I should add - these are some of the inspiration photos that I liked:

Don’t put all of those expensive choices into a foundation of cheepchinesecrapola. Buy better quality cabinets. That’s building a whole custom house on a foundation of sand.

And do under cabinet lighting if you want a dark backsplash.

Ok, I wasn't asking for cabinet advice, but what specifically about JSI don't you like, aside from the fact that they're made in China? I've read all the reviews I could find and the specs don't seem bad for our budget (3/4" solid wood drawers, 1/2" plywood boxes, etc.). With the price of our house and scope of other renovations it just doesn't make sense to spend the $25k+ we were quoted on the "better" custom and semi-custom cabinet brands.

You can go super dark if you want. I don't like the medium grey due to the movement it has the potential it has to clash with the countertop, but colorwise it's fine. You have a pretty neutral base so you can really go with any color. I say go for the dark grey, with a matching grout.

Do you want a complete do over in 3-5 years? Bad plywood and poor quality hardware doesn’t show up in the buzz words that they throw out. Good furniture board beats bad plywood, hands down. Their finishes are not at all great long term either. Good cabinet construction is beyond Buzz Words.

If you want them for an entry level rental, with laminate counters, and a $300 range, sure. That is the level where they are appropriate. They’ll get trashed, and replaced between renters. Landlords are used to that.

But for someone wanting to trust something enough to live with something in their own home, with your family, you don’t want the risks of import.

Do you have specific experience with JSI or do you just consider all imports/everything from China to be "crapola"? Of course we don't want to do a complete do-over in 3-5 years, but I've also read plenty of JSI reviews (including from our experienced contractor) that suggest that will not be the case (and plenty of bad reviews too, as with any cabinet line).

We're gutting a kitchen and 2.5 bathrooms, on a budget of around $100k. We simply can't spent 1/4 of that budget on cabinets, and any larger budget wouldn't make sense for our house value. The cabinets we have currently are thin plywood DIY by the former owner, and/or a few original cabinets that are chipping off lead paint. What realistic option would you suggest to replace them, while avoiding imported cabinets?

A dark backsplash might draw your eye more towards that area. Do you have any other features you'd like to stand out? Right now, I'm loving white cabinets with a soft aqua or blue backsplash and maybe matching island. Liked it five years ago and still love it. LOL

Look at Merillat Classic, Kemper Echo, Medallion Silverline, etc. Major American brand’s secondary lines. And skip plywood. The number of designers or contractors who do ply in their own homes is maybe 5-10%. And if they do use it’s, it’s usually because it is lighter to self install. Not because of its completely mythic waterproof qualities. If you want actual waterproof? Get Merillat’s all plastic sink base.

Wondering if you have looked up Fabuwood. My reason for saying that is because their drawer fronts and door fronts match as opposed to JSI. If you are ok with the flat drawer front that is ok too.

Take a look at their Nexus Frost and their Onyx Frost. They are close to JSI in terms pricing etc.

https://www.fabuwood.com/doors/nexus-frost/

https://www.fabuwood.com/doors/onyx-frost/

If you are doing underneath cabinet lighting you can do either option in terms of tile etc.

Show us you final product!

I have not looked into Fabuwood but I can ask our contractor, I do like the look of their drawer fronts better. Have you used them personally/what has your experience been like with them?

I would like to see what people think of your idea of a darker backsplash. I wanted to do something like that too.
This but in a arabesque. I am thinking with under cabinet lighting - it might look ok.
I see a lot of lighter cabinets with lighter backsplash instead.

Fabuwood is just Uncheepchinesecrapola. More expensive, and still imported from the cheapest bidder factories to be assembled here.

the darker tile, hands down.

Dark backsplash the non vein one with the countertop.

The lighter is my vote. Especially in the long run. The countertop you picked is so pretty I’d want that to be the star, not a backsplash. Your eye will go straight to the dark.

I like the darker tile. I think it makes the counter" pop" (the veining) where the lighter tile blends in and looks bland.
I don't know anything about the quality of the cabinets, but Sophue has a point about not wanting to sink money into cheap, poor quality stuff. Whatever you decide, get the best quality you can afford. I know how expensive they are and when I wanted to replace my cabinets I just couldn't see spending the $$ so I ended up painting them. but I had oak. so had a better foundation for that.

Fabuwood is a great company and we have had a great experiences with them as vendors. We have sold their product for over 10 years and have had success. I must mention that they have also upgraded all of their hinges and slides to Blum which is a higher end type of hardware. Please inquire within, look at their BBB rating which is an A+.

https://www.bbb.org/new-jersey/business-reviews/cabinets/fabuwood-cabinetry-corp-in-jersey-city-nj-90115411

Weather imported or not it is a great product.

I came across your post as I was looking to do the same....we have white cabinets with the Caesar stone same exact stone. What did you choose? If you have photos and what brand of tile that would be amazing!