Color schemes for the kitchen

I purchased my first book by Tracy Porter about 9 years ago (one of the many designers who has inspired me along my journey,) and one thing that really stood out to me that I've held on to all this time is the black stained wood floors she and her husband had used throughout their home.  I absolutely loved them. 

Our current kitchen has dark brown, slightly distressed hardwood flooring, which I love, and natural stained cabinets that my husband slaved over for weeks after we first moved in.  They are gorgeous and original to the house, but I've always been partial to white cabinets.  To me there's just something so light, sophisticated and beautiful about them...I'm hoping to have them in my next kitchen but stay tuned for that.

A good friend of mine has been rehabing her new home over the last couple years and installed gorgeous dark wood cabinets.  I've been going back and forth in my mind, researching tons of photos online trying to decide which color scheme I love more: dark floors with white cabinets, or white (or light) floors with really dark cabinets.  My dark floors won in the end, but I have to comment on how much I LOVE this first photo; the effect is so rich and gorgeous and so elegant, it almost makes me want to change my mind!  Which do you prefer?

Happy New Year everyone!

Photo credits: American Beauty Kitchen, Apartment Therapy, Arizona Heritage Cabinetry, AZ Central, Beach Town Dream Home, Commercial Appeal, Decor Pad, HGTV, Home Bunch, HomeDesigning.com, House Beautiful, Project Convo, RM Kitchen and Wedding Bells Forum.