In my opinion... 1. Overhead Cupboards: - no handles gives more of a clean/streamline contemporary look - no push/pull mechanism either (I personally think the click-clack noise is annoying) I would suggest making the cupboard doors slightly longer (approx. 20mm) than the frame base for ease of pull-open, then you could also add soft-close mechanisms so you can just push-close without the door slamming (little round rubber pads on the frame would also work just as well) 2. Base Cabinets (btw you didn't specify doors and/or drawers??): - no push/pull mechanism (for the same reason stated above) - with handles, but in stainless steel is a must (not the cheap coated metal ones) Pros: easy to open, no dirty finger marks on doors (particularly harder to clean if matt surface) Cons: can't think of any, other than the look of the handles (but get nice ones... see the Block's Josh & Charlotte's kitchen handles... just wow, imo) - without handles, but would highly recommend gloss surface Pros: again clean/streamline contemporary look Cons: dirty finger marks and food/liquid spillage into the gap Either way your base cabinets, whether that be doors or drawers, should definitely be soft close... an extra cost, but one you certainly won't regret... And if you do decide to go with no handles and if you can afford it (very $$) then check out: http://www.blum.com/au/en/01/60/20/ Good luck! :)

@mwenn, I sort of do agree with you that hiding everything away till it's needed seems a little fake but when you live in a home as I do at present, with a very tiny kitchen and everything is out because there's nowhere to put it away, consequently, I have a very limited prep area, so in my new kitchen, I can't wait till everything is in a draw or in a cupboard, so that I can enjoy the freedom of having a clear work area. That doesn't mean I won't enjoy a cooking day where everything is brought out for it but most everyday cooking in my opinion, doesn't require all the big gun machines to be taking up bench space. I'm afraid you might think my new kitchen will be one of these "fake" kitchens but I can assure you it won't be but remember most of the photo's that get shown on Houzz, have been professionally prepared for the photo, with nothing out of place, "minimalist" with a perfect vase of flowers and so on like the photo above!!

Both look like nice designs! If you like this style you should check out what Zanda Architectural Hardware has on offer - they've got a great range of modern door handles.

Personally I would always go for a consistent style throughout the house if at all possible. Expensive if you have to make a lot of changes to achieve it. I guess it comes down to how much it bothers you.