All I can say is wow, thanks for all the ideas and help. So, the new window went in and it is taller, so my GC made sure to carefully remove and store the extra tiles for me. We'll see this weekend how many I have extra now. I thought I'd maybe send one to Chippy to see if they have a match in NJ. Also, I can use one for our re-glazer, if I need to still go that route. I have the pedestal sink in hand at the house, so for now we are good. I'll let you know how the tiles end up. Please keep sending the suggestions!!

We started a kitchen remodel in February, which I'd try to avoid at all costs ever doing again. On the day they demo'd the kitchen, a cold spell began with temperatures in the single digits, leaving a giant freezing cold corner of the house. (Thankfully, our kitchen had a door to the outside, which meant workers could come in and out and have the rest of the house sealed off by plastic sheeting.) Kids didn't mind much at all, but in hindsight, it would have been so much nicer to do the remodel in warmer weather when you could fire up the grill and eat outside, rather than dealing with a makeshift counter and microwave and hot plate in the living room.

Please do not ask Lowes anything technical. That's just buying trouble. You may or may not get a correct answer. But the odds are on Not. I say that as a former renovation supervisor with the company. My colleagues didn't even know what a TCNA manual was, much less own a copy. The answer to your question is another question. Is the wall masonry veneer over a stud wall, or is it solid masonry? You cannot make the studs behind veneer go away in the clearance requirements. If they are closer than the 6" allowed in the "material sandwich" behind the range, then no, you can't use the island trim. You would need to use the backguard. If that is a masonry wall to which you are applying tile, then yes, you could use the island trim. But, your tile will discolor from the high heat adjacency. Just like the stainless back guard will discolor from heat. Removing the window stool and apron, then applying tile to the whole wall is your easiest approach to deal with any wood encroachment from the trim into the safety zone. Then replace the stool with the same material that you are doing for your counter. Or tile. But that isn't a Lowes's tile guy kind of job. They won't accept the liability. You need a private sector professional tiler with some skills beyond tile flatwork. And the counter fabricator needs to coordinate with the tiler as well. This is the world's smallest GC job, or else you need to coordinate things.

Chris, I did to my custom cabs exactly what you want to do. They were solid wood, great shape, but after 15 years I couldn't stand the overall dark feel. I had them refaced and everything painted. new countertops, vent hood, splash, window, everything. The company I hired to paint also deals w/refacing. for an additional 2K, I got all new doors, drawer fronts. (I prob have twice the cabs you do, including a 4X7 island) The new doors are all solid maple w/center panels made from MDF. when painting, MDF is a better choice for the panels than solid wood. To answer your questions about getting new doors that aren't painted, yes, they would then have to use a veneer material to skin your base cabinets so that they would match. something else you should change over is the lower doors to drawers. a good refinishing company can also do this for you. I had them make two large drawers in my island where open shelving used to be. so much better for storing large pans have you had any estimates? If going the painting route, make sure you get all of the steps they take in priming. if getting them refaced, those should come raw, so all they have to do is prime and paint. you can also get soft closing hinges. You're prob looking at well over 6-7K for just painting, and then whatever extra they charge for refacing. as for the gap to the ceiling, there are diff ways to tackle that. since your current cabs have a large wood edge (the part above your doors) , it might be difficult to add on boxes to that. you see how the doors immediately transition into the added boxes? You have that 3-4" of wood above your doors. what you might be able to do is get taller doors to cover that, remove the crown, and then build the boxes above that. or, you could add on a decorative molding or large crown This one might work for you. another poster on here had these, but notice how her doors almost touched her crown molding. They removed that Built boxes and then added doors. I believe she told me this cost her 2K to have that gap closed like this these are mine, before. I'm sure people thought I was crazy for changing it. I didn't care. I lived w/it for 15 years, the finish was wearing and I was tired of dark. notice my drawer/door design. see how the top drawers are slab and the others shaker style? This is why I refaced so they would all match. all of the fluted / rope trim and corbels were removed. micro was moved. vent hood made. drawers in island made. doors added to desk area. We did the window ourselves. new marble/quartz, lighting, flooring, appliances. I did Wrought Iron on my island, bright white on the others. there's a double pantry to the left you can't see. You say you don't want white, which is fine, there are plenty of other colors. Revere Pewter edgecomb gray Navy Kendall Charcoal This just gives you an idea. what is your budget? If you say 10K, that may get you countertops and new tile backsplash.