Igloochic,

This HAD to be tongue in cheek, right?:

"clkw people don't like Christopher here because he does expensive kitchens. GW has been the expensive kitchen bashing forum of the internet for years. :oP"

Like so many issues that have been raised on this thread, I guess it's all a matter of perspective, but I am regularly blown away by the amount of money people spend on their kitchens on this board!

You won't see any complaints about it from me, because I get to see some great rooms and maybe swipe an idea or two for my budget remodel, but when some posters spend more on a range, or a run of cabinets, than I am on my entire kitchen, I'd call that an expensive kitchen!

I gotta add my two bits about white kitchens in the Pacific Northwest--

A couple years back I was considering redoing my kitchen. I got a real estate agent to do a market analysis because I was thinking we might move in a couple years. At the time everyone was saying that every dollar spent on a kitchen remodel you get back in increased resale value on the house (this was at the peak of the boom). So I thought WooHoo! free kitchen! To my surprise, the real estate agent said that I would increase my resale value $10,000 max no matter what I did.

When I told her that I was thinking about doing white cabinets to replace my pickled oak ones, she was horrified. She told me that I would actually lose resale value with white cabinets, even expensive painted inset cabinets. This is compared to pickled oak!

People around here associate white cabinets with cheap white melamie in condos and most people are not TKO enough to know the difference. The PNW is very conservative in home design trends. We are as much as 10 years behind other areas of the country on some trends.

I drooled over white kitchens in magazines for several years until I realized that what looks good in pictures doesn't always work in real life. The pictures are shot at camera angles that create a nice composition. They are carefully staged; usually with a vase of flowers giving a bold splash of color in the foreground. We respond to simple, uncluttered composition in pictures but it can look boring and sterile in real life. Edit out the beautiful photography, lighting and staging and the "classic white kitchens" in magazines can look very institutional. I realized that I was responding not to the kitchens, but to the staging in those photos!

I think classic white kitchens are hard to pull off. They need careful attention to details and accessorizing to personalize them and bring them to life. For those of you that have created beautiful white kitchens, you have my admiration; I know its not easy.

Igloo, when I first joined this forum a couple of years ago it was like balm because so many people I know IRL think $20K for a kitchen redo is a big spill, and here it's considered "budget". Because I'm doing a once in a lifetime kitchen, I was spending quite a bit more and fit right in.

I'm also the one who brought up Christopher Peacock. I don't dislike him or his work--he's a great designer! But I am heartily tired of all the media only showing his work and the knockoffs of his work. I like to see something different. I wasn't bashing him or his kitchens. I was bashing the magazines.

Palimpsest, colorless has been very in. I tried to buy a new car a year or two ago. Most cars come in red. And that's often the only color they offered. There would be two or three whites (metallic, pearl and cream). Black, charcoal and dark gray. Two or three silvers (titanium, silver, and steel), and a few more tinted silvers (bluish fog, greenish fog, goldish fog). And red.

I did counts of them coming down the street. And would perk up if I saw a blue. Even more on the occasional yellow, and I even loved that really ugly burnt persimmon because at least it had color.

well, i'm confused again. am i offended or not?

Oh. Yeah. The stuck out tongue. Sorry, Igloo. Thanks Brickman. It's early and it's going to rain. I should stop trying to think... My kitchen is yellow and orange and green and white and pink and orange and red and cobalt blue. Run it through a prism and you get white, right?

Run it through a prism and you get white, right?

LOL, too perfect.

When we added a new kitchen to our home I only could picture white cabinets. It had nothing to do with what was trendy. I've lived in places with all sorts of different cabinets. From oak to pine to even green antiqued. LOL. There are so many beautiful cabinets out there and what I love most about seeing all your kitchens is how different and individual each of them are. Our house is near the beach and I wanted to give it a little bit of cottage feel so white just seemed right.

Everyrose, you so pegged the PNW I think - when I first came to GW, I thought that it was undisputible commonly held knowledge that you get back 100% of the money invested in a kitchen reno. GW set me straight in the kindest manner :-).

It's been an interesting journey because I received my "kitchen education" from GW, and I thought GW really represented the world of kitchen design, but when I started venturing out beyond GW into brick and morter stores to further research options, I found that GW didn't represent this area. At the time I was looking into white cabinetry, soapstone, and wood countertop island and you would not believe the flood of resistance I got from every place I went to - for all 3 elements. I was actually ashamed to be considering any of the three - the pressure was that great.

