Below is a picture of cabinet samples with the flooring. Th etop is saddle then husk and barley is on the bottom

I like the Saddle Stain finish. Would post pictures or a floor plan or both? That would help. Thank you!

Of your three samples, the Saddle is the clear winner. By about 100 miles. Stick with the plan.

I was having issues posting from my phone so now I'm on my laptop and for some reason under a different user name. Anyway, thank you all for your input. I was able to get a rendering from my KD with the saddle stain. The countertop is not that color though - we will be going with Calacatta Miraggio Gold quartz which is much whiter and should brighten it up more. Haven't made the final decisions on backsplash but will definitely be in the white variety. We're also putting in four recessed LED lights and most likely a pendant over the sink - still thinking on that part, but there will be light over the sink.

Below is a better picture of the floor sample with Saddle and Barley.

I'm still thinking Saddle is the obvious choice, but what about Barley for the uppers? I'd still leave the base cabinets and the cabinets surrounding the oven and refrigerator saddle since they meet with the floor.

If not Barley, maybe Shortbread? I don't have a sample, but below is from Kraftmaid's site. I've also posted the Saddle and Barley for reference since colors can look different in different light.

I've never been a fan of the two-tone in the past, but I think that is because most of them are white on top and to me it just looks a little unfinished. No judgement against anyone who has done this - I'm the same way about white cars. I have issues, I know.

Anyway, the two-tone is growing on me - probably from seeing so much of it on this site. I don't know anyone personally who has done the two tone so it's a newer concept to me. I've tried searching this site for inspiration photos, but most of them are a mix of painted and stained cabinets or have just the island a different stain. My kitchen is small and we do not have an island. Does the two-tone work better with larger kitchens? Or does it not work well with two kinds of stain?

If anyone has any pictures of a kitchen with dark wood stained lowers and and a light wood stained uppers would you mind posting? I'd like to get an idea how it would look in real life. I know I can ask my KD to re-color the rendering, but real life pictures are always better IMO.

Any input or suggestions are greatly appreciated - even if you think I'm off my rocker for even considering this!

Thanks for the input. Pretty sure DH would not go along with it anyway but if it was something I really wanted he would agree. I think I just need to get this order in and be done with it!!

We are planning better lighting. The plan was for four LED lights in the ceiling but need to do more research on that. We are putting in an induction cooktop and I've read a few posts about interference with LED lights causing a buzzing sound. Going to research that more but either way there will be four overhead lights, some type of lighting above the sink (most likely a pendant) and under cabinet lighting. The lighting is horrible in our current kitchen so I'm making sure we have plenty of light in this one.

Did you go with saddle and are you happy with that decision still? We are looking at saddle for our next renovation project. Thanks!

I’m doing a saddle island with white oak perimeter cabinets!
see the tinged