Glad to have helped a little ! Can't wait to see the 'After' pics !!
:-)
Kind regards,
Karen at OnePlan

Here is a quick update on my progress of your suggestions. Looking much better. What do we think of the sample backsplash which contains black, gray.

I think glass would look nice as an option for the backsplash since you are trending modern already.

Great to see your up grades. The mosaic glass tile has been used so often, I would love to see you do something different. Maybe continue with the stainless steel throughout or even a mirror back splash.

Also if you have enough space you could try shallow shelves.

I like the shelf idea for easy access; make the shelves appear thicker with a taller facia piece and find more contemporary brackets. Also, make sure you have some task lighting over there and the facia gives you a place to hide it. On the tall upright cabinet to the right I would replace the middle panels on the doors and replace with frosted or white rice paper-backed glass. Would look less monolithic that way. Nothing too expensive is necessary.

No offense at all sam0705 that's what this forum is about. I like the subway idea also. I am actually going to paint where the backsplash is supposed to go with the same Chelsey gray that is ontop of the cabinets as my painter left it bare as he knew i was putting a backsplash. Painting will probably give me a better idea on what a clean look is going to be like.

Don't install uppers; they are not modern, and will make your kitchen look like a typical shaker-cabinet job. Yes paint these shaker cabs a dark color, and use steel shelving if you need wall storage.

And subway tile is a dying trend.

Well too late on the uppers...lol and plus i actually like them they are practical compared to the shelves which made it look cluttered.

It's looking good !!! :-). Thanks for updating !!! Always nice to see how Houzzers are getting along !!!

I think painting first is a good idea. Live with it and see if it feels unfinished. As much as I love the chance to add some beautiful tile or something like back painted glass for a clean look, you may not need a backsplash here. If you search houzz I noticed several modern kitchens with light wood cabinets and no backsplash.

http://houzz.com/photos/89567

Yes a clean look is starting to look better. I am going to try a sample of a 4x12 subway tile in gray to see how it looks and will post

Here is one in gray.

What does everyone think of these pendants to replace the fans?

http://img4.wfrcdn.com/lf/49/hash/4825/2338983/1/Landmark-Lighting-Chadwick-1-Light-Pendant.jpg

This one

I figured I would end off this posting with a final pictures and a thanks to all for suggestions.

Great job and fabulous transformation!

Gorgeous!!! You did a wonderful job!!!!!

WOW Beautiful.

So impressed. Very, very nice job.

Great modern kitchen!!!

Gorgeous fabulous transformation!

Nice work!!

looks fab! question....i have a kitchen similar to your 'before' - I want to replace the knobs/doorpulls as you have done. For your drawers, I notice that you've gone with small horizontal bars. Do they have one hole or two? If one...where did you get them :) (If two, did you bother filling the central hole that would have been left by the old pull?) Thanks!

Nice Kitchen!!!! Where is the Refrigerator ? the one which is in right corner?

Wow!!! Awesome. Can you talk about your budget and who makes granite and the uppers you selected? And where you got the backsplash and granite etc

kitchen size is gorgeous!!! and most of the kitchen looks very functional...but it doesn't have a lot of dimension to it as far as color depth and so on.....you could go a dark color for counters as its a big space and wont make it feel smaller..I'd add some cabinets instead of the shelving personally I think shelving is a waste of space I'd probably do them in a contrasting color instead of doing the same honey colored stain. I'd also add a tile back splash probably in a glass tile contemporary is my style too good luck! Congrats on your new home!! I would get rid of the ceiling fans also and put some stylish contemporary lights up!

Everything came out great! I love it

The knobs were hard to find as I went from a single center hole to a two hole setup but the nice thing about these knobs is that its solid in between so it covers the old center hole. I made a wood template for drilling. Here are the knobs

http://www.homedepot.ca/wcsstore/HomeDepotCanada/images/catalog/21335.26134-26_4.jpg

The fridge is on the left hand side on the AFTER pic

Thanks! And from a fellow Canuck too so for once I will be able to buy them ;)

Hello Susan, my budget was under 10k. The uppers are actually from Home Depot and ran me $1300, the granite a local shop for $5100, backsplash $600, sinks and faucets $1800.

I would leave the cabinets and move the micros up and use shelves to hold them,they look odd below.the counters and backsplash will make the kitchen go modern

Hello Ruth, they are not micros they are AEG ovens

My apologies for reviving this post but now I’m contemplating doing my floors now or getting my cabinets painted. Do painted cabinets if done correctly actually as durable as new cabinets which get painted anyhow at the factory ?

Thank you

The kitchen looks pretty fabulous after all your hard work 6 years ago. What were you thinking regarding the paint color? Do you have inspiration photos? It looks great with the wood and dramatic countertops and backsplash.

I like the shaker style cabinets that I currently have but honestly what throws me off is the colour of the floor which is pretty much the same as the cabinets. Another option is to simply refinish my floors a dark grey colour to add the contrast. For the cabinets if I paint them white I would also have that contrast but scared if they don’t paint them correctly then I have more problems.

You could hire a pro painter to repaint the doors for you . Wow this thread has been going years !!! I last posted in 2014 ?!

Edit ... 2013 !!!!!

The OP just revived the post with more questions.

We just moved into a house with medium brown oak floors, not the reddish/yellow hue I’ve lived with for years. I LOVE it. It’s not so dark that it shows dust and dirt. But it’s definitely brown.

If you paint the cabinets, what color were you thinking?

@pippiep I was thinking white cabinets but then again we may have a second option of doing the floors instead a light grey/brown to get away from the orange floor. I think the orange from the floors and the cabinets are very close in colour and I wanted some contrast which is why I liked the suggestion of the black counters I went with.

If you’re thinking of redoing the floors, then that’s the first decision. Your kitchen cabinets look great with the updates you’ve already done, but if you don’t like your floors, that’s a major change. The cabinets will look completely different with darker floors that aren’t so close in color. I see what bothers you about that. Have you started getting samples of flooring? Showing photos of those near your kitchen will help everyone help you make a decision. And your cabinets look like they’re in excellent condition from your photos.

My floors are definitely not my favourite and could use refinishing for sure the only thing that keeps me from pulling that trigger is the inconvenient mess the job causes :(

If this were my kitchen, I would get rid of the ceiling fans, recover the chair seats to a solid color, change the open shelving to exactly match the cabinet color or the wall color and get more modern looking shelf brackets. Those three things IMO detract from the overall modern look.

An oriental runner along the whole long counter would give the room a lift. It’s too monochrome.

I decided to revive the post to ask for further suggestions but I guess I should have initiated a new thread as changes have already been made to the kitchen. Here is an updated photo.

Are these real hardwood floors? If so, then yes, a refinishing job is a holy mess. But it might be worth it. If you want to avoid that mess and expense, the suggestion to get runners would definitely break up the too-close-in-color problem. (Now I see why painting the cabinets came up as an option.) Hating the entire floor that runs throughout your house is a big deal.

Yea they are real hardwood floor and I’ve even looked into the dustless methods of sanding but dust is inevitable