I love, love the kitchen that you posted! I have dark green lower cabinets and they have not been a problem at all to take care of. I think that mine actually disguise a lot of things that would show up on lighter cabinets. I am looking at repainting my cabs white and I worry about dirt being more obvious on those.

Dark cabinets. I restained mine darker(not as dark as shown) and I do notice dust and some stuff that spills on them easier than I did on my lighter color. That said, it takes 1 second to wipe the ledge of the cabinet where the dust collects. It isn't like it is time intensive cleaning or anything.
As for the "that is so 2012" comment, only time will tell. And the bigger question is "Do you REALLY care?" I mean, I plan to live in my home for at least another 10-15 years, probably at least 20 in reality, so I don't care what my kitchen says so long as I LOVE it. If you are planning on selling in the not so distant future, however, perhaps you'd want to stay away from marble as a lot of people still view marble as a nuisance in a kitchen.

If you dislike the extra maintenance of the dark wood floors, then yes, I'd have to say that you will dislike the extra dusting that comes with owning dark cabinets. Because they DO show more dust. As does the white for the island. And, if you have to ask if your choices are "so 2012" then you yourself feel that they are too much of a nod to trendiness and not enough of elements from the heart.

What place does color have in your heart? Actual wood grain? Medium tones? Softness? The high contrast look IS "so 2012", but if it's a look you've always loved for years, it's also YOU. If this is more of an infatuation, and you've just currently fallen for the trendy look, you need to fall back on things that you've loved longer. A kitchen is a whale of a lot of money to spend to so quickly regret it.

If you dislike the extra maintenance of the dark wood floors, then yes, I'd have to say that you will dislike the extra dusting that comes with owning dark cabinets. Because they DO show more dust. As does the white for the island. And, if you have to ask if your choices are "so 2012" then you yourself feel that they are too much of a nod to trendiness and not enough of elements from the heart.

What place does color have in your heart? Actual wood grain? Medium tones? Softness? The high contrast look IS "so 2012", but if it's a look you've always loved for years, it's also YOU. If this is more of an infatuation, and you've just currently fallen for the trendy look, you need to fall back on things that you've loved longer. A kitchen is a whale of a lot of money to spend to so quickly regret it.

Every dust/fingerprint shows? Oh brother, what kind of satellites do you manufacture in your kitchen?

Thank you very much for your inputs.

I love stained wood, especially with marble, so I will have to live with the extra dusting.

I am so excited to have found this inspiration picture. I've been struggling to pull together the look of my kitchen (function was done - love my layout).

Yup, I love the design too much to care about when it'll feel dated. No, we're not selling any time soon, and the marble is what DH and I love. Can't wait to roll out some pastry on it!!!

Thank you!
Amanda

Amanda - can you give me the link to this kitchen? I'd like to see if there are additional pictures of it. It's very much along the lines of what we are thinking of (although I think we will use a light granite rather than marble).

Andrea: sorry for late response (crazy w/ kitchen reno stuff):

https://www.houzz.com/photos/ulm-st-kitchen-contemporary-kitchen-chicago-phvw-vp~645632-St-contemporary-kitchen-chicago

There should be a link to the designer.

CEFreeman: Yes, thank you. I was looking for reassurance because I am just not a designer. I totally know what I want for layout-function, but coloring, nope: not at all.
Like you said, I'm going with what speaks to me and screw what others think!!! :)

Thank you,
Amanda

Love the cabinets, and I have dark espresso in my new home. What do you clean them with?

I just purchased dark Expresso cabinets in my home (contractors are still remodeling) and omg I see every single hand print all the dust everything. Can I ask what is used to clean them dark express wood cabinets...I was told a lil soap and water that anything else will make them greasy and attract more dust. My cabinets are from Forever Mark Cabinetry ...hellpppp!!!

Huango....its 2018 & your kitchen is STILL beautiful....i have the dark cabinets. Theyre a pain.

@CEFreeman - hear, hear!

I chose white flat-panel high-gloss cabinets because I LOVE them and have always loved white kitchens - always. Despite everyone going with granite/marble, I went with gray sparkly quartz - because I love it (and can't stand the look of grantie, to be honest) and grey LVP floors. I'm in love with some very light blue-green glass arabesque, so I'm going with that for my backsplash -- *not* white subway tile, which seems to be an on-going theme around here. My kitchen won't look like anyone else's - and that's kinda the point. I'm going with what I love, which suits the way I function, is within my budget and is appropriate for my home. @huango - once you see things that way, it's actually really easy to decide what you like and what you want to do and to not be overwhelmed. Good luck! :)