<p>We are looking at houses … and all of them have white cabinets, white wood throughout the house … and many with black grainite. I hate white kitchen cabinets. Any suggestions??? Some have oak bannisters, and or oak fireplaces … but then white everywhere else.</p>
<p>I have black granite tile counters at our house and I hate the black. It is hard to see where any dirt is and it is very dark and gloomy at night. I call it the black hole. I would never choose black for counters.</p>
<p>I don’t like white and I don’t have it anywhere if I can help it. Ivory, taupe, tan are much more restful to my eyes.</p>
<p>Are you seeing kitchens that have been renovated cheaply in order to sell the house, or are you seeing relatively new kitchens? For the former, it’s a lot cheaper to paint over dated cabinets than to tear out and put in new ones for resale. As far as the black granite counters, ubatuba is one of the most inexpensive granites so you might see a lot of that. The contrast between the dark counters and the light cabinets is nicer (in my mind) than it would be if the cabinets were white and the granite was a lighter color like bianco romano or colonial cream, or even a white marble. But it’s all personal preference, there’s no right or wrong.</p>
<p>If what you’re seeing are relatively new kitchens then yes, there’s been a trend towards white cabinets. Try googling images of Christopher Peacock kitchens - his kitchen designs have been enormously influential. He often uses white cabinets paired with a dark island, and lots of marble.</p>
<p>The nice thing about painted cabinets is that they can be repainted.</p>
<p>[Is</a> anyone doing wood stained cabinets anymore? - Kitchens Forum - GardenWeb](<a href=“http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg0313273117614.html]Is”>Is anyone doing wood stained cabinets anymore?)</p>
<p>I have black granite and white cabinets, with taupe wall paint and all new stainless appliances. Built in sub-zero is white. Granite is new, cabinets are 20 years old, original to the house. All of our woodwork is bright white and we have tile and wood floors. We get lots of compliments. YMMV</p>
<p>I think it sounds gorgeous!</p>
<p>I’d move into over30’s house!</p>
<p>I love creamy white cabinets. What can I say?</p>
<p>We’re about ready to downsize - so come look! Except we haven’t tackled the 20 year old bathrooms yet.</p>
<p>I also have black granite tile and white cabinets. The cabinets were a horrible knotty pine when we moved in, and I painted them white. The floor was a dark brown vinyl, which we replaced with hardwood. There are lots of blue accents – tile and paint. I wasn’t a big fan of white before we moved in, but that seemed the best color to paint them. I like the black granite tile – works for me.</p>
<p>I think white with black is a very classic look. When you look at designer magazines, you see it all the time. But if you hate it, then I would stay away from it. It is possible to paint cabinet other colors and have it look fabulous. I had a house with cabinets painted an olive/sagey green and got tons of compliments on it. Had another house with cream color cabinets and a very dark mossy green granite (not uba tuba) that looked great. Current kitchen has cream cabinets with beigy/tan/brownish granite (not my favorite granite but still looks good and get lots of positive comments on it).</p>
<p>The trend for the last five years or so is to put dark cabinets with dark granite and stainless steel appliances but it’s been overdone to death, so the white cabinets might be a backlash to that.</p>
<p>Personally, I like the look of painted cabinets but I have tons of mahogany furniture in my house and any other wood just doesn’t look as nice to me, so I stay away from it. I also feel like I need the contrast of painted wood on my kitchen and bathroom cabinets, so the house isn’t all dark wood.</p>
<p>I get that some people love them … and they look great for some … and I just don’t prefer white cabinets in the kitchen. With black granite- you can hardly paint cabinets black. And I’m not into different colors … so is the only choice to strip them and stain them? If the granite is swirled with colors, black may work, but it seems like everyone selling where we are looking has this combo - white cabinets and black granite. Just looking for ideas … thanks!</p>
<p>Momlive - thanks - so you have painted kitchen cabinets in colors - and it looked ok? That was one of my big questions …</p>
<p>If you strip them and stain them, you may find that they were not originally “stain grade” cabinet fronts. So they may not look good at all. It’s a lot of work to do that. So I would certainly test on one door.</p>
