I love the photos you have given as examples ... white shows for fingerprints as well, if the dirt is there it is there. Good tip re shaker style though, I am about to have cabinetry made I was looking at shaker style then thought about dust and thought..not for me, though they do look good. Go for it.

The house we're in has matt black kitchen and black stone bench tops. You can still see all the marks etc as much as you could on white. This kitchen is in the middle of the house with no natural light and is the worst colour possible for the small space - lights must be n whenever we're in the kitchen. Done right - I'm sure it would be great, but this one's turned us off forever!

We’ve got a combination of dark charcoal and white, in 2pack. Love it! But I occasionally think it should have been matte. The charcoal shows fingerprints, especially on press to open doors.

The comments about natural light are well worth considering. If we hadn’t included a roof window, I think the kitchen could have become drab.

All the best with your project!

Whatever colour you choose, it needs to be something you can live with for a long time. Personally I hate black, and find being in it depressing as well as showing all marks - but then so does white. Our new kitchen is a mix of light wood and antique white and I've never seen so many small crumbs as seem to gather on the benchtops. The only thing I would say is that in my childhood black baths were popular, but dated very quickly. Am not sure if black kitchens are in the same boat, but at the end of the day, everything in a kitchen marks and shows mess, what matters is if you like it and can live with it for a long time.

I love your kitchen Julia! The combination works really well. Is this a laminate or paint?

The grey drawer fronts are vinyl ( and this grey is BRILLIANT at not showing dirt, and so easy to clean if you get self-close) and the walls and top cupboards are paint (Dulux Klavier) Rob, my husband, sprayed the cupboard doors, and the walls with a roller. The splash back is a strip of stainless steel. I rarely wipe any of it, and I do cook!

Hi. Have to agree that I love the dark colours, we used monument 2pac finish on our kitchen, but mixed it with a vanilla quake colour.
Finger prints are definitely noticeable on the monument colour, but worth it for a great look!

Hi, I have a black and white kitchen with a stainless steel bench. We put it in in April last year. Our lower cabinetry is black, quite matt (30% gloss) and our upper and tall cabinetry is the same finish in white. I absolutely love the look of the black. Love love it until the sun shines on it! Then every finger print and speck of dust shows up. Luckily it is not the sunniest of rooms most of the year. The white shows no marks apart from obvious splashes but the black shows everything. We also have a large black fridge and it is the same. But it looks incredible so it is just weighing it up. If it is a very sunny room, I would take that into consideration. Good luck. Donna. Ps I have added some photos. Excuse the no trim on the windows yet and the stuff on the bench.

I have not owned a black kitchen, but personally they do look very chic and classy with the right materials used. Try matte - according to some, matte is far more easier to manage and clean compared to high gloss kitchens. While high gloss does bring a “high end” look to the space, finger prints may become a real problem (especially if you have young children) and constantly wiping food off a high gloss kitchen cupboard can be quite challenging and annoying for some, especially for those who generally don’t like to clean 24/7. At the end of the day, it’s all about your lifestyle and how you want to practically function day to day within your own home.

You need a very light house to get away with it - we viewed a house recently that was quite dark inside and the black kitchen added to that making it feel quite oppressive.

I have a matte black kitchen installed in 2006 - no regrets at all. I have drawers inside a tall cupboard for storage of food and crockery opposite the sink, dishwasher and prep area with granite composite black bench tops. It is a small kitchen but highly functional. I love black and when this kitchen was installed black wasn't "in": as they say. How times have changed. I also have 6mm thick mirror splashback which helps to give the illusion of a larger kitchen. Couldn't be happier in my kitchen

I have a black gloss kitchen, with white benchtops, and absolutely love it! It gets lots of comments, and hasn't dated after 8 years. Like the others, it has loads of light, and white walls and art to show it off. It does show fingerprints, but it makes you wipe them, and cupboards are therefore a lot cleaner than those that are never wiped down! It takes about 15 seconds with a microfibre cloth, so not a stress at all.

