I'm in your same predicament. Have you considered refacing your cabinets? The door and drawer fronts all come off. They are actually replaced with new doors/drawers in the style and color you want. To see the entire process, you can view videos on youtube. The outcome is a LOT less expensive than new cabinets and you don't have cabinets that have that painted look. I think I'm going to go this route myself.

I think a soapstone counter looks great with your wood tone cabinets.

Love soapstone! Do you think it will have too much contrast with the white floor? We're thinking about refacing, but trying to see if there are any ideas we can use with what we currently have.

Sink/Faucet - agree, it's so front & center it must be updated!

I don't think you need to reface the cabinets. You can get soapstone with some veining in it and will relate with the floor.

I had exactly the same counter top! I even had the appliance garage and white sink and similar faucet. My cabinets are oak. Can't tell for sure about yours but the color is very similar. They are high quality and I did not want to replace them. Painting them seemed like a shame only to have someone in a few years want to strip them back to natural. Plus, what if I painted them and didn't like them? So I left them natural golden oak.

We replaced the counter with granite. This led to another problem. The grain pattern of the oak is so intense that the kitchen couldn't stand any more patterns as it just seemed to busy. It is difficult to find photos of oak cabinets with a granite countertop, now I know why. We ended up putting a crazed white subway tile on the walls, stainless sink and faucet, and white bamboo with minimum grain on the floors. I like the way it turned out.

Be careful if you choose granite. If it has a bold veining pattern it may fight for attention with the grain in the cabinets. I also love sub way tile. It is timeless.

Good luck. Can't wait to see what you do! Someone else's remodeling is always easier to live through. Lol

A safe, safe idea is artic white quartz counter. Plain. Then, you could do a Carrera marble subway backsplash. Light, bright and updated. The soapstone will look more traditional. This island photo is white quartz. Quartz, btw, is fabulous surface.

Oh, and a small easy change we made that made a Big difference was to replace the cabinet hardware. Just be sure what you choose looks ok with the hinges if they are visible.

We thought about painting the cabinets white (LOVE white cabinets), but I don't have the courage to do so quite yet. So many good ideas!

The hinges are slightly visable, but not too obvious - do you think a chrome or stainless tone would work?

Your kitchen is in great shape and makes a nice canvas to work with. You didn't mention your favorite color, so I'm going for the gusto and tossing out a variety of color and material options. I don't know how modern you want to go (just out of the 90's!), but if the material doesn't appeal to you, then perhaps a certain color will catch your eye!

Christi, on behalf of Thos. Baker

If you can see the hinges even a little, you'll need to keep the same finish, or replace the hinges too.

If you are on a strict budget, check out Formica's Petrified Wood counter. Very hip but not for everyone. Looks beautiful though. These are both formica...

A couple more -- only because choosing counter tops should come first. They will determine your color scheme for the back splash, walls and the style of new pulls for your cabinets.

Christi, on behalf of Thos. Baker

What about a splash back in a aqua colour and white counter top? Like this photo?

With a white floor be careful of anything white such as the counter top or tiles. There are 1001 shades of white. If you select a white that isn't the same it will look like a bad tooth.

Black is also the bane of all existence impossible to keep clean unless you don't cook. Every grain of salt or the teeniest smudge on a black counter is magnified. You will spend your days with a microfiber cloth in hand.

First I would pull out the soffit and if there is plumbing or wiring work around it then add crown molding.

Make neutral timeless choices that will allow you to alter color and style at your whim. Don't let color choices or the cool stuff interfere and lock you into something forever.

Start slow and bring home samples that you can return to see what weight and shades work for hardware. You may fall in love with a thin euro handle but it may look like hell repeated over and over in your space.

Consider lighting and add some interest over the sink area. Think about what is not working in the room for you and how you can rectify it. For instance the sink is small and made smaller because it is 2 compartments. Possibly a single bowl and a wider/deeper sink will help with washing larger plates and pots.

The second to last thing I would do in that reno is decide on the tile and counter. There is no going back if you come to a conclusion that isn't right. There are people all over the net hating their very expensive granite tops that looked so great in the showroom.

When you do zero in on a counter top ask the builders for a salvage piece to loan you and see how it looks in place, in your home, in your lighting, in conjunction with the floor and cabinets.

If there is room consider extending and rounding out the far sink edge of the counter and open side. it's nicer to bump into round things. Not to mention you will get more eating and work space.

If you do get a Formica top be sure they tell you and you agree to where the seams will be. Concrete micro topping can look and preform as good as any granite, stone or wood and is a viable alternative at 1/4 of the price. If you explore that, please, get a qualified professional to do it.

Finally I would choose color when everything was said and done. Color is your accents and your style choices. Choosing a color now is like putting on your slippers over your boots because your feet are cold. Give the plan time to develop.

You can get a full kitchen remodel for under 10k. look into it.