Nightmares of Empire Drive!

This post title is so accurate right now. We need to decide on kitchen colors and selections, so I have been trying to brainstorm and gather pictures/ideas. It is driving me nuts! I even dream about it! This reminds me of when I was planning my wedding and I would have all of these crazy nightmares that would torture me. Clearly I am very excited for this room of the house! I love a pretty kitchen! The decision needs to be made on cabinets, granite, and floors. I had dark black granite with small splashes of red (think burnt red) in my Texas house; so now I am thinking I want to go light. I really love my mother-in-laws kitchen granite so I am keeping hers in mind when picking out the color scheme. She has a light, almost creamy granite and I just love it! I am really leaning towards this granite sample below (courtesy of Napolitano Marble and Granite).

 I love the small clusters of dark brown in it. OK, so I am thinking a cherry cabinet, with the granite in the picture, offset with a white cabinet for the island (same granite on island). I was a little afraid of doing the different island color at first, but now I'm really into it. It is all over HGTV, and I trust HGTV ha! I also see a lot of white cabinets with the center island having the dark cabinet accent...I'm just not sure if I am gutsy enough to go white throughout my entire kitchen. Apparently white cabinets are all the rage right now, but they are part of my nightmares so I am at a loss! We have the choice to choose tile or hardwood for the kitchen, and I am 99% sure I am going to go with hardwood on the entire first floor (not in our bedroom though). I think it will cut into the flow of the house if I make the kitchen tile. I also think the hardwood will tie together the light granite and cherry cabinets by adding in a warm wood color. The only dowfall is going to be my little….ok ok big…dogs. Morgie and Feni love to play and I can just see their claws scratching up my nice floors. 

Anyways, Here are some pictures I really like. Some even have the different color island. Oh, and Matt is onboard with this! He is not into the kitchen designing. He "trusts" me on this one…so he says! Let me know what you think of my ideas. Once we make the decision I will post pictures!