Our friends bought a house with black cabinets and they look good. The previous owner's were a little rough on the cabinets but left some touch up pens that work really well.

I personally do not like them... but it is not my house!

FWIW... I dislike white also.

Not my style but I've seen some kitchens with black cabinets that were absolutely gorgeous. (I can admire a style without wanting it for myself!)

I'd probably advise against black cabinetry if your kitchen is small or will get very little natural light because the black might make it feel overcrowded and even smaller. But if the kitchen is large and well-lit, go for it.

I'm not a fan. At most I would want them on lower cabinets only with a lighter color above. Or better yet, just on an island and do the other cabs in another color. I suggest you go to houzz.com and search for kitchens with black cabinets and see if you like the look or not.

I am currently in a rental with a black kitchen - with deep fire engine red walls if you can imagine. Although I am sure they can be done much better as this is an old house with bad cabinets that they just painted black to 'update' them - I do not like it. It's dark and very intense. I do not enjoy being in the kitchen and alas no dishwasher so I am currently spending a lot of time in there!

If you love it and decide to go ahead - be sure you plan for a space with a lot of natural light (windows on at least 2 sides) and that your lighting plan is very well thought out.

Do you have any inspiration pictures to share?

edit: clarified the cabinets age and quality - has nothing to do with it being a farm house and looking back that is how my original post read. Sorry.

This post was edited by Autumn.4 on Sun, Oct 13, 13 at 14:03

Have you ever owned a black car? Black tends to show all kinds of dirt. And it sucks the light out of the room. Forget having abundant natural light. That's only a plus in the daytime. If you ever want to use the kitchen after dark, you'll need a lot of extra lighting to make work. And, the only time black would be a non trendy choice that could stand the test of time is if the home is very modern, and you're talking glossy black slab cabinets. Or, you're talking a more rustic country style home, where you have more traditional cabinets with "antiquing". Anything else, like the current "espresso shaker" or "black island" is going to SCREAM "so 2000 teens". Just like whitewashed oak screams "so 80's".

Black kitchens can be tricky. If you aren't careful, they can get very dark...
{{gwi:1506901}}From Farmhouse plans

Having lots of light and white walls, can balance things out a bit... {{gwi:1506902}}From Farmhouse plans
{{gwi:1506903}}From Farmhouse plans

Or you could choose to have a black and white kitchen...always a classic look. {{gwi:1506904}}From Farmhouse plans
{{gwi:1506905}}From Farmhouse plans
{{gwi:1506906}}From Farmhouse plans
{{gwi:1506907}}From Farmhouse plans
{{gwi:1506909}}From Farmhouse plans

I would love to have black cabinets, as long as they were from a better cabinet maker. AND lots of light, what company are you thinking of? What would be the rest of the house built ins, etc?

I am also planning to have black cabinets in my kitchen. I love how elegant and classy black kitchen cabinets look when done correctly. I would suggest looking at all different black colors and not a shiny gloss black. Having enough light is key to a black kitchen. I plan to have LED lights installed under the cabinets above counter top and under cabinets close to the floor to give more lighting. My entire back side of kitchen/living area will be all glass. Please post pics when you start. I am in full research mode on them. Good luck! :)

I am also planning to have black cabinets in my kitchen. I love how elegant and classy black kitchen cabinets look when done correctly. I would suggest looking at all different black colors and not a shiny gloss black. Having enough light is key to a black kitchen. I plan to have LED lights installed under the cabinets above counter top and under cabinets close to the floor to give more lighting. My entire back side of kitchen/living area will be all glass. Please post pics when you start. I am in full research mode on them. Good luck! :)

I would not use dark cabinets above the counter height because reflected light is just too important in a kitchen.

It depends on the style of the home and how much extra light your are OK with adding. Don't do it if you aren't willing to at least double the lighting though.

dd has black cabinets lighter granite, floors and walls, lots of windows very open concept it looks/works
great
i'm a huge white cabinet fan would take her kitchen in a minute.....

Black cabinets are not my cup of tea, but they can look nice in the right setting. I don't think they're right for every application: You must have the natural light, and you must balance out the dark with plenty of light colors -- walls, curtains, whatever.

