Can't comment on design choices, however, had a conversation with a woodworker on Friday about how wood darkens.

He repaired several planks in a cherry floor with new wood that was much lighter than the existing floor. Within six months the repair pieces had darkened to the color of the older floor.

So cherry and, I'd imagine some other woods, will change color over time. Just something to keep in mind.

Yes, many will darken with time. Cool to know that the new and old darkened to the same color. Not what I'd expect.

My problem is to figure out what will 'go' with the dang cork.

I love cherry with dark grey or black counter tops. I'm not sure how that color of cork floor will look with cherry. It might be too close in color. If so, I don't think changing from grey to white counter tops would help.

I was thinking the same thing as Cloud Swift. I think black with dark gray or black would be sharp, but still organic and natural. I couldn't put white with cherry...Too stark for me. Maybe almost any shade of gray would be nice, like concrete colors...The cool against the warm. I agree that the cork and the cherry might be tough, but I'm not thinking the white oak will be better.

Shoot...Just looked at the cork. Is it pinkish? If it is, the oak might be better, after all, rather than competing reddish tones. But the cherry seems to suit the look you described, IMO. Do you have samples you could photograph together?

Go with the Pebble in Caesarstone and either wood would be fine, but I might give a slight edge to the oak with your floor choice. The Pebble is light enough to not be dark, yet won't read as white. It would also work with your paint preference.

Thanks, guys.

Yes, rhome, the cork has pink undertones. Lots of 'movement' too.

Dianalo, I'm thinking oak too. Is the white oak going to darken in a similar manner to the cherry?

I wonder whether the white oak's tighter grain will better complement the movement of the cork floor than cherry, which might compete with the more wavy grain of the cherry?

I am having an incomprehensibly difficult time posting a photo - don't know how to get the size down properly.
Not sure how you wizards get so many beautiful photos imbedded in the the text of your pics. Maybe it's my firefox browser?

Appreciate so much your thoughts and ideas. I'm unable to see with any objectivity at this point!
BT

I think the oak might be a better choice with your floors. If you do choose the oak, I really like the Raven color of Caesarstone. I like the contrast that the darker countertop would give. You could then do a lighter paint color. For paint you might like BM's gray owl. It is a great grey with slight green undertones.

If you are a wood girl, and your inspiration sites say you are - go with qtr sawn white oak in select or premium. With cork, my secondary choice would be premium maple because its quiet.

You need to ask about the change in price when you order a upgrade. They have some crazy formulas - so the page may say something like its plus 40% but it only applies to the wood costs or something like that - it turns out to be less.

The other thing to ask yourself is how important the exact door style is. Miter doors are premium doors. Premium doors in a premium wood are expensive. Shaker door in premium wood -> not so much.

You know I'm not critiquing your choice of doors because I have 475 except on the 6" fronts AND I ordered that while trying to save money every which way. After living with them for a year, I see the wood grain all the time, the door pattern not so much. When I had maple, I felt the opposite way - I saw the doors and not the wood.

Bon chance! Making finish choices are scary now, but later will seem perfectly right.

just a thought, based on my recent remodel experience. what is causing the urgency to make this decision and can you buy yourself some time?

i learned i needed to live with and really ensure the design choices i was making were the right ones that i can live with for years to come. i chose to push back the start date on my project as i did not feel ready and i am so glad i did. i have a kitchen that is almost complete and is exactly what i wanted.

in this economy everyone is pushing to find work and i was getting pressured by the GC and cabinet maker to commit to start dates and sign off on specs (which triggered respective milestone payments of course - the driving factor). once i realized where the pressure was coming from and that the majority of it was artificial it helped me to realize what i needed to do. i needed time once i had a final selection on most big ticket items to just live with the decision and make sure i was really OK w/ it before commiting. whenever i got confused or could not decide i also went back to my insipiration pics and compared to those and it usually got me back on track.

hope this helps.

I hear your pain.
This is exactly the dilemma I wrestled with. My heart said natural cherry/soapstone, but I also have to deal with a long, narrow, north facing kitchen, so my head knew it would be dark and overpowering to go with so many dark finishes. I was pretty stressed about the whole thing until I saw senator13's amazing quartersawn white oak cabinets. Deal done!
So the plan now is rift sawn white oak shaker lower cabinets, with a very, very faint gray stain (3%) to keep that fresh cut gray tint I love with white oak. The uppers will be white (Cloud White today, but may change to something warmer). Counters will be Cambria Torquay. Wanted a white quartzite, but couldn't source anything I liked in Vancouver. Fittings will be polished nickel.
None of this is too original...the main concept was lifted from senator13 and from a white/white oak kitchen that was featured in Kitchens and Baths a few years ago.
Like you I'm going for transitional, clean lines, warm and I'm hoping I'll have it. Good luck with the decision.
If you can't give up the cherry, take a look at stacyneil's kitchen...natural cherry, carrara, white subways for a lighter take on the look you're considering. Also gorgeous.
Funny, my order day is Wednesday as well!

