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[Reva]

I'm in the process of deciding what type of cabinets to pick.   I have the 1980's oak and am replacing them.   I can't decide between a stained maple honey, maple spice or painted off white.   What do you all have and do you love them.  Thanks, Reva

[RedTop]

We updated our kitchen last July, and had a local cabinet maker custom build our new cabinets.   By going local, I was able to get deeper drawers in my base cabinets, as well as full access pot drawers.  I only have 4 base cabinets with doors, since I have issues accessing items that get pushed to the very back of the cabinet.   I showed the cabinet maker the oak stain I liked, and he was able to mix stains to get exactly what I wanted.   

To get the cabinets I wanted from Lowe's, the price was nearly $10,000.   I paid my cabinet maker $5600 for all my cabinets, Formica countertops, and hardware, plus installation.   The cabinets are absolutely beautiful, and my kitchen turned out exactly as I hoped.   I also had the cabinet maker custom build a hutch for my dining room to match my table, and you would think I bought both pieces at the same time.   The hutch cost me $1500, compared to the $3300 price in the furniture store.   

I strongly suggest you check out your local cabinet makers, as they will take more time to show you what they can make, which will be a higher quality product than buying from Lowe's, etc.   

[Mominohio]

My kitchen cabinets are a hot mess of 1970's dark fake wood and plastic, that the previous owners were none too kind to. 

I used to long to have that beautiful (to me) 1980's oak kitchen (and I'd gladly take that over what I have now), but as time has passed, I think if I could afford to remodel, I'd be looking at white or off white cabinets now.

I think they don't go out of fashion as easy as various woods do, they make a kitchen so much brighter, lighter, and bigger looking, too.

We have been here 21 years, and I'm kind of glad I didn't get to redo it yet, because I have changed my mind about what I'd like. 

Have fun choosing a new look, and I agree with looking at local cabinet makers, or kitchen remodeling companies over the Lowe's type places.

[151949]

I think it depends on where you live. Here in Florida several of our neighbors decided to get white only to have them turn a putrid yellow with in a few years. They were told it was from the sun on the white paint. They tried to paint them unsuccessful - it bled through. So in the end the builder had to give them all new cabinets and the white was removed as an option. Personally we picked a medium tone cherry stain on maple wood cabinets and I liked it so much that when we bought our new camper I chose the same stain again.In 2001 we redid our kitchen in our Pittsburgh home and I picked a red oak with bead board doors because it went best with my country decor.I loved it and still miss it was so pretty. And only oak would have been right for that farmhouse look and to match my antique  mission oak furniture from 1905 that we inherited from DH's grandmother.

[Tigriss]

I too would go with an antique white or shade of white. I think kitchens need to be light and open, so glass doors or no doors or open shelving on the top for open stacking of your everyday dishes.  I love lots of light for the clean feeling of being able to see everything so wonderfully!  I love open counters as well.  You can never have enough counter space.  I would suggest that you get shelves that pull out, especially on the bottom so you can pull them out and get to things you keep stored in those hard to reach spaces.  Make use of corner spaces in the top and bottom of your kitchen as well.

I will second going with a local cabinet maker.  You can get a custom order without the expense of the local big box shops.  You are also supporting a local small business.

[m0rgan]

We updated our house in Pa. which had a small galley kitchen.  I chose IKEA white cabinets and did deep drawers instead of cabinets on the bottom.  I love the drawers, so easy to access everything.

[Lucky Charm]

I'm going to be re-doing a kitchen sometime this year and will again go with a painted white/cream color.

No direct sunlight in our kitchen as we'll have awnings over the double windows.

The stained wood is very pretty, but doesn't go with the beach house feel to me.

I'll also pick out a very light (think vanilla fudge) granite counter top.  Have never gone so light, but this kitchen will be very light and bright.

Currently our kitchen at home has the off white cabinets, but a darker granite that reminds me of the tide pools I see when out walking the beach.

I would go with whatever stain matches the other rooms that can be seen from the kitchen.  (If your dining room has darker stained furniture, you may want to match that.)

[homedecor1]

everyone I knew was having their kitchens done in white cabinetry. After looking for almost 6 months I decided on a coastal cream solid wood Kraft maid cabinets. I did all the upper taller and the base cabinets with pot drawers.

At first, I was to do sliders in the cabinets but then decided on pot drawers.

my only suggestion to you would be to get what you like (not salespeople and friends) and I would stay away from cabinets that are not full wood.  These cabinets will most likely be up a long time!

This is the design of my kitchen.

[ID2]

We just sold our old house in June. I had white cabinets in that kitchen. I was suprised how many people walked through our house did not like white in the kitchen. Many of the women clearly stated they did not want white cabinets. Oh well, go figure. I am now living in our brand new cottage and yes, I have white craftsman style cabinets here. But my huge island is in espresso color. Since my house is open concept I wanted my kitchen to blend into my great room where we have espresso colored cabinets on our wet bar.

[gardenman]

I've heard people say they don't want white cabinets because they get dirtier than darker cabinets. The reality is they don't get diriter, they just show the dirt. Showing the dirt in a kitchen isn't necessarily a bad thing from a food safety standpoint. If you can see the dirt, you know it's there and can clean it. If the dirt is hidden from view you may be contaminating your hands and then anything you touch every time you open a cupboard/drawer without knowing it. I like bathrooms and kitchens white so you know what's there and can clean it rather than assume they're clean and find out the hard way they aren't.