We used alder wainscoting. It will be stained.

If you have white trim or baseboards on the side of the adjoining roon facing out- Shaker panels painted to match your trim would tie the 2 areas together. Glossy white is easy to clean.

Do you have any beadboard or wainscoting anywhere else in your home? We went with beadboard stained to match the island cabs as it was the most cost effective but I would have preferred wainscoting. It is tough when there are so many choices. :)

Budget is definitely a concern. However I didn't want to not order the cabinet material and then regret it later. All the other solutions can be decided on later I think.
Ease of cleaning is definitely a consideration. We will have white trim. I didn't know if it needed to match the cabinets, trim or if it matters. It will be seen from both the keeping room and great room.

Just my opinion, but given that's it's going to be seen from two other rooms, I would use cabinet material. My large island is faced with raised panels in the same wood/finish as the raised panel cabinets.

It is counter height so that would be less pricy than bar height though.

This post was edited by rrah on Sun, Jun 8, 14 at 15:49

We have white trim also, open to living and dining room. We went with the cabinet maker too as I was afraid of finding stain that would match If we did it ourselves.

stained shaker panels for us.

We went with cabinet fronts.

faux stacked stone

mjwkr, your kitchen is beautiful. Do you have any other pictures?

Sarah6381, this is the only other picture I have: