And I don’t like kitchen cabinets.
I prefer shelves, roll out carts for under counters, and a pantry.
And for any cabinets I might have, I was thinking stainless steel.
Stainless is what commercial kitchens use, so I figure it must be practical and easy to maintain—efficient—which is why I like the idea.
Stainless is a great choice if it fits with your design. I’ll be getting stainless counter tops for my very modern kitchen,
I installed high-end stainless steel cabinets in my former home and was disappointed at the endless problems with water spots, rusted joints around the doors, and overall coldness, both in winter, when they retained cold, in the sounds they emitted, and in "feeling."
Stainless steel is great, and if you get it with a lip, you can put wood inserts in it. Wood is porous, so you have to clean it well, but it’s easy to clean, sand down to a new surface, or replace, and you can afford some striking grain if you’re only going to use it for a few square feet. Make sure you use an edible oil to seal the wood, and clean the joints and steel underneath regularly. If you really like to cook, a lot of the new surfaces can’t take the heat, scratches or stains of active chefs.