http://www.qkb.com/gallery/gallerytraditionwhite.htm

http://willowdecor.blogspot.com/2009/01/my-kitchen-unveiled.html

http://www.tommymahoney.com/KPhotoGallery.htm

http://willowdecor.blogspot.com/2008/07/elements-of-christopher-peacock-kitchen.html

http://www.cotedetexas.blogspot.com/2009/01/kitchens-101-elements-to-copy.html

Thanks so much! Gives me a good starting point. I'm sure I will continue to be on here often.

:-)
Stephanie

sconde - good kitchen cabinets cost a lot of money. By the time you check out the various levels of quality, you may well find yourself completely shocked at how much the cabinets alone will cost for large kitchen. Not sure if you've seen my white kitchen w/large island. I've been posting pics trying to be helpful on several threads the past few days, so it'll be easy to find pics if you haven't already seen them. (I'll post them again in this thread if you want, but I'm afraid people are getting sick of me plastering my kitchen all over GW.)

We ended up paying about $85K for my Kountry Kraft cabinets. This included some crown molding and other end-of-project customized add-ons. (It excluded my counters and knobs/pulls.)

Knowing what I know now, I would have paid roughly the same (maybe a bit more) to the talented cabinet maker who our GC used for our bathroom vanities. We hired CA Closets to do some closets in our house and they were TERRIBLE! I hired the cabinet maker to do the rest and he was not only fantastic with the finishing details (and used maple and NOT the crappy laminated stuff CA Closets uses), but he was LESS expensive that CA quoted for the same closets! The vanities he made were scribed and fit in place, with painstaking care, while the kitchen was sort of made to work. Our installers were good, but what they had to work with just wasn't manufactured to be installed with the precision that the cabinet maker did.

This is hard to convey in writing or even with pictures. I wish I could show you my house and point out the small details that add up to huge differences in quality to help you understand what a talented cabinet maker can do relative to the large commercial companies.

Too much info, probably, so I'll stop now! Feel free to ask questions or email me if you think I could be of help.

Best wishes for a low-stress project and a wonderful result!

I hope to have my white cabinets next week! I just giggle when I tell someone I have chosen white cabinets and they give me 'the look'. I love white, it's classic. I decided early on that I would not be getting quotes from Home Depot or Lowe's. Instead, I got a quote from a custom cabinet maker. So far, so good. I was able to get what I wanted and what my husband wanted at a cost we could justify. Depending on where you live, I am sure someone here can give you info on cabinet makers in your area.

smarge- I love your kitchen. The mosaic behind your range is too awesome for words!

How exciting for you Stephanie!
You deserve to have some fun this summer planning.

I would be your own GC if you can. Hire a cabinet maker,
who has a good reputation. Or a cabinet installer who can
work with a brand of cabinets. Visit kitchen centers to
see the different brands of white. Get a feel for what you
want. Maybe meet with a Certified KD. People don't realize
that KDs can actually help you save money.

Meanwhile put together your favorite features. A little
note book or a document folder on your pc. Cabs and
Appliances tend to be the biggest expense in kitchens but
a KD could advise you better.

One thing I did was contact all the kitchen cabinet makers.
Kraftmade, Merrillat, Diamond, Aristocraft, Yorktowne,
Thomasville, PlainandFancy.... And ordered for free their
brochures. This helped me to think about the features, the
look and borrow ideas.

And start thinking about the little features and shop on
Ebay, Overstock, Craig's list... Faucets, Lighting, door
knobs, Backssplash tile, Appliances....
Keep a list of things your new kitchen will need and
set up a budget of what you want to spend where.

Enjoy the dreaming...
Here are some ideas below and link I just posted with white
kitchens on GW.

~Boxerpups

This old house
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Proximity Presents
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Covenant Kitchens

Acessdecorating
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Easysolutions
{{gwi:1884457}}

Vortex
{{gwi:1887203}}

Classic Kitchens
{{gwi:1887205}}

Stern
{{gwi:1887207}}

Google image

{{gwi:1887210}}

Skylights

Soapstone counters
{{gwi:1887213}}

Kellydesigns
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Verana Inspirations
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Sustainable designs

Inkccblog
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Here is a link that might be useful: black counters the main choice for white cabs?

WOW boxerpups !!! What a wonderful assortment of designs and looks. Makes me feel like my home is the 'servants quarters" !! Oh well, lots to choose from and stress over during the summer months. I'm glad we are finishing up! You guys are all amazing. I am sure glad I found you when I did and was able to pick the brains of some of the best brains out there! Good luck, sconde. We will all be waiting for the results!

