I mostly prefer the white around the frig. Any thought about island, only curious.

Island is the dark color

Around a clear window idea to eliminate box cabinets, and place shelves [maybe for often used, and in pretty containers...]. The shelves could coordinate with the toasty brown/ add white canisters... vice versa ?

Also, tiling above counters?

i also prefer white around the fridge. The other pantry to the right of the doorway appears to be out of place when it doesn't match the other white ones. I like the light countertop best. Is the island another different colour?

Still trying to see if I can afford the tile backsplash in herringbone pattern, and a taupe color to break up the white

@starglaze rendering isn't exactly right. countertops are white; all base cabinets and the island are driftwood color. That pantry to the right of the doorway has to be driftwood because I have another darker wood furniture piece to put next to it.

Idk if you need this, but I just read some, and it's full of info. Lots of taupe grout might impact how much of darker units you want...

https://www.houzz.com/magazine/what-grout-color-should-you-choose-for-your-tile-stsetivw-vs~89929909

@Krista Riddley sorry, my bad. I jumped ahead and didn't read that the first time. I personally like a white panel against the darker cabinets. (altered the colour of the wood to look more driftwoody)

It's cool of its not your thing but adding to the options, It looks like your top pantry door would be countertop height if placed on the bottom. Then every pantry could still have a driftwood base like this picture.

herring bone backsplash would be beautiful.

@starglaze thanks. Don’t much like the two tone look for tall cabinet in the pic above.

Would love more input on whether folks think both tall cabinets need to be the same color (ie the one next to the fridge and the one on the right wall next to doorway) I have a dark color hutch I’m putting next to the one to the right of the doorway so that tall cabinet has to be driftwood not white.

Looking at your renderings I prefer the dark around the refrigerator.

seems like both tall cabs should match & agree white looks better around frig bc of the cabinet over frig. Why does it matter that the hutch you’re placing by the stand alone cabinet is darker? You have 2 colors of cabinets - other furniture doesn’t have to match either color.

I’m changing my mind on color - still think tall cabinets should match but I think the darker color on both is better. I’m getting stuck on the over frig cabinet but should look ok darker since the left side piece at end of counter will also be dark.

If you go with dark cabinets all around I would go with a lighter countertop to brighten the room

@S L Thanks. Picture isn't accurate. The countertops are actually white/quartz with veining.

@KW PNW Z8 The reason I think the tall cabinet and hutch should match is because i think a stark white cabinet will not look good next to the hutch i have - it's a beautiful custom made item with teak wood, wrought iron and a carved door. The driftwood really complements it well. But I prefer the white around the fridge -- so i'm stuck. Here is the hutch and the driftwood sample.

Krista, that hutch is a great & unique piece! I agree it will show nicer next to your darker cabinetry color. So, the cabinet around frig - your rendering shows a SS frig. I think both the frig & your counters look better against the darker cabinetry. The white cabinets “feel” more important as a design element if they are all the same type of top cabinet, not blended in with a bottom cabinet. And, I still think those 2 tall cabinets should be same color. The free standing cabinet looks attached to the kitchen ( rather than a floating piece) if it’s same as the other floor cabinet. So that’s my vote - the darker driftwood cabinet around frig bc 1) SS frig looks better, 2) white counter looks better & 3) stand alone cabinet in driftwood looks more cohesive with kitchen if it matches built in floor cabinet. ☺️

Dark cabinet around fridge is my vote.

Would love more opinions on this. Will having the darker cabinets around the fridge at the end of the run interrupt the flow? The reason I chose two tone was that I liked white kitchens but not enough to do all white - feels to stark to me. So I’m still torn about having the dark ones around the fridge as I like the clean bright look. Having a hard time telling if I’ll get that with the dark cab around the fridge. But that leaves the issue of the other tall cabinet which needs to be dark. FYI there is a family room on the other side - one big open concept room. Thanks!

Is it too late to change some of the cabinetry design? Your fridge is in a tricky location. Where does that doorway between the fridge and the pantry lead to?

@lucky998877 Thanks. Too late to change - only a color change possible at this point. We have drywall in and things are moving fast. The doorway leads to the dining room.

I think the driftwood shade next to the ornate (and lovely) teak piece won’t be complimentary. You could go white everywhere and use black on the island. The teak cabinet will be a great piece vs feeling odd and your kitchen will feel more coordinated and really interesting.

If you still want the driftwood, I’d just use in the lower cabinetry in sink area, with the remaining white and island black and use light flooring to compliment driftwood and pull it into the design

I‘d look at a ton of inspiration pictures before deciding, as It’s a huge decision.

Now I’m confused. Are you doing 2 colors or 3? White uppers, driftwood lowers & black island? And question you asked is about section around frig & standing pantry bc you want standing pantry to be driftwood& section around frig to be white? What color is floor - darker like rendering pictures & please confirm island color.

