Just want to say that I am LOVING this blue idea - great inspiration pics. So much more interesting than the walnut slabs!

We are doing several samples this week of painted cabs -- we have a couple blues (Oval Room Blue is one), but one of the leading contenders is a warm gray. Here it is next to the cabs and back splash:

the one on top:

I think it's saturated enough to contrast with the floors. Will post a photo of the sample board once we have it.

So happy you are keeping the ribbed cabs! Love the color ideas...

Another who loves your ribbed cabs and is pleased to hear you're keeping them! I'm not normally a MCM fan, but your kitchen - and that *to die for* view - looks amazing......wow! Oh, and we had Oval Room Blue in the dining room at a previous seaside house (here in the UK) and can testify to it being a gorgeous colour! Can't wait for further updates :)

What are you going to do for drawer hardware. I would imagine you will need something substantial because the drawers are large.

If you are doing one pull I would be tempted to do something substantial and vertical down the middle. I might also look into getting something powder-coated in whatever color you choose to blend in.

Also, I fear these routed doors will look dated in a few years.

but one of the leading contenders is a warm gray.

The routed doors won't look dated in a few years, but the gray cabinets sure will!

thanks, cookncarpenter and raphaellathespanishwaterdog!

pal, haven't decided on pulls yet. We had considered a tab pull but I'm not sure they are substantial enough. I also found some brushed chrome ones from Sugastune that were kind of nice -- if we used these we would run them vertically (on both the doors and drawers).

tab pulls (these are polished, I like the brushed):

a little more substantial - maybe not substantial enough, but they fit perfectly within the grooves:

cpartist, I'm not completely sold on the gray doors yet either. I have to see the sample boards and should have those this week. would you keep the current color of the cabs or would you go another more saturated color other than gray?

I would not keep the cabs the color they are. Right now they seem to compete with your other cooler elements. I would as suggested pick a blue/gray, but one with more blue than gray. Or go bold. Here are some suggestions. I didn't put the ribs in because then it dilutes the color in the picture.

Bold. A periwinkle color which means it will change with the light a lot more.

On this one, I took the color that Old Bat pulled from the Westbourne Garden photo and made it darker and just a touch grayer.

Here I pulled a more grayed sky color/water color.

Here is your gray choice. (I'm not a fan at all.)

And lastly here is from the same color card but the color second from the bottom. At least this adds a bit of drama if no color.

The tab pulls will never work. You will be able to get the drawer open, and a good tab pull is as well anchored as anything else, but you will be using all finger and thumb, and the leverage on the drawer is all from the top edge.

You really need to rely on hand strength not finger strength to open stuff like this, it will get tedious.

I had just a tab on my dishwasher, and we could get it open, but not easily, and we went with a substantial handle like you show even though it was the one in the whole kitchen outside the refrigerator.

I am so glad that you are keeping the routed doors. I quite like the stain that they are currently but it definitely does not work with the marble and floor selections.

I wouldn't go with a very dark walnut either, it just doesn't seem to fit the particular space. Neither would I choose a dark gray even though it matches the marble -- I think it would suck the life out of the routing.

I would favor another attempt at a grey-brown stain as originally intended; or the Oval Room Blue as mocked up by OBTB looks fab too.

For those that doubted that the texture was an authentic MCM look, here is a close up of my dresser set from the 1950's. As I recall the set was originally a grey stain.

I like the cabs as they are with the white marble back splash and walnut. What about keeping them as the lower cabs and use the flat walnut on the uppers.

I was thinking something more like the first gray you posted, or a blue green gray like Farrow and Ball Dimpse (as it looks on door) and in can, where it looks totally different.

I like the gray posted, but I think it will just reinforce the foggy conditions when they prevail. I love the F and B blue Oldbat posted. Subdued, but it has character.

Chiming in a little late here, but I love your cabinets just as they are. I think the existing stain will prove to be your best option.

Sometimes it's hard to stick with a choice until all the elements are in place - especially when this is not what you planned on - but I think you should wait and see what the space looks like with everything else in place before you make the decision to paint.

