I pretty much followed celticmoon's steps... (THANK YOU celticmoon!! :) My process: Remove doors. Remove hardware. We did leave hinges on and taped them off. (DH was afraid he'd never get them back on and didn't want to mess with getting new -- I picked my battles and went with it! ;) I lightly sanded mostly using sanding sponges which allowed me to get into the cut-outs better. My doors were VERY shiny so I sanded enough to get the shine off. Then tack clothed them, then mineral spirits. I put on a thick layer of General Finishes Gel Stain - JAVA. This stuff is so awesome. Then I wiped off. I left it on pretty thick... too thick. If I was to do it over I would definitely wipe off more because it took a loooong time to dry. I was trying to skip steps but I think 2 or 3 thin coats would have been better. It was a rainy weekend, too, so drying was tough in the first place. DH had rigged up a way for me to hang the doors by the hinges so I hung them to dry which enabled me to do fronts and backs. When they were finally dry I did a thin layer of General Finishes Gel Clear Coat. I spread it on until it all looked wet but wiped away any drips. Once dry I very lightly sanded, then tack clothed, then we put the doors back on. I did another clear coat with the doors up and left the doors open to dry. I've done a few touch ups here and there with a stain and a clear coat. I would highly recommend general finishes gel stain! I babied the cabs for a few days but my 3 and 5 year old kiddos have not and the color seems to be holding up perfectly. The plate rack - we needed to do something with the space above the micro since the doors would not fit back on. I measured it and ordered cheap plate racks from Target to fit across the space. I stained them to match and DH screwed them in. It was really too simple. Our granite was about $2300. We used a granite slab from an installer's shop which saved us about $500, supposedly. I LOVE my granite. Thanks for the brick compliments, also. I painted that quite a long time ago and have debated ever since about ripping it out and putting in a real backsplash. But I do like the simplicity of it and it all seems to tie together now. Igloochic - I'm not sure what you mean with the trim... I've seen it where they put wood fronts on the soffits to make them look like cabs but I'm not clear here. Do you mean there would be a trim piece on top of the cab, then painted soffit, then another trim piece? I think the wall is going to come out end of summer. Yikes. Another project in the making. Then we'll have to figure out new flooring. By the time we're done with this house - I'm not going to want to leave! :) Thanks again for all of the nice compliments. It's really hard for me to get good pics of the cabs and everyone that has seen them irl says my pics don't do justice! I love this site!

If you aren't adept at painting, it can be challenging. cleaning, sanding, deglossing, priming, sanding, painting, sanding again, laying down even coats w/the brush,,,etc. the only paints I recommend for furniture are the chalk paint, milk paint and if using the acrylic, BM advance, SW pro classic or GF Milk paint. Never use straight latex wall paint. Chalk paint is simpler and can look the same. you just don't distress it! this is how I did this one (I've painted over a hundred vintage pieces with every type of paint you can think of) this particular one was done with ASCP in Old Ochre. 2-3 coats. It's entirely possible to paint with chalk paint and not do any distressing. you will need to fine-sand after every coat to get a super smooth finish. I'm posting a close up shot so you can see the sheen. I only used a clear wax. If you don't want the distressed edges, then don't sand the edges and remove the paint! Just sand enough to knock of the rough feel of the paint. ( I would use a very fine sanding sponge for that purpose. just be careful around the edges. if you knock off too much paint, just brush over it w/extra. not a big deal) I obviously stripped and stained the top. I sold this one, but the finishes hold up beautifully. just use a coaster if you will be putting glasses on the top. wax is not waterproof. another frenchie I did w/chalk paint. 3 different colors!

Check out Annie Sloan chalk paints. They have blues that would work plus you can mix colors to get the shade you want. https://www.anniesloan.com/annie-sloan-products/paints/chalk-paint

I still like no. 1 better but before you go ahead with this dimension of shower, for precautions, I would shop for vanities just to make sure you can find one that size. Also, for me, an 18x32 vanity would be too small. It may not for you but I suggest that you compare what you have right now and see if you would be satisfied with a vanity that size. The drawers might be very narrow. All of that may work for you but it does not hurt to check before you commit. If you find the vanity too small or you can't find any of that size, you might have to change the angle of the shower. You can also have a custom made vanity, but also check if you can find a sink the right size for that vanity. Also, if you find you have not enough storage you may want the cabinet I suggested in the bottom left corner. In that case, I would put a sliding door in the middle of the bathroom (not to the left. Your plan as you have it now might well work but there are precautions worth to checking before committing.