Leave the cabs WHITE! Your wife is looking for DRAMA. Or "impact". She keeps leaning towards the SAME THING over and over again. That's a blessing (everything will work nicely together) and a curse (you will have TOO MUCH of "one thing").

Fantasy Brown is a STUNNING, dramatic marvel of Mother Earth Engineering Co. It is a DIVA! It has "shock value"!

Dark cabinets have 'shock value'. The floors you have chosen have "shock value". Do you see what she is drawn to? Yep. Shock value. You need to stop her from creating a BOMB BLAST of shock value. If she keeps going you are going to have a mess that looks like the ruins of Chernobyl.

So....you need some calm. The counters are going to be vibrant. The floors will reflect that vibrancy (which is fine...one is helping to 'feed' the other). So you need SOMETHING that allows the DIVA to shine = cabinets. Calm, colourless, white cabinets. The white backsplash will work very well with your white cabinets.

Do NOT let your wife add more drama to the "shock and awe" that is your kitchen. It will destroy it as surely as a bomb will destroy thing thing next to it.

Agree with SJ McCarthy.

It’s already a smorgasbord of just past sell by date pop trend choices. 1000% NO on gray anything. It’s over and done with.

Agree with all the above. Unless you got just the exactly right brownish gray, it would actually fight with the counter, and make it overall unappealing. White (and it doesn't have to be bright white, off whites will be fine, in fact what I would prefer ) will make the fantasy brown look so rich. I agree with white tile also -- be sure the two whites are very similar. I hate seeing a gray leaning white next to a creamy white.

Nope. Stay off the gray-train. It's a disaster.

With your flooring and countertop choices, I wouldn't choose bright white cabinetry. But I think an off white/cream could be beautiful. Behr Hazelnut Cream comes to mind. I have seen Fantasy Brown look beautiful with dark warm gray cabinets--but you would need a different, lighter floor.

Great feedback, thanks. We have decided against the dark gray cabinets, but are wrestling with bright white versus some sort of off-white or even light gray.

My wife doesn't want white subway tile with white cabinets.

If we do white cabinets, what do you think about light gray cabinets for the island and gray subway tile for the backsplash?

Not enough contrast. The gray would have to be warm (more beige rather than gray) for BOTH cabinets AND back splash. A soft white is stunning against the HEAVY MOVEMENT of Fantasy Brown. I don't think your wife can appreciate the heavy impact that stone will have. You do NOT need any more "colour" in this space. The counters and the floors have PLENTY.

Remember the K.I.S.S. rule: Keep It Simple Sally. Less is more in design.

I wouldn't worry about the backsplash until all of your other elements are in place--then you can better visualize what will look right to you there. I can't comment on the island being a different color--I believe that is personal preference. Or consult with a designer who can actually see the samples you are looking at, and better guide you.

Are your cabinets coming from a manufacturer, where you have to choose from the colors they offer? or are you having them made so that you can choose any color to go best with the floor and counter?

Grays are tricky.

The cabinets are coming from a manufacturer. We have it down to a "pure white" and whatever the off-white is. I know there are plenty of objections against pure white, but the off-white just seems to have a "less clean" look when placed against the countertops.

How did your kitchen turn out? Any photos?

Gorgeous! I can't find my "after" photos. So as soon as I get the island cleared off, I will take some pictures and post!

Thanks for posting the finished project! I love Fantasy Brown and your kitchen is beautiful!

Fantasy brown - as pretty as it is - is NOT granite. It’s marble.