If it were me I would reface the upper arched cabinets. I would get hidden hinges. How much space do you have from the top of the cabinets to the ceiling? You may be able to buy premade cabinets and just set them up there. Maybe glass front doors and have lighting.

I think a stainless stove would be fine. I would make the microwave stainless as well. I like your current floor.

Side note: Your dining table rug is too small.

I think a stainless oven and microwave would work. I'd probably stay closer to the lighter countertops and backsplash, to keep things bright.

What main problem are your trying to solve with this remodel? Is it the corner sink issue? Because what you think you can do and getting that all to work is just about a gut job. Moving cabinets is not easy feat without possibly breaking them up? How are they attached to the wall? How good are they? I recommend you do, or have done a detailed, scale drawing of your plans to make sure what you envision is truly feasible. You will also be moving plumbing for the sink, electricals for appliances, and light switch on the wall near where the refrig will be "built-in". Just be very careful and realistic. As for your question on mixing the white appliances with stainless you can do that. A range that is all stainless will be a nice addition. But I would be very nervous about what you are thinking here without a very detailed plan, cost estimates for materials and labor and a healthy contingency. I hate to give you this input because I know it will not be what you want to hear, but it is just the truth. Also, when doing plumbing and electrical changes, you will need permits from local agencies and you could get into a whole other situation having to meet current codes. Hope this input helps you get the best help you can to really assess what you can and cannot do within your budget constraints. I wish you the best.

Thank you for your insight, Flo! Yes, the corner sink is the main problem here, and there's no way to remedy that without moving something else.

I should have been more clear in that this is a DIY job, and while we're not professionals, we're certainly not novices. We built an entire addition on our last house (up to code), only hiring out the electrical.

We've measured and remeasured, and everything fits nicely where it should. The cabinets are pretty good quality, just obviously dated.

That light switch where the fridge will be isn't hooked up to anything. We put it there as a placeholder when we opened up that wall, thinking we'd eventually add some pendants over the breakfast bar.

This will end up being an extremely low budget 5 year bandaid, until we've saved enough to expand our square footage and move the kitchen entirely.

We're figuring under $3k, all said and done, since we can get our counters and tile at wholesale cost through my uncle's store.

Even DIYers need permits

You thinking of this as a band aid is lying to yourself about a false economy. It wastes a massive amount of effort to not end up with anything much better. If you are going to go to that amount of effort, at least get rid of those old cabinets and do Ikea so that you aren't constrained by the existing boxes. And yeah, you will need permits and inspections, and a lot of plumbing and electrical. So this is NOT a small band aid job. It is a gut redo.

I would wait until you have the money to redo the cabinets. The bandaid of new countertops and tile isn't going to fix the layout problem and the fact that you wont have proper ventilation with an over range mw (also a dangerous safety issue). You need base cabinets with drawers to maximize efficient storage. Save your money. I'm sure u will get a reasonably priced IKEA kitchen with a better layout and functional storage. $3k is a lot of money to throw away

We did basically the same thing you did, Robbyn; ours was about 5K total. And it has me smiling every time I use the new vent hood over a new range, the new island countertop, and see the older black refrigerator on a back wall instead of front and center on the window wall, where it sucked all the light from the kitchen. I agree that your stainless steel handles "agree" with the all-stainless new range/microwave. We mixed all black appliances with a black-trimmed stainless range, and stainless hood, and I think it all plays very nicely together, too. In fact, I like that my kitchen isn't so "matched." It has more personality that way. Good luck with yours!