So. The guys finished up their part yesterday and now it's up to me to do the rest. Their work looks pretty good if you don't look real hard at all the details (which I am going to stop doing in a day or two, I hope, since done is done). These are Applad cabinets from IKEA (semi-gloss white--love them!) and their solid beech butcherblock Numerar counters. The sink is a big honking 16-guage near-zero radius corner Vigo from the O site, faucet from IKEA. The shelf was ripped from one 8' Numerar counter and installed on 10" corner brackets from the hardware store which were screwed into studs every 2 feet. I'd originally gotten some of those posts where you have to drill holes into the shelf edge and slip it onto the posts but they weren't sturdy enough for an 11" deep 1.5" thick solid hardwood shelf that will have cast iron pots on it---so I switched to this method (thanks to my daughter for finding it online!). It is STRONG. The parts that show on the wall under the shelf will be patched and tiled over. The undersides of the shelf were routed out so that the bracket is recessed--will see about patching that over with thin strips cut from leftover butcherblock using a circular saw. They also routed out a channel for the LED tape lights (again, thanks to Yllimuh!) so you can't see the tape unless you crane your neck under there which I do not intend to do ever. LOVE the LEDs. The outlets with the transformers are inside cabinets at the ends and they fished the wire through the wall on the side with no uppers. Still waiting for the appliance people to come back and install the DW and slide-in range, which I hope will happen in the next few days. I paid them for installation months ago but it had to wait until now. I am going to get the IKEA "Bursta" table in the 32" square size (with two pullout leaves which i think make it about 60" long?) and keep it pushed up against the wall most of the time with 2-3 chairs around it. It can be moved into the living room if I ever want to have 4+ people at a sit-down meal. Or just pulled out into the kitchen a bit. It'd be cramped in there but it would only be for rare occasions so it's fine with me. I think I'm going to repaint the walls. They are a very pale gray but I think they'll look better the same color as the ceiling and soffits. There are too many planes in there to have different colors going on, even subtle ones. Oh, also, I skim coated the sand textured walls (except for the vertical parts of the soffits) by rolling on thinned joint compound with a paint roller (!) and squeegeeing it smooth with a Magic Trowel (!!!!). It worked amazingly well and was much easier than the conventional skim coating method! It took only 2 coats. I also bought a drywall sander Shop-vac attachment for $25 on Amazon--WAY worth it to not have to drape the doorways and clean up dust off everything for weeks afterward. It vacuumed literally all the dust as I sanded. I didn't even wear a mask. Amazing. Overhead light only LED lighting only from the other end of the room looking at the opposite side - 24"W fridge goes in the first tall empty space and the end unit is a 24" wide pullout pantry

If your goal is to match your current windows, then you should go with a bronze anodized aluminum window. I'm in Southern California, so I can't help you with vendors, but I am in market for metal windows. I've looked at Milgard on the low end and Fleetwood, Bonelli, Hope's, Torrance Steel Window and Metal Window Corp on the high end. I don't have a modern house but if I did, I'd most likely be getting Fleetwoods. Milgard can give you much of the look for about 1/3 of the price of Fleetwoods. Fleetwood's website should direct you to local dealers and then it's just a matter of getting quotes. Good luck.

You also might consider something like a china cabinet (a Haywood-Wakefield -style china cabinet would be very hot!) as a furniture-style solution. It can hold more than china -- vintage staples canisters, cookbooks, linens on the bottoms etc. That way you can just move it around the house as needed. Some people find things stay cleaner. (I have open shelves and don't have a problem.) You can definitely replace the laminate counter (they pull the whole counter out, not just peel off the skin) and put in a new laminate counter, or put in another kind of counter. Sometimes a "period feel" can be done with just what you have and some accessories. You don't need to add a thing that would turn anyone off. I also wanted to raise the issue that some people, contractors, designers etc, may come in and advise you to rip everything out. They may do this for a silly reason -- it's just easier for them, or a real reason -- a slow drip has been rotting the sink cabinet for 15 years, and it actually does have to be replaced. It's easy for things to get the "while we're at its" as someone here called it, and before you know it, your very modest kitchen plan calls for bumping out 3 stories and adding an indoor pool. I just want you to remember that, no matter what you decide, YOU are the one in control of this project. It's YOUR house. You can really say "No, we're happy with X as it is. We'd just like a quote on the Y right now, thanks." If you needed to get a couple of cabinets built because one is very rotted and unsalvageable, it might be done by a local carpenter for a reasonable amount of money, less than getting a whole new set of cabinets. But if what you really want is a whole new kitchen in 5 years, then -- get the leak FIXED, come back and let us know.

I agree, I've seen lots of '70s kitchens, and that doesn't look the part to me. Actually, though I'm pretty far from the decorator type (more the practical type), I think it's mostly pretty nice as is. The backsplash doesn't do anything for me, but it's not obnoxious either. That could go either way. I really like those cabinets a lot, and agree that some modest (not too bold) pulls would spruce them up. For goodness sake, don't paint them, you'll ruin them (IMO). Unlike (probably) most here, I don't object at all to your counters, though I can't tell how worn them might be. If they're in good shape, I'd leave them alone. I see nothing at all wrong with the refrigerator either. I just can't bring myself to replace one that works fine. When it quits working and the repair is too expensive, that's the time to regroup. I'm also not a fan of features like ice and water in the doors -- that's just more stuff to break. And spare us these bloody "smart" appliances. Ugh. I don't know about the windows. Where there are no close neighbors, I like them with no blinds or curtains at all. I love natural light and outdoor views. They make kitchen chores easier, IMO. Hmm, a skylight or two might be nice, or sun pipes. I like the light well enough, but suspect it's probably nowhere near adequate in terms of total lumens. I'd try to match it with a few more of similar style. Can lights are still popular, but I've never liked them where the ceilings are high. They're OK with low ceilings, where surface luminaires can make things feel too closed in. You need an annoyingly large number of them regardless. I'm a big fan of indirect (bounce off ceiling) light for its evenness. Pendants that cast some light upward are good things. I can't tell if there's enough room, maybe not, but you might consider supplemental LED or even high CRI T5 fluorescent strips atop the cabinets. Definitely put LED lights under the cabinets, if you don't already have them. I might change the flooring. That's ceramic tile, isn't it? Ceramic looks nice and lasts and lasts, but just about anything you drop on a ceramic tile floor breaks. I'd go for something a bit darker to anchor the room, but not too dark. Again, though, I'm not a decorator. I am frugal, though. I want anything I do to a house that isn't basic maintenance to return the investment -- or better -- in resale value.