And you are so right about camera angles. It was the biggest reason I nixed a white kitchen as a choice. Here in the PNW, I had no possibility of actually being in one to see how it felt in real life. The pics on here are gorgeous, but how does it feel?

I am guessing the beautiful renovated older homes in the city - especially the upscale ones around the Sound, Lake Washington, Magnolia, etc do have white kitchens, but they are a very upscale clientele - not mainstream, and unfortunately not really a part of my circle - I would LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to go into some of their kitchens for a peek! What a treat that would be. I just love their beautiful, old renovated homes.

To me, asking Who else has white kitchen fatigue? is a bit like asking Do you ever get tired of your first love? For me, the answer is no, never. I don't see my white kitchen (or anyone's white kitchen) as carbon copies of each other. They are all unique, beautiful entities to themselves. Even if you have two white kitchens, both with white shaker cabinets, both with soapstone countertops, both with limestone floors, both with cup pulls - it's the details that make each of those kitchens so unique. The light fixtures, the edge on the soapstone, the type of sink, the placement of the cabinetry, whether they used open shelving or glass cabinets, the finish for the hardware, the windows. It's the details that make the kitchen.

I keep popping in to GW just to check out the new batch of kitchens. And I'm not ashamed to say that whenever I see the word "white" in the title, my heart does a little flutter.

Well... not me for one. I just finished a white kitchen...in the pnw! I do live in a neighborhood of older homes close to downtown, but white kitchens are neither trendy nor new to my neighborhood. I put a white kitchen in my first house 15 years ago before I had internet access and the multitude of kitchen magazines that are available today. I chose white then (and now)not because everyone else was doing it, but because it was classic, fit the era and style of the houses I have owned and because the house I grew up in, a 1920's tudor had the most beautiful white original kitchen I always admired and regretted when my parents remodeled it in favor of '70s wood panels and avocado green appliances. That old kitchen would still be beautiful in that home. (White inset, bin pulls) Likewise, the white kitchen I put in the home in 1995 with marble counters is as fitting 15 years later. If the kitchen I just completed looks beautiful and undated in 15 years I will be thrilled. Call me trendy, boring etc. but hopefully you won't be calling me a 'remodeler' in 15 years.

>@reyesuela, this may depend on where you live, but "most" people are *not* painting Arts & Crafts trim. It *is* true that most Arts & Crafts houses now have painted trim---but that's not at all the same thing, since most of those homes had their trim painted decades ago.

Never been the case in Texas but was common in lots of CA and VERY common here on the East Coast. Good to hear they aren't doing it everywhere! :-) It certainly wouldn't have been my choice.

>You specialize in victorian decor....

Victorian HISTORY. Six books in seven languages, actually. I have done most research on 1855 to 1885, with forays into other areas. And yes, I have Eastlake's book. If I were going to actually decorate from a single period faithfully, though, I'd bump forward to Wharton's Gilded Age style.

I don't hate historic houses. I just realize that good houses and bad houses were built in the past as in the present, and that the good parts of good houses are worth preserving while bad houses (or bad parts of good houses) are not.

My great-grandfather's house is now a parking lot, and from what I hear of it, it's an improvement. It was a crappy house when it was built, and it did not improve with age. Being old doesn't make something that was crappy to begin with less crappy now.

Now, excuse me while I go off and architecturally abuse my 1960s house by increasing the size of the master bath so I can put a non-period jetted tub in it for my chronic pain. I suppose the use of some 4x4" bathroom tiles will get me some points back, but the fact that they are white and not smurf-blue would lose them for me all over again.

thanks redroze,
I needed that lovely post.
~boxerpups ( a white kitchen owner and fan of white kitchens )

I'm not ashamed to say that whenever I see the word "white" in the title, my heart does a little flutter.

Me Too! So Please Everyone who has or wants a White Kitchen, Please keep posting them your kitchen or inspiration photos doesnt matter. If anyone truly has white kitchen fatigue they dont have to open the thread. :-)

WOW - this was certainly a stimlulating thread - stimulating a lot of interest that is. I figured it was going to be one of those where people were offended and it turned into a white vs. not white cabinet war. Nice to see it didn't get all that nasty. I personally don't have white cabinet fatigue because I've never had them and only one person I know has white cabinets. That is my KD friend who has redone two kitchens for herself in about thirty years - both with white cabinets. I always liked them but they look better in her traditional type homes and wouldn't look so good in mine.

