Lang Kitchen
This kitchen was the favorite option. We liked the white on white with the stainless steal. The glass panels in some of the cabinets breaks up some of the starkness of white on white. I'm afraid that one of the things that makes this kitchen work is the darker floor. We would need to try to find an option that would work that isn't dark wood. When a kitchen is white on white with light floors it can become sterile looking. One of the things that we all liked about this example is the big stainless steel hood. A hood that size is very expensive and may not work in your kitchen's layout. We would have to really sit down and look at the options. Also, if you wanted to do a big stainless vent hood, it would be best to not use a stainless steal back splash next to the hood. You could use stainless in other areas of the kitchen and use something else next to a big hood like this one.
This is a good example of a transitional kitchen. It has shaker style cabinet doors. Shaker cabinet doors are a flat panel door with a wood trim around the outside of the door. You mentioned you liked the stainless steal back splash. Again, this works because there is a darker contrasting floor. We could use a medium or light stained wood instead. I do not care for dark wood or other flooring options because of the intense amount of upkeep it takes. We could use a light bleached wood that doesn't show every little speck of dust, foot prints and dog hair.
This kitchen shows a shaker style cabinet. It has an island that is a different color. You could do white on white wall cabinets and add a color to the island to add some variety. Adding some color to the island will also makes it possible to have a light colored floor without it looking too sterile.
This photo has a few things that we can draw inspiration from. It shows how you can mix dark natural woods with a white on white island. It has a very contemporary feel. One thing I'd like you to notice are the wood floors. This is what I mean when I say bleached wood or white washed wood. Because of their light color they don't show every little crumb and dust particle that will inevitably fall on the floor, making upkeep much easier. Another thing that we liked about this example is the ceiling treatment. When you have a great room with a wide open space that connects with the kitchen and dining area, sometimes it is nice to add a ceiling treatment to define the different spaces.
Here is the example of a stainless steel back splash that you sent me. I like the look of the stainless steel and we could absolutely use it in your home. The price of stainless steel back splashes is very high. I will look for some options and get some quotes when we have one of our first design meetings.
The thing I like the most about this example is that it shows using drawers rather than cabinet doors. I LOVE drawers in the lower cabinets much more than standard shelves or even pull out shelves covered by cabinet doors because it is so much easier to access your kitchen items such as pots, pans, mixing bowls, tupperware even dinner plates and cereal bowls. I also like this kitchen because it has a very contemporary look. The really light wood goes great with the white waterfall counter top. A waterfall counter top is when the counter top material is carried down the sides of the island. I caution clients about using them because building code requires there to be electrical outlets within 6 inches of the counter top surface so you would need to have them on the waterfall sides or on the front of where the drawers and cabinets are and generally people do not like the look of it.
Here is an example of a white kitchen with a nearly white floor. When using white, there has to be some contrast to keep it from looking like an operating room. This designer chose to use a darker counter top (and a colorful but not too bright back splash) to bring that much needed contrast to the room.
Gray Floor
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