Check out Coronado paint color #8443 Siver Plume, or Ben Moore #963 Maritime White.California Paint's #DE6057 Chance of rain might also be beautiful. I dont care for SW neutrals, so I have no suggestions there.

Have you tried Marmoleum for the floors? they look awesome with modern decor. I can get you a coupon code for 20% that another GWer shared but you'd need to use it by 12/31.

I would not be worried with dark colors down low such as you cabs and floor. Your eye will see all the high ceilings and light colors above eye level.

I agree with your BF. Dark on dark is a cave like look, even with good lighting. Neither your cabinets nor your floors will stand out. It'll all blend in. If you do this, you might consider doing a higher than normal toekick and having that be stainless or white so the cabinets "float" over the floor. Maybe use the same white/neutral quartz or granite that you will use for the counters.

Have you thought about natural bamboo for your floors? It too is a modern look and won't have the massive maintainence that a dark floor will have. It'll also provide a nice contrast with your cabinets.

I also agree with BF and like Hollysprings suggestion to provide contrast. Your cabinets will be lost against the dark floor, and the eye will only have the counter to rest upon to relieve the monotony.

Another caveat of dark floors is smudges and dust bunnies- just another consideration for you because ultimately they do have to be cleaned and upkeep can get old. A friend has very dark wood floors in her home and she complains about the darkness showing everything, right down to the kiddies footprints.

hi lado...

I love the look of the dark floors. I also love your dark cabs...they are very similar to mine... however, my flooring is Red Praire Pine (Pergo). I also have a white granite. I will post a link to my kitchen just to give you a visual. I'm not sure if the dark flooring you have chosen will be too much in the way of darkness or not...but I love the richness of it all! It might work out with the white counter and walls there to balance it. Good Luck with this one!

KA:)

Here is a link that might be useful:

I agree with others about having a lighter floor than dark cab color. Cork would be another option that comes in many color choices. The link is just to give you an idea of the colors--I have no idea whether this company's price is good and there are lots of different companies out there that sell the cork flooring. HTH!

Here is a link that might be useful: Cork flooring colors

I don't disagree with what has been said about alternatives, but I also think that you can make the dark cabinets and floor work together for the look you want. One thing you can do is decorate the toekicks. You can paint them the wall color to make the cabinets "float". You can put mirror tile on them to make them shimmer. You can use scrap from your white-ish counter to make them match that. Along with the white-ish counters and a light to white backsplash, and considering that the kitchen is open to the FR, it really shouldn't be all that cavish!

You can then do tricks with light. Like put in a lot since it won't be reflecting off the floor and cabinets. I put in a massive amount of lighting because I hate the sad look that a lot of kitchens get at night, but I also have a sparkling white floor and blond cabinets, so I often just use the indirect room lights. Without those things, I'd really need it all. There's wash lighting (fluorescents bounced off the ceiling), down lighting for the island, cans around the perimeter to light the counters and pantry cabinets, and under cabinet lights. Plus, you could add lights above the toekick to really make it snazzy and highlight the float, plus light the floor a little.

I used a lighting designer from the electric supply house (Walters Wholesale Electric), recommended by someone in the lighting forum. It was worth every penny ($500). You might look into doing something like that. It's a greener choice to use lighter materials that "passively" do the work, but you also have to allow yourself to be happy.

Don't rush your decision. Overshooting your schedule by a couple of weeks is far preferable to spending thousands of bucks installing something that you later regret. By the way, where is it written in stone that the kitchen floor has to be identical to the floor everywhere else? Surely that can't be more important than making sure the kitchen itself looks really good.

I looked online and this was the only picture I could find where a kitchen looked good with dark wood cabinets and a dark wood-like floor (I'm saying woodlike because you're considering bamboo, but the floor in this picture is wood):
http://thedecoratingdiva.com/4-design-tips-brighten-dark-kitchen/
I'm also linking to that photo below. Obviously I'm referring to the first kitchen shown on that page.

How big is your kitchen, relative to the one in that picture? It's going to need to be big to carry off that much darkness. Also, while the white counters look great in that photo, I think a key reason the kitchen looks good is that they DID NOT use white on the walls. The neutral walls and dark/light backsplash tie the whole thing together and also let the counters stand out. I don't think it would look nearly as good if everything but the cabinets and floor was white, as you're suggesting.

But it's also important that there is more difference between the colors/textures in that kitchen than there is in the samples you posted. The floor in that picture is a completely different texture than the cabinets, with some movement to liven up the overall effect, whereas the bamboo sample you posted is very similar in grain/texture to the cabinet door. I could be wrong, but I personally think they are too similar in terms of both color and texture. Your cabinets will be lost and your kitchen does run the risk of looking like a cave.

But iIf your boyfriend changes his mind and thinks it might look okay--in other words, if you guys want to go ahead and install this floor--could you do something to create some contrast? For example, what if you laid the kitchen flooring on the diagonal, instead of paralleling any of the kitchen walls? I don't necessarily mean laying it on the diagonal throughout the whole house, just in the kitchen. That would at least reflect the light differently, creating some contrast with the cabinets.

Here is a link that might be useful: Dark on dark kitchen

hi again...

ideagirl gave you a great example of how it can work. That kitchen doesn't look cavish at all!

KA:)

I also agree with others that the dark floors and dark cabinets are just too much. At least try to go to a medium color for your floor. I've also heard that very dark floors are a nightmare to keep looking good. Everyone complains of dust bunnies, etc.

My initial reaction is that it would be cave-like, but I also think it depends on the lay-out of the kitchen, the appliances, the countertop, etc.

I agree that you shouldn't rush the decision to stay on your schedule, and end up regretting that choice. If you google 'dark cabinet floor kitchen' image search, there are some photos that show up. I found two that look pretty nice - the first has a more 'contemporary' feel that you might be going for (the stainless appliances just pop) - and this one has dark walls, so with your white walls it won't be sooo dark and the second is just very pretty, I think.

http://blog.bwp.ca/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/kitchen-appliances.jpg

http://www.fotosearch.com/DGT089/42-17196599/

Here is a link that might be useful:

Did you do it?
We are doing the same thing and initial my hubby wanted all dark and I FREAKED, but after finding some amazing pictures of dark on dark, visiting a few showhome and falling in love with a warm chocolate floor I think we are going for it. We have very high ceilings/lots of light+lighting and open concept feel.
If you still need photos I have a huge amount - let me know and I can send you the link.
Good luck!

I'm sorry, but I also agree with BF. Have you considered tile for the kitchen flooring? I know you said the kitchen was "open" to the family room, but not knowing your floor layout, could this be a possibility....?

Oh geez, I just noticed how old this thread is. ha ha! Sorry, I'm a newbie.