I’d stick with 2 colors. Can you put a piece of each color next to your teak piece to actually see which looks better for it to decide on wall pantry? For section next to frig, my biggest concern is the white panel next to the white counter. I think it detracts from white counter Can you eliminate that panel on left of frig & just have the upper cabinets & side pantry be white as you want? Seems the panel is to create a built in look for frig but it’s really not a built in frig & counter looks so much better without the white next to it. I actually just saw this Frig layout with cabs above & pantry on right side that I’m describing on HGTV show last night! It looked great - all white uppers & the side pantry - no left hand panel around frig & did have darker lowers. It made me think of your dilemma so I’m happy to see post still active! So that’s my suggestion - eliminate left side panel, white uppers & right side pantry, put a piece of each of the 2. (Not 3) cabinet colors next to your teak piece to see which looks better with it.

@KW PNW Z8

There are only two colors -- white uppers and driftwood lowers (example pic of driftwood is above) including the island (rendering is not fully accurate). Countertops are white quartz with veining. I am trying to choose between white around fridge/pantry and driftwood around fridge/pantry. Floor is oak -- see pic below (but are being refinished) Which HGTV show did you see it on? I was also watching last night and missed it. Which episode/time? BTW are you a designer?

I injected the black island idea for consideration, as I think it will help make more sense of the dark cabinet or it’s going to feel off both color and style wise.

I did white fridge area cabinets, next to a white upper. At first I was set on doing dark cabinets for the fridge, but started feeling like the kitchen would end up too dark. I'm very happy with the all white end cabinet, and my crown doesn't change color...but the question in your situation is still the other tall cabinet being a different color...I would do both white. Good luck!

@Maureen not sure why it would be off if the island is the same color as base cabinets -- and i can't add third color at this point.

Your hutch has so much character. I wouldn't be afraid to place it next to a white pantry. The contrast of the two will make the hutch sing louder. It is almost like a continuation of the two tone design but it will add enough separation to the rooms (maybe separation is not what you want however).

When the pantries don't match on either side of the doorway its a bit uneven. To the eye the entire kitchen looks like one rectangle with a chunk taken out of the bottom right.

I can understand your dilemma, especially after seeing your sample of cabinetry.

What if instead of the right hand pantry you had another driftwood base countertop with white upper cabinets?

Or perhaps move the pantry to the other side beside the microwave and do it in white? Then white pantries could anchor each side

Krista - HGTV show was a DVR’d edition of Tarek’s “Flipping 101”. HGTV is my respite from news commentary 😁 Definitely not a designer, just a problem solver with creative streak. I like starglaze idea of moving cab to end by micro but assume space is issue so can’t. It would be good to have the eye see continuous white at ceiling when facing main kitchen so that’s a point in favor of white around frig. IMO, white cab panel next to counter & maybe also next to BS ( we don’t know what that will be) is distracting from pretty counter so that’s a point against white around frig. IMO, color of free standing pantry can go either way but most important is what teak piece needs & assume teak piece is permanent fixture. So for me, best solution is to eliminate left side white panel next to frig. The cabinet look would be sort of like my pic - though right side of frig is wall & upper & lower cabs are same. I have black island & over stove hood. Could the cabinet rendering be changed to show that so you could have another visual?

Was referring to the dark cabinet feeling disconnected and reason for suggesting going dark on island. I understand if you don’t want another color for sure, but never hurts to hear other ideas. Good luck and it should be a great kitchen.

@KW PNW Z8 -- no can't add a cabinet on the left side of the microwave at this point as @starglaze suggested. Builder is getting impatient with me on changes, and we are getting behind so have to choose from what we have. Also the rendering was free so he said we can't ask for anymore. Appreciate the input and thinking about it from different perspectives. Remodeling is complicated and hard!

Krista - I agree remodeling is hard! The reason I had that pic to post is that we just finished one, The island In my pic was 2 level - 42” high bar & we had granite & busy BS. We lowered island to counter level, changed all counters to quartz & also changed BS. Our challenge was finding large enough material to have a seamless island - it’s 10.5” corner to corner & 45” deep. The angles on island are the challenge for size & seamless. We used a Cambria quartz as one of the few with large enough jumbo slab. On your rendering - can you modify it on your own or at least print it in color & do a mock up? Rudimentary but sometimes simple works. A side note - we used a General Contractor for our remodel which included new master shower enclosure & new guest bath counter. When he or his crew, carpenter, electrician, or even the subs offered advice, we listened carefully. We considered them the experts with the experience of seeing similar changes in other homes so they could better visualize. I did ask them for basis of their opinion. That is, had they seen similar or were they, like me, visualizing? We didn’t take 100% of their advice but we did listen & sometimes changed our original plan to their suggestion or a combo of their idea & ours.. We didn’t have a KD bc no footprint changes made. At the end of the day, you want to have no regrets about the $$ you spent! As I’ve learned from Houzzers, very few are able to do big costly projects without lots of self doubt about decisions. Understanding that alone was a confidence booster for me! I’d like to hear what you decide.

