Considering your budget, granite is likely to be cheaper than engineered stone. Your natural wood cabinets might look brand new sanded and sealed to showcase the real wood, and would also look better with the white appliances. Your cute metal backsplash, medium tone countertop and brighter ceiling, leaving the beams natural, would really help, as would better lighting. See Houzz Photos under "Aspen kitchen" for several examples of light natural wood kitchens that fit the surroundings.

Hi, thank you for your ideas! Quartz Engineered Stone at Home Depot is $57-$65 for a range of maybe 15 different types. Granite is slightly cheaper, but I prefer to go with the engineered stone for durability, as this is also used as a rental. You can't really tell from the photo, but the cabinets are highly "textured" wood - so I think we would have to have them sandblasted (?), as they could not be sanded with traditional methods. I would prefer not to do. The answer might just be a lighter colored paint.

Textured wood often doesn't take paint well; perhaps an opaque stain? I think I would paint the walls in a richer color instead and invest in better lighting. Match the countertop color to the floor. Consider painting the wainscoting and other woodwork as well.

I agree with the Quartz rather than granite countertop, a simple square profile. If it's dark in there, how do you feel about painting the ceiling to gain some reflective light, don't paint the beams. Or if that is sacrilege, new lighting over the sink and table. Leave the backsplash shiny metal to gain some more reflective light. Something light for your cabinets and because you have white appliances, Benjamin Moore Sandy hook grey in the first photo.

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thought I commented earlier but I don't see it - wonder where it went.
While the Gwen's cabin backsplash is very fitting for a ski condo, have you thought of how it will be cleaning splattered grease and other food on the raised surface, especially with it sometimes being a rental? I don't know if it can be done with quartz, but I have seen the same granite used on the countertop and blacksplash in a kitchen much smaller than yours and it gave a nice flow to the room. Maybe choose your quartz first, then choose a color for the cabinets OR have you looked at resurfacing? If the cabinet structure is solid that could be a workable alternative to painting. Not many cabinet doors/drawers so expense may not be that bad.

Our neighbors next door actually painted their cabinets and they look gorgeous! So, I think we are okay with painting them even though they are textured. They are also in excellent condition, other than the surface just looking a bit tired.

I agree with everybody here that the a painted ceiling would brighten up the whole area, but I just don't think I'm ready to do that (yet) as it would mean the entire ceiling of the lower level, and I'm also torn with covering the wood - even though it is dark, it is also so cozy. I think I need to figure out how to improve lighting instead - also challenging as the ceiling is relatively low AND the ceiling is also the upstairs floor, so there is no way to add recessed lighting.

@eageree, that's an excellent point about the backsplash. As @Bette P pointed out, if I get the shiny one, it will reflect light, which is a plus, but I'm not sure how it will hold up to "kitchen abuse."

Sandy Hook gray might be nice for the cabinets, as Bette P pictured above. Also maybe Benjamin Moore inyoureyes: http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/inyoureyes. I love Palladian Blue, and inyoureyes looks just a bit lighter.

Thank you, everyone! This is all very helpful!

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You could just paint the uppers for brightness - and look at laminates for budget - there are some good ones out there.

Have you considered concrete counters, a basic design and edging can run along the lines of the $70/sft budget and for a lodge feel, with a lot of wood tones its a nice material and mix.

I think painting the cabinets in a white or medium gray and leaving the beams on the ceiling in the wood tone would be a nice contrast and make it feel like a ski lodge.

A stone backsplash would be nice, they make a lot of rustic, lodge-like stone tiles that look like they normally would go on the outside of a house, but as your KBS. Since you don't have s lot of backsplash it would be a splurge, but a nice accent.

If you're not replacing appliances, go with white cabinets..have you thought of zinc countertops?

If it was me, I would paint the cabinets white and replace pulls with brushed nickel. The least expensive countertop is formed formica; pale dove grey would look good,. Given that the space is sometimes a rental, I would go with the least expensive option then replace it with new inexpensive formica when it comes time to sell.

Rae Decor, I actually love the look of concrete, but I've personally stayed in vacation rentals with relatively new concrete countertops and they were pretty badly chipped. Thanks for the stone backsplash idea. I might go with that instead of the aluminum as it would likely be easier to clean.

I should note that my young family also spends a lot of time in the house, so I do want to like what we've done as we make a lot of great memories there. I love the lime-ish green color in one of the photos above, from skicannon.

Skicannon, do you literally ski Cannon Mtn. in NH? We're in Bartlett. =)

Being a rental, I would stay away from white cabinets and would paint the cupboards a great color (green above is nice) and add bling hardware and a white subway tile which is inexpensive. I would opt for butcher block for the island and white quartz for the counters. You could paint the beams and window frame white and I would look for industrial type light fixtures over the window and island and add under counter lighting if needed. Instead of going rustic/ski lodge, I would head towards rustic/industrial.

Maureen, regarding white cabinets, that's an excellent point that I did not think of. I wish there were some kind of lighting I could attach to the beams that people wouldn't bump their heads on.