I really love stained wood vs. painted but when I see a beautiful creamy white kitchen I do think it would be refreshing to have one some day - if I lived in the right kind of house for white. Alas, that is probably never going to be the case.

It seems like all kinds of things get over done and then everyone tires of whatever it is - until they haven't seen it much for about 30 years or so. Then it comes around again. I thought it was so interesting to see subway tile in that one 1900's kitchen photo - and here we are again with subway tile everywhere. I remember seeing a very old kitchen in a college classmates crappy apartment. It had ancient maple shaker cabinets with bin pulls. I thought that was so cool and something I'd want to have in my kitchen some day. Now we've been through that phase and it's passing out of style again.

Everything comes and goes - you need to just get what you want and accept that it's going to go out of style....unless money's no object and you can keep changing every time something new comes around.

I have white kitchen fatigue!

I've been trying to design my white kitchen for about a year and I'm plum tired out from it all. I wish I could wave a magic wand and "presto" I'd have the white kitchen of my dreams!

unfortunately I'm not quite sure what exactly that wold look like.

This thread has been very beneficial for me, a lot of information has come out in the discussion to help me fine tune some of my ideas and also to realize why a few of them haven't seemed to be working like I hoped.

I've planned a white kitchen for my 1875 farmhouse from the start - before I even knew they were the current trend.

Cathy - who is glad to see so many other white kitchens for lots and lots of ideas (and to prove to my husband that a white kitchen can look good).

Cathy, a white kitchen in your farmhouse is a must ;) And I'm dying to see it :) Finish quickly please? heh heh

Really, there's nothing more wonderful than a white and inviting kitchen in an old farmhouse. Nothing says "HOME" in a more gracious way (ok well aside from Auntie V but she was from Georgia and half lit on Mint J's so she was always a bit over the top welcoming).

Has anyone seen Willow Decor's amazing blog posting today about kitchens without upper cabinets? She has included a beautiful series of photos- definitely worth a read!

I read her post and immediately wondered whether I made a mistake by installing wall cabinets...and should have instead expanded my windows and followed the latest no uppers trend. I'm now anticipating a gardenweb post titled "who else has upper cabinet fatigue?" LOL!!!

At the end of the day, this debate is really silly, isn't it? There is so much marketing today by the home building, remodeling, design, and furniture manufacturing industries that is geared toward selling more product. Just think about the marketing strategies in place at companies such as the Williams Sonoma group (Pottery Barn, West Elm, etc.) and you can quickly see that product turnover is an underlying goal. Buy a few basic pieces that need to be replaced every 5-10 years and then change your accessories as frequently as possible to keep up with new fashions or colors. This year it's yellow, turquoise next?!!! The design mags reinforce these trends with the same underlying motive, don't they? What was in last year, is definitely out now... please throw out all of your coral motif accessories and sunburst mirrors and get ready for the next trend, right? How ridiculous!

What makes this post on white kitchens so troubling, though, is that we're not talking about an accessory trend where people have dropped a few hundred bucks. No, we're talking about very personal decisions involving sometimes years of financial sacrifice to gut and remodel with all new cabinets, appliances, counters, tile, floors, etc. So to hear that you may have been the unwitting victim of the latest trend could feel disheartening, right? And that's okay.

I am willing to admit that I do feel a little disheartened- but I still love my new white kitchen even if it does have upper cabinets :)

Once we're finished, I hope to post it on the forum!

I don't think the OP meant to insult anyone's kitchen. I love white kitchens but I would love to see some more diversity on this forum. The marble islands posted on this forum are beyond stunning but they are not in my design asthetic nor are they a practical application to my every day life. I enjoy looking at everyone's pictures but I lurk on this forum to get ideas for my own kitchen. The white kitchens are not helping me out.

