I don't care for either of the cabinet colors. I hate to say the dated word but cinnamon cherry stain and light maple are, well, dated. No way around it. The cinnamon makes for a very red kitchen and the maple, if real maple which I think it is, can take on pink or yellow tones as it ages. You can already see it in the sample. Are there other wood choices besides maple?

I love the lighter maple and have seen many examples of modern homes with light wood kitchens. I prefer a lighter counter and think light grey would work well with the lighter wood. I think the light wood would pair well with either backsplash - in fact, I think the beautiful kitchen below would be improved with one of your backsplash options! But go with what you love, it's your kitchen.

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We have an interior, north-facing kitchen but we wanted wood to go with our home's warm tones. We used natural cherry, which has darkened a few shades since this photo. We used a light quartz and a chimney hood to add some contemporary touches. The chimney hood also breaks up the wall of wood. Your stone backsplash would probably work well with my colors without making the kitchen too dark. We'll probably use a light colored tile.

out of the 2 i would choose the maple., but i also agree with mayflowers comments. my DD's bedroom furniture is natural maple and it has definitely darkened over time and to be honest, not in good way. it was so much prettier brand new. the cinnamon cherry is reading "red" and i know i would tire of that quickly and to be honest I don't like it at all.... i do like the inspiration pic by omelet., so if i was going to use the maple i would do slab doors for sure. i like both your BS samples with the maple, not so much with the cherry....

i feel u have to commit to something first and then move on to another item. i picked my cabs first and then granite. it worked out great., but there were so many granite slabs that i adored that would not worked with cabs...if i did it again, i would pic the slab first, u can always match a cab to it., JMHO. for me the granite was the "star" of the kitchen,. YMMV...

search Houzz for inspiration pics and find a common theme for what u love!!

I'd choose a lighter countertop for a not so bright space. I like white cabs with black countertops, but not so much a fan of natural wood and black unless it's a very bright space. I'd also probably pick the lighter cabs - I think light maple can look good, but have no idea about the aging.

Thank you for the input, I am listening......

I have spent many hours looking here for inspiration. I have gone from having a dominant countertop (typhoon bordeaux or crema bordeaux) with a subtle back splash to interesting backsplash with plain countertop......etc.

I have finally chosen the scabos honed 3d stack as backsplash. My plan was darker cabinets and lighter counter. My kitchen designer suggested the light cabinet with darker counter. I was very skeptical of the dark countertop. But I have found pictures in both directions that I like.
As for the two cabinets choices I showed above, those were the two my designer had in shaker, which I prefer.

The good news is, no matter what I pick it will be a vast improvement!!

A two tone kitchen would make a lot of sense wiith some base cabs like the cherry, which I think is a beautiful as it ages and UV effects occur. But up on top, and in a way enhancing the cherry I love a lighter, maybe white grouping of cabinets, maybe with some glass doors. The above picture shown by your designer of the all cherry kitchen looks dated to me...I'm surprised actually she would present it. The maple will present quite a shift into pinks or yellows as mentioned with aging and UV-just be prepared for it. I would work with the cherry-but blend some other things on your walls with cherry below counter level to start with. What can be important is the size of your space, not just the presence or lack of windows...is it open to other areas??

I love having a light countertop. Black countertops have a few use and cleaning issues from what I've read here.

How is it that your designer only has two colors in Shaker?? Shaker is the most popular door style. How about an espresso-stained cabinet with light counters and the scabos? If you're leaving the window wall free of cabinets, a dark stain would be fine. Your floor looks really red so I wouldn't do a red wood.

Scabos travertine with an espresso stain and with a cream painted cabinet.

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