I love where you are going with this. My first instinct with those cabinets is to wash the wood rather than paint them - You are keeping other wood trim and doors and ceiling so going to a drabware tone like sandy hook - better for washing the wood than painting I think.

However, that is a DIY job (one coat of watered down paint, maybe 2) and you probably want to hand it over.

In that case, may I suggest a softer green on the cabinets? If you are going to paint, green goes great with wood, great with palladian ish blue green on the walls, will introduce some color and charm but is neutral so later you can repaint and add red or yellow or lake blue . . the kitchen is still tucked away. Green casework in a kitchen adds so much light (due to the yellow in the tone) and works great with white appliances. Here's a classic option http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/aganthusgreen or here is another tad more olive

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Then, in the kitchen proper, do off white quartz tops to echo the appliances - but out at the tile shelf, do a butcherblock - that will add a ton of light but stand the test of time. I'd stick with an oil rubbed bronze chunky pull - something craftsman ish, and only get the backsplash if it is available in a bronze tone - the silver tone won't work unless you are going to stainless appliances. If so, then I'm thinking you might as well do tuxedo with a deep blue green on the bottom . . top half stratton blue . . all white will be too stark.

If it helps, there are LED stick on battery operated lights that may work for you - see link. .http://www.amazon.com/Fulcrum-30010-301-Battery-Operated-Stick-On-Silver/dp/B000R7PM36

You might try some undercounter LED Puck lighting - this lights the worksurface and makes a huge difference in ambient light .. these can be wired to a dimmer .. I'd like to see a sconce that was a bit more hubbarton forge ish . . yosemite lighting has some affordable knockoffs - love the antler chandy .

I will definitely think about washing the wood. This would also be more forgiving than paint-- I plan on doing this myself and I've painted a fair amount of furniture before, and cabinets once -a very long time ago.

Love your cabinets...a good cleaning, maybe painting/staining a lighter color ...under cabinet lights will help bring light in. Hanging pendants lights if you can not add recess....good luck.

Melissa Dunn - yup - Cannon girl - we are practically neighbors. BTW, my husband 'surprised' me last year by having our ski house cabinets painted green - but not the shade from my dream kitchen - a blue-ish green (which does not go with my furniture (BM Garden Path) - of course he is "a bit" color blind.....and clueless on decor - our cabs bothered him more than me. That color looks a bit minty - but dealing with it for now rather than redoing yet - brown hardware helps - and also looking for new laminate (which I would have done at the same time.....but oh well) and found great options at Wilsonart (check Norfolk Kitchens if you have one for samples, then you can get bigger ones online), But the green sure does help brighten up the space, even if I wish it were a slightly more yellow shade. Good luck!

You could use our kitchen simulator tool that allows you to try different countertop, wall, cabinet and floor colors together. www.vtindustries.com Good luck!

A pale turquoise (robin's egg blue?) paint for the cabinets and a soft red floor from Armstrong industrial tiles! A neutral parchment colored counter top.

onewingstudio, that sounds so colorful and awesome.

We've been renting for 10 years and honestly (knock wood!) the renters are generally fantastic. We cater to families with young children, and they have been great with the house. I wouldn't have mentioned renters except for the point about highly durable countertops. I love that light green glass subway tile backsplash. It's gorgeous.

miacometlady, I can see that... I think I just might have to count on repainting every 5-10 years or so. Luckily, the kitchen is small. (BTW, I have natural maple cabinets that are holding up incredibly well in my first home)

What do you think of this? I did a very quick and dirty Before and After in Photoshop of your kitchen. Keeping your budget in mind, I left the counters and decided to work with them as is. Paint your cabinets with van Gogh Fossil Paint in the colour Patina. Paint your walls white. Paint the wooden frame of your island in a slightly darker version of your white walls. Paint the Island tiles with van Gogh Fossil Paint in the colour of your counters (yes, they can match the colour). You must put 3 coats of van Gogh Table Top Finish on your island after painting. Get some inexpensive laminate flooring in the same finish as your counters. Change out the chandelier for something less rustic. If you want, you could do a paint treatment on your fridge which is a finish I did on an armoire picking up the colours of the cabinet a little bit and in a warmer white than the walls - here I've used the colour Chalk. Make a fun chalkboard - again with the Fossil Paint. I figure if you're willing to do the work yourself - which is fun and empowering, you could do all this for under $1000.00 including the price of the floor and chandelier. Leave all of the real wood as is.

BTW, that chalkboard is not my work. I got it from scoutmob.com

I went to look at that darling backsplash and saw that it comes in a range of metal tones .. its just terrific.

A backsplash in the same material as the counter would look nice. Play with color on the walls with some sample paint to see which ones you like. So much variety with quartz.

I would paint the cabinets in a muted aspen-green color (kind of a blue-spruce color) and use natural birch wood counter tops sealed with a durable poly finish. Maybe consider removing the doors on the upper cabinets and painting the insides/shelving in a creamy light neutral white. Paint the walls in the same color as the interior of the upper cabinets, then install track lighting on the ceiling beam to direct lighting where you need it.