Fun to see other PNW folk here. :)

reyesuela....LOL! I have 4x4 smurf blue tile in my bath (circa 1962). We are planning to keep it "period," ie we can't afford a total tear out ;)

I think all white kitchens are pretty but they just aren't for me. As I look out my window at a freshly fallen foot of snow with another foot expected, I'm happy that the white is outside and not in my kitchen. I have never wanted a white kitchen or anything else stark white - maybe because it always looked like it would be more difficult to keep it looking clean. And also because I work in the medical field and have had to wear white for the past 40 years.
During the 60's when everyone had green and gold, I swore that I would never have those colors in my house again. However, my year old kitchen which I designed has moss green with a chocolate glaze cabinets which I love. The walls are a soft creamy yellow and the trim an even softer shade of cream plus Ivory Coast Silestone counters and oak flooring. My husband thinks the kitchen looks Southern and I just think it looks earthy and comfortable. I have a lot of natural light coming from two directions so it isn't dark which worried me during the design process. I have some glass front cabinets with lots of color behind the glass and various colors around the room to take away some of the overall green. I'm happiest in the garden so I think I gravitated to the green cabinets because of my green thumb.
I've had tons of compliments on my choices but I doubt that any of the people that gave them would want my kitchen in their own home. So, it really is to each his or her own. I'm finished with my kitchen but I love looking at the pictures posted on this site whether they are white, wood or painted kitchens. So choose what you love and keep posting the pictures for others to enjoy and use as inspiration.

I enjoyed the link allison704 posted. That "Black and White Elegance Kitchen" really caught my eye. And look! a pebble vinyl flooring, of all things! Talk about 'what goes around, comes around." LOL!

I have to admit, as lovely as I think white/cream/ivory inset cabs are, I would never want them. I have to be practical - frameless all the way, with as much storage as I can cram into limited kitchen space (I have way too much stuff but use it all).

White cabs and granite would have looked lovely in my MIL's classic Mediterranean-style traditional home. In my home - too cold and glossy, though. I get 365 days/yr of direct sun coming in, we had to even change out the faucet from chrome to stainless because the glare was actually painful in summer. Mine is a small nondescript cottage with an urban interior, so clean-lined, contemporary, and neutral seems to work best.

Like others have said, you really need to match the kitchen to the house. Not necessarily a slavish attention to detail, but more a sympathetic segue.

...so my inlaws who had the original white cabs in their Cape Cod would not be *acceptable*? Or my best friend's 100+ year-old historic home, re-done 30 years ago and 'outfitted' w/white cabs? IMO, white cabs are one of those 'timeless trends', but how can timeless be a trend or vice versa? Some homes are just *born* to have white cabinets, and would look odd with anything else. I can't imagine a Cape w/stained cabs. ;o)

I forgot to comment on the SS. My parents did a re-model of their house in the 1950's, and put in SS appliances, including a drop-in SS range, built-in SS oven, SS sink, and *pink* built-in refrigerator. They lived in a small mid-western town, and were not 'city slickers'.

My point is, SS isn't as new as everyone seems to think it is. ;o)

I actually do have White Kitchen fatigue but not because I don't like them. I love the look but it was just not what I was going for. So as one of the posters above mentioned, I found it frustrating when looking for ideas, that most of the places I looked for inspiration provided more White kitchens. I believe that is what the OP meant when she said "fatigue".

For those of you with White kitchens, please keep posting. They are beautiful and we love seeing them!!!

I actually have to voice my disappointment because when I finally posted my finished non-white kitchen, it was barely recognized or complimented - the complete opposite of what happens with all the white kitchens that get posted. It made me very sad that many of the "regulars" didn't post at all. I chalked it up to the fact that my kitchen just isn't the "norm" or maybe they didn't like it....

I still think it is beautiful and after-all, I did it for me and not for the compliments i might or might not receive here.....

Just my experience and my two cents.

Teresa,

We've tried in the past to figure out why some new kitchens get all the responses and equally lovely ones don't. The theories are that it depends on the time of day you post, if there are so many other threads they push yours off, if there just aren't enough people around when you post, whether you have the right title, if everyone is just busy elsewhere that night, etc. We never figured it out and concluded it was all of the above.

Did I see your kitchen? I don't remember, but I'm bad with names. I hope you'll post it again (or bump it if it was recent (I couldn't find it)). There seem to be a lot of people who want to see a non-white kitchen.

Teresa, I felt a pang when I read this post of yours! I then went searching in the FKB and found it. I remember your kitchen! Nonwhite and gorgeous! Or rather Cherry and stunning! :-) At any rate, I'm seeing that I told you when you posted it that I thought your kitchen was lovely. Several others, including "regulars" did as well. FWIW, I'm not sure why you didn't get lots more comments when you posted. Possibly because it was mid-December, a time when many of us are rushing around and distracted? Whatever the reason, it's certainly not because your kitchen isn't white or that it's not pretty. It most certainly is! IMO, you deserve all the applause you get for this remodel and more. Best of all, your new kitchen makes you happy. In the end, that's what counts the most!

