Not a pro but regarding #1, I've seen what you're thinking work nicely. I have a family member who did something similar with her kitchen. The cabinets were cherry (yours look like maple?), wood floors and counters were quartz (Silestone Lagoon - white with subtle veining). Pretty sure the backsplash was plain white subway that blended with the counters. All appliances and hardware were stainless steel. It all worked really well. My own choice would be to keep your hardware, pendants and hood since, from what I can see, tie in with the appliances.

Sorry, can't be much help with your second question. Never had to deal with it.

Lower the bar to counter height. You will not regret that decision.

I think people tend to congregate around one level bar at gatherings more than two tiered design.

White and wood kitchens are beautiful! There are plenty of pictures online that show great combos of white counters/backsplash and wood cabinets.

We are also in the process of renovating and will be installing cherry cabinets, white quartz counters, and white subway tile backsplash. We decided to use matte black hardware and faucet with stainless appliances.

As for the second question, it seems like you’d get more space and use out of a single level of counter than a double level, since it wouldn‘t be as broken up. Just my thought. Good luck!

Since you have a sink on the other side of the breakfast bar, I think lowering everything to the same level will be problematic. Think about the laptop you have pictured there getting splashed with puddles of water.

Really IMO lowering the counter to all one height is the first item of business. I do agree all the gray does not work with those cabinets. I would never do a black faucet the water marks will make you nuts. In fact if you want to change the hardware to black why not just leave the black counter I see no reason to have black hardware at all .

Thanks all! I did work with a designer to help identify colors that would work with the warm colors of the cabinets. I'm trying to modernize it all around the cabinets while knowing they still have a large color impact in the room. The color we painted the kitchen is a light taupe warm gray - should've said that it's warmer toned than cooler toned. It took a long time to find a color that would work with the warm color of the cabinets. Our new flooring is also warm-ish - a blonde, distressed white oak with varied width planks - and they work well with the cabinets and the rest of the house. The countertops we're getting are white-based with movement areas of silver. They also took and long time to select but (I think) will provide a nice change from what we have. We're also changing the butcher block on the island to the quartz, removing another warm thing in the room. @chloebud - I would love to see the photo if you can find it! @julieste - Yes, this is one of the issues I'm considering. Not sure how the sink will impact the counter height seating space. @Patricia Colwell Consulting - Just thinking the black hardware would add some contrast to the room vs. all the stainless, white and bright, etc.

Julie, I deleted the previous post where the photo disappeared. After umpteen tries I finally got it back. This just shows part of the kitchen, but I hope it might help in some way. Hard to see the Silestone Lagoon counters here. As I recall, my sister-in-law chose a very pale gray shade from Ben Moore for the walls.

Here is a kitchen design of ours, note the range hood, lighting, and hardware.

Cascade Mountain Home: Kitchen · More Info

Mountain Home: Kitchen · More Info