We also had a limited kitchen renovation budget so I contented myself with a “facelift.” Our cabinets were originally an orangey-brown wood tone and with the Saltillo-looking ceramic tile it was very orange and green in there. We went with dark green for the lower cabinets since we don’t have the budget to replace the existing green laminate countertops and added brushed brass hardware. We painted the uppers white and I’m glad we kept them for the storage! We originally wanted open shelving as well but we also have some open shelves for decor so we changed our minds. Our home is southwestern and Spanish style so we painted the backsplash tiles by hand with a stencil I got at Hobby Lobby and a few different color paint samples that you can get at Home Depot for about $5 each. No issues after a year with peeling or anything but I did use a poly sealer as a top coat to protect them from routine soft sponge wipe downs. The backsplash was originally pinkish tiles with speckles. I think the kitchen was redone in the eighties which explains the pink and green combo. Also, we covered a drop down ceiling above the sink with boards we stained ourselves. Lots of elbow grease but super cheap facelift and I am super happy with how it turned out. Good luck with your project!! Sorry I don’t have any before photos on my phone.

Sounds lovely. That copper sink will be a great focal and coupled with the vintage pieces, I can see a winner. Lucky for you your husband can fabricate the hood. How about adding copper strips to the stainless steel hood to tie it all together. like the reverse of this one https://www.worldcoppersmith.com/store/baltimore-copper-range-hood. or a copper hood with stainless accents.

I love everything you are suggesting.