If you are going to change out the countertops, I'd wait on the hardware until you have the counter tops install. As some finishes play better than others depending on the counter top. Yes, I know you want to go full steam ahead now that you are ready but patience does pay off 😁

Hey Ted! I thought maybe I should order them just as an experiment to see what I like. But, if you think it will just confuse me or if you think I’m getting ahead of myself I will hold off. Thanks for your advice.

Since you don't know 100% what you like, it will be easier for you to figure it out when you have the countertop in place as it more than likely will narrow your choices down real fast. And at the worse, you can always go to a big box store get some different finishes and play around with them and then return them and order what you really like in style if they don't have it. I'm not 100% sold on a dark finish unless there is some black or dark in the countertop or elsewhere to balance it but we'll see when we get to that point.

I'm excited to see what you find at the stone yard!

Thanks so much! I will hold off on the hardware. I’ll keep you posted on what I find tomorrow. I’m so excited too!

Went to stone yard today. Didn’t have much luck. All the quartz slabs were too cool or too white. As you suggested Ted I looked at the granite. The only slabs that went with my cabinets were pretty dark. It wasn’t a total loss because the person I had the appointment with said she would send me pictures of anything in the future she thinks I may I like. I have a few more stone yards I can check out as well, but have to do so by appointment. I will call for more later this week. If I find anything I will be sure to post it here.

Changed out the lights as you all suggested. Snapped a picture to share with you all. Keep in the mind the original photos I posted were during the day, so there was a lot of natural light. This was just taken tonight. Pretty happy, because at night the cabinets look the most yellow.

Your floors and counters are imo really nice. What if y just paint the cabinets?

If you change floor, counter etc cabinets will still be cream and you will still think they are cream. White cabs will really pop leaving everything else as is.

and 6 k paint is insane. We just painted ours, professional company who spray paints laquor and it was a bit over 2k.

Get more quotes.

If you had found something at your first stone yard I would have been surprised as that happens rarely. At least it was educational as far as the quartz. THE one is waiting out there for you.

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jen, are you still considering painting the cabs? or has that changed? There is something about the creamy yellow tones that just don't look right w/the taupe/gray flooring.

edgecomb gray^ and Revere Pewter

If so, I think you should do that first, then look for a countertop.

Beth- Just thought I'd jump in here since I'm around at the moment. Jen is changing out the flooring to bamboo which will match what is in her other rooms that run into the kitchen. She is keeping the cabinets as they are. When she purchased the house what she really didn't like was the flooring and the countertops in the kitchen so that is what she wants to change. So any ideas for the new countertop?

When I clicked on your picture though wall color for your kitchen it said SW Agreeable Gray

Here is your proof what do you think?

oh, thanks ted! I wasn't going to comment on the flooring since I though she had done it! But actually I would change the flooring first!

Jen, do we have a close up of the flooring you're redoing the kitchen?

and Taj quartzite would work well w/the current cabs

if you want quartz, look at something in this color tone. take a door with you when you check slabs

Portico Cream quartz. this would look nice w/your cabinet color

check out Cielo Blue (this one is honed) or the other from caesarstone

it's a quartzite

Galaxy White granite

Beth- Just a FYI- the backsplash is staying.

Hi Jen, I fiddled around with your wall paint and floor colour under your new lights. Here are a few pics for thought.

de-pinked. I reduced the amount red in your floor and wall paint.

de-pinked with dark brown floor

If you were staying with a dark marble, I'd do dark brown rather than black.

ted, yes I know. that's why I didn't suggest one. (and all of the countertop picks I pictured will work w/her splash)

Hi Beth! I love those countertops options! The portico cream is my favorite. I’m going to make another appointment at a different stone yard and see if I can find any of them. Thank you so much!

Hey Ted! Thanks for answering the questions for me. I was MIA for a bit. We got hit with a tropical storm yesterday morning, and we just got our power back now. So excited to have air conditioning and internet!

Hi Jennifer! Thank you so much! That is a big improvement. I want to change the counters to something lighter and I’m going to continue the bamboo floors I have everywhere else. The paint looks so much better. Definitely something I need to consider.

