I'm sure that we can give you lots of advice, but from personal experience, do your self a HUGE favor and become an avid and every day reader and participant in GW's Kitchens Forum. I did and saved us a LOT of money, time and headaches. Because of the Kitchen Forum, my total kitchen reno was a huge success, and I mean that sincerely.

One other bit of advice, they aren't joking when they tell you to sit down and have a nice glass (or two) of wine, etc. every evening!
Lynn

I totally agree with Lynninnewmexico. The kitchen forum is priceless.

Your kitchen has nice bones. The choices you mentioned all would work great. Just go for it.

BL

Your kitchen has great bones - Careful planning, researching will render a wonderful update

- One thing that strikes me is your idea to paint the cabs white - You have a lot of natural/stained wood in the area - trim, wainscoting ? doors - So it may be a bit jarring to have the 2 in the same area. I would consider either stain to the cabs, less jarring color, or painting all trim, wainscoting

New flooring is a big plus, was will counter and backsplash

Taking pics from different angles may help render some more ideas - I think I see a sofa or chair arm in first

best to you

All that white will be fresh & clean, but perhaps your counter top should be a bit darker...you'll need some contrast in there to keep the room from "floating" in the middle. Do you have a link to the counter top you're considering??? And don't forget under cabinet lighting...it makes ALL the difference!!!

~Jeana

The kitchen forum is too technical for me, but if she's only doing cosmetic changes I think this board is the best for that.

Bichon, the white cabs and subway will be beautiful (I have that as well) but I agree about painting the beadboard throughout the whole area, if it runs into the next room.

Start buying specific magazines on kitchens, they'll give you lot's of ideas. There's also a kitchen gallery you can look at here on GW.

Click on the kitchens on the right side of the page.

Here is a link that might be useful: Kitchen Gallery

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. I'll try to find a photo of the granite. I'm not 100% sure I want granite though. The jury is still out.

What about a grayish color on the walls? Do you think that would look ok with the floors (Oak)? We have oak floors all throughout the house and just last year continued it into the kitchen.

Yes, the beadboard is throughout the entire kitchen area and even into the DR which I've already painted the wainscotting there. Here's the a shot of the DR. The "Interesting Aqua can be changed easily once I get the kitchen together:

If painting white I agree the wood trim around the window should be painted too. Love the new floors and your kitchen has nice drawers! Good luck and enjoy yourself!!! With Oak, painting so the grain does not show thru it is a lengthy prep process but the grain showing does not bother everyone so you have to decide which look you like best and research the steps to accomplish that look.

I sanded and stained my oak cabs and it provided a nice new look too. I opted to stain to match my dark doors in my home it was a lot of prep but once the sanding was done it was easy sailing but many have used gelstains on oak and the transformations are wonderful!

take your time and research what looks you like best before starting. Many like contrasting counters and cabs but I have seen lovely light cabs with light counters too(beekeepers kitchen comes to mind!).

Yes, for sure I'll paint the trim white, also.

I've considered the gel stain, also. I like that look, too. What would you do with the bead board?

Oh, this is so doable, and reminds me of our kitchen facelift, just a few years ago. I'm including a few pictures because your style in your DR, and original ideas for the kitchen sound much like mine did. I have more pictures and details if you are interested. Essentially we started with an oak cabinet, laminate counter, white tile on the floor kitchen. We painted the cabs creamy white, put granite on the counters, wood laminate on the floors, creamy white subways on the backsplash, a sink from IKEA.... I'm excited for you!

For some reason the one photo of our "Kitchen Before" will not paste in here, but I can email it to you.

GREAT makeover, bestyears!!!

I love Interesting Aqua, & this color can transition into gray well. I suggest Proper Gray. It'll look great with your white & will be fine with the oak floor.

All the beadboard should be white, IMO.

Look into soapstone also for your countertops - it's definitely what I'm getting when I buy a house. Perfect for the look you have & the colors as well.

~Jeana

Bestyears! It's beautiful! It's exactly what I'm envisioning for my kitchen! Will give you more details? Color of paint on cabs, granite, wall color, and anything other thoughts! This makes me excited!!

Jeana, is proper gray from SW? I need to look that up. I'll check into the soapstone, too! THANKS!

Congrats on your wait being over. I know all to well how that wait feels. Your vision sounds soothing and welcoming. I agree that the wainscoting needs painted white. It will make the space feel so much larger. We had a similar material in our bathroom and it felt so dark and dreary. Once we painted it that bathroom felt twice as big.

Keep us posted on your journey thru the kitchen renovations. And definitely take the advice of the Kitchen forums. An adult beverage is very welcome after a long day of kitchen mess.

Oh so glad you liked it! When I read your post, I thought, "Well, that sound kind of like my post a few years ago..."

Details:
cabinets BM Linen White
walls BM Coastal Fog
Sink: IKEA Domsjo double sink
Counters: Costa Esmeralda granite
Backsplash: Emser Cape Cod series tiles. They are actually crackle, not sure if you can see that.
hardware: IKEA
Island: bought as an old dresser off CL, added the walnut top and legs ourselves
Barstools: World Market seagrass
Drawers, hood change-out, and cabinet over fridge done by local carpenter.

The drawers, sink, island, granite and wallcolor are my favorites parts. I love the subway tile on the back, but truly, we barely notice or see the crackle, so plain subway would probably be just as good. I would definitely spend a few dollars to have some of those lower cabs turned into drawers. It is amazing how much easier storing and retrieving are. If you send me your email, I'll send you a photo of our original kitchen and you'll be even more excited!

Proper Gray is SW. Look on the Kitchen forum & look at the soapstone thread - very beautiful. But bestyears did such a great job, why mess with success???

~Jeana

Love everything about your remodel. Do you mind sharing where you got your chalkboard on your pantry door? Have been looking for the exact same thing and haven;t found one. Thanks again!

i'd paint the cabinets white white cabinets are almost never out of style, they may not be the current favorite, but stain kind of changes colors frequently and i'm not fond of trying to keep up with whatever is "in"

Jeana -thank you for the compliments!
nancy- the chalkboard is from IKEA.

Bestyears, what a transformation! I am normally not too keen on white, but that really is just lovely. I'm trying to figure out what to do with my oak cabinets and your pics have expanded my horizons. And Okokok does make an excellent point that stains come and go, but white seems to survive all of the changing trends. OP, I love your paint choice, but if it were me I would probably choose a more neutral color to balance out the red and yellow tones in the oak. I'm no professional, so take that with a grain of salt! But since I've already given one opinion, I'll go ahead and give one more which is: go with the granite! But that's just coming from someone who is granite obsessed and sees granite every time she closes her eyes.

Bestyears, an amazing transformation to give me and other ideas! Thank you!