Kitchen design suggestions with an oak floor?

[sploo]

I'm soon going to move into a new place that has white walls and a freshly laid oak floor in the kitchen (but is otherwise empty). It looks good but it's giving me some headaches as to what to do for kitchen units and a worktop.

Our current place has white walls and a stone floor, so I installed a kitchen with oak doors and a solid oak worktop (all from everyone's favourite Scandinavian chainstore).

We really like the oak worktop and think we can get away with that in the new place, but oak doors as well is just not going to work. We've had a suggestion of grey doors, but ikea's offerings are either painted MDF or foil wrapped particle board; both of which look cheap and nasty and I suspect will wear very badly.

Currently I'm thinking of a birch option that is stained black (the door frames are at least real wood), but I'm not that excited. I was wondering about making doors myself (maybe from ash and trying to stain it grey?) but I'm not sure how that would look for even if I could do it.

Suggestions from anyone with a better idea of design would be greatly appreciated. What would work with a fairly orange oak floor, oak worktop and white walls? Ideally something reasonably modern, but not that trying-too-hard-to-be-cool modern, if that makes sense.

 

[Jacob]

Softwood or tulip wood plus bright coloured paint?
Why use ash or birch and then disguise it - you might as well start with something cheap and easy to work?
You might do better trying-much-harder-to-be-cool-modern, rather than timid and cautious

 

[sploo]

Softwood or tulip wood plus bright coloured paint?
Why use ash or birch and then disguise it - you might as well start with something cheap and easy to work?
You might do better trying-much-harder-to-be-cool-modern, rather than timid and cautious

Not a massive fan of paint; though perhaps a simple design, and sprayed gloss white would be good. Problem is getting the quality of finish. I used to do some spraying work, but I'm not set up for something on that scale.

MDF with 2k automotive paint would likely be durable but it needs proper breathing gear as it's seriously nasty stuff to spray.