Teresa518, I know exactly what you mean and I almost think there should be a disclaimer at the top of the forum that warns new people that there is a strong bent toward white kitchens on this forum because it could save people hours of worry, heartache, tears, and sleeplessness.

A week or so back I posted a sample board of my final (non-white) choices, and I got about 5 responses, 3 of which were positive and the rest neutral. I am used to about 38 gushingly positive responses to other's choices - but that didn't happen on mine. I was already on pins and needles about my choices, and the response just seemed to confirm that I should be terribly worried. When even the regulars, even people who have been involoved in your previous posts choose to not say anything, that's a very bad sign.

After reading this thread it all made sense - I don't have a white kitchen! It's a birch and hickory kitchen that fits here in the PNW - and it's "me". Not only that, but I did hire a fabulous designer to help with my choices and everyone in person unanimously agrees it's going to be beautiful, so I shouldn't be worried by the lack of response here. I just hadn't put 2 and 2 together enough to consider the white bias. Now I won't be as disappointed when I post my finished kitchen pictures if I only get a mediocre reaction.

FWIW, I really do love the look of the white kitchens - I have a couple white pieces in my kitchen which the designer said is what's really going to take the kitchen from really good to fabulous.

This thread helped me feel better. It's just unfortunate that there isn't more wood oriented folk here so that those of us who don't have white kitchen have more support.

All in all, white bias or not, this forum is a total gem, the best on the internet as far as kitchen research goes, and invaluable. Not only that, but it's filled with kind people and that is usually far from the norm on internet forums.

Teresa, I could not find your kitchen on GW so I googled it. It is lovely! I'm sorry I missed it. Now that I'm done with my kitchen I am not here that much. But having a non-white kitchen myself I definitely would have posted a comment. Your kitchen is beautiful. I know what you mean about being hurt though. I did not get allot of responses from regulars to my kitchen either but that's ok everyone has their likes and dislikes.

Please don't take my post as a negative one but just my observation.

I too think this site is a GEM and I really appreciate all the assistance and support those on this forum have provided. It has been a godsend and I spent so much time looking up key topics as I put my kitchen together. I can certainly say that my kitchen would not be what it is without the advice and the history of posts.

I do love the White Kitchens and really like seeing how each person makes it "his or her own". It is really nice.

Let's also be sure to throw some support to the non-white kitchens like needsometips'......too!!! Remember that not everyone has the same tastes but we can all use some help and support:-) with our decisions - white kitchen or not!!!

Best of luck to all as you continue your reno!

Just for clarification my kitchen is BM Ocean Air (a light blue-grey-green); BM Black Jack (not quite black) and slip matched maple veneer--in that orangey "Colonial Maple" tone.

:)

I have seen so many white shaker kitchens lately that I am wondering if anyone out there is doing a white kitchen that is not shaker.

I'm not sure what I did or didn't do to support non white kitchen lovers? I may have missed non white kitchen reveals but no more than white kitchen reveals. It all depends on when they were posted and when I was spending time on Garden Web. If I have offended anyone I'm sorry. Clarification may be helpful.

I had a medium stained kitchen for 20 years that I loved even though I have a white one now.

Redroze asked "Do you ever get tired of your first love?" and I say never - I think his name was Christopher Peacock ;o)

Seriously, I've been torn between a stained cabinet and a white painted one. This entire thread sounds so much like the thoughts I've been pondering. Except that most of you know what you like and go for it. Bravo to each of you - either way.

For those with stained cabinets:
While reading some of your posts, I had a theory why stained cabinets may not get as much attention as white.
The theory is that the overwhelming majority of people in the real world have stained cabinets, and they have them because that is what most people love. Perhaps the white kitchen fans get extra excited about seeing other white kitchens because they don't get to see them as often in the real world, and they probably don't get this kind of support from the stained loving masses in the real world either. I think it's why I was thrilled to find this site. It is reassuring because nobody I know seems to like the white idea. I hope that helps. I am sure if anyone felt slighted, it was not done intentionally. Just as stained fans can love seeing a white kitchen, I believe many white kitchen people love and appreciate stained as well. Stained used to be my preference, but I just want a whole new look .. new look is code for if I spend a fortune on new cabinets, I don't want them to remotely resemble the old cabinets! :)

Missmuffet, I LOVE painted white kitchens and was torn like you. We did medium dark QS white oak and I have no regrets (at least not until I see a drop dead gorgeous white kitchen here). Really though, whenever I look closely at the white cabinets in my teen daughters' bathroom, with the nicks and cracks and splinters, I'm really glad I went for the stained wood. And it goes so much better with the rest of the house. I'm sure you'll love which ever you choose.

