Oh, and in case it wasn't clear from my earlier post, I don't think you should discount soapstone at all--I would use it again in the right setting. I just wouldn't use *our* particular soapstone. We didn't get samples and test, and we should have (it was at the top of our budget so we just went with the cheapest stone they had--mistake!) I remember someone here, Marcolo I think, getting samples a few months after ours went in and commenting that our stone looked like Ray Liotta after the testing. ;) But I do still love it for the reasons we chose it, so I would look for a harder soapstone that had those great qualities with fewer of the downsides. All soapstone will show some wear, but usually it's more like a patina, and many can be oiled or sanded to hide this if you want. I don't think most people have the issue with the edges gouging and breaking down like we do. A few random thoughts, too--our sink cabinet was much the same as yours. In our before pics you can see one door completely missing--it wouldn't close so we finally just took it off! Our sink run had been built in a later remodel (using, we think, parts of the original cabinets) because the original sinks of that era were freestanding behemoths (beautiful, but rarely kept in remodels in the 30s-50s sadly) so it was common for those cabinets to be remodeled even if others were kept. Ours were very poor condition (only mediocre quality to start, and many years old with water leaks and such to boot) and could not be salvaged. They were also three-sided built-in-place (very common in that era) which limited how easily we could reuse or adapt them. And I love love love tile counters, but we got it priced out and it was well above the cost of any stone options to have it done well (critical for it to be level--while we were fine doing our backsplash ourselves, we were not confident in our ability to get a perfectly level surface on the counter) using epoxy grout (which local places said was the solution to icky grout, something we wanted to avoid--dunno what the thinking on this is these days, as this was three years ago). If you have strong DIY tile skills, maybe an option, but otherwise, it's probably not worth the cost. And last (sorry for the length!) two thoughts on drawers: yes, they can add runners if you want (may need to replace the boxes though depending on drawers), but beeswax did wonders for ours! Try that first for sure. We did find that it was less costly to remodel the areas where we did not open walls beyond electrical, so I think if you can divide the kitchen by walls, it would be feasible to keep the Hoosier and drawers but gut the other areas. However, we also had and were keeping plaster walls--drywall is a lot cheaper so then it might make more sense to go down to the studs and just put up new wall. It may also affect code requirements, too. Where we did not open walls, our existing wiring was grandfathered in (except for counters, since cabinets/counters were new). That did save us some money too.

That "tip" on that board sounds like one of those "so-&-so-told-a-friend-of-a-friend" kinda crap. Again...I've NEVER heard of anything so goofy.... >>> I'm glad you noted it's for resale!!!!! * I don't CARE what any Realtor may have told you. * While FPE is some of the most drool-worthy stuff out there...there's no way in H&LL I'd apply that stuff & then sell!! * Save that stuff for what you're moving INTO! * I wouldn't paint them AT ALL. * Whatever color you choose will be the wrong color. * I'd like to choose my own colors..."thank-you-very-much" is kinda what I'm getting at here! * You COULD maybe do some good prep, & leave them primed...!?!??! * I've NEVER believed in that looney "throw-on-a-quick-coat-of-paint to sell" rubbish. * Most of the time, it just CREATES headaches for new owners because they often have to deal with a "no prep" scenario, & a crappy paintjob. Faron

Your countertop looks similar in color to your new upper cabinets, so if you really want blue or green, I would go with it. Have you seen the new products at Lowes made by Rustoleum I think that provide an excellent package of products to change the color of your cabinets and a package if you want to change the color of your countertops? I happen to LOVE light green cabinets or apple green.

Those are oak, with a veneer center panel. Not laminate. Join the Kitchen Cabinet Painting Experts group on FB for all of the step by step instructions, including videos.