<p>For some, the white/black combo is too stark. For others, it is clean and dramatic. If you’re among the former, you could soften via accessories, backsplash, wall paint - the taupe walls that someone else mentioned above can bridge the two colors nicely. But there are many options.</p>
<p>I would paint the cabinets if I were you - a creamier white, a taupe, an olive-y green, a soft grey, a charcoal grey. Look at magazines, HGTV shows online to see what colors people have used with black granite counters and see if you can find any that you like.</p>
<p>Because painting the cabinets would be cheaper than stripping and staining, which might yhield iffy results anyway.</p>
<p>^Sure. Look through some designer magazines at your local bookstore, especially magazines like Traditional Home, Town and Country, etc. Or go to bhg.com - they have lots of pictures. You will see all sorts of painted cabinets that look great. My favorites are white, cream, antiqued cream, chocolate or some other neutral like olive. I’m not a big fan of black, though. People also do them in bright colors but I would be afraid of tiring of that too quickly.</p>
<p>You can only strip and stain cabinets if they are the right kind of wood. Usually painted cabinets are paint grade and not good enough to stain, so that is probably not an option.</p>
<p>This might give you some ideas: [What</a> Color to Paint Cabinets With Black Countertops | eHow.com](<a href=“http://www.ehow.com/way_5533630_color-paint-cabinets-black-countertops.html]What”>http://www.ehow.com/way_5533630_color-paint-cabinets-black-countertops.html)</p>
<p>My accent colors (rug under black table, artwork, flower pots, etc.) are dark red, deep purple, dark green and a touch of yellow. I have large windows overlooking the backyard, with no window treatments. It’s light even with the black.</p>
<p>I don’t even think I could paint my cabinets; they must be some kind of indestructible material since they still look great after raising 2 boys and a very large dog. But I would love sage green or a medium green with a touch of black.</p>
<p>I have seen people strip and stain doors/cabinets/baseboard/trim that was originally paint grade, not stain grade. Then, these people’s eye did not pick up the inferior look of the wood. But everyone else did ;). So be careful if you decide to strip that you have some expert and honest people look at them to see if they are okay for staining, not painting, if you are the least bit unsure.</p>
<p>Chocolate is another good paint color option for the cabinets. I think MomLive and I have the same taste :). </p>
<p>I would NOT paint the cabinets black. I think that might work in a very open loft-type contemporary look with tons of glass and open air and light. But not in most kitchens with black granite counters.</p>
<p>We have stained cabinets and woodwork, but I want to paint the woodwork white. NOT the cabinets, but everything else. The stained woodwork is dark. I think white woodwork will brighten the house, make everything look cleaner, and make the paint colors on the wall “pop.” We will leave the cabinets golden oak.</p>
<p>We are getting granite countertops but they are a mix of many colors - mostly beige, gold, black, white and brown. A friend warned me not to get dark granite - it shows every crumb and speck of dust.</p>
<p>I have Black Galaxy and really don’t notice crumbs, etc., but do on my black flat cooktop. </p>
<p>Try the Borelli Marble and Granite site. You can pick a cabinet color to put next to the granite to see how it looks.</p>
<p>Our first house had dark trim everywhere. Hubby spent months (if not a year) painting it all white. It really updated the house and made the paint ‘pop’. The house seemed so much lighter and brighter once it was done. Though, it’s time consuming because you have to put a primer on it first to cover up the stain.</p>
<p>How 'bout antiquing or pickling (or some other faux-effect) the white cabinets? I know someone who painted over painted cabinets with a dry-brushed whitewashy looking moss green and then antiqued over that - just at the edges, etc. They had dark brown counters in their new house that they were stuck with and it ended up looking really nice.</p>
<p>But then again, I have dark gray/black counters that I put in, so…maybe I’m not the one to ask :-)</p>
<p>gardenweb.com is a great place to go for kitchen ideas.
I practically lived on that site when we were building our new house last year.
I have antique white (very creamy looking) cabinets with an olive green island. The granite on both is colonial cream.</p>