Here's the white option...

This is kind of a weird picture (stickies to tell my husband what to put where), but anyway, I debated and went with white. I don't think there's a wrong answer, but I liked having the upper above the fridge stay white, then it only seemed natural to have that run that all the way down on the pantry. I also liked having the fridge cover panel (box) be white instead of black because it seems a lot lighter.

We also are in the process of doing two toned cabinets and decided to go with white for the fridge and cabinets that go to the ceiling.

I also don't think there's a wrong answer, but personally I prefer the dark color. We have white uppers and darker (wood-look melamine) lowers, and opted to panel the fridge to match the lowers.

I think it's really personal opinion. When I saw the KD renditions, I just knew I wanted the stained uppers/pantry - it just felt right to me. But I also have a stained hood on the opposite wall, so I felt they related to each other.

Can you show a picture from the wet bar side maybe so we can see the wall in relation to the rest of the space?

Does one 'feel' more right to you?

I know you've seen mine numerous times, but here it is again for reference.

It's a little hard to tell from this angle b/c the NKBA virtual planner doesn't let me add end panels (or I haven't figured that out yet), so the side of the pantry isn't showing up the right color. But here are a few other pics just to see how it flows with the rest of the room.

White view

I went white.

Our pantry is the same as the base cabinets. We decided to do this one wall cabinet in cherry to match the pantry. .All the rest of our wall cabinets match the hood, but I like the way the cherry cabinets frame the hood..

It is obviously a personal preference. In looking at each of the photos, they all looked nice - but gave different feelings/vibe. Which vibe do you want to convey?

grounded? packaged/wrapped up/boundary?

light? airy? expansive?

no wrong answer. whichever meets your goal.

(We will have a similar situation in our kitchen as well... I like the "grounded, anchored" look with the tall cabs being all dark.)

I think it's all about the balance. And I think you need the walnut to balance out all the white. Plus, I've always loved Majra's kitchen and like her reasoning, too.

Thank you ck_squared. It was one year ago that I was choosing all of my materials and finishes, and it has been eight months since completion. I am still in the honeymoon phase with my new kitchen! Head over heels!

Another theory of mine re: two-toned cabinetry, is that all of the white ones should float away visually. No fridge is going to do that. ;)

Thanks for all the feedback! It's helpful to be reminded of what you all have done and your perspectives! You all have such beautiful spaces and it's true that they both look nice. When I read ck_squared's comment about balance, it seemed more clear to me that in our particular space we need the darker / walnut to break up the wall of white uppers (not just in the fridge run, but then down the wall from that is the bar area with white uppers). I think the room might start feeling lopsided without the grounding of those cabinets with the darker / walnut color.

Decision made! Onto the next issueâ¦starting a different thread for that. Aye!