Replace cabinets with off white glazed cabinet with crown moulding, remove all soffits including the one with wine glasses, remove the bar area where the stools are and instead have built a furniture grade island that has big drawers and shelves in the center of the kitchen .. possibly in a distressed painted look or cherry.. make it much bigger and longer than the one you have now ~ possibly on wheels that can be moved as needed. If you have the budget replace countertops and backsplash and do granite with a tumbled stone backsplash under cabinets I am not a fan of white appliances... if you have the budget I would update to stainless...

I definitely would not keep your Corian counter-tops since you are semi-decided on white cabinets. With white cabinets, this countertop needs to go. I would choose a granite or Quartz that coordinates with your beautiful flooring. Glad to read the soffits are going - cabinets to ceiling will be beautiful and the extra storage will be wonderful. If you have the budget, I would also replace the appliances with stainless steel.

If you do decide to replace the corian, may I suggest that you offer it for sale on Craiglist? I was looking for something for our laundry room and wanted 'the beige family'. Corian is one of the materials that a homeowner can cut so changing an existing piece would have worked perfectly for us. Never was able to find anything being sold by a private party.

I will keep that in mind, Thank-you. I always bring my usable pieces left over from remodeling to ReStore to donate. You might check to see if you have one of those in the area, too. Have loved having Corian, it's a great work surface, no maintenance. How do you cut it?

We've got corian in our masterbath so I understand your love!

My understanding is that it can be cut with a standard powersaw. It may take a particular type of blade but I'm not positive. The only downside is the cutting process is MESSY! I don't know if you were around when yours were cut. Our bathroom corian is shower surround, vanity and tub deck. Buy the time they were done cutting it looked like there had been a blizzard in July in our back yard!

I *think* that the adhesive you need to attach pieces is something that's available to the consumer. I remember reading up on it when we were looking to buy a used piece for the laundry room.

Thank you for the heads up too re: Re-Store. We DO have one about 20 miles from us and I never thought to check there!

Blue and White Flower Tiles on the backsplash.

Remove peninsula--hopefully you can then put in an island, but peninsula's trap you behind them and they look dated. Plus, you don't need the stools. It looks like you have chairs and a table just in front of them. Don't match the island to the cabinets. Use some color and keep things light. It looks a little dark in there. We don't know the layout, but if you can, move the refrigerator and get a profile model. It's sticking out. There is still no real competition, in terms of investment, for Shaker cabinets in maple or cherry, granite countertops, and stainless steel appliances. One last thing: do you need such a large microwave? I only use mine to reheat things, or cook a lean cuisine. I got one that is a vent/fan like yours, but it is also a convection oven and it really comes in handy in the summer, and for holiday meals when I need more oven space.

Do you know if your soffit's are functional (i.e, hiding plumbing, electric, etc)? Punch a small hole first to make sure. Having to re-run plumbing/wiring will definitely add to your budget. If you're not a fan of stainless appliances, and don't want a cookie cutter look to your kitchen, Whirlpool's new "White Ice" or "Black Ice" collection is really nice.

Pretty sure they are empty, except for one vent that we can work around. Thanks for the tip, I will look into the Whirlpools. But I've got Dacor now, will probably wait until they need replacing. Thanks!

The kitchen looks really plain. No color attraction. I would stain cabinets dark or paint them black. I would also change the wall colors.

And I would also made cabinets of different heights to add visual interest.

Thanks Audry . Different heights might be interesting.

And I - as a granite company's designer in the DC metro whose spaces has been shown on HGTV...I say go with your gut. NOt that you have all the answers but traditionally, you know what you like and this site might pull you in all sorts of directions. Then seek the advise of pro's.

What I heard from what was in the typing... sound conflicted... Keeping the countertop and going to white countertops takes a lean towards Italian or European Modern flair. Is that what you want? See photos below. You can make more transitional and add even traditional but you're going to need a professional more than others telling you from an untrained eye what they like or want to add to your space. Only you know you and pro's listen, pull that out of you and push you in the right direction you might now have gone otherwise. Tell me what you think of the pictures included. What you like, don't like what works, doesn't work and let's see if keeping the countertop and going white cabinets is really a consideration for you.

I'm putting up my website since you said you want a wine space and I have a few that are even DIY
http://tgmcabinets.weebly.com/lsv2013.hmtl Take a look around, I've heard it's got a lot of helpful tips. Trends in appliances. I prefer working base oven cabinets into the design.

The photos below are some modern ideas that says you can utilize that countertop with the right designer helping you. If that isn't the direction you were wanting and you keep the countertop

Here are more pictures...

