I've had Uba Tuba. When it is perfectly clean & dry, it looks great. But it shows everything. I'd suggest something lighter colored.

I'm not sure you want to turn this light and airy space into a dark hole. another vote for something lighter, at least unless you choose to paint your cabinets.

Consider moving the refrigerator into the eating area and expand kitchen. See these photos on Houzz.... http://www.houzz.com/photos/query/extend-kitchen-into-eating-area/nqrwns

Add an overhang to sink area for seating around bar?

Find photos on Google Images of your kind of kitchen. See what appeals to you.

Looking to extend the island for an extended bar-eating area.

Thanks so much for the advice so far. Any tips to modernize the area are appreciated! I really would like to avoid staining/painting the cabinets for now.

Best counter color for oak cabinets and floors?

What if you square off the top of the island?It looks like you don't have room to extend it outward on left without blocking closet or entry to room . . .but you do at corner and on right . . you can use stainless steel L brackets on the face of the angle and right hand side and do a square edge ... you could seat four at the bar that way and it wouldn't seem odd .. here is an image to show the difference between the lower and upper top shape I suggest . . and a second with the angular counter face cut with an arc to modernize and soften the lines ..

Same - without the color difference to show final option

I think your space is lovely...

I have the same shape (and era) in my kitchen also. When we changed it out to granite, we were told that there is only so much wider that you can have it in the "serving" area unless you do supports to the floor. You can have it a little wider and use hidden "L" brackets underneath. We choose to go this route since, like you, our table and chairs are right there and it's not real far to walk ;)

Honestly, even though we have 2 counter stools (alert: be sure you buy "counter" and not "bar"....bar is too high) we hardly ever use them.

Actually, the OP needs bar height unless the raised area is lowered to counter height.

The wall with the doors (closet, mud/laundry?, pantry) that have several graphic "boxes" with tops that don't go to ceiling .. could be color blocked for the boxes to start adding to the modern feeling . . . The arch top "recess" in the landing drywall feels traditional while the boxes and ceiling feel modern. I would paint the arch top recess a mid tone of the accent color you select . . and put a square canvas as large as you can fit so it hides the arch top detail behind. For the boxes themselves. I think you want to play with greige neutrals .. they are in your carpet and work with all colors well

For the counters, if you had a warm gray option it might work best with your other things .. - here's a great color example of this bm carter gray / bm squirrel tail / equestrian gray

http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/cartergray

Consider this palette of tones - i was looking at the carpet, the oak tones - you can use taupe really well as a neutral with oak and it makes it feel sophisticated - you could shift to bronze hardware and modern industrial bronze light fixtures . . .

Look at carter gray, pismo dunes, alphano beige/smokey taupe - you might use the alphano in the mud room / laundry, and consider using some background color at this end .. . You might keep the white on your walls but take the left "kitchen wall" and back kitchen wall all to the pismo dunes color . as if they were "planes" of color intersecting in the room. . .wrap that color around 3 sides of the "box" that is the closet but stop it where it turns back to staircase wall ..

http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/pismodunes

http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/alphanobeige (an off white in the taupe direction) http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/smokeytaupe

Do you know what color elements you want to use as accents? Is there a piece of art or fabric that expresses your color preferences?

Blues are tough with oak - unless you head navy. In Colorado - the outside is so gorgeous, it can be fun to keep the interiors sort of neutral .. assuming you keep white walls, oak cabinets, oak trim, you might warm it up with a fresh tone on the red side of orange or the orange side of red .. not southwest like terracotta, but redder . like bm shy cherry http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/shycherry or bm rosy apple http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/rosyapple (for the niche recess

You can do a very warm, yet sophisticated home with white, deep taupe, oak and this kind of red as an accent .. what kind of main upholstery are you living with now?

This is going to be brief due to time restrictions, but thank you so so much for your input! You have no idea the value of your advice to me! I have n

-I have 2 pieces of copper artwork (with varying color hues green to purple in the pieces) I really enjoy.

-furniture is a dark brown/ reddish dark brown/black leather and wood combo

-we do have a dark gray and black gass television entertainment center

I stand corrected. Different house, same dilemma. One counter height with stools and one bar height with stools. Until I actually shopped for them, I had no idea.

FWIW, I used gray granite. It's true that it's dark, but it was the only neutral that worked for me. We did install under cabinet led lighting so that it would brighten everything.

It is providing to be a great challenge to find a counter-top style/color we like, that will be "un-fadish", and manageable. Many of the main carriers (Lowes, Home Depot) don't have many in house samples around me, and the online coloring is always confusing to my eye. What type did you decide on kjbjw?

Also, a little random...I loved Copper Mist quartz at Lowe's, but I think this is too luxurious and unique? (That's what my friends convinced me in-store)

The copper mist quartz at lowe's looks like a warm gray to me - so in the right color family unless you decide to head to a plain charcoal. I can't tell how busy the pattern is - seems small enough that the coppery threads would just pick up your wood tones. What might not work as well are the sort of lavender ish taupe clouds. . my suggestion is to pick up several paint color swatches and take them home and put them next to your furniture (brown and black leather elements) to see if any clash. If they do work, then take them to the store and see if you can find a quartz in the same color family - it might be that copper mist quartz that your instincts told you would look great. It is definitely primarily a neutral, not at all like its name.

Is there such a thing as TOO luxurious and unique?

The granite we have is very similar to Copper quartz mist. I wish I could remember the name of it. I knew I wanted a gray, but it needed to be a warm gray as libradesgneye said. If you google "slate tile", you will see what I mean. It's got the warm rusty-ish bits in it. I hope you can follow my very technical wording ;)

Not sure what direction you're going with the backsplash, but we have a very neutral beige with slate mosaic accent strip. We have traditional style throughout our house so we had to work with that. I prefer modern though...

One more option - since you have a lot of black even with the brown leather, you could stick with white walls (very chic now), use charcoal quartz on the primary counters, use wood butcher block for the upper top now extended, paint the island front dark gray, use one large black and white graphic canvas as art, and add more natural wood tones. Then, your copper art will resonate off the wood elements (echo them) but you could do a clean white ceramic splash.

Imagine a wood stump or turned wood West elm sorts of accent tables. . . it would also work and feel very Colorado modern - the butcherblock top as your "bar" should echo your floor tones. Then you would use chunky black iron hardware - sort of arts and crafts inspired. You could paint the recess in the stair the same dark gray as the island and hang colorful modern abstract art to complement your copper wall art. .. You would want to stick with black, white, gray, wood and be very disciplined about it but in a small space like this it can make it look bigger . . all your wood doesn't have to match . . you could do zinc finished (gray metal) barstools or splurge on "drafting" stool barstools of metal and wood (look on overstock for the first option - office supply stores for second option), maybe add some rustic industrial furniture touches - black iron mixed with wood . . wait until you can do the sort of modern rustic dining table from Crate and Barrel / watch for live edge and metal base options on your local craigslist from local artisans. . .

Hi Kara,

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