This is an example of a more all black aesthetic she is thinking might look better. Of course, we do have white drywall on the left and right sides of the stove niche without upper cabinets.

IMO black kitchens suck the life out of lighting so you need double the pot lights all LED 4000K and I would never have alight color for base cabinets in any kitchen where the other color is dark and BTW I also think more shine is a better choice for counters for sure and I think also the baccksplash all those matter finishes will show every little grease mark and honestly that does not look like a kitchen where someone actually cooks and all that undercabinet lighting also needs to be LED 400K not the yellow that is shown.

I understand. The house has a ton of light ( a little worried actually). We have loads of pot lights as well. The black in my case wouldn’t go all the way to the ceiling. Just the inside neiche would be matte black. My floors are gloss white tile so the shine is there for sure. Thanks

I think the white is a bit nicer. Besides, why would you want to hide your Aga?

If you want an all-black kitchen, then yes. But personally I would never want an all-black kitchen, so I would want to leave them alone. Are the cabinets already painted, though? If not, I doubt that would be a change order with a cost associated, unless it means an additional coat of paint for the darker color (or at least it wouldn't have been for our cabinetmaker--he confirmed the colors just before purchasing the paint, which was quite late in the process).

This discussion may inspire some color creativity:

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/6266631/building-a-custom-home-and-went-unique-with-color-what-do-u-think#n=10

Black & flush style. Very dramatic entertainment kitchen.

Lots of light needed from multiple sources.

Assuming its the two of you in order to store all glassware & dishes in a no upper kitchen.

Remembering back to the original "how much is this going to cost...." & thinking I was a little low.

Looks awesome.

@artemis78 Yes - unfortunately cabinets are already painted so he has to break them apart, tape them off and repaint… ~$2,500

Oof. That would be a hard no for me, then. Definitely not worth the added cost and extra layers of paint unless you are really, really committed to all black.

At this point, repainting the faces (& a few trim pieces) can be done almost anytime then IF needed.

@Jeffrey R. Grenz, General Contractor We have quite a bit of storage in in the drawers underneath, in the pantry area, and in a floating dry bar so we aren’t too concerned about glassware and dishes.

Here is a current state picture of the area in question.

A ton of natural light as well as pot lights galore. 14 ft ceilings with clearestory windows. Those windows on the right side are facing west (that’s another discussion)…

I remember very well our original thread discussing the cost of this endeavor. My recollection is our original construction budget excluding the land was ~ $800k… we are now in the $1.5M+++ area and making difficult decisions every day about scope.

I would leave as is. I like the idea of the black in the recess and the black island in the foreground.

I very rarely like kitchens with two different color cabinets, but yours is definitely an exception. I think the white cabinets break up the space, in a good way. They let the island be the star. It is going to be stunning when it's finished, please post pictures.

Cool, sexy kitchen...I would love it. Reconsider matte black backsplash tile behind your 48" range...it will show oil and grease really well!

Thanks everyone… we are leaning towards staying with the white lowers. We may change the stove backsplash but that decision is still in flux. We may also change the stove counter back to white. All of your inputs were very helpful.

No don't change the counters back to white. The black backsplash with the black counters creates a nice nook feeling that indirectly mimics the feel of the island.

Tell your wife to stop second guessing herself. The look will be stunning.

Just FYI… cabinetmaker just sent over some photos of the laundry room cabinets with our selected Emtek pull tabs. The white cabinets in the kitchen will look very similar.

Love your cabinets, will save the picture for inspiration for the future :-). Could you pls share how the fronts were made, is it the sprayed wood?

Yes. They are painted wood. That color is a Sherwin Williams match to Ben Moore Chantilly Lace.

Thank You, is it solid wood or painted plywood?

Hmm… I believe solid wood with dovetail joints at the front. I’m actually meeting with the cabinetmaker on site this afternoon so I’ll ask and report back on the precise construction.

Pre-finished maple ply boxes
Mdf door board fronts
Drawers 5/8 dovetail maple

@Sam Biller, thank you so much!