See how even in the ultra modern, they pull in the stone and wood tones? I like the light blonde wood with the white.lt's even in the last photo below. I'd consider light blond base cabinets and white cabinets on the wall. The travertine on the floor and the backsplash could could stay. To pull in more stone or the look and feel of nature. . .consider a plaster hood. There is one on my site but you need one of that material more modern design.
http://tgmcabinets.weebly.com under Kitchen Trends under the Trend tab.
Also, yes remove the bulkhead

I would do a more modern back splash. I sorta feel like the blue in the back splash doesn't match the rest of the kitchen, unless your adding more blue to your space. If you still want blue in the back splash then maybe think of adding more blue things to the kitchen, not necessarily a lot but just a little bit of stuff like plates.

counters are getting lighter & brighter currently so contrary to popular opinions, a busy granite top is not necessarily the answer. so much so they can't keep white in stock these days.

Granite is beautiful, but why change if you have a perfectly functional premium top in place.

if you take out the soffits replace upper cabinets with full height models with accent glass on top if you wish some glass/display area. a decent sized crown too 3-6" ht.

Box in the fridge with side panel/gables & deep upper above.
delete the desk and add another pantry with a built in shelf for your microwave.

Add drawer banks instead of just doors in your lower cabinets for ultimate accessibility. Add quality Lazy Susans or Hafele Slide corners for ease of access to corners.

make sure you incorporate a recycle system into your storage because sooner or later, recycling will come to all corners of America. Consider a dark blue island as accent & pick up the tone inside your glass cabinets & modern mosaic back splash tile. It would be cool to have white, biscuit, grey, black & blue tones in your tile to pull your flooring, counter appliances & so on together.

For more contemporary look, do chrome handles for real sparkle.
DON"T try to rework the corian yourself. a whole kitchen is a much more complicated process than finding some special glue and using a power saw. The sanding & cutting requires dust collection & it would be horrible ordeal to try & do this on site. There are no warranties if homeowners butcher it!

A qualified kitchen designer can refine the concepts & put together a plan that will be functional & attractive. Kitchens are too big an investment to solve without experience. best wishes.
Senior Designer~Urbana

Ellen- I do granite...watch that. Granite has been used over centuries. It's timeless and it won't be "old or outdate" however, I support here decision in what she wants to do and think she can do it. And butcher block...that's out of left field and doesn't fit.
Ellen. Put paragraphs in your comments. It's too hard to read it like that. Break it up like a letter. Could you fix it? Thanks

See I do granite http://tgmcabinets.weebly.com/granite.html

I would lose the peninsula and make it more open I love white cabinets or antique white for a kitchen nice and bright and clean here's a similar layout for reference(obviously you dont have a door way in your kitchen) :)

@Ellen Crystal - FWIW I agree with you in general principal about not cutting/installing your own corian in a kitchen.

The area were are looking at is a laundry room. 3 basic pieces, no corners, no tricky areas. I don't want formica. I have a pretty broad range of colors that would have worked. New corian for the area would have been about $1500-2000 which just seems ridiculous for what it is. Right now, we're still living with the TrafficConeOrange formica.

@jennifergil81... Very interesting idea, I like it! But my kitchen is only 92" wide, don't think really room for an island, would have to be big enough to seat 4. Plus I would lose the storage space in the peninsula.

Agreed, Too narrow for an island. But how about a rough schematic showing what is in the areas adjacent to the kitchen ? (e.g) the area behind the REF is ?? We recently had a discussion here where one consideration was to bump out the wall to open and/ or add recess for the REF and pantry. Quite possible a large adjacent area could share footage ?

Behind fridge is family room. An interesting idea, but moving walls is going to destroy my budget. I really think I need to stay in my current space. Considering bumping the peninsula out a little bit, but can't go far that way, either - probably not enough to gain enough space to justify cost.

I like the ideas you posted earlier - moving the microwave, appliance garage, wine unit. What goes over the wine unit?

A couple suggestions I've seen from elsewhere (I'm still in dreaming/planning stage)

-Full depth cabinets over your fridge. Use for cookie sheets and large casserole dishes. Store them standing on edge so you only have to grab the first couple inches to pull something out. No step stool required ;-)

-Would your lower cabinets benefit by being converted to drawers? I does make access a LOT easier.

-Have you looked at frameless cabinets vs framed? You're going to get a bit more usable space with frameless - particularly in the drawers.

I noticed in your ideabook we are saving many of the same type of storage ideas. Below is a photo of one I didn't see in your book. I do like this as an alternative for those weird little spaces where drawers would be a waste.

