally voted for.

It looks like there may be some gray in the granite..?
If so, my vote is for a charcoal gray - something like 2nd & 3rd photos in boxerpups inspiration photos.
That would complement the modern clean feel of your living room/ dining room.
Not sure how it would work with the tones of the flooring.

Here's a vote for black - if you're concerned about making kitchen too dark perhaps you can convert some of your uppers to glass? I'm sure taupe could be great - but after a negative taupe bathroom experience it's a color that scares me :)