A fad that doesn’t play well in all situations. It was trending several years ago. Now, not so much.

Not a fan. I'd stick with the more traditional all painted or all stained, less like to get tired of that.

my theory on using light/white uppers is to lighten the feel of the room.

The white helps bounce the natural light from windows around the room.

Having Dark lowers seems practical, to me, they don't show wear as white might.

It's a personal thing, I choose things/colors that relate to the space I'm working on at the time, not whats on trend at the time.

Yeah no one was doing that when we chose it but I wanted stained cabinets and didn't want the whole thing to be stained. Like I said most people don't like it but I didn't care. You do what you like.

“my theory on using light/white uppers is to lighten the feel of the room.”

My theory is, a kitchen that gets plenty of daytime light, and/or has appropriate overhead lighting doesn’t need white cabinets at all, to lighten the feel of the room. Thus stated, the room will never feel heavy and need so-called lightening.

Aesthetically, imo, the problem is the gloss. White will be glossy and current wood finish preferred is matte. Two different style regions.

We do lots of 2 color kitchens. Very popular where I am.

Now we are finding that folks are moving towards lighter bases - white oak or light maples.

It really is personal preference and how it looks in the room.

We still do one color kitchens or maybe an island in a different color. Everyone is different.

That's the beauty of design

This look very much depends on the size of the space and layout. It isn't a one size fits all solution. That is why it looked terrible as a trend. Show us your space and layout and we can try to find pictures of white uppers and wood lowers that match your situation. It is easy to get swayed by inspo pics that don't relate to your space, the mount of windows you have, or your layout and then be disappointed after.

a kitchen that gets plenty of daytime light, and/or has appropriate overhead lighting doesn’t need white cabinets at all, to lighten the feel of the room.

Again it depends on the kitchen. An extremely small kitchen, or one that is chopped up could benefit from feeling lightened no matter how much natural or added light there is.

I am no pro but I love the look of white uppers & wood lowers. BTW, there is no reason that the white uppers should be glossy. Paint comes in several different finishes.

I am personally not a fan, but if you have always coveted this look, go for it.

I like how the light oak is now trending, so I would use that.

My favorite inspiration image for that design prompt is below. If you look closely, it’s amazing how pretty the space is. Technically it has bizarrely high ceilings, a weird little soffit, the uppers are inset, the lowers are full overlay. Nothing is consistent, but it’s a beautiful space.

I have always been in the camp it makes the room look like you are in progress..which way are you going all wood or all white??? But having finally seen it done in 'real life' if the kitchen is very open concept and large it can work. My sister did this in a renovation. I didn't eve notice for a few hours. Of course she also had windows looking out over the lake which is what garners my attention more.

Sorry the one eam44 shows is not a good example IMO .But this has now been a thing for a long time so maybe not a trend anymore . I do think if you love the look do it no one else needs to love it at all. I will say if you go two toned caninets the only one counter for all and IMO also one style of cabinet.

It’s your kitchen and your money. Lighting is the best way to keep a kitchen bright, but I also think that dark cabs in a small space can be a bit heavy feeling. Again, pictures would be helpful.