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[faeriemoon]

There is a place for both.  It depends what you like, and if done correctly both can be beautiful.

My house features off white perimeter cabinets, and a dark stained island.

[Marsha2003]

I've had both and either one works for me.  However, I did find that I noticed nicks and dents more on the white painted finish than on the dark wood finish.  YMMV.

[wagirl]

I'm not a fan of white anything as a main color---I have uber cheap plastic coated white cabinets in this apartment I live in now and they are garbage---worse yet they are recessed panels that gather dust--and I had to wiped them down!! Way too much work in my opinion and the plastic is peeling----hate them!!! I had formica cabinet fronts with that awful orangey color oak pulls on the bottom,  in my house that was built in 1986 and was the style---they were flat panels and very easy to clean--I picked out a very light peach creme for them---as my scheme was beige, and grey---not a fan of that after 35 years there---sold that house in 2021. White for me would be more of an accent than a main color and I would choose a light wood flat panel front.

[shoesnbags]

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@Desert Lily wrote:

My house was built last year. I have ivory/cream cabinets on top & muted navy on the bottom. My backsplash tiles are small patterned tiles with navy blue/ivory/gray/white, and my quartz countertops are white/off-white with some small strands of gray.

The kitchen appliances are stainless but the laundry room washer & dryer are navy blue.

This is supposed to be my "forever" home, and so I got what I wanted. I'm very happy with the kitchen. It's my favorite room in the house.

White appears to have been popular, but it wasn't what I wanted.

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@Desert Lily 

Your kitchen sounds beautiful! That color combo would suit me to a tee. I wouldn't change a thing. 

[Sooner]

Seems the answer is do the cabinets have a good finish and do you take care of them. White or dark, both get chipped and dinged and dirty if they are used hard.   So get what you like.  

[ID2]

I live in a cottage on a lake. I have everything thats white and bright. My home isn't that large so I need to make the best of it. I loathe dark anything. I just got done remodeling my kitchen and again got updated white cabinets, white BlueStar appliances, white w/ tan quartz countertops that go up the backsplash. My new kitchen is quite striking if I do say so myself! 

[Mom2Dogs]

@granddi   I had my darker oak cabinets painted white  last year. The process was a bit different than a contractor coming in and painting the doors, drawers, etc.  I have no idea how that type of painting holds up.

The contractor took off all doors and drawers, took them to his location cleaned, sanded, painted, sanded again and painted 2nd coat.  The finish is more durable than cabinet paint.

They also spray painted the frames of the cabinets...two coats.

It took a couple of weeks, so there was a mess and they used plastic to separate our family area from the kitchen.  

My cabinets wipe clean and look really nice.  Very little of the grain of the oak shows thru.

We are very happy with the results.

[2sisters]

Last year DH painted the oak cabinets white.  We have a small kitchen and it took him about two months.  He was very maticulis with every step from sanding to finishing. We updated the hardware and counter tops.  They look great and we haven't had any problems with peeling or scratches.  About once a month I wipe them down with a damp microfiber cloth.  
For us it was well worth it and it made the kitchen look brighter and better..

[Estellee]

Both white and dark are nice, I prefer white for myself.

[candys mine]

I like the look of white cabinets, at least for the upper cabinets.  The One thing I would instst on is NO sharp ledges or right angles in the decorative design.  Dust and grease would collect in those corners and be visible and a bear to clean.