Thanks everyone for weighing in. We got our first sample board today. This is a custom color our cab maker created after I showed him a couple photos (one of which was the first gray that I posted above):

in certain angles it looks quite dark and moody:but in direct light it looks way lighter:
While it appears to be a better match with the counters and floor, I'm not sure that I love it. I'm concerned that this color might be too moody for our
space with the setting/fog. And gray is trendy now, but I think it might date our kitchen. Also, while it provides more contrast than the current stain, it feels a bit too matchy with the back splash/counters.

And, at certain angles, I'm seeing purple:

Interested to hear what you all think. Right now, I am leaning on keeping the current stain, and possibly setting off the cabinets from the floors, either by installing a toe kick in a different material to separate them from the floors. Maybe stainless, or brass. And if we want to paint the cabinets down the road, we can. But I think they kind of lose something with the paint.

barncatz, that is an absolutely lovely color! It looks so different on the door than it does in the can.

cpartist, I really like the charcoal/saturated color -- that's my favorite out of all the ones you posted.

eam44,
I think that is wise advice. A good friend who has remodeled many
homes and has impeccable taste gave me the same advice to wait until all elements were in. Her words were
"stay the course, keep the vision."

pal, the tab pull option has been nixed
and I agree with you they won't work. They would be nail-breakers. We will likely use the tab pulls
in one of the bathrooms where the drawers are much smaller. I think we
need a heavier pull that makes a bit of a statement in the kitchen.

Seeing that custom gray under different lighting conditions is very helpful. I really like it in some lights and dislike it in others! Given that, I think I would lean toward one of the blues or that darker, more saturated charcoal color that cpartist mocked up - you need contrast. I think that Farrow and Ball blue that Old Bat posted is my favorite of the blues shown on the thread thus far. However, I agree that the cabinets do lose something with the paint that goes beyond the color itself - I think losing the wood grain and natural variation makes the ridges less interesting, somehow. I would definitely bring home a couple more sample paint colors, though (a blue and a dark gray at the very least), just to see!

i am late to this thread and probably in the minority but i absolutely LOVE your kitchen as it is. it sounds like you might be in Southern California? i am too and would love to know who your cabinet maker is if possible? also, is that real calacatta or neolith? gorgeous kitchen, i love the soft look of the materials.

fyi, i saw on another thread that this is neolith calacatta satin finish. absolutely beautiful. i was considering going with the statuario but your pictures confirm that i am going to go with the calacatta. thanks so much for sharing the photos and for any info on the cabinet maker and who your neolith fabricator was - i am hoping to also do the thinner edge rather than a standard mitered edge.

i just noticed that your kitchen sink faucet looks like the MGS Spin, which is what i have purchased for our kitchen as well. i love that faucet!

I really like those cabinets. I think it is great that you are doing something different. I would not do walnut. I think walnut and marble can be too busy together, personally. Also, walnut is too common, in my opinion.

I like the cabs. as is or I would think about a grey, but lighter than the sample you have.

Do you have any accessories you can add to the counter just to see how they would look with the current color? Maybe some with contrast?

I like the tab pulls!

Are those neolith counters? They are stunning.

Look at Sherwin Williams krypton. It's a blue gray but not a depressing downer one. I love it in all the the various light we get in through all our walls of windows. Love your home, ours is MCM but has not been kept original. We do have the windows and atrium. I think a blue gray color would look good for the cabinets.

Thanks, bio, tamizami, rockybird and ravencajun.

We're still going back and forth with our cab maker. Last week, we tried a quick fix of rubbing some gray stain on the cabs in the house and it was a fail. They now look dirty and aged. We may give them one more chance to sand and re-stain a sample door, or we may try painting if they are not able to get close to the stain color we like. But we haven't found that magical paint color yet. I will check out Krypton, ravencajun - thanks for the rec.

rocky, thanks! The counters are Neolith Calacatta. We're happy with them, but I agree with you that those combined with walnut would be busy. We chose the Neolith based on a lighter, more cerused look that has texture but not movement.

tami, thanks - we love the HD Spin -very sleek faucet. I will PM you the name of our fabricator/cab maker.

Hi Pipdog --

I love the ribbed cabinets in your space and am glad you've decided to keep them.

