cabinets** sorry I don't know why my auto corrected cabinets to gibberish lol. but in not moving plumbing and electrical. and you also don't need to be so damn direct. my husband is a carpenter and can make anything I show him even better than model photos. I don't want to get rid of perfectly good Oak wood cabinets and toss them. I'd like to keep my existing cabinets and add bases to them. then change out the doors or paint them. I love the colours of the photo I attached and if you wanted to comment and give good advice you could have said something nicer especially since your account says "pro".
we also have professional contacts that can get me marble for what be pays for it and we can get it professionally installed.
now you know my whole life story...i like the white uppers and dark lowers.

all I wanted was advice on colours-thank you

I would look into new doors, there are companies online that offer details.Sounds like your husband can figure appropriate overlays.New tops, backsplash and appliances.

thanks for your time Beth.

pro by their names means nothing, I hope you get some people giving good advice.Kendor is a manufacturer in Kentucky(doors) if the helps.

thank you for your kind words Matt. when I'm done- I'll post a beautiful picture:)

That inspiration photo is beautiful. You could do white top cabs and dark lowers, or you could do all the perimeter cabs in white and just the island in a dark/different color. If your husband can reuse and reface the cabs, that would be great!

Here's some other colors I thought you might like. Some of these pics are not the same style, but just look at the color.

I love this green with the white counters. It's such a rich color and I tihnk it makes a statement. Not as common as using blues, so it stand out.

This is a fun color if you're looking for something lighter and it still goes well with the style you like.

I love this countertop. Saratoga quartzite I think. It looks like you are looking at light counters, but if you end up using a light cab color or doing the perimeter cabs in white, this could look great!

Hope it goes well!

Congratulations on your new house! If your cabinets are in good shape and sturdy I think they would be lovely painted.

You would probably want to replace the doors for a more modern or transitional look if you like, but they would be sweet as is if you were looking for more of a cottage feel. With paint, new hardware, new counters and your husband adding extra cabinets you'll feel like you have a brand new kitchen!

I had the golden oak cabinets in my former kitchen professionally painted after wanting to for years but always chickening out. If you Google my username plus "gardenweb kitchen" you can find the before and after pics. Some told me I shouldn't bother and it might be like putting lipstick on a pig, but the cabinets were solid wood and very good quality - only 15 years old.

So I decided to save money and do a mini remodel instead of gutting the entire kitchen. What a difference it made! It actually made my granite counters look better too and I was thinking of replacing them before. I also replaced the black appliances with stainless and that was another improvement in brightening up the dark kitchen. With everything, it ended up a 15k remodel instead of a 50k + remodel.

Everyone loved it and we sold the house at asking price in less than 3 weeks. I also loved the result and wish that I had done it sooner so I would have been able to enjoy them longer before we moved.

I found the link with some before and after pictures, below. But if you do the Google search anyway you'll probably find many posts over several years with me asking about whether I should remodel, paint, replace the doors, etc., lol.

http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/4199325/update-honey-oak-kitchen-cabinets-are-painted

I'm not sure that adding cabinets to what you have CAN save any money. I would look to replace everything with IKEA. Waaaay more functionality.

If you extend the cabinets, you need more outlets. Thankfully, that's really cheap when you're going to redo the backsplash anyway.

I don't see how you plan to add an island without re configuring the layout, which will require new cabinets, plumbing and electrical.

I don't completely understand the dynamics of this thread and I have a post-doctorate.