Preparing to do a vacation rental home so it’s not ‘for me’ per se, and I am wondering, white kitchen or not? Is that going to be dated too soon? Or is it timeless? I cannot go with gray, due to the geology of the area I need a brown basic undertone or every bit of red dirt will show.
Timeless, IMO, if done fairly classically. White kitchens have already stood the test of time.
Gray will go out of style.
Vacation rental? Make sure the white is stain-proof. Weinherited" a white-ish kitchen that was in bad shape… and it was not heavily used.
I remodeled a kitchen in the early 90s, when white was in. I did the walls in white, but had the cabinets in natural wood. After the trend faded that time, I was very glad to have avoided pure white. The folks who bought that house last year had just remodeled another kitchen, in all white. They were irritated with the new and higher end cabinets chipping, and went for natural wood with their next remodel. Go with white walls, but use a natural wood, or have cabinets that will take paint.
I had a white kitchen and I do believe that they are in style. But my white cabinets showed a lot of dirt and grease and I had to clean them often. My sil has cream cabinets in her cottage and they seem to show dirt and grease less.
I don’t know how your rental will be cleaned. My sil rents hers and has had different cleaning crews. She has a pretty short turn around time, 10 am to 4 pm and the cleaning crew is there the entire time. (It is a big place) But there is not enough time to clean all the kitchen cabinets every week.
My white cabinets showed everything and every spill. In a rental, I might want to think about ease of cleaning and time and money involved.
But I love a white kitchen.
Every bit of red dirt will show even more on white. But- you could combine them with all white appliances that won’t show smudges and be less costly. For a vacation rental people will not be as fussy as if they were buying. What they will note is how dirty things appear more than the fashion. How about stained cabinets- will show less dirt and likely cheaper? But those would not be vacation feeling. Do a classic, such as Shaker, style. White could look light/airy and show well in photos while a quick sponging could remove dirt before rentals. I find gray depressing, not fun like white.
The above is thought streaming, won’t edit. White with white appliances would be good. Cheery. People expect you to do least expensive but reasonable quality on a short term rental. And- they’re there to have fun, not cook extensively.
All higher end, newer condos in hi where we stayed had darker (but not really dark) cherry cabinetry. Maybe there is a reason… 
That said, if your house has a theme where a white kitchen would look seamless, go for it. Splurge on quartz counters. They are easy to maintain.
“People expect you to do least expensive but reasonable quality on a short term rental. And- they’re there to have fun, not cook extensively.”
I think it depends on the price point of the rental and the audience. Most higher end rentals have super nice kitchens. We do mainly home rentals for vacations and our family is into cooking big meals so kitchens are an important part of the decision - must be nice and well stocked, something comparable to the level we have at home or better.
Sadly the countertop options are solid surface (Wilsonart) or old school formica, which actually is not that bad.
Great point on the white kitchen looking easily dingy, yes we have 11-4 turnaround, but there is a lot to do with laundry etc. I am choosing the theme tomorrow and often have to oil the wood cabinets in my current place, it’s very dry here, so was thinking painted might wear better, but yah, the light color might not be a good choice.
On appliances I was planning stainless to have a quality vibe.
Our last house was 90’s era and had white cabinets that were easy to clean and easy to touch up when needed. Nearly 30 years later, white/off white is still in style. I think it will always be an option for those that don’t like the dark look of stained wood. I just painted our dark oak cabinets white in our current house and I love how it brightened up the kitchen. My only regret is that I used a “white” white instead of a little bit off-white.
I think white looks nice in Florida type vacation rentals, but I agree that white cabinets have a better chance of showing dirt and wear. A natural maple pretty much goes with everything and can still feel tropical.
Go on Zillow and take a look at interior pictures of condos for sale in your area. Some kitchens look great and others…not so much
It also depends on the flooring???
Think southwest and Grand Canyon area with a slate ish looking tile on the floor.
Pretty much everything goes out of style. Its designed that way. Though often times just hold on long enough and it will come back.
Our first house had the world’s most disgusting wood cabinets, because they didn’t show dirt they’d never been cleaned. Yes, white is more trouble, but you can’t let them go. I live in a neighborhood of 1920s houses - traditional/transitional white cabinets look very appropriate. But IMO if you like natural wood, just get wood. And if it’s a vacation rental, I can’t believe anyone would care that much.
I don’t think anyone can predict what will be dated ten years from now. I remember when cabinets like this were high fashion. Now they are winning ugly kitchen contests: http://uglyhousephotos.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/phx80skitcheneuro.jpg
I have maple cabinets with black and copper granite countertops. I always wanted a white kitchen as I like white furniture. It just makes a condo look more open and spacious and neat.
@mathmom I remember those cabinets during their “time” as well but they were always not my taste.
IMO, there are trends and there is timeless. A simple shaker style cabinet or something else simple with historical roots is timeless, IMO.
Somemom, I can’t help thinking knotty pine or cedar, as that is what the Arizona cabins of my youth were made of, as well as the solar adobes my friends were building in northern AZ back in the day. It may not be current high style, but it would be timeless and geographically appropriate.
S stayed in the Biltmore in Phoenix at a point (summer discount), and the kitchen in his studio had a sort of whitewashed off white, which was cooling in the summer heat, yet has a bit of warmth. https://www.google.com/search?q=white+washed+kitchen+cabinet&tbm=isch&source=iu&pf=m&ictx=1&fir=1rLaIMYQZgCtgM%253A%252Ck3RKsP586m_M1M%252C_&usg=__QRvyV9UwWlIJ5dX_v6ySCOcaypw%3D&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjX5421_tXWAhWHwYMKHbBeChQQ9QEI7QEwAQ#imgrc=2tWWO_lHjLw4FM: But timeless? Not sure.
To be more timeless, I’d stay clear of any wood finish that is altered like whitewash. I would consider a light to medium toned natural wood finish, though. A natural knotty alder would be fitting in a southwestern home, IMO.
When I think white, I do tie it more to coastal or New England.
I think that quality PAINTED white or off-white kitchens, especially with a comparatively simple door style, are timeless. Any kind of white kitchen that features laminate, especially with wood trim, like those featured in mathmom’s link, is definitely NOT timeless, and never was, They were the epitome of trendy. I think that quartz countertops are iffy, and the “waterfall” style in particular is definitely trendy and prone to becoming dated.
Agree, Consolation, that solid wood painted cabinets can be beautiful, but disagree about quartz. Great stain resistance and ease of maintenance make it a real winner, so as long as one does not go after fake marble look… But OP has a laminate budget.