Hey Beth this is a close up of the flooring that I have in the rest of the house. I am trying to locate the samples to put them in the kitchen for a better view. Until then figured it couldn’t hurt to share this quick picture I took.

had my own freak out about cream cabinets and was starting to think they ll ruin any future plans for grey/white countertops etc...and saw this pic. Grey and cream so pretty together. Warm and cool with is usually a no no. And floor like you have in the rest of the house

Jen- hope all is well with you and your husband and your kids (dogs-lol) after the storm. That was a nasty one that went up the coast which I assume you are talking about.

Oh gosh Jen are you in NC? We expected worse than we got in Raleigh but the areas of the coast really suffered. ;-(

Jen, Ok, so the regular bamboo floors. nice.

I notice you have some handles on the drawers but I think you should also put them on your upper cabinet doors. the doors are so tall, that the knobs look skimpy on them.

I gave you some brushed gold handles w/this combo, since the golden tones of the bamboo, and this creamier quartz, work better w/the metallic color.

Here is Taj Majal

Taj slabs vary greatly. some have more golden tones, others have more gray.

I know you have dark now, but this is Eternal Charcoal in a matte finish. It resembles soapstone. With your bamboo floors and white tile splash, I think this would actually look nice!

This quartz is called Daria and is more of a buttermilk shade.

I'd also suggest you repaint your kitchen walls. that current shade isn't doing a whole lot for the coloring. wait until you decide on your new countertop though.

you could also do a pendant light over the sink, and maybe a window treatment. Woven wood shade maybe? and instead of a pendant, what about a semi flush mount type of light? just jazzes up the space a bit more

Here's the kitchen with your bamboo floor and 2 choices of counter. Myself, I find the light counter kind of blah. The contrast from a dark counter livens things up a bit.

Jennifer- could you do one with Jen's current tops. I'm thinking that because they have white in them that may pull the back splash and still offer the contrast. Could you with your 1st photo replace the counter stools with rattan ones as Jen was thinking of adding some rattan to the space. Thanks.

@tedbixby1981, here's bamboo with original counter and de-pinked walls. I'll see about rattan chairs-- that's a bit harder.

Thank you very much. And no worries if you are unable to do the rattan. Any help is always appreciated by those of us who are technology challenged.

I'm not having any issue with keeping the black counter with the bamboo flooring. On my monitor the cabinets look less yellow with the black and the black gives a nice contrast ( as Jennifer mentioned earlier with a darker top). I think if it were me, I'd get the flooring in and then live with the counter for awhile as it is and see how you feel about it later. Though if I remember correctly there are some issues with it that you didn't like?

I agree with Ted. This should be a staged project. Do the flooring and live with it for a while. Then do the wall paint (less pink! as in my mock-ups). Then consider the counters if you need to.

None of these steps depends on the other. So you'll have 3 nice prezzies over the next year instead of one giant anxiety.

Thanks Ted and Design! I’m actually in New Jersey. I live on the water and this summer has been pretty bad for storms. We had a tornado touch down here last month. This storm brought a tornado warning, and 70 mph winds. Minimal damage to property and thankfully everyone is safe. Unfortunately, our power infrastructure is not equipped for this. Over a million people were out of power. Not sure how many people are still out. For those of us who are they gave us a restore date of Aug 11th. We got our generator up and running yesterday so we have some creature comforts. Happy to hear that the storm wasn’t as bad for you In Raleigh as you feared Design.

Beth I love the mock ups so much! The first one is so pretty! I really like the gold hardware. The taj is pretty but anything with gray tones scares me after my backsplash issue. The gray tones made the cabinets look so yellow! As far as the soap stone it is nice but I really have my heart set on lighting up the space. I love the idea of a light over sink. I have a bamboo shade but it’s light and I mostly keep it open because the kitchen doesn’t as much natural light as I would like. I really appreciate your help. I love your designs and they make me excited for my cream kitchen. Thank you so much!

