very much like the darker counter...would even go darker-charcoal or close to black...but maybe so dark isn't your thing. Take it as dark as you dare though, would be my choice. Sorry but the backsplashes don't appeal to me at all. if you are going grayish with counters you will have a host of backsplashes to pick from.....don't worry...not time to worry about grout,etc......how about some more counter contemplations.... quartz is one of the priciest counters.....and then you are redoing the cabs??? I'd go for a slab of granite or solid surface if this is temporary. But a [yellowish feel] would for me not be a criteria to start doing [this and that.] Instead I'd aim for the whole redo approach but maybe in 4-5 years. The cabs, altho not offensive, do look dated.

Just curious if you are able to see a picture of our kitchen. It's not coming up on my screen!

To my eye, those counters have pink undertone and DO NOT look good with your orangey cabinets. IMO, gray countertops are not going to update your kitchen, they're going to make your cabinets look even older because they're from two totally different trend eras.

If yours was my kitchen, I'd invest my money in taking those cabinet doors to a professional painter and then DIY paint the face frames. Be bold and have fun with it. Blue cabinets and a creamy worktop would look amazing with that backsplash. The orangey oak just clashes and competes with it.

Our quartz countertops were over $4000 and in retrospect a colossal waste of money; we still used trivets and cutting boards, they were cold and hard and loud and not as bulletproof as we thought. YMMV.

afarzin, I agree with herbflavor about a darker gray for your counter. I think darker gray goes really well with warm oak cabinets. I prefer simple backsplashes, so I'm not too crazy about the ones you've shown.

If you're going with the quartz go with the darker one. And no to the backsplash. Your cabinets have a pattern in the grain and it is fighting with the pattern in the tile. If you do the small dot (which it basically is) in the quartz I would do a plain tile to add some calm to the area.

I have to agree with benjisbride. We just saw someone who did this last month and to be honest, it did nothing for their kitchen. It was expensive and they came here asking how to fix the mistake.

Either paint the cabinets (or wash them with a grey or white) or go with a warm counter color... something like a linen quartz.

Grey and oak do not go together. At all. Really.

"Just curious if you are able to see a picture of our kitchen. It's not coming up on my screen!"

No, I do not see a pic of your kitchen.

I do not see a picture of your kitchen and I think you should paint your Cabinets white, go with the darker gray counter, and then use that backsplash.

the yellow hues in the bs are going to bring your yellow in the oak out, not hide it.

imo everytime i see someone trying to tone down the gold/orange in oak cabs without painting, it backfires. putting that modernish gray quartz on country looking cabinets will highlight the negatives for both.

the prettiest oak kitchens are ones that work with, not against the gold in oak. examples of best counters for oak are the uba tuba, butterfly verde, other green or dark granites. sometimes a light granite can work ok but i love oak with the dark greens/charcoal grays. search here for some amazing examples of people working with their oak.

imo, quartz is too uniform and modern to work well. honestly a lovely laminate would look great too.

that bs seems very french countryish to me. if that is what you like, find a counter that works with it and the oak.

Thanks so much for the insight everyone. Here is a picture of our kitchen!

We have 20 year old oak cabinets in the same color and updated the kitchen last year and kept them and added statuary bronze hardware and added Absolute Cream granite counters and a cream beveled subway tile. they look great and everyone thinks the cabinets are new too. The granite has cream, a gray green, black and lots of sparkly mica. Walls were painted SW Rice Grain a pretty green based cream.

I'm with benjisbride - getting the stove off the island, adding a range hood - those are updates that will immediately transform the kitchen, without spending a fortune. I would not invest in quartz for a kitchen that is going to be remodeled in 10 years. How about a nice black laminate on the perimeter (or uba tuba), and a granite or quartz for the island?

Copy Tinker's kitchen. It's beautiful!

Thanks romy. Not an easy task mixing the old and the new but it can be done. Afarzin, you have a good amount of space and the island to work with. You can do a lot with new counters and back splash. We ended up with new appliances and LVT flooring and did the entire thing for less than 10K all said and done with the new sink.

AnnKH has given you great advice. Your cooktop island is a burn hazard, especially with a coil cooktop and no side counter. This is a common L + island layout that they've made into a bad layout by forcing wall ovens into it. You'll need two slabs of quartz so you're looking at throwing several thousand dollars at that layout. Since you have a small kitchen, I would price new cabinets and see if I could budget for a remodel. Laminate counters could bring it within budget.

