are you gutting the area in question?

Will the appliances stay, or are you getting new appliances? If so, the style and color of those will make a difference in your cabinet and color choices.

after looking at your photos..I think a black or grey cabinet would work. maybe in the current soffit area have cabinets with glass and lights inside. Smooth front doors on your cabinets would work well with some of your mid-century furnishings. On your entertainment center ..attach a finished plywood board over the opening and mount your TV to it.

Fieldstone by Ben Moore is a great color for the kitchen base cabinets. The uppers could be white with glass doors for several, and i like Ruby Rose's idea of glass doors if you go with a second set of small uppers where the soffits currently are (depending on ceiling height).

Thanks for your responses! Yes, we will gut it, and yes, we will have some glass front doors. We have to stay with the original footprint--because it works for us and because we'd have to patch the floor if we changed it.

We will keep the bisque-colored appliances.

Grey or black would be nice, but is it a BETTER choice than traditional wood?

Why change the floor? Wouldn't grey cabinets be good with a grey/taupe floor?

My cabinet guy told me that stained cabinets wear better than painted. He said that over the years, if the wood contracts and expands, you can see seams in painted cabinets. I honestly thought he was exaggerating, but something to know.

I wanted painted cabinets and DH wanted stained. We ended up with stained and I love them.

I love the footprint of your kitchen and the idea of expanding the window. I think you'll love it.

I am already seeing the 'trendy' back end of gray. I'd avoid it. How about black on the bottom and taupe on the top with some red accents? Like maybe the glass has red accents? Or add a red toaster. Or red barstools.

Just a thought, we have a similarly configured kitchen and when we redid it we moved the sink to the peninsula, leaving the back wall a nice big space for food prep. Bonus is that when clearing the table you can load the sink or the area next to the sink without entering the actual kitchen area if someone is working at the sink. We love the change.

I agree with Susana. That's a great idea to make functional use of a small space.

Another consideration for the peninsula, make it a bar. My favorite current kitchen trend is having a breakfast bar or a place to hang out and visit.

If you are not afraid of color, aniline dye over wood is gorgeous. Paint out entertainment center and change hardware.

[https://www.houzz.com/magazine/pro-finishing-secret-aniline-dye-for-wood-stsetivw-vs~3668697[(https://www.houzz.com/magazine/pro-finishing-secret-aniline-dye-for-wood-stsetivw-vs~3668697)

I would also repaint kitchen/dining area to one color.

Your space is great - I'm a true fan of hard wearing materials, so I love the terrazzo floor- it would be my starting point. Also I wouldn't gut the kitchen - keep the base cabinets but paint them a deeper shade from your floor. If the soffit is going, replace the uppers with 42" cabinets in a lighter colour- as for glass fronts- just where you want to see what's inside.
Good primer and paint PLUS patience is the key to lasting painted finish. We've done this on solid maple cupboards in a very sunny kitchen. Used BM Stix primer, then BM Cabinet Coat. But the key is the prep and curing time between coats. We were done in a week, left extra days between coats but also were very gentle for a month, until really hardened. It's not difficult - just need to not rush.
The side board could be painted the same as the base cabinets plus modify it by adding a top shelf then paint the wall behind it a strong complimentary colour.
Countertop: I'd use a very light solid colour quarts which you could make slighter wider on the peninsula, keep backsplash neutral and classic subway. Keep the floor and furniture the stars in this space.
Other points - love your living/dining furniture- use a colour from your chair (in front of the window) to paint the wall unit, you could paint the back of it red that ties in with your couch.
Have fun!

Why are white kitchens top for 2016? Here’s a
great article: Top
for 2016

where doedo the hardwood meet the terrazzo floor? I can't see how the TV watching area connects to the dining and kitchen area.

I would try to make them connect at least color wise when you renovate the kitchen.

I would go with slab faced cabinets. I would look to your floor for color inspiration on your cabinets or go with black. I definitely recommend a stained or aniline dyed wood over a black painted finish. I have black painted cherry cabinets in my bathrooms. they are great, but I have a full time housekeeper to keep them clean. we had a hard time with getting a perfect black matte painted finish on them. I have the same exact cheery cabinets in an expresso stain and they require much less maintenance.

I'm not sure that I would use a different finish on the upper cabinets since I would limit colors and finishes to make the space feel larger, but that is my opinion.