I say paint the fridge cabinet doors anthracite, paint the island to match. Then leave the remaining units wood and don’t paint the uppers. You might decide in a year to paint more of the fronts anthracite.

Off white, like the walls

Great idea to paint the upper cabinets, it will lighten the cherry. I have had a cherry kitchen before and it can be dark so that will help with light. A lesson I learnt early on is no more than 3 colours or finishes and its quite busy already. That said I would paint the fridge doors to match the Onyx green porcelain. Cherry and green (go a shade or two darker if in doubt) would suit each other. I would ignore the modern anthracite door.

I would go a lighter shade of the grey/green of the onyx on all the upper cabinets and tall units and introduce some highlights of black around..should look good with the oak doors

Thanks all – reassuring to know we’re not alone in our indecision! We also considered the anthracite grey, Egyptian cotton (to match the walls), or a green. I worry green will stand out too much, while my husband thinks grey might make the darkest corner even gloomier. Egyptian cotton feels safest, though we fear it’ll show the dirt very easily.

@Living ideas – we have a set of Edwardian chairs my husband is overly attached to, and plan to match the upholstery to the final palette. I love the idea of a stone or marble table (with a glass top for protection), but I’m still figuring out how to tie everything together.

Hope these ‘Edwardian chairs’ your husband loves, are comfortable?

@Betty Boo Yes – quite comfortable thanks, but I worry our toddler will accidentally damage one.

If they’ve been around since the Edwardian era I’d hope they’d be able to withstand your toddler’s onslaught!