Thanks @KW PNW Z8 Pretty close to going with the dark cabinet -- the builder's recommendation (though still a little anxious). There should be a good bit of light in there, Paint will be light greige (balboa mist) We have one skylight, sliding door and three windows and although there are a lot of trees we are at E/South/W on that side of the house. Much of my furniture is dark teak wood shown in the pic, or medium brown, and overall I tend to do earth tones. And this will be a combo kitchen family room. Builder feels strongly that i should go with the dark -- i think mainly he thought the panel would look bad otherwise. Thanks for offering your perspectives. Helpful. I feel like I've spent literally hours mulling over all these decisions, many of which had budgetary consequences.

In general I like a light surround for the same reason you keep the uppers light -- for a lighter feel to the room. However, if you're making the free-standing cabinet the darker color, I would make the fridge cabinetry darker too. Otherwise that one cabinet looks like an afterthought. Be sure to keep all the other finishes light, however, in that case, as it will be a heavier feel with those tall dark cabinets.

Krista, you HAVE spent hours ponderIng your choices & questioning your decisions! I agonized & dreamed about my countertops bc I really didn’t want white or marble look. Too cold I thought with all of the oak & warm colors in my home. My choices were very limited & I had originally picked a Silestone material that I loved but though it was long enough, it wasn’t wide enough & we’d lose 2” off longest edge of seating side of island. But, more than not wanting white, I didn’t want a seam in island or to lose any size on surface of island. So, compromise was to go with whitish color with veins. Love it! Cambria “Colton” is a warm, creamy white with both dark grey & brown color veining. So, my advice now is, you’ve made your decision - go with it and don’t look back! There are no wrong decisions, only different opinions!

@acm thanks. -- what other finishes are you thinking of?

@KW PNW Z8 lol -- of course I'm still second guessing, and probably will be until i tell the builder. I think I spent multiple days on paint and powder room vanity + vanity lights -- too. crazy.. now i'm on to backsplash which i really want but is another budget hit. Here it is (the lighter one) next to the countertop and lower cabinet sample. I want to do it in herringbone -- looks like about $1500 just for installation

counter, backsplash. I'd try for a better match to the veining in the counter -- your choice looks too taupe; I'd go for a very light gray. doesn't have to cost a fortune. I used this one recently

https://www.flooranddecor.com/porcelain-ceramic-decoratives/artisan-mist-ceramic-tile-100500958.html

and it looked great!

(sorry, I can't find my photos focused just on the tile, but you can get the sense...)

My vote is white on all the tall cabinets. Also since you prefer white cabinets, just avoiding too much, maybe just the island is the driftwood with white everywhere else?

I like both but do favor the lighter for now. I thought about herringbone but decided on brick lay as you see from my pic. I chose that bc I also picked a tonal tile with 3 shades for texture & interest wo being too busy (see pic) & chose grout to match tile not counter. My tile is 2 1/2” x 5”, Ztile Melange, Green Tea color. Looks gray! My advice to pass along on picking BS is to ”wait until the countertops are installed”! I’m so glad I did. I .read that over & over from Houzz Pros too. I took the advice to heart bc the person at countertop company told me to just wait! I had narrowed my choice down to 2, which it looks like you have done. Once tops were in I did a 180 change on BS tile I’d decided on & went with my second choice. And I was looking at multiple pieces of the 2 tiles to get a better idea. A surprise to me for sure that I changed. All of those whose opinions I’d solicited also seemed amazed at difference in look sitting on top of new counter. And, I solicited opinions from every trades person in my kitchen as well as friends & neighbors! 99% of them changed their pick after counters in too. Reason is that until counter is in, you’re looking at a small sample and a huge vertical slab. Light hits the counter very differently on the horizontal & in your home light. The BS tile as well. So, make sure both of your picks are available on quick turnaround & just wait. BTW, at this point, my pick for you is lighter tile Bc I Like it better with darker cabinets & tile will be right next to cabinet color next to frig. When I look at BS my eye goes down not up so I see base cabs more. Love your counter & cab together.

@KW PNW Z8 Hmm guess I could wait, it wasn't in the budget anyway. Does it mess something up to it later? Can you do it after everything is finished? Well actually the tile installer is doing it with the bathroom tile which we do need sooner.

Krista, it doesn’t mess anything up to do later in fact BS cannot be installed until counter is installed. So no harm, no foul to wait on choice.

@KW PNW Z8 I do have to decide if I'm doing the backsplash at all, because it affects the countertops. I would leave off 4 inch backsplash countertop if so. Wonder if not having the four inch there and just paint will be a problem.

With a full kitchen redo as you’re doing, I wouldn’t give up on what I really want - the full BS! I think if you use 4” now, it’ll delay your eventual installation of full tile just bc you paid for the 4” & now the demo & wall prep costs more etc. I don’t think it’s a problem to just paint & wait to catch up $$ wise & that’s what I’d do. You might ask your tile setter what s/he thinks. I saw that you’ve put the question out there so let’s see if Houzzers agree with me!

I actually dont think the driftwood and your beautiful cabinet look all that great together. I would do both cabinets white.Having one tall one dark and one tall one white is not the best look.