Wow, we think a lot alike! Was already planning on drawers, and vertical storage of cookie sheets, etc., except over ovens. Wine unit will be floor to ceiling, custom fit for the space. Great storage suggestion... How did I miss that one? Hadn't thought about frameless vs framed issue, will talk to cabinet builder about that. Thanks!

We sure do think alike! We think like two people trying to squeeze functionality into every usable inch of space in our kitchens ;-)

A lot of cabinet people seem to poopoo frameless. Yet a lot of brand name mfrs on the market make them - and seem to do so well. Here's a link that better explains what you stand to gain: http://www.pbase.com/weed30/lowsparks_most_excellent_web_page

One last thought that has been on my want list - trash. I'm planning on the smallest trash pullout I can do. That appears to be 15" since we require 2 bins. Trash may have to get taken out a little more often - but I don't want to devote valuable kitchen real estate to garbage.

My neighbor purchased a product from Rustoleum at Home Depot to refinish cabinets. Easy peasy process and they look great! the wood grain shows through and they are now dark and trendy. Some new hardware and voila!!! Also available in white so check them out. yes keep the counter and floor tiles. They seem great. That is if nothing will be moved around. You can also replace some of the doors to a fristed glass door to add some visual interest. Have fun :)

It looks like you are wanting a custom kitchen with lots of accessories to make it functional. You are on the right track getting ideas for what you want in your kitchen, then your cabinet maker can incorporate all your ideas into the new kitchen cabinets. If you would like a second quote on your cabinets, I would be happy to quote your kitchen. We are a custom cabinet shop in Michigan. I love making people's kitchens become their dream kitchens that still fits their budgets. Good Luck on your kitchen remodel.

If your cabinets are in good shape, the cheapest upgrade would be fixtures on the cabinets and painting the kitchen walls a different color.

Too long to read all the posts, but cutting and resetting the Corian is a job for a pro. It can be done, yes, but allowances will need to be made in order to make up the saw blade width you remove. Where that happens is better chosen by the person that has to put it back together!

I love the IDEA of rustoleum. You'd just think with technology they'd come out with something that doesn't look so CHEAP on the kitchen cabinets. I'd use it on anything but the kitchen...it just looks like you did just what it does to your kitchen by the trained eye. Like nails on a chalk board. DISGUSTING

Hi! Former custom countertop manufacturer here. Keep the Corian! If you are going to reconfigure the kitchen, the Corian can be cut and reconfigured and (if done right) will not show any seams! Call a local fabricator and ask for an estimate. Great product that lasts forever. They (or you!) can also refinish it is badly scratched or burned. A great investment. Blessings.

If you replace your existing cabinets, check into donating the cabinets to a Habitat for Humanity Restore or something similar. They look nice enough that someone should be able to use them.

My two sisters and I are remodeling our childhood home. We just gutted the kitchen and went looking for cabinets. We went to a builder surplus and looked at 25 different styles and went with shaker white. My 2 sisters and I don't agree on much, but we did agree on white cabinets. Once you choose the cabinets unless you have unlimited resources your budget will determine the rest.. Have fun and keep us posted.

My sister painted her 40 year old dated oak cabinets of a similar style, added new knobs, granite counters and a nice stone look backsplash, and her kitchen looks fabulous, very chic, french looking now....I wish my cabinets were as nice so I could paint, but no such luck. Mine is a rip out and start over....

Sounds like you have a lot of great design and layout ideas already. With the white paint, white countertops and light backsplash (are you keeping that?) I would think white cabinets would wash out. You might want to consider a wood finish in a modern style instead.

I would start with your cabinets – go to a retailer that sells semi-custom cabinets and have them help you pick out some styles. Bring your dimensions and they can also sketch out a cabinet layout for you. Cabinets take the longest for production and delivery. From there the other pieces will fall into place.

This is a good article http://www.sweetremodel.com/home-systems-to-consider to help think through other aspects to consider, such as upgrading the plumbing and electrical.

your discussion point- If I understand correctly, your existing cabinets are well made with exception of the refinished attempt. On a similar post- the owner is wanting more utilitarian features such as pull out drawers vs the standard base cabinet shelves. Here's a link to Kit & Bath and Residential Pro magazine where they offer a Product info directory. There are several suppliers offering pull out drawers as conversion kits to fit existing base cabinets which may be worth investigating as part of your solution.
Poggenpohl has introduced a new collection of drawer and pull-out designs.
Featuring an integrated LED lighting system, the collection can be retrofit to virtually any kitchen. The 8 mm aluminum drawer sides are currently the thinnest on the market, according to the company. New drawer inserts are available in walnut or maple wood.
http://www.forresidentialpros.com/product/10224273/poggenpohl-new-drawers-pull-outs

