i would match to the cabs - i think it might look funny if the floor color rides up.

We have an odd hall where DH replaced white painted quarter round with stained oak to match floor after we removed carpet. Baseboard is painted white and walls are white. Have never liked the new unpainted quarter round. (DH likes it I guess.)

We have oak quarter round against our white baseboards. The oak is stained to match the floor. Honestly, I don't even see the quarter round. It disappears into the floor to my eyes.

Use shoe molding vs. quarter round.

Oh, from images of shoe molding, I guess that's what we have: taller than it is deep.

We have both in our house. The painted ones look worse over time as they get dinged by the vacuum, etc.

Thank you for all the input. I decided to match the cabinets. I have a peninsula that has beadboard on the back side and I thought it would look funny with a brown molding since it is so visible on that side. I also asked for something higher than the (I was told by the contractor) 3/4 round.

Any base molding should always match the rest of the molding in order to achieve the proper look. The previous owner had all of the 1/4 round stained the same as the floors. I'm ripping that out this summer and putting in proper shoe molding painted the same as the rest of the trim. This way you get the proper profile.