Smarge IMO there will always be someone who has not seen your kitchen (me) and would love to see you post it here and anywhere else you are answering a thread. :-)

BoxerPups! I *love* all the pictures you post! That is the second kitchen I have seen with a sliding library ladder in it. I would love to have the room for that!

Stephanie My head spins with all the decisions for a kitchen alone I cant imagine the fun (stress?) of building a whole house. You will get *lots* of fabulous ideas here that will truly make your dream kitchen all that it can be. My husband and I are in escrow on a fixer-upper and a complete overhaul of the kitchen is in order. Im fortunate in that I have already redone one kitchen with the help of all the wonderful folks here, so I have a head start on you. :-) The new kitchen will be white with a very dark island at least, that is my current plan. :-)

Boxerpups, thanks for the pictures of those beautiful white kitchens... I could plaster a wall with pictures like these and look at them all day! They are timeless!

Boxerpups, I don't know whether to thank you or cuss at you for showing us all those incredible kitchens! :-) Wow! But I guess I'll just thank you for sharing the eye candy. See, cursing you would make sense only if I had either the $ or the space to replicate any of those rooms and I needed a new kitchen. But, since I don't have either the money or the space, and especially since I just got finished remodeling a kitchen that I could afford to fit into my space, I guess I'll just stay content with being a fantasy kitchen voyeur. LOL! Thanks!

Jeri, I've actually seen one of those kitchens with the sliding library ladder on a house tour. No question that the look of it is fantastic. Still, it's best utility is for easy access to the highest cabinets where most of us would not typically store items needed for every day use. That got me thinking about how much that ladder might become a nuisance if you have to keep moving it out of your way in order to get to the parts of the kitchen that you do use everyday. Just a thought.

I keep telling myself that these kitchen pictures were
enhanced the way Glamour and Vogue do for those skinny
models. : ) We can dare to dream. Be it skinny thighs or
gorgeous kitchens.

~boxerpups
With Fat thighs sitting in my servants quarter's kitchen.

Those kitchens are gorgeous! Thanks for posting!

I recommend going to the bookstore and getting a couple of good books and magazines with lots of pictures of kitchens. I find I refer back to them again and again with new eyes depending on what I focusing on at the moment. First it's layout, then cabinets, countertops, flooring, faucets, hardware, etc...

Definitely get a bid from a local cabinetmaker. I found a cabinetmaker in Vermont who is doing our cabinets for much less than a good commercial cabinet company. He does beautiful inset cabinetry and he's been a great resource for ideas. It helped that I was able to view a few of his kitchens before hiring him. Ask around for recommendations.

Have fun with it!

Sconde-
I too wanted a white kitchen- at one point we looked at an "off white" and thankfully I switched it- -knowing i really wanted white.. We are putting a glaze on the cabinets (chocolate) and doing a cherry island with brown ceasarstone on the island (granite on the white)...
We have a great KD in NJ... (using Shiloh cabinets- not cheap- but supposed to be great)..

Good luck!! So many details- knobs, styles, etc.. lol

Backsplash Inspiration-

{{gwi:1486034}}

Flooring/Cabinets/Counters
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Hi, Sconde. What fun to have another person who loves to cook planning her long-awaited kitchen. You probably are very well educated about your own preferences by now, both esthetically and functionally.

I agree with all those who say look for local cabinetmakers, but I want to go further and strongly suggest you stay away from the kitchen industry altogether because of the astronomic prices created by easy credit and the real estate boom. They have not crashed, and you'll quickly see which of your local cabinetmakers are part of it and which are not by their prices. Look for people with prices in a distinctly lower range, with no specialization in kitchens and no showroom. In our area there was literally no overlap.

OTOH, after you have confirmed to yourself your general layout details--and before you finalize your house plan, if you could invest in a few hours' time and drawings of a genuinely good designer to work over the aesthetic details, it'd probably be worth it many times over. When I see how nicely my self-designed budget kitchen turned out, I can only wonder what the input of a skilled artist would have created.

Try to have a pretty good idea of the cabinet style and room design first if you plan to interview local cabinet makers. I went with one and agree some can do really solid work for much less. Maybe even less than buying the cabinets at HD. Mine are all solid maple construction, and finsihed all over inside and out.