Hi Kat! I love the kitchen you posted. It’s so pretty but I think the cabinets are different than mine. Mine pull very yellow and I feel like the gray really brings that out. Would love to see what you did with yours. I’m sure it’s gorgeous.

Hi jennifer! It’s so nice to see what it would look like with bamboo floors throughout. I appreciate your advice regrading the counter. I really have my heart set on everything being light and bright. Although,I see your point about doing things in stages. I haven’t found a counter in person that I love. I have a quote coming in for the flooring already so I may just end up doing that first. Will keep you posted. Thanks much for your advice and the mock ups!

Hi Ted! My issue with the counter aside from the fact that I don’t love the look, is that there is a seam right down the middle. It doesn’t line up and it’s very unsightly. I also hate that the counters show every streak, fingerprint etc. I haven’t found a countertop in person that works for me, and the floors are next up for me to do so I may just end having to do it in stages. Thanks for all your help and advice. I really appreciate all your time and effort to try and help me out.

I am late to this conversation, but I have cream cabinets as well. Actually, they are called silk and have a hazelnut glaze. I also have a separate small island/peninsula in cherry java - very dark brown and black slate appliances. I took down a wall and could not find my gorgeous hardwood. Nothing else looked right next to it, so I had to go in a completely different direction and installed brick. I love quartzite and marble, mainly because I like linear movement. It is difficult to find the perfect countertop in a white and gray world. I have been to several stone yards with all of my stuff - they are all sick of seeing me. Taj Mahal is very nice but looked blah. I found a few others - Dakar quartzite, a Palissandro marble, and a Santorini quartzite. I would be interested in seeing what you choose.

It's worth a few hundred dollars to hire a designer to give you ideas. That way, you do the shopping and installation (hire someone).

Hi Jen- I came across some ivory kitchens that made me think you might like to see what they had as far as counter tops. I know you are thinking light but wanted to post this dark one as it is pretty. And when you get into a leather or honed finish you don't get the finger prints like the gloss.

Cosmic Black granite in leathered finish

DuPont Circle · More Info

Colonial Cream on the island

Kitchen · More Info

ted, that first one is nice w/the black countertop. but it looks like a warm, light gray. Like this revere pewter

Ummm, are you talking about the walls as those photos I posted are in regards to the counters. I know I may have had a few more than normal adult kool-aids tonight though!

uh, no,,,thought you were talking about ivory color cabinets??!

Hi Jen- I came across some ivory kitchens that made me think you might like to..

Oh, gotcha now. LOL...

Spray paint or regular gloss paint on the backsplash tiles to any color you want. The same color as the cabinets would work. Then things on the countertop will decorate the space.

I have cream cabinets described as a warm sandy blonde, with a hazelnut glaze. My countertop is Taj Mahal quartzite and I just had the backsplash installed using Amagansett Zellige tiles. I wanted the real Zellige in 2x6 but could not afford them. I used a 4 x 4 white in a stacked pattern. They are warm and a bit iridescent. I have a small townhouse, middle unit - so dark inside. I took down a wall just to bring in more light. So, I had to keep pretty much everything light without being white. I will just add pops of color. Home Depot has the Amagansett tiles. You will also find them on Tile Bar under the name Montauk. They are Spanish tiles from Equipe Ceramicas that I originally saw in several tile stores, so the name was changed and HD is less expensive.

This post is over a year old.

Will you post final finished pictures?

Love it! We'd suggest you make the floor darker, so the cream kitchen will look even better. Also, you can add a bit of color - chairs, tablecloth, pillows, carpets.

Do you want to rebuild your kitchen with cream cabinets but aren't sure where to start? You will have no trouble deciding on a color plan for your kitchen if you have a good understanding of how colors work together.

Cream cabinets are adaptable in that they may be painted in a variety of bold or soft hues and still look great.

What matters is that you choose the right combination of soft and bright hues. Here's a quick rundown of which color schemes might look great in a kitchen with cream cabinets.

Our Cream cabinet color guide can assist you in making your kitchen the most beautiful room in your house.