I designed our kitchen 13 years ago and it still looks chic and contemporary today. Back then the Matt espresso was the colour I choose and I often get asked how is it our kitchen is 13 years old and still looks great today. The contrast of white stone tops and dark cabinets with stainless steel gives it a lovely balance. We have blackbutt floors to contrast the darker base. A lot of northern light in winter keeps it lit well and I went with a soft wall colour Solver Igloo and dulux white on white ceiling colour so that it wasn't stark white. Trust in modern dark colours they work beautifully. D Hyde Design WA

Nearly 7 years ago we built our new home and installed black glossy Polytec cabinetry in our kitchen/family room and the laundry with white stone bench tops, because I'm 'vertically challenged' there are no overhead cupboards but our full-height pantry has gloss white doors. The fridge is also a gloss black, everything gets swiped with a damp microfibre cloth as it's all very easy clean. We have big tiles in a milky latte everywhere, the walls are Wattle 'Diva White' throughout the house except for the ensuite and bathroom which are matt black, there is a lot of natural light to balance it all. Would we do it again... absolutely!!

My new kitchen has the finger-printless black .. love it a lot! We do have handles, I think without them it would be annoying marks to wipe. The timber cabinet section of our kitchen is far more fragile to scratches and stains.

We have a lot of natural light, white walls, timber, stone, garden & art to compliment. Pic below, the shelves were just installed and we are still waiting for the glass splash-back and sisal rug. Nearly finished yay!

I had a white kitchen and hated the coffee and tomato paste drips. I went gloss black, white and timber. In fact I used the same picture you have for inspiration. No regrets at all. I use water and a microfibre cloth but I really don't notice the marks like I did with the white. Go for it!

The house we bought had matt charcoal units and I couldn't wait to replace them with warm white. The finger marks drove to to distraction. As there are no direct windows it was very gloomy but with the installation of a solatube and white units, benchtop and subway tiles it's lifted my spirits no end. You could have black lowers and white uppers which seems to be a trend.

Just do it. The new fingerprint resistant Matt black laminex that’s out now is pretty perfect.
You will 100% regret it if you don’t use new products.

Photos for my previous post

I have dark brown I like it can have light floors greenery goes good like wall garden

Wow! I’m loving all these photos. Thanks everyone for the great feedback. I feel like I need to go with my gut and go for black! Still undecided whether to go 2pac Matt or the laminate fingerprint- resistant product. I will upload photos of the finished product.

Actually, I had a black color cabinets with white marble kitchen 30 yrs ago, they are fantastic, I like black color, easy to take care, now my outdoor kitchen is charcoal black, stainless steel and black marble combined together, they are look great.

My matte black and oak kitchen, with crisp white stone benchtops, is currently being installed. Absolutely love it! Nikpol also has anti-fingerprint laminates which look divine! I think black provides an element of drama and depth. As long as it is broken up with other elements and receives a reasonable amount of light, I think it looks fabulous. I too was hesitant - I was initially going to go all white but white just looked too stark against my polished concrete floor with black aggregate. I am so happy I went with the Matt black. Good luck with your choice!

In my previous post, I forgot to add that the black is still covered by plastic!

As this may eventually date, what about overhead cupboards only in matt black?

Love it!! We used polytec laminates for everything except the splashback which was made from leftover 'marble' (ceramic) tiles from the bathroom reno. This made the kitchen very economical. The designer/cabinetmaker due at Incasa Design (Sydney based) were amazing. So happy.

Bath Queen are your cabinets black or charcoal? I do love it!

Zaffa, great kitchen. Can you post some finished shots? Are you still happy with your black?

Hi Tim, just posted some pics in your other post. Sorry. Got the posts confused!!

Finally have a completely finished kitchen pic and loaded photos into my profile. I have had the mat black all this year and absolutely love how easy it is to keep clean!

