You probably already know the house is great as-is even though it was built over 20 years ago (LOL-I thought that must have been a typo and you meant 200 years until I saw the pics!)

1. I have seen crown molding that differs from cabinet colors but typically I have seen white crown with wood cabs. I think'll it will look fine since the ash crown will be in alignment with the rooms next to it that are open. Will any cabs be left as-is? That might help tie the crown to the rest of the room(s).

2. In my old kitchen I had white trim (and crown) in the kitchen with maple cabinets and also oak stairs (with white spindles). The floor was maple. I think you can mix but you have to consider where you will switch from painted to wood to make sure it is not glaringly obvious.

3. I'd keep the same white as the eye sees it in the great room and the kitchen. It doesn't have to be exact but I guess I would not go cream with one and bright white with other. So long as the lacquer is not really shiny, I think that is standard (but I'm no expert). I'm not visualizing the black subway though. It seems a bit more contemporary than the rooms will be..have you considered slate or granite or even a tan stone (faux or real)?

4. I think you can paint the living room built-in's and leave the crown alone. I'd do whatever you end up doing in the kitchen.

5. You didn't ask but the answer is "yes, I am lazy and I would not touch any of this. It is nice as-is and way too much painting for my energy level!!!"

Good luck with whatever you decide. I cannot wait to see others' responses who are much less lazy than I am/much more creative and with a better design eye!

I am trying to bump you as I think you have a lot of good questions. You may also try posting with the pics in the kitchen forum!

Thanks whenicit! I am going to post in the kitchen forum as well and see what we get. I am really leaning toward embracing what we have...which is definitely nice...and if I ever win the lottery or the gift of hours and hours of time, I might go all white someday! I realized that if I wanted to go all white I would also have to paint every single wall and that is just not in the cards right now!!

What do you think about leaving the cabinets in the family room (off the kitchen)natural but going with a white mantle and white tile of some sort??

making the link

My own personal feelings: why dedicate yourself to all the painting...and the touch-up painting that is sure to follow; when it looks SO GREAT already?
The wood is super nice quality, unless the pictures deceive me. I'd be sad to paint over such beautiful wood!

Sometimes tastes change. But once you go "there", you really can't go back. Maybe you are in love with a vision of painted trim in your head (I am too!) but if I moved into a house with such great woodwork; I'd definitely reconsider my preconceptions. Honor the wood.

Hi there:
I haven't posted much on this site, but I'm in the middle of a big remodel myself and have been agonizing over many of these same decisions. I really love the look of painted cabinets and trim, so if it were me I would paint it all. You have such amazing space in that HUGE kitchen and family room area and i absolutely love the black island color. So, I would paint all the kitchen cabinets a clean off white or buttery cream color and do a dark counter, but keep the island black and maybe do a beautiful wood counter on that. Then, I would paint the trim, crown and built-ins a different shade of white/off white. I think your kitchen looks really great as is, but I understand the inclination to paint. Incidentally, I don't think you need to reface the cabinets, just have them painted and maybe switch the knobs.

Good luck!

Hi, my two cents is that you could paint out the kitchen cupboards, then leave the FR wood as is. I would paint the molding on the cabinets as well but NOT the FR molding, as the FR molding is on the ceiling, different level.

Another option that would minimize some of the wood you have (which is beautiful BTW!) is to leave the kitchen cabinets as is (using dark countertops & switching the knobs to oil-rubbed bronze) and then take out some wood in the FR. You might consider removing upper shelves in the FR, taking them right out and drywalling it. That way you could make a dedicated spot for your TV.

Another thing that came to mind is to switch out your stools to a lower stool or a stool without a back. This would visually open up the room.

Beautiful space, love the idea of dark countertops. Painting your cabinets or left wooden, it will look great!

Sorry, forgot to add on the option of taking out the shelving in the FR, I would widen the drywall piece over the fireplace to the same width as the fireplace...

Also forgot to mention another idea - that you might consider a cream tumbled marble or something other than white for the backsplash, that way you could keep your SS appliances.