A 125K+ upper end redo like you are wanting should involve a Kitchen Designer. Hire one immediately.

Google ...

loads of pictures on line

All kitchens are first: ( Get Kitchen designer on board, ideally)

Budget

Layout and function for pleasurable use, and good looks

Appliances desired, storage desired

Lighting.......all kitchens are a fail without adequate lighting . How much, type and location

Style, be that modern, contemporary, transitional, traditional or whatever of the whole of the kitchen

Harmonizing finishes, Cabinetry style, finish, flooring, cinsidered TOGETHER

Counter tops, sink, ( well i n advance if an apron) faucet,

Hardware, and back splash if desired. .....

Which means you probably won't find a kitchen photo that is exactly what you want, in every personal detail. Saplele has a very ribbon like grain. It is probably best suited to a simple door and drawer that allows that to shine. Try googling teak or bamboo as well.

Too many "starring roles" in a kitchen is as bad as too many cooks : ) Something must play the understudy and allow for a chorus

Rene c

I think you will find your KD will agree that simple is better. Ditto the counter tops, and if you want my advice ? If you're looking for an "organic , earthy" feel, soapstone would be lovely, or a honed plain black granite. Or conversely, plain and light, That is simple white Caesarstone in that second pic, repeated as a back splash as well. The one thing to stay far away from? Any busy top in granite. Far, far , far away. Just doesn't suit it and I think you will find the wood needs no pattern competing. Good luck to you ! Don't limit yourself to one wood in your search for photos......... Google "fabulous mid century kitchens images"", more will turn up

Thank you Jan. We have been looking at honed granite and are really attracted to simple patterns without much movement (do not want to distract / compete with the graining we love about sapele). We haven't looked at soapstone but will take a look.

We are feeling a little overwhelmed before we barely even begin, likely because we don't have a visual "end goal" in our mind yet. This is why we hired a KD very early to help us figure it all out. She is asking for photos of what we are thinking of, so I'm trying to gather ideas. One of the first questions our KD asked was what style we like, and we like both craftsman and transitional. We want simple shaker, more earthy tones, and the examples I find online of sapele seems to lean more towards the modern look with slab style. I like the look, but prefer more craftsman and not really seeing it with sapele in a way which catches my eye. It may be that sapele will not work with the styles we are leaning towards. KD is working on an initial rough draft design with simple shaker. Maybe once we see her mock-up, it will help us to narrow our ideas and start getting some traction of figuring out what we really want!

Sapele is not suited to shaker. Anything with a prominent linear grain is only suited to slab doors. If you want some of the prominent graining of sapele, but more suited to a transitional shaker style, you should be looking at quarter sawn oak. Done in a natural or light stain, it can look pretty modern. But the material itself will say traditional.

Agree with Sophie's comment above. Any strong grain pattern, be it sapele or bird's eye maple, for example, will overshadow any sort of inset panel or bevel on a cabinet door or drawer front. A modern style for your cabinetry will look best. If modern isn't the look you're going for overall, consider a different stain grade or paint grade wood species for more traditional looking cabinets.

Hi Sophie, we are starting to realize our desired wood (sapele) is likely not suited to the shaker look we are going for, which likely explains why I am not finding photo examples of it that I like. I will look at quarter sawn oak. Here was one shaker sample of sapele I found, which I loved; however when I find examples of shaker sapele in a whole kitchen, it just doesn't sit quite right with me.

Maybe a walnut? You could do the stain a bit darker than this example. I agree, wood with a grain is not fully realized on anything but a slab cabinet. Maybe you could do your wood on the island like this example and use painted cabinets for all other areas.

This all walnut kitchen seems a bit heavy but that's just my taste.

Here's another nice mix of walnut and white shaker

take your time, your taste will evolve the more you learn.

Craftsman style is well suited to oak, to cherry. Shaker is ( jmho) suited BEST to painted . I think you need a several hour per day sit down and a look at ALL types of kitchens to refine your ideas , before a sit down with a KD. You can begin the layout/function/ appliance aspect only.. You are NOT ready for the rest. At all.

All rooms, yes, even kitchens, are the sum of all their parts. Meaning a pleasing WHOLE no matter their style. You have lots and lots of homework to do. Shut down this thread and get busy. : )

Tozmo1, I love that first picture of the walnut island, not too dark! I think the full walnut kitchen may be too dark. If that is natural walnut no stain, I am really liking it. We like the look of white, but like the natural look of wood better.

I wonder if we could do a walnut island and contrast with a lighter wood for the lower/uppers around (maybe a clear coat maple, or...?). We are incorporating and eat-in island in our layout. I will start searching online for examples along those lines. Maybe that would look better with darker stained walnut without being too overpowering. The white looks nice, but with kids, worried it won't stay nice through the years.

These are all great ideas to help us start narrowing things down and hopefully not drive our KD too crazy, thanks all!

Jan, you are right, we have homework to do! Our KD right now is working strictly on layout/appliance placement while we try to clarify the look we want.

I am leaning away from sapele now. Everyone's replies have helped us go in a different and hopefully more productive route, rather than trying to make sapele work when it conflicts with the style we want.

Thanks everyone!!

Good plan!!! Less is always more. Write that down........ tape it up. Design is EDITING. Let the KD help you do it.

Get your budget numbers together before you get too far into the process. It's easy to fall in love with a specific wood, cabinet design or countertop before you realize what choices actually fit in your budget. Even if you add extra money to the budget after the first estimate arrives, some choices are best reserved for very small areas, very expensive housing markets or lottery winners.

Good design doesn't have to break the bank but kitchens get expensive in a hurry

Good luck to you Rene and enjoy the process. It took me almost a year to get my kitchen renovation finalized. It's a work in progress as you can see below but I eventually landed on walnut, bird's eye maple recon and gloss white cabinets, all slab cabinets. Even though none of the cabinet or drawer fronts are on yet, I just sit and stare at it I love it so much. So take your time, don't make any quick decisions, and when you decide, ponder it for a while to be sure. I even built a balsa wood model of mine to make sure it was the way I wanted it. The entire renovation still has a way to go but the builder swears all will be done by Christmas. I'm pretty sure he meant 2017.

The floor in my picture is unfinished white oak. It still needs to be finished (more of the work in progress) but we are going for something very light to try to keep it close to what is shown. There's a lot of variation in the wood, so some will be light, others darker, even with the same stain. As long as it doesn't go yellow or orange, it think it will work with the maple and the walnut.

Believe me, no kitchen needs a year. Not one. And I don't care if you live in Trump Tower : )

The work has only been four months but seems like a year. :-) And it's a lot more than the kitchen, it's a gut of the entire main floor of my 1969 split-level. The planning took a year but that's just me. I love the process of exploring and researching options. And when you're doing modern in a traditional town, it's even more challenging. But it's turning out great and that's all that matters.