Hi Tim, it's charcoal: Polytec in 'Feldspar' colour and the finish is Shimmer Matt. It marks like hell (only because the other users don't get that you don't have to paw the doors to shut them) but it's a pleasure to clean (microfibre cloth and Windex). Still a amazing. My tip is to get the carcass of the top cupboards made out of a matching (or close colour). White carcasses look cheap when you open them. Bottom cupboards not as obvious amd they don't stay open for as long as often.

Love it! Adds depth and drama. Matte anti fingerprint is easy to clean and looks like silk. Will provide great contrast against your concrete floor

Thanks for the pics. Looks great. Zaffa that timber works really well With the other colours. Can you tell me what it is please? You have me very excited about finishing our design and getting it built.

Hi Tim, thanks. The timber is Nikpol Halifax Oak. Here is a pic of the front of the island where you can see the timber grain.... good luck with your choices! Exciting times ahead

Zaffa you Kitchen look amazing. I love it. May i ask where did you get the timber looking panels? Are they wood or laminate? By the way, are your black cabinets hard to maintain?

I’m sorry for the delay in responding Rose21. I missed this notification. The timber panels are laminate, Nikpol Halifax Oak. The black cabinets are anti finger print Matt black, also from Nikpol. Easy to maintain!!

Yeah had the black matt kitchen for about 6 months now ... nice to look atm yeah smudges a tad like the ss tops, but easy to clean ... we have kids and pets. The kitchen matt black panels have a slight pattern, so not regular like std panel. Happy to answer specifics.

Your splashback tiles are lovely . They give an interesting pattern to just look at .

I love Matt black (not a gloss black fan though). The first time it was all the black. I used a honed black granite (it was a nightmare to live with the worktops).

The second kitchen had an entirely black island (doors were colour matches to Dekton domos wrap worktops. The worktops are incredibly easy to live with) and then a feature wall of walnut.

Loved both and would do a black kitchen again....

Love I found this thread we are going black against a back wall and a all White Island with marble patterned top and splashback similar to this photo all in Matt with the edged cupboard handles so excited but also nervous as a huge investment

Go with your gut Tracy..... it is a big investment but I have found that if it makes you smile every time you walk into your kitchen you'll never regret it!!!! I've recently moved into a smaller downsized home with my 3rd black kitchen, with drawers, no cupboards, except for the pantry which we use as the crockery and wine glasses stash. Mine is matt but no handles = no hip bangers! I chose to use snow white stone bench tops, the walls are painted natural white while the floors are pale oak hybrid vinyl.

We went with black polytec venette, Tasmanian oak uppers and open shelves to peninsula. Caesar stone fresh concrete bench tops and splash back. Walls are Dulux Casper white quarter and blackbutt floors. With a black fridge and appliances we absolutely love it. It does show marks in a certain light but is so easy to clean ( just Enjo & water).

Hi Davincicalbourne
Love your kitchen and the combinations you’ve chosen. For the interiors of your black cabinets did you use white or black carcasses/interiors.
We are about to start a kitchen reno with Matt black cupboards overhead and under bench. I’m quite undecided on whether the extra money for black crackers and drawers are worth it. Your view?

Hmede black interiors make is much harder to find items and look really dusty.
White interiors all the way.

Hi hmede7, thanks for the positive comments. Kitchen has been in 9 months and we have no regrets, we love it. We went with black interiors, some hafele products and drawer runners in anthracite grey. This was a late change after seeing it in a kitchen showroom. imo it looks a lot more high end than the white. We added organisers in bamboo which look great against the black. Some pics are from during the reno so look a little rough, the others are after the install. Haven’t lost a thing yet!

Hi, has anyone tried a black kitchen in polyurethane satin or matte?

Hi. Love these kitchens!
We are going black cabinetry and we’re thinking of going with Laminex absolutematte but was wondering if the joins are noticeable?
And has anyone done a matte black in polyurethane?
Thanks!

Hi evans01…the cabinet maker is able to avoid any joins using the laminex, I have 900mm wide drawers with zero joins and my pantry doors are 2 metres tall without any joins.

Thanks for your reply.