lizschup

ANTOLINI LUIGI & C.

Sounds like you like your floor and want to keep it. You could probably find a green that would work beautifully with both. I don't know what peacock green is - I think teal and turquoise. As you can see from the link above, there are many greens. Uba Tuba is dark and I would recommend a lighter green, maybe something that pulls in the white from the floor.

janieblue

Slate is also really nice and fairly inexpensive. We've used it before, and have never noticed any stain issues. Again, I have limestone for my countertops, which I really love. But you do have to be careful with stains-- I'm not, so mine doesn't look as it did when first installed, but I think it's a great look-- old, timeless, and natural-- without being dark.

roshke

I'd have to see the floor tiles and the actual stain on the cabinets. But if you are calling the cabinets reddish brown and the floor really comes across as white, then I have to agree with your friends. If you flip through kitchen magazines you will see lots and lots of beige (can be on the light side), terracotta or gray(flagstone like)tile floors along with wood (even much lighter maple sometimes) shown with the cherry. What are you planning on doing with your backsplash? That'll make a difference, too. As for granite, since you like the green , you might want to check out Emerald Green granite - I know several people who have used it in their homes. It's a deep rich color - you don't even realize it's green at first.

neumes

RODS, I'm working on a project involving kitchens (not as an interior designer but as a writer) and I just looked through my hundreds of kitchen photos. Not too many white floors but most of the kitchens are in cold climates. I can see why a white tile floor would be perfect in Florida. I found a kitchen (from Boston) with 18-in. square bright white marble tiles on floor--these run into the dining area, right next to it--with dark cherry cabinets and dark green granite (or marble, not sure) on countertops--there's quite a bit of figuring in it. The backsplash is mosaic-sized (small) glass tile in a pale iridescent color that looks neutral grey-green from a distance (like the stainless-steel backsplash behind the stst range) and like rainbows close up. It's a great looking kitchen and I really like the contrast of the white-white floor and the cherry and dark green. The seemingly neutral backsplash ties it together. Glass tiles are gorgeous--a trend for sure, but who cares?

Does your wall match the floor? Maybe would want to consider that, or have a light or even white tile backsplash. The ceiling in this kitchen is the same stark white of the marble floor, so you might consider painting the ceiling the same beige-y white (sorry if you said this already but I didn't read whole thread--I'm not supposed to be on CC as I have deadlines like crazy). I think it would look really refreshing in your kitchen. If cabinets don't go to the ceiling, hide lighting behind molding to light up the ceiling--it'll light up the whole kitchen and will balance the white floor. IMHO....considering I am not a designer at all!

seiclan

I also live in Florida. My kitchen (built in 2001) has Uba tuba granite (black with green and gold flecks) and "Pecan" stained Maple 42 inch cabinets (Ward's Cabinetry). The cabinets look like Cherry (they are deep reddish brown). I love my kitchen, it exudes warmth and richness. I concur about putting a few throw rugs around to "break up" the starkness of the floor. At minimum, I would put one next to the sink (I have the rooster on the black backround from the Frontgate catalog).

seiclan

One negative that you should know about the black/dark colored granite is that they show dust (which does not seem so visible on the lighter and multicolored surfaces).

cangel

Ooh, I love kitchens.
There is no substitute for getting a small fragment of granite and a cabinet sample and laying them out on the floor. Put them in a sunny spot and in a darker area, look at them over different times of the day.
Consider using a lighter cherry stain - or a "natural" stain, you will still have the beautiful grain of the cherry, but not the big contrast. Remember, also, that you can vary the degree of contrast with paint and backsplash - making it more stark or toning it down.

Personally, I would change the floor if wanted DARK cherry cabinets, but that is a matter of personal taste (my cabinets, floor and backsplash are almost monochromatic), that is why there are so many different choices.

RODS1990

Thank you, neumes & seiclan for your reassuring words! My college freshman D happened to call me yesterday so I also solicited her advice. She kind of put it in a very interesting perspective for me. She says that I really can't make a "wrong" choice because there is NO right or wrong. According to her, sometimes people with the "know-how" tends to stick with the "principles" or "theories" they have learned through their studies. Take music as an example. People with music training ( like my D, who is still keeping up with her piano lessons in college even though she's majoring in science) can be very quick to judge certain music as not very good or worthy because they violate certain rules of music composition. However, to the untrained ears of regular people, if people like what they hear, then it's "good" music to them, regardless of what the "experts" may think. I guess the same applies to movies, too. I've enjoyed many movies that actually got bad ratings from the critics and vice versa. The funny thing is that among my friends, it's the ones who seem to know a lot about colors that have expressed "concerns" whereas the ones who don't proclaim to know a lot about colors all tell me they think it'll look nice. I find that observation very interesting!! Maybe ignorance is a bliss! ( Me, included in that group, of course!!)

Bromfield

RODS--if you want to see photos of a kitchen with cherry cabinets, green stone (honed slate, not granite), I'd be happy to email you pictures of mine. Don't have white floors, but I do have maple hardwood, which is light colored. My kitchen designer entered it in a SubZero contest and it won a prize--so someone likes the look.

janieblue

Changing the subject, slightly, but just thought I'd ask . . . I want to completely redo 2 bathrooms. Both have showers, but I would like to move away from the traditional shower door issue. I'd love something very open, or at least-- a short wall to keep shower water contained in the shower, but without the whole glass door thing-- but is this possible? Any ideas about how to modernize a bathroom, still have a shower, but make it all more open?? Thanks. Sorry for the hijack . . .

simba

janie: Have you heard of a shower curtain?


(sorry couldn't resist)

roshke

janieblue, Yes, you can get a fixed, "frameless" section of glass that attaches to the wall on one side to contain the water without there needing to be a door. They sell these specifically for what you are discussing. Or you could do glass block. Try a full service home plumbing type store that also sells vanities, shower doors etc. or a kitchen/bath contractor for some ideas.

ldmom06

janie - the quickest solution is a glass block wall. Not a bad diy project either. Just make sure you leave the opening at the shower handle end, not the other where the water splashes.

acinva

I have black granite countertops in my kitchen. They show every fingermark, crumb, grease splatter, dribble of water -- you name it. Whatever color you choose, definitely get something with a grain or swirl in it. Any solid color is going to mean more maintenance. Every time I walk into my kitchen, the first thing I notice are spots on my counters. I would never get a solid color granite again.

Good luck.

By the way, if I had to do it again, I'd probably go with the Uba Tuba.

janieblue

Oh, thanks so much roshke and ldmom. I remember seeing something like that (the glass blocks -- maybe 1/4 way up from the floor) in some magazine once, and despite all my searching in magazines since, just haven't seen it again. But, thanks; I'll look for that. I love the idea.

simba: Yikes-- shower curtains just really offend me, always have-- I just get all claustrophobic with those, just thinking about them-- something about all that fabric or plastic or whatever, closing me in-- plus that never-ending mildew. Yikes. But, yeah, I've heard of them-- just try to put the thought out of my head, though.