On color If you are leaning toward the more economical approach of using existing counters, you may want to soften the color of the cabinet finish using a grey/blue to add pop the white surface. Adding/ changing trim detail to the lower panels on the peninsula can also update the look cost effectively.
FYI: paint and glaze surfaces are premiums and very much in demand on the higher end cabinets
( " As cabinet color trends shift from orange-, red- or yellow-toned browns to a more versatile brown, new glazes and finishes from Diamond Cabinets yield a softer palette. Among the new glazes is Grey Stone Glaze, available on three distinct white-tone paints - Pearl, Dover and Coconut. " ) link: http://www.forresidentialpros.com/product/10712845/diamond-cabinetry-grey-stone-glaze-kitchen-cabinets
Also, Check the wall directly behind the Ref. It may be possible to remove a portion to create a recess for the REF. so it no longer protrudes into the room. It may require some creative modification on the other side of the wall , but that may include building in a shelf feature in the other room to allow for concealing the Ref bump out.

Lots of good ideas, thanks! I will definitely do some research. As for fridge, though, I am just going to replace it with one that actually fits (husband talked me into this one, not listening next time!). Put this one in garage, get one with cabinet panels on front.

@fvmyers: Thanks - lots of good ideas. Everything else in the house is done, so just looking at kitchen right now. The countertops are light, but not white (corian - either Savannah or Sahara). I agree, will have to redo backsplash, add some color. Thinking maybe subway tile or different stone for more contrast.

I have to laugh here. We really DO have a lot in common in our kitchens. We moved into our 1956 house with a circa 1985 fridge and it fit fine. When it died and we scrambled to find a replacement hubby insisted the one we ended up with would fit. It does width wise -- but is about 4-5 inches deeper than the old one and sticks out much like yours does. In fact, the door of ours doesn't completely clear the room divider when it's opened. Why did either of us listen??

I find it funny that it seems we used to have 'counter depth fridges'. At least that's what our houses were built to accomodate. Fridges got bigger and now we're paying an upcharge for a smaller fridge!

I suggest that you employ a kitchen designer. Make it very plain that you are working in the same footprint and that you want cabinet fronts on your refrig. Some cabinet stores have kitchen designers for no cost. It will be well worth it because they can suggest where drawers should go and should have other good space savers so that you will love your kitchen. I may have missed it , but have you thought about a wine refrig. for your wine unit? Also, putting lights and glass can break up the sea of cabinets.

Yes, the wine unit will refrigerated and have glass fronts, possibly with detailing to match the cabinets in the rest of the kitchen. Thanks for your suggestions!

I'd get a nice tight floor to ceiling wall of white cabinets where the fridge is (as seamless as possible) and try to preserve the lower cabinets with the corian. Then get some glass door cabinets on the window side and some shelving next to the new cooker hood (or other way around). Some finds I posted in another discussion:

Oooh... pretty! Thanks!

If you're going to make a custom hood (plaster / wood / stone), there are many off-the-shelf hood "inserts" that provide a complete "plug-and-play" ventilation solution. Please feel free to visit our website - www.FuturoFuturo.com - to see the entire selection, or give us a call at 800-230-3565 for a personalized consultation.

Thank you everyone for your ideas and encouragement! Here is the finished project, and I love my new kitchen! It is so much more efficient and user-friendly. Kept the peninisula, but bumped it out about three feet. Also kept ovens and dishwasher, replaced microwave and fridge. Added built-in wine storage, custom cabinets with lots of storage, USB ports, granite counters and LED lighting. Thanks to everyone whose ideas we encorporated, both in this discussion and in their Houzz photos!

@Perry Creek Recycling - was able to donate most of the cabinetry and old light fixtures to Restore. Thanks for the reminder, its a great option!

Oops, I meant @Perry Creek Woodworking. Sorry!

The increased storage and efficiency is the best part! I am attaching more pics to show my favorite features: the phone/ipad/etc. storage with USB, vertical pan storage, and lid drawer. We also added lazy susans in the corners and pull-outs through-out. The first pic shows more cabinets and cookbook shelf around the corner.

After living with my new kitchen for several months, I am still very happy with most of the decisions we made. I spent a lot of time researching (HOURS on houzz!) and certainly annoyed my contractor more than a couple of times, but it was worth it. Nothing better than a kitchen that works!