If you keep those cabinets, note that oak has a very strong flame pattern. Your backsplash choice is a weave. Your counter is a dot. So it's more than just color matching. As one GW once said, it's like wearing a striped shirt with plaid pants. Also, your floor has warm tones while your quartz choice has cool tones. I think that brings you back to square one.

I agree with what MamaRachel said. Oak and grey are a dreadful combination.

Given that you said this is your first house and you're only two years in...

For the least amount of expense--what I would do is move the oven stack to the end of the run on that far wall. (Involves only doing a switcheroo with the existing cabinets.) Then replace the counters with a stock laminate that works with the color of the oak. Such as Carrara Pearl available at Menards. Tumbled Roca or Classic Crystal Granite (maybe) at Home Depot. Or maybe Kalahari Topaz from Lowe's...

Also, I would remove the wood panels from the dishwasher. IMO, it would look better. Fully integrated dishwashers look great. Partially clad ones don't. And since you don't like the wood, less of it is better, right?

Thank you so much for the feedback everyone. We have also thought about moving the cooktop Island, specially because we do not have an overhead vent. We would love to get gas or induction, neither one of which is an option for the island cooktop. We just moving that moving the cooktop to the wall + adding an overhead vent would be too costly. Instead, we were thinking about replacing our current coil cooktop with one of the only two electric cooktops with down draft that is currently available in the market:

GE PROFILE™ SERIES 30" DOWNDRAFT ELECTRIC COOKTOP

Any other advice/feedback is greatly appreciated. BTW, we live in Howard County, Maryland.

That looks so much like my old kitchen color combos! Wow. Ours were in good condition so we just did a facelift to the floors and counter and ss appliances. It really toned down that golden oak!

FWIW this is what we chose to do:

Old (floor had already been updated - it was white linoleum):

New (not quite completed as you can see a drawer front is missing):

Autumn and Tinker both beautiful updates.

Don't get a downdraft. They are about as good as not having a vent. There are several threads here on this forum that discuss the issue.

Get rid of the wall ovens and get yourself a slide in induction range. You won't regret it. Then put a vent above the new range. Use the island as a prep space.

We just moving that moving the cooktop to the wall + adding an overhead
vent would be too costly.

Speaking for myself, I would give up costly quartz counters to get better function. And since you are talking about replacing an appliance and getting quart$...

I think cpartist gave you some excellent advice. Replace the ovens with a slide in range and a proper vent. If there is attic space directly above the kitchen, ducting out the roof is easy and inexpensive. Probably easier & less expensive than getting the downdraft duct through the basement or crawlspace.

Instead, we were thinking about replacing our
current coil cooktop with one of the only two electric cooktops with
down draft that is currently available in the market:

That particular cooktop is no longer manufactured...(which isn't to say that there are not still some available to buy.)

The #1 thing that will make the most difference as to how you use the kitchen wil be to jettison tat dangerous and awkwardly placed cooktop in favor of a perimeter range. Sure, it takes your quartz money to do that. Which is a good thing. Spending 10K on that kitchen just for pretty stuff that will get ripped out and can't be reused is foolish as a priority. Spending that same money on creating better function, that can be reused in 10 yers, is a no brainer. Even if you live with laminate counters. Laminate is a great surface for a kitchen. An islnd cooktop like that is atrocious to live with.

your interest really was in the look of the space.....which is valid. Even after accomplishing the switch to a range or that kind of upgrade, one can still be unhappy with their space if every time they walk by or walk into it, the old surfaces jar your nerves and personal aesthetic. But the space really would have me looking at a whole appliance package, and ditto the range on the perimeter concept. Yes-fridge/dishwasher AND range....figure something out with above range microwave or hood with maybe small countertop microwave. And once that "package" got worked through the budget, think about the perimeter in laminate or solid surface and maybe a contrast for the island of quartz or butcher block . I might consider Ikea or a basic butcher block for everywhere-it can be really reasonable....knowing you may do a "gut" remodel later. Just enjoy the wood look, oil it up frequently right away....and just let it take the wear and tear knowing the counters and cabinets will be replaced. I would probably even just leave the painted wall for backsplash....with the decent cabinets and some new hardware and either laminate or wood on counters, and new appliances, you'd be really in a good position for a while.

Looks great autumn. Standing by our oak saved lots of $$$.

You have simple doors/drawer fronts. I would look at the IKEA oak kitchens and go with a darker (gel) stain.

Check out IKEA Edserum or Ekestad or Filipstad

Another voice in the "move the cooktop off the island" chorus. Like Sophie and others have said: laminate is a very good kitchen surface and improving the function is well worth the money.