Opinions, Please!

I have been talking about glazing my kitchen cabinets for several months now.

To read about my reasons and my vision for them, go here.

This week I took the leap. I used some walnut stain that I already had in the garage and did an over all coat. Then, I wiped it all off, resulting in a slight difference in the overall color and a stronger contrast in the grain of the wood.

Then, I custom mixed some glaze using my Valspar Mocha glaze mixed with some of the dark stain. I used this on the insets.

B came home at lunch time and witnessed my progress.

Now, let me tell you something about my husband. He is so gracious and allows me to paint walls when I want...and then repaint them when I change my mind. He hangs pictures for me...and then rehangs them when I find something new. He helps me rearrange the kids bedrooms. Again. And again. And again. (one of these times we'll hit it right and all the kids will be settled *wink*)

All this to say, he tells me his opinion, but really he wants me to do what I want. He's made his peace with it changing with my mood and our season of life. (we used to have lots of really bold colors on the walls, which I felt was inspiring. Now, we're going for more peace and tranquility in our home, so the walls are changing to calmer, muted tones)

Okay, back to the cabinets. He likes the look I'm going for. He can even envision what it will look like with new hardware and different floors and counter tops...because *we will* have new floors and maybe new counter tops one day!

But his first impression is that they look a little, um, "old school" aka DATED. Yea, NOT the look I'm going for. He is a bit concerned that my glazing is turning the yellowish oak cabinets into 80's style dark oak cabinets.

We're in the process of painting the kitchen walls, which is partly why I wanted to darken the cabinets. The walls are becoming "whole wheat" color instead of the dark, rusty color. I needed some contrast and I don't at all like the whole wheat color next to the yellowy cabinets.

I know I'm rambling before I get to the pics, but you have to understand the VISION before you judge. You can go there with me, right? So, envision some oil-rubbed and/or rustic hardware, and let me know what you think...

{color before}

{color after}

{color before}

{color after}

{top in original color, bottom after glazing}

...and please ignore my messy counter tops...

What do you think? Should I keep going?