Teresa518 - Your post also gave me a pang. I thought - I can't remember her kitchen...was I one of the forum regulars she mentioned that didn't leave a comment? And then I felt terrible about it and tried to find your kitchen to jog my memory. But couldn't find it either via the GW search or Google or on the FKB.

After I stopped feeling bad, I started to analyze it. By forum regulars, I'm guessing you mean old-timers (like myself) whose kitchens are already completed and come back to give advice to others? I am pretty sure during "my time" - meaning when I was planning and renovating - a lot of the regulars were doing white kitchens, or a mix of white/cream and stained (like my kitchen). I think this theory would ring true given many posters have said that this is a trend.

So if we have to take this as a fact, then it would naturally follow that people want to find other people that like the things they like. That is why I tend to view other posts with white kitchens...because it's what I like. Which is precisely why we come to this forum. Because renovation and decor is what we like. I always assumed that when people responded to someone's finished kitchen, it was to admire something that they liked. I assumed that people who responded to my kitchen liked white kitchens. And that people who didn't like white kitchens DID NOT respond to my post. And that people who responded to non-white kitchens like non-white kitchens. I assumed people who like glass backsplashes will respond to posts about glass backsplashes, and that people who like stained cabinets will respond to people with stained cabs.

I can tell you 3 of my favourite kitchens have either all stained or predominantly stained cabinets - Bosche, Margieb2 and Lsandler. But I LOVE white kitchens or predominantly white kitchens more...despite admiring these 3 kitchens I just mentioned. Did I think everyone should like what I like? Heck no.

So perhaps...it's just statistics. Because there are many regulars that like white kitchens, then posters with white kitchens will get more responses.

You also have to think about the habits of some of the regulars. We have (at least myself) have moved on to other hobbies. I poke into GW but I don't read every single post, which I used to do when I was renovating my kitchen. I'll say I only peek into 10% of the posts and they will always be ones that I'm either more interestedin, or feel I can contribute value to. I never meant to hurt your feelings by not responding to your kitchen.

So I think the reason why this post was started explains why your kitchen didn't get a lot of posts (aside from the other factors like posting in December). The original poster said lots of people are doing white kitchens - and lots of people are! That's why there's more interest in them.

Thank you for saying how you feel. I just want you to know that your kitchen's greatness has nothing to do with how many replies you received - but the general interests of people on this forum. And I think you've educated us because just because you are potentially in a minority, it doesn't mean that you shouldn't be recognized.

And please - post the link to your kitchen so I can see it's fabulousness!!!

No offense taken at all and please understand that my post was nothing personal to anyone, simply how I felt at the time.

You are all amazing and it is great that those of you who are done come back to help newbies. The amount of time you invest to help others is admirable.

For those who have asked, my finished kitchen post appears to be one of the missing ones. But I am in the FKB in the Coming Soon Kitchens section.

Thanks again to everyone and my apologies if I have offended anyone or come across in the wrong way.

Teresa, I never saw your kitchen!! (Which I can say now that I've seen it.) It's beautiful!

There were a whole bunch of finished kitchens in December and I hardly saw any of them. December is dark and cold and busy and party and wrapping and bleary eyed.

Teresa518's Finished Kitchen Post & Pictures. I posted my comments about your gorgeous cherry cabinets especially since cherry wood is what I want for my kitchen but I may not be able to afford it. I am still trying to work hard to see where I stand after my busy season to continue with the renovation of my kitchen which now at least makes me smile when I walk into it with the changes that I made so far.

> reyesuela....LOL! I have 4x4 smurf blue tile in my bath (circa 1962). We are planning to keep it "period," ie we can't afford a total tear out ;)

sabjimata, when it rains every time you shower---you find the money! :-) Baths before kitchens for that very reason!

You know the funny thing about this forum is that it moves in cycles. When I started my cycle white kitchens were very rare. Cherry was king :) Natural or stained but still cherry.

