There Isn't a “Black and White” Answer
As a parent, when I see white, I shutter. I stopped buying white shirts, almost 5 years ago when my son was born, and my 3 year old daughter is WAY messier than he ever was. You might then say it was a crazy move of mine then, that I had the interior of our entire house painted white 2 years ago when we bought it, and that when we gutted our kitchen, we went with white cabinets. I might be crazy, that’s true, but I have never regretted either decision in using white. In fact, the white is way easier to clean than the black matte paint I have in my dining room, and the black matte cabinets I have on my kitchen island.
What you should know about black is that it actually does show everything. I notice things more on my black areas like dog hair, any kind of liquid spills or drips, and dust. If the sight of dust on your cabinet fronts will drive you crazy when the sun shines in, then I would say black cabinets are not for you. And if you have kids, be prepared for drip marks, and greasy hand prints. Just think of it like a shirt: do you end up using a lint brush more on your white shirts or dark ones?
We went with black on our island, because we knew our kids would be sitting at the counter and there would be the occasional kicking (wow, I’m really making my kids sound like monsters between the kicking and the drips and grease). For the purpose of foot prints and scuffs, I think it was the right decision, and for the purpose of aesthetics I absolutely LOVE our choice, so in no way am I saying not to do black. The contrast of black is just beautiful and dramatic, while also being fairly timeless. If however, you are looking for easy and low maintenance to keep clean, I would say white or a light color, or even a light wood tone. Although, I just remembered something one of my favorite clients told me while discussing how kid friendly her office should be: “we can just get rid of the kids if we need to in order to make it pretty.” And there is always THAT option. But then again, I’d really miss the tiny hands that make the greasy hand prints.