I sigh when I see the beautiful white kitchens with white marble, but my husband says marble is boring and for 90 year old people.

We are planning on medium dark wood floors – Brazilian Cherry, Santos Mahogany and Brazilian Teak are current contenders. And, I don’t mind mixing it up a bit – such as marble for the counters and butcher block for the island (or vice versa). Or perhaps soapstone for the perimeter counters and Marble for the island?

Please post (pictures or links) to kitchens that you think might just change his mind.

Any other ideas to help are also appreciated!

Fortunately, I have time to work on this - the kitchen remodel is several months away.

Thanks!

Jeri

Please add your own pics! (These pics come from around the web plus from here, so if I posted a picture of yours, please proudly claim it as such!)

Okay, your turn!

Ignore the windows--not finished painting--but couldn't wait to post. We are getting close to being able to post pictures of the rest of the kitchen (I think) and I am really excited how things are working out. I still have to refinish a large piesafe that will be going at the end of the run of these cabinets.

Cabinets-Wood Mode
Perimeter Counters-Calacatta Crema-honed
Island top-Sapele Mahogany
Range-Wolf
Wall Oven-Miele
Refrigerator-Sub Zero
Dishwashers-Miele
Main Sink-Shaw's Original Farm Sink
Wet Bar Sink-Sink-A-Link Hammered Copper

I planned the kitchen myself-- a little tricky as the room is not rectangular. I originally planned a white/soapstone kitchen, but ended up going with a more earthy scheme because the kitchen is open to the FR, and also I thought the colors would be more family and pet friendly-- we have 5 kids, a dog and a cat. We are all very happy with our new space, and the surfaces are indeed forgiving.

We remodeled mainly because I disliked the downdraft range on my island. Plus, the cabinets were looking pretty shabby and some of the doors were splitting. I cook a lot, often for a big crowd, and I am loving the efficiency of my new kitchen.

Here are the details:
Cabinets: Ikea Tidaholm oak in black/brown, and Adel birch in medium brown (in pantry area and planning peninsula). I chose Ikea because I love their organization systems and their Blum tandembox drawers and glides. I assembled all of the cabinets myself and changed the edgebanding to match the door/drawer fronts. I was kind of excited to find "Made in Italy" stickers on all the Tidaholm doors. My GC's carpenter installed the cabinets. All drawers are full extension with soft close.
Pulls: Hickory Hardware
Granite: Madura Gold
Backsplash: Jeffrey Court's Fire and Ice, enhanced, kashmir grout (thanks Jodi in SoCal for the inspiration)
Range: Bluestar 36" RNB with island trim. The cabinet run on the range wall is pulled out 3 inches.
Hood: Futuro Futuro 48" plane (980 cfm)
Ovens: GE Monogram Advantium over ZET
Dishwasher: Bosch Integra 800 series
Refrigerator: Samsung French door RFG297. We pulled out surrounding cabs to make the fridge look built-in.
"Kid fridge" 24" LG LRBP1031 in Titanium-- love it! Holds the kids' yogurts, drinks, fruit, ice cream, frozen baked goods, ice packs-- and keeps the kids out of my way. In the same footprint as refrigerator drawers, I got twice the space at half the price. Between the Samsung and the LG, I have almost 40 cu. ft. of refrigerator/freezer space.
Faucets: Grohe K4 (prep sink) and Alira (main sink)
Tapmaster at main sink
Soap dispensers from Never MT web site
Sinks: Zero radius, 15 gauge stainless from Ebay-- 30" at main sink and 23" at prep sink
Table: Oak from reclaimed antique floor joists, from Ebay (barnseeker.com)
Chairs: Bonded leather from Overstock-- love them
Floors: Red oak, Refinished and stained Minwax golden oak, 3 coats of oil-based poly
I kept my old kitchen light fixture and ceiling fixture. I'm still planning on adding a couple of puck lights to the shelf behind the hood-- I have outlets at the tops of the high cabs, with a switch next to the range.

Thanks for looking!

Here is a link that might be useful: Morton5's finished kitchen