What colour scheme would you choose for a sleek modern kitchen?

[Linguaphile]

I'm having a crisis of choice and am second guessing my knee-jerk choice of a matt white handleless kitchen with flamed and brushed black granite for our new kitchen. It's a large modern open plan space (in a very modern new build) with big sliding glass doors along one wall. The white isn't too brightmore of an off-whiteand the black looks more charcoal gray with the textured finish that brings out the lighter bits in it, but I worry it might look boring and am wondering if I should turn things around and go for really dark cabinets instead (like a navy or anthracite or an almost black wood, though still in a sleek and minimal handleless style) with light worktops instead.

Flooring is wide plank brushed oak.

What do you think will stay looking 'fresh' for the longest period of time?? Would I be crazy to go for dark cabinets? It's a big kitchen--6m run of cabinets and worktop on the back wall and then a 3m island. There's a fair amount of light in the room, but as it's such a big open plan space I don't want lots of dark cabinets to swallow all of the light.

What do you think? Pic of current plan attached (though keep in mind flooring is wood and worktops not so dark, white not so bright).

I agree with everyone who said go with what you like.

I also have a long run of units, in my case high gloss white handle less doors. My island is 3 metres long of the same high gloss with a grey wood/cement effect laminate counter (Sounds odd but it's the one thing everyone touches to see what it is). I have used a really dark colour on the surround and bright orange on the steel. I also have a dark antique glass on the centre of the island so it appears to float.

I love it and that's what matters.

Our room faces east, south and west so is like an oven on a hot day. It's never too bright though, having spent the last 4 years in an east facing dark cave of a kitchen.

Here’s mine

Thanks for the input everyone.

I’m honestly now wondering it a white on white kitchen would maybe be best for us. We have a northwest facing house, so although there’s a lot of natural light, it’s not direct sun and might feel way too dark if there’s a huge hulk in dark island in the middle of the space! Sadly I was in an Apple store when I had the thought, but let’s be honest, the white is soothing and clean, right? And we can warm it up with soft furnishings and rich navy paint and wood floors and such.

Or is white on white dated too...? 😬

White will never date (In my opinion). Navy is gorgeous but very much of its time. Black and white are classic.

You can dress them up and down as you wish over the years. In a north west facing kitchen I would be keeping it very bright.

Go with what you like!

I personally think black is dated in a kitchen. White on white could be too stark but with the walls painted it will be nice.

everything dates to some extent so you really should go with what you like. I fell in love with the granite we have and that kind of dictated everything else.

My kitchen is one year old. I have white cabinets, dark wood floors, dark grey backsplash and granite counters/island in white/grey/flecks of purple and quartz. I love it. We face northeast but have a lot of windows so get good morning sun and some light through the day.

When designing it 2 years ago the designer wanted me to do white cabinets and leathered granite counters in black. I felt the black and white would date.

I think black surface on white units looks a bit dated.

I’d go for a light worktop but maybe not white, or at least a white with plenty of flecks in it so it doesn’t show every mark.