The current stain is so close; when you first posted I saw the color conflict, but in other (different light) photos they're much closer to driftwood, which I think would be perfect. Unfortunately sometimes what's in our mind is hard to translate to materials...but as you explore there do see how you feel as the light shifts.

Of course you could go in so many new directions given your other materials.

However, color-wise I'd stay as close as possible to your original vision, which seems to be "light, muted, neutral-warm, natural."

I'm also sensitive to grey light (and get a lot more months with it than you all down south, sigh). I would definitely make sure you have some warmth in any color you pick. Warm grey, yellow-green, warm green-grey, blue-green-grey...you get the idea.

I actually see a pale yellow-green being amazing there -- drawing from the vegetation out your window walls, working with the walnut, acting as a counterpoint to the marble and floor.

Here are a few images to help you see the general tones. [You'll also see Pal's suggestion of blush in some of them -- which I too love but would probably not be brave enough to do!]

2nd color down (Heath Ceramics exhibit)

Light green highlights on the water as well as the green in the feathers:

More vintage Heath Ceramics shades (exhibit) -- Row 7, tile 5 "Olive 3"

but some lovely blue-greens here as well

Your kitchen is going to be gorgeous. I love this thread. The tile colors above a so inspiring. I think any watery gray greenish blue in the row from aqua to teal would work. Also, why not get an F&B paint card and sample your top 3 colors? Their colors change and dance so beautifully at different times of the day. I would love to see Theresa's Green, Mizzle or Pale Powder. The ribbed cabinets are fabulous and honestly, you can paint them again in a few years as color fashion changes.

http://cdn.decoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/A-splash-of-mint-green-for-the-cool-kitchen.jpg

Keep us updated, I can't wait to see the end result. You can't really go too far wrong in any direction.

Thanks House Vixen and natepeterliz! House Vixen, those are really pretty tiles.

Just an update, we met with our cab maker again and he is going to sand and re-stain the cabinets. They will be slightly different than they are now, just less warm and with more brown/gray tones that pick up the movement in the counters/backsplash. They will also be more consistent and less "Tuscan" looking. With all the texture, the different tones were making the cabinets dirty and rustic.

Crossing my fingers that this attempt will be the winner, and hoping to post a reveal soon...

Thanks for keeping us posted on this! I find myself checking every day for your progress. Also, looking forward to hearing who your cabinet maker is. :)

Good luck! I definitely think stain is the most-most ideal solution based on your vision.

If you end up needing to paint I'm sure you'll come up with something that looks wonderful, but hopefully you won't have to!

Hey Pip. Any idea when you'll get your cabinets finished? I can't wait to see them.

I love the cabinets as-is in their natural state. They're amazing in the light color and painting will take away their beauty.

Eam44, they are being sanded and re-stained and we're hoping to have them all in by the end of this week. Then we still need to put in the appliances, the lighting, etc. I'm thinking July by the time we are done.

thanks, Lisa! The new stain color is similar -- it's just slightly darker than the current color to make them work a little bit better with the floors and counters and more consistent.

How do they look? I've been curious about your gorgeous kitchen.

We're getting closer, natepeterliz. They started install just a few days ago. So far, things look much better. I'm still figuring out pulls and handles. Once everything is in, I'll post a couple progress shots.

The walnut slabs would have been so much more elegant and high end looking.

Truey: The walnut slabs would have been so much more elegant and high end looking.

IYHO, of course.

It's a message board. By definition everything we write is our opinion.

Anyway, it might not be too late to switch.

First of all truey as per the OP's comments ABOVE yours about installing the cabinets, it is too late for the OP to switch.

Secondly that is only your opinion and we all know what opinions are worth.

Thirdly, since she did state her cabinets were going in, why would you make a comment like that possibly causing doubt to the OP? How does that help?

Fourth, IMHO if you want a run of the mill what everyone else is doing for MCM kitchens, then yes you're correct the walnut would be better.

But not everyone wants or needs to do what everyone else is doing and I personally applaud those people for trying something different. And in this case it's not only different, but it's going to make a stunning statement in her kitchen. Much better than the run of the mill MCM look walnut cabs.