I used to post about how cherry was going to date itself and everyone said "oh no way" heh heh

Now when I read the TKO logs I'm less likely to look at a finished kitchen than I was earlier when I was trying to imagine what a finished kitchen looked like. I am much more likely to answer a layout question, use of whatever question, etc, from experience rather than ohh and ahhh over a new kitchen, not because I'm not thinking it's a lovely kitchen, but because that's just not my focus so much any more.

And unlike a normal kitchen remodeler, I like punishment so as I design my next two kitchen layouts I suppose I'll start spending more time on those (I used to design them for people on cheif architecht all the time) and because I'm thinking I want a period unfitted kitchen, I'll look at the good ones there....and the cycle will start all over again :)

Mind you, if it takes four years I'm gonna kill myself...but that's just a side note :oP

Ha! I'm HOPING for 4 years, start to finish.

Theresa, I know the feeling. Thanks for expressing it. I once posted final pix and got nary a yawn. To keep from feeling too awful, I told myself it was because my photos were partially in response to something else. But it still hurt.

Theresa, your cabinets are beautiful. Sorry you felt ignored. Speaking for myself, I got busy last October and haven't slowed down much since! I'm in/out of GW during the day/week, but don't post too much. fwiw, Kitchens moves so fast, if you don't check back often in a 24 hour period you have to go back 3-4-5 pages to catch up. I just don't have the time!

This is a perfect opportunity to ask those who posted
around the holidays to repost your pictures.
Could you repost those kitchen pictures for us to see?
It does not matter the color, white, green, purple, stained
maple, Cherry, walnut, steel... you name it post and we
can enjoy the views.

I have a white kitchen but I LOVE all kitchens. That is
why I come to GW: Kitchens. If anyone needs a picture of
a kitchen, I love going through my collection of all colors,
shapes, sizes of kitchens. Kitchens make me smile. I have
had the good fortune to be able to move with my husband
across the US and have had many different homes. I have
had ugly kitchens and beautiful kitchens. In oak, cherry
slab modern, walnut kitchen, bleached oak,
a plastic type tacky apt. dweller thermofoil that needed
to be trashed, metal cabinets, handmade wood doors (my
dad made these for the cabin), pickled pine or some soft
wood, and today I have white.

I enjoy kitchens. White or not they are fun to look at.
~boxerpups

This "hurt feeling" thing is mostly why I don't often post in kitchen reveal threads, unless I'm one of the first to see it and/or I have something pertinent to say or ask. Because if I post in one but not in all, then someone is going to wonder why I didn't post in *theirs* etc etc. So I usually just abstain. Probably not the best course of action, but the question was asked...

The best kitchen photos I have ever seen have been of white cabinets. By the same token, some of the least-appealing (appalling?) kitchens have been white. Obviously, the determining factor isn't the whiteness, but the synergism of all of the elements of the design. Whiteness is no guarantee of success but can be a factor in the failure; if everything else is bad, white tonality ain't going to salvage it.
Casey
no white-bashing intended.

Many of us are novices, designing our kitchen the best way we know how within our budget. And as redroze said, people tend to read posts that work with their design. I know when I decided to do a white kitchen, I read as many posts as I could that had to do with white kitchens, simply for ideas and inspiration. It wasn't that I did not like wood stained cabinets. I do. In fact, I love them more than white cabinets, but I like them in larger spaces than the space I was working with and did not have the luxury to waste away time focusing on what I was not planning on doing. I do find some of these comments negative, and this is such a wonderful site, and has helped in so many ways my kitchen project. I guess I just don't understand why people would be so personal by quoting others directly or indirectly in a negative fashion.

As an illustration, I said in another post:
"I like them so much, I think I might get the same stools."

Not to beat a dead horse...is that the right expression? Ick, it sounds terrible.

Not to drag this on, but Teresa, I looked at your post and responded to it. I kind of get why you felt the way you did - because your kitchen is gorgeous and if I were you, I'd probably wonder why nobody responded. But to you - and to others who commented that they did not get any responses to their finished kitchen post - I'd say don't get dismayed and don't take it personally. It could be the time of day or time of year. It could be the number of competing "finished kitchens" that were posted around the same time. It could be that people look but don't comment - because there was nothing they had any questions on.

I also know that people who tended to post BEFORE their kitchen is done, with questions and requests for help - tend to get more responses because others feel like they contributed to the poster's success. And it makes others excited to see the finished result. There's more of a "relationship" there for lack of a better word.

Anyway, I'm not really sure how to go on about this. Just that it bugs me and I'm not sure why. I wish I could make you and others feel better about it.