I have a family room paneled completely in cherry and it is VERY dark in there. We used dark blue draperies on the large picture window and I think they look great, but it is all very dark. I'm sure you know that real cherry wood tends to keep getting darker over time.

I also have very dark brown cabinets in my kitchen island and would be unhappy if my countertop were also dark; I used marble instead and prefer that look.

Good luck to you!

I like a contrast. I have medium cherry in my kitchen and dark cherry in my PR. I also prefer lighter counter tops because they are a breeze to keep clean from finger print and dust.
Giallo Ornamental

Not sure how dark you mean...do you have a picture?

I have cherry cabinets w/a mandarin orange stain & coffee glaze. I have black countertops that I love! Yes, they're granite, but quartz is also stone (well, mostly stone). I prefer the look of the dark counters to the light ones. I don't know why, I just do!

Here's a pic:

thanks all. Buehl- my cabs are bit darker and redder than yours but close enough...not sure how to post a pic.

I am still torn...;-)

I have darker cherry cabs and went with Verde Peacock granite. We do have a very will lit kitchen and went with light floors and backsplash.

We are happy how it turned out.

I don't think there's any rule. Go with what looks best to you in your space.

We went with black counters because I felt all the warms from the Cherry cabinets and dark wood flooring was too warm. I wanted to cool the look down with something akin to blue but couldn't find any blues I liked so I went with black. Love it.

Jodi-

I do love your kitchen Jodi - have drooled over it many a time. ;-)

we went with light:

I love your kitchen and the color combination, alku05!
What is the name of your granite?

It is Andromeda White.

Thank you! I am hoping to go granite-hunting over the next few days and am looking for lighter-colored stones to complement the cabinets, etc. I'll keep my eyes open for the Andromeda White!

MaryBeth1: What color was the stain on your medium colored kitchen cabinets? It looks like the color we are looking for in our kitchen remodel. I love the grain of cherry but I don't want to go real dark because then you can't see the grain.

Wizard, I had them made by a local cabinet co. They used fruitwood stain with a brown glaze hope that helps!

We will begin our kitchen remodel on 7/11 and we chose cinnamon cherry cabinets with a dark granite called Asterix. We think the black countertop against the dark cabinet is a very rich look. Just be sure your walls, backsplash and floors are all light for a nice contrast. It's all a matter of preference.

als6w,
How exciting. I think both looks are beautiful.
But if I were doing my own kitchen I might go with
a lighter counter. I like light creams in the kitchen.
Although dark does evoke a feeling of elegance for me.

Here are some inspiration pics that I have hung on to
despite not going with cherry. Maybe they can help.
Cherry is lovely. ~boxerpups

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

After looking at all these pics... my choice would be for the darker countertops. But as someone else mentioned, just make sure that you lighten it up a bit with the backsplash.