Fifth, in the future it might be a good idea for you to read through the latest threads to make sure you're not commenting on something like style after the fact.

Oh I'm glad you're able to change the stain.

Had the walls been painted yet? One thing I noticed when oldbat2be was doing her magic was that the current colour of the cabinets got lost in the wall colour - just not enough definition for them and I think that is why I didn't like them. When oldbat2be did her magic (I'm not saying pick one of her colours) and there was more definition between the colours of the cabinets and the wall the cabinets looked better. Now if you haven't painted the walls ignore my comment :).

What are you doing with the island?

Well that certainly is a lot of opinions!

The walnut panels in the other part of the house are absolutely gorgeous. It would provide unity to the architecture and interior design to repeat them in the kitchen.

And its it's never too late to make any change.

thanks for the input and thoughts, cpartist, daisychain, and truey. Walnut slab cabinets are beautiful and would have looked fine. We carefully considered replacing the ribbed cabinets with walnut. We brought over walnut doors and propped them up in the kitchen to see exactly what it would look like. We chose not to go that route, for two reasons. Since walnut is everywhere else in the home (all bathrooms, closet doors, floating shelves in the living room, bar area etc), it was starting to feel like walnut overload in the home. Also, I've sort of burned out on walnut slabs cabs in MCM kitchens. Search on Houzz for MCM kitchens, and you'll see that combination (walnut slab cabs with white quartz or marble counters) over and over. I wanted something unique, and the ribs fit the bill for me. I recognize they are not everyone's taste and I'm ok with that. I'm happy with them. Reveal coming soon....

ETA: blfenton, the island will have stainless steel cabinets. Those are being fabricated as we speak. We still have one more coat to paint the walls. They are currently BM White Dove (the whole house is white). I may test some samples of different whites elsewhere, but that color seems to go well with the Neolith and the other choices in the house. I don't think the color photographs well, because in the space, it seems to work.

I totally agree with Pipdog on this. I have an mcm home that is all walnut cabinets as well. It is overload!!! I really fought putting it into my new master suite, but I eventually gave up and succumbed, only because I didnt have Pipdog's design sense to come up with something unique. Not only that, but my kitchen/great room is all floor to ceiling glass and all the light has lightened my kitchen walnut. It looks kind of 1970's now and not the rich dark wood I installed a few years ago. I love Pipdog's new cabinets and am a little jealous that she is putting something different in, especially since I think they are going to look fabulous.

Well said Pal

The beauty of doing something "different" is that it will not be automatically dated to a specific era (pickled oak of the 80's, hunter green of the 90's, raised panel with cathedral tops cabinet doors of the 2000's, etc) Walnut slabs will likely be a defined trend timeline before something else is the "it" thing.

The ribbed cabinets will be "are they restored? original? new? period?" etc. A more thoughtful approach, IMO.

Bravo for doing it.

Pipdog, I can't wait to see the reveal! For what it's worth, I absolutely loved the original stain but can understand how it wasn't what you had envisioned and maybe didn't look as good in person or in certain light. I think the cabinets have a very Scandinavian minimal vibe that I adore. Congrats on choosing something different!

As for my cabinets which I am ordering tomorrow (!!), I'm going the ubiquitous white and walnut, but where I live, it is super odd. I think it will get a bunch of weird looks. But I don't care, I really love it.

Reveal coming soon? Yay!

@Pal, I really appreciate your comments here and in other threads. You always have a good, sound reasonable approach to issues. Makes me think!

Pipdog, in my initial comments I couldn't see the initial beauty but you really are going to have a wonderful, beautiful and unique kitchen. I will be envious!

P.S. If there are any leftover doors, they still would make a super-cool credenza/buffet. I have been looking for just this style to make a bar for my living room. I need the texture.

Pipdog--so glad you are sticking with the vision. It's going to be gorgeous!

Every time I get a "new post" notification I think it's the reveal, arrrrgh. Can't wait to see it and glad the new iteration of the stain worked!

Me too, House Vixen! I'm waiting!!

Another waiting your reveal! It's gonna be awesome!