Look through the Finished Kitchens Blog. There really are folks who've done maple! And everything else. There's just a current fad for the white. Okay, fad is overstating it as white kitchen cabinets have been around as long as people have had cabinets, but plenty of us have done other things.

Maple is beautiful and don't let the white kitchens intimidate you.

Here are some lovely maple kitchens. Maybe you can enjoy
the maple kitchen eye candy.

~boxerpups

Look at the slate floor with this beautiful maple

you can always rely on boxerpups to give us the candy we need. thanks

Thank you. Even before I bought my cabinets (they are not here yet) the person said "not considering white?" Ahhhhhhhh!

I was considering white however, my DW definitely wanted a wood colour. So wood is what we've ordered.

I love maple cabinets and think the fine grain is especially nice. I almost hate to say we are getting white, lol. I initially wanted wood because I love antique wood furniture, but the vision became more vintage type slab front white to go with the old pulls and knobs I found, and then our white Chambers stove sealed the deal.

I do drool over wood kitchens and only wish I were planning 2 so that I could also do a nice warm wood one.

We have wood. Still a work in progress, but getting closer to done.

Allie

Turtle, I know some say white cabinets never go out of style...I'm not so sure about that (do love them though). I think maple would be so much easier to up-date years from now just by making a tile or counter change. Maple is pretty and easy to get along with. Love the pictures Boxer posted, #2 is nice!

My kitchen's been done for about five years so I've been reading here for about six years. Don't read much anymore but I check out the first page of stuff every now and then. I have definitely noticed that white has become the popular thing in recent times. The natural maple and cherry were very popular when I was deep into my planning. I opted for very dark cabinets - not popular at the time. That seemed to grow in popularity for maybe a short while but white certainly seems to be most popular now - based on what I see on the first page of posts. Interesting how things cycle in and out of popularity - white cabinets, subway tile, stainless appliances, etc.

I love both white and natural wood, so incorporated both - natural red birch perimeters and painted white island and pantry cabinet. I love the crisp, clean feel of the white, but could stare at beautiful wood all day long (birch, cherry, ooh walnut, whatever.) Natural wood kitchens feel warm and have this energy. Keep looking and you will see many beautiful wood kitchens, like those posted here.

Here is a link that might be useful: My nearly complete red birch and painted white kitchen

Wood colors are nice; but have had Maple and Cherry and Dark Walnut; White is the best because it brightens up everything and make the kitchen look like "Very expensive"!

No white here. I went with coffee colored Quarter Sawn Oak cabinets, Ceasarstone "Jerusalem Sand" counters and will be doing slate floors. Wish I had pix, but I don't even have walls up yet *sighs*

White wasn't right for my home - a nearly century old Craftsman style.

I have a similar problem. I ooh and ahhh over white kitchens but don't know that I want one -- maybe I've painted too many cabinets white over the years?

Here's what currently really speaks to me:

I love the dark cabinets with the marble countertops and (hard to see in this picture) pale green backsplash. With the right lighting....

Turtlemeng, I completed a kitchen reno about 6 weeks ago, with shaker maple cabinets and caesarstone countertops and backsplash. I had just placed my order for cabs/countertops when I discovered this forum and the white trend. I do like the white very much, but I wasn't going to start all over when I finally had the money scraped together, the details ironed out, and DH's agreement on my choices. I'm very pleased with the result.

Here is a link that might be useful: Maple cabs with caesarstone

chocolatetruffle - Your kitchen is lovely. I adore the amber glass knobs. I almost put in purple ones but used clear instead, but used purple on bathroom doors :) And I love your canisters. You should post that photo on the canister thread.

Here is a link that might be useful: Canister discussion

I love all the white kitchens that seem to be so popular right now. (And all of the gorgeous marble! What eye candy.) But they wouldn't work well in my home. So, we have a stained wood kitchen almost done...Here's my maple center island with leathered Antique Brown top.

{{!gwi}}

I also fell in love with the white cabinets and for about two days I was set on them. Then I realized that winters can be long here - and I don't want cabinets to match the cold white snow... so I'm doing warm maple.

Agreed. White kitchens are beautiful but the style just doesn't work for me. I have maple cabinets with a coffee glaze.