Thanks for the opinions guys and gals! We've decided to continue with our first gut instinct and go with them. Also going with a gray quartz countertop and SS appliances. I know not everyone's cup of tea, but realized we're building for our tastes :) Here's our original inspiration photo from Houzz

[Contemporary Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2103) by Calgary Real Estate Agents Jordan Lotoski
I'll post pics when complete (which should be around Jan)...unless it looks awful ;)

renton - haha! I am sure it will look very nice. I wouldn't dare post a pic of the rental red and black combo. What were they thinking???????

I actually like it. make sure you have lots of natural light.
See link.

Here is a link that might be useful: Black and White kitchen

I considered a black island, but decided against it due to the door sample - felt it would be too dark overall. I did end up doing a hutch we call the coffee station (DH coffeemaker there) in the hallway between kitchen and laundry room. The stairway going to lower level, coat closet and garage door are also in this small hallway. The hutch is the first thing you see when you enter through the garage door and I love it.

What style is your house?

Here is a link that might be useful: Our kitchen, more pictures

Uh oh... Autumn.4 I'm doing a red/black combo.
Would you post pictures just so I can see if I'm making a mistake?

Oh my gosh Lori - are you serious (about a picture)? I'd have to do some rearranging (picture arm sweeping across the counter knocking all junk on floor) before I ever DARE take a photo. You have to remember this is a rental....an old home rental. So it's not done well. Old cabs - doors that are so wide you open them and they are wider than the base cabinets, horrible lighting. In fact - the light cover above the sink is being held up by kid space martian duct tape. They just painted them all black and slapped red paint up. When I look at it I think red-rum, red-rum....

I will see what I can do for you, but it wouldn't come until tomorrow after football. Maybe it can be your ANTI-inspiration picture.

lori-okay here are a couple. The first one I actually took a couple of weeks ago to fondly remember my children and hubby hand washing dishes. That is not something I see every day and it could be the one and only, lol!

It was a sunny day and note how much light is lost when it gets to the cabinets. Swallows it right up. The next picture I took today and it's by another window. It probably doesn't help that the paneling was also painted black. Enjoy. ;)

Autumn, that is truly horrible....but Black and red could be done really classy and look really nice.
Loribug, have you drawn it out and colorized it to see what it'll look like?
If you search houzz kitchens using black+red as search criteria there are a lot. And most are really modern and mostly really in your face. I think the ones that work best are where the red is just a dash of color, like [this[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/lakeshore-drive-co-op-traditional-kitchen-chicago-phvw-vp~1929132) or
as in red tiles mixed in the backsplash or red bar stools as a punctuation mark.
I think the OP inspiration kitchen is really pretty. Notice that all surfaces are highly reflective, including the ceiling.

Ok wow.... That is truly horrible.

I was thinking more like this.

and this. only with the Island black. This kitchen is similar to my layout...

I tried to warn you how bad it was done here! Rentals are hard to come by around here and we got what we got. I will say that it's all new - new paint, new flooring, etc. so it's CLEAN. Not my choice in decor but it's a place to sleep. I can't wait to get this build done!

That said - it is very heavy feeling in there. If it was well lit it would make a huge difference. There is one dome light in the middle. I had to put a puck light above the stove - there is no vent hood, no nothing there.

lori-I like the one on the left with the glass doored red hutch and dark island. I also like renton's inspiration picture.

I loved the look of black cabinets but had reservations about selecting them. Would it be too dark? Would it affect resale? We decided that it is our house and we went for it! I love the results!

I have a small kitchen with Western exposure light on open water. I've had Maple cabinets for 18 years. Just signed a contract to do dark charcoal wood cabinet bottom/pantry/bench. No upper cabinets, white granite with a long flowing black center flame (best description I can think of) on countertops and up the wall to ceiling. Whitewashed wide plank pine flooring. It will be very bold, but much more interesting then the Maple that's had it's day. Not a white cabinet fan unless it's high gloss slab front. I have big water dogs and a fishing husband, but not worried about the dust/fur/snot or fingerprints because E/Western sun shows EVERYTHING no matter what the shade. I just go with the flow and wipe it.