... I thought white cabinets would modernize this room and would match a variety of other decisions we will be making. We don't have counters, flooring, fixtures, paint, or furniture picked out yet for these rooms. Completely blank canvas. We want a modern, clean, open space. My fear is that our exposed metal hinges and knobs will starkly contrast the white cabinets and look funky.

Perhaps white cabinets on the top and darker (gray) on the bottom? We aren't opposed to going with a dark stain on the cabinets. But darker cabinets mean lighter floor and I'm not sure

We will be buying a stainless steel refrigerator and maybe replacing the dishwasher -- also stainless. But the black oven and stove are remaining. Again, not wanting to spend much money b/c we will be taking a wrecking ball to this house in ~ 3 yrs (market dependent).

Thanks ahead of time for suggestions!!

I am puzzled, perhaps you would elaborate a bit. Are the tile countertops damaged? Mixing granite countertops with bottom of the line laminate flooring?

Paint kitchen cabinets white if it's important to you for next 3 years. Do not waste your money on granite to be thrown out in 3 years. There are faux Carrera marble laminates that would work. Flooring colour trend had moved away from really dark floors to medium brown to blonde and grays even. Since you are tearing it down in 3 years go as trendy as you want. I usually never give that advice but people who hire me to renovate are staying for 5 or more years and consider resale value. As yours is an uncommon situation my advice is different then usual.
I advise you to spend as little as possible. I agree with a previous commenter. The 3 years will fly by. Save your money for your next project.

Well, I thought I had read it all on Houzz, but this took the win! You're doing a remodel on a house you are tearing down! If you can't see the futility and waste of your time, effort and money, who are we to dissuade you? Good luck, have fun!

I agree with the previous remark. Paint the cabinets. Formica and Wilson-art laminate tops both have f aux granite and marble looking laminates. For 3 years you might want to pop for the high definition colors. The flooring, if it must be tile, go for the cheapest tile you can find and live with, neutral is key. The place will be gone in 3 years!

...thanks for the feedback. Thank you Carol -- yes Carrera. I can get a 10ft slab of Carrera granite for $130. I need three slabs for the kitchen.

Agreed on saving money for sure. But my fiancé and I also want to enjoy our home. Fortunately, she is the easy one -- I'm more detailed/meticulous.

I think we found the flooring ... Ebony ceramic for the kitchen and a lighter ash colored laminate everywhere else. We may just toss down the laminate everywhere. With a new refrigerator and new kitchen sink/piping we won't have to worry about leaks. One floor would make the space look more fluid.

...sorry, CAROLINE :)

... Any thoughts on how to run the floors? If we do the ebony ceramic, shown in the previous pic, I was thinking of running It perpendicular to the laminate wood floors.

If we simply use the laminate, this is obsolete. My contractor is not advising us to use laminate in the kitchen because of its reaction to liquids. But I just rented for 6 years here in Redondo Beach and my landlord had laminate everywhere, including the kitchen and bathrooms, and it was the cheap stuff. No big problems after 6 years, still looks decent.

Considering we will be here for 3 yrs, I think the laminate in the kitchen is an option if we REALLY want one floor. Plus it's about 70 cents cheaper per sq/ft.

If you are truly only there 3 years, I would do a vinyl plank flooring and put it everywhere. No water concerns, soft on the feet, quiet, and inexpensive. Easy to install and looks surprisingly good! http://www.armstrong.com/flooring/luxe-plank-vinyl-flooring.html

I would go for Jessica D. advice ssince you are only going to live there for such a short period of time.. You just have as your lifestyle would fit you, you just have to make it look as homey as possible.

I would do the laminate or wood look vinyl through out. Always make a a pace look and feel larger.

A space .... Correction above

laminate the counter, run the same flooringing throughout the entire space,

The flooring you choose will determine the paint colors and color scheme.

I think you mean that you can get a 10-foot length of laminate countertop that looks like Carrara marble for $130, not a slab of marble or a slab of granite. Try to pick it out at the same time as the flooring for best coordination of color scheme.

...Apple Pie -- no I precisely meant a 10 ft slab of granite. It helps to have family in the business haha

I've been slammed and didn't post any updates ...

Floors -- awesome laminate! I took the advice and ran one laminate floor through the entire space ... GRAZIE! Paper still down in the kitchen because I'm re-painting it this weekend; the Behr "Statuesque" grey doesn't really do anything for me now that it's on the walls.

Cabinets -- Stripped them and painted them via spray gun in a semi gloss Valspar pure white lacquer paint. I changed the hardware up ... $85 for handles and $175 for hinges (HD Supply). Happy

Granite -- sadly I didn't get my Carrera granite; my fiancée pulled the reins back and didn't let me spend the extra $700 for the Carrera slabs. Granite is meh... Lots going on with it.

Thanks for all the advice and feedback. Yes, spending $ on remodeling a house we are leveling in 3 (maybe 4) years might seem ridiculous -- but you also didn't see this house! As soon-to-be newly weds, I'd like to prepare this home as best I can for her.

A few new dilemmas have arisen... I'll post pics and ask you designers for input. Truly-- thank you!




Carrera.

Floors

Cabinets

Granite

Glue still drying in back right corner -- amongst other places. Should've gone Carrera arrrrhhhhh

Nice work.

Floors cabinets counters

This is turning into a really interesting project to follow from afar. What did you choose for kitchen lighting? "Daylight" or "Warm White" LED bulbs?

Presently daylight LEDs... My father in law is a retired electrical engineer and did all the electrical. I was out of town for business and he just came over and banged out the electrical work when he could. He made the decision to roll with daylight because that's what he likes ...I'm not a fan. I will be swapping the 6 4" inchers out and the single 6" over-the-sink bulb out for warm white.

I'm in biotech/healthcare and spend enough time under "daylight"...

I have 3 under-the-counter soft white LED strands coming that I will be mounting soon...

Pics to follow... Thanks for any feedback Apple Cider!

* Apple Pie ;)

...btw, a wine fridge could be going to the right of the fridge and the dishwasher to the right of that.

All stainless -- might be a bit much on the stainless. If so, I might just re-attach the cabinets that are presently off, fix the broken wood above the drawer and build a slide out trash/recycling shelf to break up the stainless and get a free-standing wine fridge and have it on the opposite side.

Also, I'm installing brushed stainless steal molding along the bottom of the kitchen -- custom cut for $130.

Not sure about the backsplash yet...

Your remodeling of this space and the kitchen are looking great. I think the daylight lighting in the kitchen properbly looks better than a warmer light with this counter top and modern skyligt.

If the painting can handle no backsplash i would suggest that for a more clean/calm look. Else i woulg go with a white tile backsplah, white glass tile or white and silver mosaic.