Sorry about the quality - taken with an Iphone. Almost done - just need to finish walls, add backsplach, trim work, paint, etc...
{{!gwi}}

OldBat2Be: that's a kitchen I could look at over and over. All that shined up pewter! Open display shelves with shiny stuff! And the mirror behind the plates! With tasteful panels on the cabinetry and a color scheme with a classic classy feel. Wipe the drool off the screen, Florantha!

I'm loving all the natural wood pics. Esp. boxerpups pics, thanks as always. Hopefully I will be adding pics of my maple and dark floor/dark counter kitchen within the month!!!

My last kitchen was white (in a 1920's bungalow, just seemed right). But my new kitchen is maple.

Here is my inspiration pic:

While I loved the bright color on that wall, I'm not into red kitchens here in the incredibly hot south, but I did go bright. Here's a small section of my new kitchen w/splash:

We have finished but we're still unpacking. I do love my new kitchen and I'm so glad I stuck with maple. Warm and bright and soft on the eyes.

Good luck!

I have seriously ooh'ed and ahhh'ed over some of the stunning white kitchens that have been done on this board but when it came time for us to choose, the white just didn't make my heart go zing. I love the clean look of it but for me the warmth of wood is what I prefer. I still think all the white kitchens are amazing. We are getting cherry cabinets.

The home we just bought had white cabinets and even though I love some antique white kitchens, it just doesn't "do it" for me. So, we've ordered rustic birch cabinets with a rust-red stain, and will have a slate backsplash and granite TBD.

We put glazed maple cabinets in a previous home and LOVED THEM. So warm and classic. Everyone who walked in said, "I love your kitchen!" I'm sure folks will say the same about yours, too!

I wish the white "trend" would go away....simply because I love it and plan to do it! I am afraid that it will scream "2010 makeover!" in a few years! So, I am just being selfish...although I love getting ideas and have lots to choose from.

I feel that we *need* to do white in our kitchen. We do not have a window in our kitchen...very little natural light. Plus, we have hardwood floors and my heart is set on waterloxed butcher block counters for the perimeter. I feel like wood on top of wood on top of wood would look too "ski lodgey."

Originally I never even considered white because I lived for 15 years with a white formica kitchen with white formica countertops. I don't think we will do a true "white" but more of a coffee glaze over the white cabinets.

In a way....I am almost glad that the decision is kind of made for me (given the light issue, and the wood floor/counter issue) because I love ALL shades of cabinets and would go crazy trying to choose!

Good luck!

karen_belle, I am almost certain that's dusty stones countertop by Caesarstone, the color I picked! Do you have more pics of your kitchen? Thank you everyone for beautiful pics.

Thanks Florantha! Once we get past the design phase, I THINK :) this will be the color scheme. I've been collecting pictures for years and this kitchen makes the cut time after time.

Turtlemeng, that IS dusty stones!

I'm sorry I haven't posted pics of the finished kitchen yet, we are buried in boxes and our GC has still not finished some things (for example, we do not yet have a gas connection, so I haven't cooked in the new kitchen.) GRRR.

Maybe by next week.

These are not mine (I have a medium knotty alder in shaker), but dark maple. The stain guy did a good job.

We're not jumping on the white bandwagon either. Our cabinets are maple stained a cherry/chocolate/coffe color (not sure of the actual color since the previous owners put them in). We have white trim and doors throughout the entire house so a white kitchen would not work anyway.

Still trying to figure out whether to keep the countertops light or go darker. The saga continues.

This is technically the "before" pic.

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

Karen - you simply have to post pix! Your cabs are lovely, but your splash is exceptional! I want to see more, more, more ;)

I think the white cabs are like the little black dress. Popular, but since there so many configurations with the other elements, that the cabs recede a little and you notice the trims and accessories more.

Also, when you have a house full of wood,(floors and antique furniture in our house) the white is actually refreshingly different.

That said, I also love wood cabs and wish I could design a wood kitchen for fun.

I am glad that there are so many ways that people can choose to do their kitchens because that makes them more unique and interesting.

Wood lover here, with cherry cabinets in a nutmeg finish...
{{!gwi}}From Finished Kitchen -- East Bay