Hello Kiki!!! First things first, I love being mentioned by my buddy Rmkitchen. She is a pro at getting the right, relevant information to you quickly. She's also got a great sense of style. We love RM!! I do think my granite would be of use to you, if not the same granite but my overall approach. I also wanted to marry the two things - I knew I'd go white cabinets, dark island. I thought from all the granites I saw, that the warm coloured granites like Santa Cecilia and Kashmir Gold, would work well to bridge that gap between the dark and light. My granite, Bianco Antico, just "works" with both colours. It's cooler than the granites I mentioned above, so you need to decide if you want warm vs cool. I myself, love the feel of moody, old-fashioned, vintage, antique-looking things, and I get that feeling from our granite. It also feels somewhat more "formal" than the warmer granites which come off more "casual"...I feel that way about warm golden hardwoods vs greyish brown hardwoods. Not sure if everyone feels this way too though!! I had considered doing one counter on the island - and a different counter colour on the perimeters. I've seen this look great, both in magazines and on Garden Web. But you know, I really like how it turned out when we used the same granite on both colours of cabinets. It ties things together. Note that we did do a wood top on our dark desk area, and I feel that this change in counter type does work well and adds variety. You were worried about the contrast - I think that having dark wood floors helps to soften the contrast between the two cabinet types. I also kind of like the contrast as it makes a dramatic statement. Anyway, I can go on and on. Good luck!

Thanks so much for all of the pictures. They are very helpful to get a visual idea. I so appreciate everyone's help! Boxerpups, I'm always amazed at the photos you have filed away. You are amazing. slush1422, I can't wait to see pictures of your completed kitchen. It is beautiful. noebee1313, thank you for your suggestion. This was one of our original options, but the majority of the cabinets are uppers. Therefore adding the few base cabinets wasn't very expensive. Here is a drawing of what the kitchenette is intended to look like. Its not very big but should work perfectly in the space.

We got a vintage-looking range too (a burgundy Fratelli Onofri Royal Chiantishire double oven). What we found is that if you get plain-front stainless appliances, they complement the range without competing with it. By "plain front" I mean, no external ice/water or other external gizmos on the fridge, and no visible controls on the dishwasher (we got an Asko... at the link below, click on the "3" box to see a close-up of the kind of door and handle we got). On the Asko there's not even a manufacturer's name on the front--nothing--and I think it looks retro all by itself, much less in combination with the range. The other advantage of avoiding external ice/water on the fridge is that that is ALWAYS the part that breaks. You see more complaints about those than anything else, and when they break they can do major damage (one woman on here posted that her external water dispenser had leaked while they were away and destroyed her hardwood floor). Oh, speaking of leakage, both Asko and Bosch dishwashers have excellent leak protection. I would assume Miele does too. Here is a link that might be useful: Asko dishwasher with towel bar handle

You can make this work. It can actually look very pretty. Check out these kitchens: https://www.houzz.com/photos/deephaven-mn-cottage-completed-in-2009-contemporary-kitchen-minneapolis-phvw-vp~1255280 https://www.houzz.com/photos/kitchen-traditional-kitchen-dc-metro-phvw-vp~1222996 https://www.houzz.com/photos/gold-river-fun-classic-nar-fine-carpentry-sacramento-el-dorado-hills-traditional-kitchen-sacramento-phvw-vp~6391660 https://www.houzz.com/photos/kitchen-traditional-kitchen-seattle-phvw-vp~157322 https://www.houzz.com/photos/modern-traditions-mid-century-oven-traditional-kitchen-san-francisco-phvw-vp~3383631 https://www.houzz.com/photos/kitchen-traditional-kitchen-los-angeles-phvw-vp~121048