I had similar design aspirations as you, even down to the cork floor. Like you, "organic" was the best word I had to describe the feel I wanted. In the end, I decided that the cork was the most volatile component of the whole design and had to go. I didn't want the kitchen to be about the floor. I did a complete 180 and went with a toned down earthy porcelain tile floor to go with the soapstone counter and the near-natural cherry cabinets. I say near-natural because the cabinet maker put a very light stain, golden pecan or something like that. He's says it helps "balance" the aging of the cherry. I think what I have now is a modern/transitional kitchen without being edgy or cold. It bright though, from the natural light and LEDs, but the lighting can be dimmed.

So I say keep the cherry and swap out the floor.

You can use picnik to resize, easy and free. good size is 600 p wide.

Also, don't know if this will help but here's a new visualizer tool that's really easy to use and is still limited because it's so new but may help you get a general idea of the differences in the look.

Here is a link that might be useful: Picnik

The white/white oak kitchen that I reference above was actually in "Kitchen and Bath Ideas" Jan/Feb 2010. Can't find it on line, but if you're TKO like me you may have a copy. I don't have a scanner or I'd send you a copy of my very wrinkled, well used copy.

ALso agree with others that by committing to cork you may be boxing yourself into a design corner. Pick the cabinets and counter you love and let the floor follow.

You are all so.right.on.

Yes, being pressured by Contractor, but I've also put him off for too long and now in danger of losing him, and I think he is good.

Damn cork. I already purchased it. Maybe I do need to go with something else, it would surely relieve me of this craziness. It's a holdover from a very bad experience with an "architect." I am not sure I can return it.

Marmoleum? Tile is too cold for this region.

Your thoughtful responses and my own feeling of being overly stressed about this definitely give me pause. And make me think I need to pause. I'm so dang sick of handwashing and looking at a partially demo'd kitchen (wallowing in self pity!!). Need to get out of the boxed corner. Pain is a useful emotion -- warning me to slow down. Forest/trees, all that.

Funny, it isn't the cork that I love at all. I like it. But 'love' is reserved for those fab countertops and special woods.

Appreciating this forum a ton. I needed the back up right now.

THANKS, all!
BT

Helps?
{{gwi:1969865}}

Surely something drew you to the cork to begin with, so think on that before switching.

With wood choice, I found I needed a sample door to be able to visualize. For other reasons, I switched from natural cherry to red birch, which worked for us. Regular birch or the oak are great options. I love quartersawn and riftsawn oak. Don't know if you are comfortable with a few dings.....if so, add alder and Douglas Fir to your list.

Are you "married" the cork?.....if not, I think a wooden floor would look much better with the cherry than cork....it would be much more interesting.

I am working on digesting all of these impressively useful suggestions and insights.
THANK YOU GW folks.

And - anyone know where I can find photos of stacyneil's kitchen? Google and the GW search box are failing me.

I know this sounds a bit mad, but it is possible to stain cork flooring with wood stain. It will need a topcoat of sealer after you install, in either case, so it's not a risky process. It would be a very minor cost in order to get the right color palette, without having to totally re-purchase flooring -- perhaps?

Bmore's second pic shows how the materials you mention would look together. It shows dark to me... I think with a lighter counter and bs, it would look nicer.
You own the cork and it is pretty and functional. Our experience with Marmoleum was and continues to be not good. I'd try not to panic and work with what you have. The style of cork you chose is pretty and there any many ways you can use it. We had 5 years to plan (not on purpose, lol) and our plans changed dramatically right up until the final moments. I even changed the size of 2 cabs at the moment of ordering without having any inkling that morning when I woke up. It hit me from out of the blue and I am glad I changed it as I did. I didn't even discuss it with dh and just made an executive decision on the spot, lol
Some of what we changed is the 100% better choice and some we could have gone the other way and been probably just as good. The hard part is you get get everything into just one kitchen. I'd have been happy with several counter choices, paint colors and bs looks. The layout was the best we could do at the time, though I might tweak a tiny bit more now that we live with it.
You don't have to aim for perfection as it is a room that you cook and possibly eat in, at the end of the day. It is not brain surgery and your life won't be radically different no matter which cabs or counters you choose. Try not to pressure yourself so much ;)

Just one more thing to consider with cork...as far as I know it's soft, prone to denting and can't be refinished. Wood may seem less practical in the short term...but it can always be refinished several times and the new finishes are very durable.

Surely something drew you to the cork to begin with, so think on that before switching.

With wood choice, I found I needed a sample door to be able to visualize. For other reasons, I switched from natural cherry to red birch, which worked for us. Regular birch or the oak are great options. I love quartersawn and riftsawn oak. Don't know if you are comfortable with a few dings.....if so, add alder and Douglas Fir to your list.

Sorry, I don't know why that posted twice.

rococo - the visualizer is indeed helpful!
colorfast - sample doors in the mail! Considering staining 1/4 sawn white oak a light faint stain as suggested by lisa.

B'more - so thoughtful! yes, it helps! The drawer sample is coming in style 575, door in 475!

Colorfast - thanks for the encouragement about the flooring. And the rest of you for giving me permission to ditch it! Or stain it (novel idea).

You'll see in my recent plea for saving that I am now reworking the layout. One day before Contractor starts!

But I can do this, and I want it completed. So here I go!

I think many of you realize what a gift it is to receive advice from this forum. Amazing to feel such gratitude toward people I've never met.

BT

Diana, just read your post again and it made me breathe deeply :)