BUT... some local cabinet makers won't make an inset door for instance. If they haven't ever done it, well it's an artform that is probably best done by pros (those with experience). Mine made me all lower drawers in one section, and they work beautifully, but it was 'unusual' for him. Later when he came back to touch up a couple areas he told me about a new job in a fancy penthouse downtown where the man was insisting on ALL drawers! Poor guy was totally baffled by this 'new obsession'.

And he did NOT do inset. Nor full overlay. Mine are the old fashioned partial overlay but I got him to make the doors bigger, and leave out stiles where we could, so it's not as bad as my old cabinets. He also left out all spacers and made full use of the storage capacity. Nice, well made, economical, but Crown Point he was NOT.

You will find many cabinet makers who still think 2 inches of frame around the doors is just fine! And a cabinet maker is NOT a designer. There are great designers on here. Use them, or hire one, but don't rely on the carpenter.

Good Luck and I wish you a beautiful white kitchen!
:)

Jeri, That got me thinking about how much that ladder might become a nuisance if you have to keep moving it out of your way in order to get to the parts of the kitchen that you do use everyday. Just a thought.

Ahhhhh but to have the money and space to do it The maid can worry about the nuisance! :-)

I noticed in your post that you were looking for ways to save money. I agree that you should consider doing custom cabinets, especially if you can find someone willing to do them for less money, and even more especially if you have your heart set on a more custom look.

There are some alternatives out there. I spent about $7000 on my kitchen cabinets, when they were on sale at Home Depot (the American Woodmark brand). I have been very pleased with them. They aren't in any way top of the line, but they do have full-extension drawers, and dovetailed joints. Here's a pic:

Another thought is to look at Ikea white kitchens. There seems to be lots of positive feedback, and the price would be less than I spent.

I really think the key to getting a gorgeous kitchen might be the use of a great deal of creativity, and maybe not the spending of a great deal of money. Look at the gorgeous photos, and with some imagination, you might be able to imitate the looks you love for much less.

Alaskangirl - I noticed you have what appears to be a 10-12 inch overhang on your island top and you have a leg for support. Was that leg necessary or did you do it for looks? I was told a leg was not necessary unless the overhang was 16 in.(with 3cm thick granite).

sorry to hijack the thread. with keeping on topic, I have white cabinets and LOVE them! I'm digging this thread because I like to look at other white kitchens since I'm shopping for new granite countertops.

These pictures are absolutely gorgeous. Can someone explain what an inset door is? Is it a door where it is flush with the frame of the cabinet?

those are some awesome kitchens that you posted. i love looking at them. the one thats titled acessdecorating is interesting and beautiful. the islands are really a conversation piece. where did you find that one? it looks like two pieces of furniture that they put there. and, what makes it really an unexpected and unusual eye cathcher is that one is square and one is circular. I would love to see more work from that decorator.

Here are a few hundred kitchens including white and with various color combos. This is one of my favorite sources. I'm still trying to figure out what to do.

Here is a link that might be useful: White kitchens & more

Would love to copy the hood in the first pic posted by boxerpups. How would I go about doing this? Is it something Modern Aire could replicate? TIA!

Hi teppy,
Here is a link to that picture AccessDecorati magazine.
http://access.decorati.com/2009/04/15/island-hopping/

I love the marble looking wall and backsplash too. A real
dream of a white kitchen.
Enjoy
Boxerpups

Hi Becca06,
Here is a link to This Old House Magazine site.
The photo is from Kitchen Islands #4 Chef's dream
http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/photos/0,,1581515_1284285,00.html
TOH is a great source and they may be able to tell you
how to DIY or find the supplies to have your builder
make one for you. When I see the site, there are others
in this world who love this kitchen too. They
are requesting information.
Best of luck
~Boxerpups

Suzienj, could you email me at https://auth.gardenweb.com/members/theanimala ?

I see you are getting Shiloh cabinets as I am, our come in 2 weeks. I would love to share any details with you about ours and hear about yours. I too am in NJ, I ordered mine from an independent KD in central jersey. Let me know of the details of what you got, I haven't seen too many Shiloh cabinets on GW.

Back on tope, our will be white cabinets, and I would love to post pics as soon as we get them up.

alaskangirl - I love your pendants! (I'm done with my kitchen, but still find things to drool over in others' kitchens! TKO!)

My island granite overhang is 13 inches. I was told that I could go either way with support legs or no. I have 5 little kids, including some wild boys, so I didn't want to take the chance of it breaking when they decided to break dance on it.

My pendants are from Pottery Barn Kids.