I think you'll love it. I cook for my Italian husband and have never regretted the white. Actually mine are more of a cream color and I have very light countertops.

Why would you regret it? They can be timeless, light and airy, fresh and clean looking, easy to see when they need cleaned, classic, match with many different countertops and flooring choices. You can add pops of any colors and can change out those colors anytime you want.

What fleur222 said. My cabinets are stained but everything else is white. It's so easy to keep clean because I can see every little thing right away and take care of it instead of a week or two later thinking, Yikes. This place is filthy.

The only reason I can see for regretting a white kitchen is if you just did it because they're trendy again at the moment and you're going to be unhappy when the trend switches back to wood again. Personally I've always loved white kitchens, even when they were very much in the background five or six years ago.

The important thing is to be sure you're getting what you want, not being influenced by what other people are doing (that's happened here a few times, I think).

I love my white kitchen (although I have a medium stained island). I notice spills on the cabinets right away, and it makes me be cleaner than I would be otherwise. Read the "ubiquitous white kitchen" thread from a few months ago, and you'll see the "trendy" issue debated. But I love my white kitchen. I cook a lot, I'm not a neat-freak, and it's worked great so far (since last November).

I love, love, love white kitchens.
Wait, I love all kitchens.
I have a white kitchen so I tend to be a little biased.
I am also a messy cook in a home with messier teens.
The magic about a white kitchen is that food spatters show
up. Every kitchen has to be cleaned but a white kitchen
shows where it Needs to be cleaned. A good quality paint
that can be scrubbed is the best way to go.
I would only recommend a white kitchen if you love them.
If you find them hospial-ish, cold, unfriendly, and
feel stressed about them looking perfect you might consider
some of the other wonderful kitchen styles.
Any kitchen can be beautiful. And right now there is
this trend toward the natural woods or the dark gray
painted cabinets. All can look amazing.
~boxer

White kitchens

CotedeTexas MDG Illinois

Molly Frey Kitchens

Ice Cream and Boys Blog

Here is a link that might be useful: White kitchens

I totally have to agree with boxerpups - do white if you love it! I am on my 3rd white kitchen and we are in the process of moving/expanding our kitchen and the new one is.... white. I had no idea white kitchens were ever trendy until I got on GW!

We have two boys (6 & 8) and two 100 lb labradors and I clean it just like I clean everything else in our house (which is way more often than I would like! ;-)

But I think the clean up would be the same white or not.

If white speaks to you and feels right - you will be happy you did it. Hang in there - there are soo many choices! :-)

I think you should go for it if you love it! I have seen so many beautiful white kitchens on this forum. Although I chose to go with very dark cabinets, (white didn't seem right with my decor) I still think they are gorgeous. Good Luck!

I don't have a white kitchen but... I know a couple that built several houses costing multi 7 figures in the past two decades. All of the houses have white kitchens. I think they really like them! NO, I don't think they regret them.

I have, however, seen the evolution of stone choices over the years. 2 decades ago, they had rather generic granite. Most recently, they had marble in a temporary home that they redid while building their 'other' home. I am not sure about their new-new home though.... Maybe soapstone...

I went from the creamy white thermafoil to a creamy white painted kitchen. No difference in clean up, but a whole lot prettier!

I'm another one with no regrets for my white kitchen! I cook a lot AND have a basset hound who is the queen of the head shake/slobber distribution method so popular with floppy jowled canines! And I had to add a pic of our kitchen, yes, it's white, but it's EXTREMELY cozy and felt like a little nest on cold winter mornings!!

For those of you doing a white kitchen on a budget...thought I would share this deal I came across on ebay for lighting.

http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Prearo-Venetian-Chandelier-Light-Italian-Lamp-/150407840036?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Chandeliers&hash=item2305018124

I am anxiously waiting for my cabinets to be installed this month. They are a creamy white with a light granite stone Delicatus. This will be my 3rd white kitchen. I like light, bright and airy. I love looking at other people's kitchens that are not white but I myself have to have white. It always grabs my attention when I flip through magazines or I see it in movies. To me it is just traditional and says home without a date attached to it. White cabinets have been around forever. Hope you like it as much as I know I'll like mine when it it done.

I think white kitchens are beautiful but having had one I would never do it again. For me it was too much trouble to keep it clean and single registration finishes are not very forgiving. I prefer something that hides a bit of wear and tear or dirt.

Another one to add to the chorus: we cook daily, my DH is Italian, and we are both messy cooks - the great thing is that you SEE the splashed sauce immediately and can swipe it with a wet cloth, before it hardens, or fades into the wood grain for another month until your nose happens to be down there to notice it.

White kitchens and fashion? My grandmother's 1920s house had a white kitchen. My mother's 1930s house had a white kitchen. Although she painted the drawer fronts orange in the 60s, then blue in the 70s, then, oh, red and blue, and now they're all white again . . . .
Victorian kitchens were white: it was considered 'clean' because it showed you whether you'd cleaned or not . . .

My house is over 90 years old. The kitchen was white when they put it in, and it's still white as I'm tearing it out and redoing it for the first time. White is timeless, and based on the hardware you choose, you can make the same white cabinets modern or classic. And of course, the new kitchen I'm putting in..... white!
I love that I can see when it's dirty- keeps me on task to keep it clean. I love to cook and I make a total mess when I do, but it cleans up beautifully and continues to look timeless!

mtv20-I'm only 50% Italian so I cook every other day ;-)
But seriously, I cook everyday (usually) too. My dad came over this summer 2 different times, made 12-16 pizzas (lots of red sauce everywhere), I make homemade spaghetti sauce, (and lots of other stuff)and the kitchen cleans up fine. I did have a problem spilling fresh berries and the juice on the cabinets. It did stain instantly but came off with a little softscrub!
I wouldn't change it at all. Ever since I was little I've loved white kitchens. My mom and my aunts all had white kitchen cabinets. I live in the PNW where it is gray often and I visually prefer lighter colors, but definitely appreciate darker kitchens as well.
It is much more maintenance (I find myself wiping down parts of the cabinets daily) and down the road the cabinets will need repainting. Unfortunately I'm seeing chipped/wearing paint as well. But I still prefer the overall visual effect of a white kitchen even with the maintenance it includes.
Good luck and I hope you share your finished project!

My white kitchen is being hung as we speak.... and I am soooo happy with how it looks so far... but.. not sure how it will hold up in a house with 4 boys