Cherry Butcherblock Tops - Ivory or Natural Cherry Cabs?

Question

I love the buthcherblock in American Cherry from lumberliquidators.com. I want to use it for my new kitchen but want the best cabinet to compliment it. I can't find any pictures using the darker butcherblock. Alot of the maple. Would a Painted Ivory Maple or a natural maple or cherry with dark glazing on the edges look better? I can't find pics of either but really think the dark top on a light cabinet would look better than same on same. But ivory or natural wood? And what color flooring? I have gunstock oak everywhere else but don't want that in the kitchen area but a color that looks good with gunstock up to it.

Answer 1

You want to use this as your countertop, right?  I checked out the site and it looks like there are a lot of color variations to the planking ... which is good, from a design standpoint.  It gives you a lot of options insofar as what to do with your cabinetry.  

Either option you're considering would work, however, think about what the rest of the kitchen will ultimately look like.  Are you doing an all-around backsplash in the kitchen?  Or will there be wall between the cabinets and the countertop?  I noticed the butcherblock comes in a backsplash, so if you're considering something like that, I'd go with a painted cabinet so as not to be too "woody" in the space.  If you're going to do a non-wood backsplash (or simply have drywall), I'd opt for a natural wood cabinet.  Don't concern yourself with matching ... as I said, there are a lot of color variations in the butcherblock planking, so you can't go terribly wrong with the other options you've described.

I think what's key is determining what will go on the walls (color) to set off the richness of the wood that you're having installed.  A friend of mine had dark cherry wood cabinets and had a difficult time getting her kitchen to look right.  She finally asked me to help ~ I chose a very dark (almost black) green color.  (Bear with me ... it does make sense).  The cherry has a lot of visual 'weight' because it's dark.  Any light colored paint on the walls was too contrasting.  Anything cool colored didn't relate to the cabinetry.  Most warm shades were paled by the cabinets.  The dark green had MORE visual weight than the cabinets did, so the cabinets stood out, looked rich, and the whole look was awesome!  I had to remind her to really look at how much exposed wall there was in the kitchen; there wasn't a lot, so the green wasn't all-consuming in the space.

Hope this was helpful ~