The easiest change is to switch your Three Drawer Base with the base cabinet on the left, and try to keep things as centered as possible if you use a 36" cooktop.

Your standard base cabinet appears to be 36", or at least 33", which is a lot closer in size to what you need and could limit your custom cabinet pieces to fillers and trim if needed.

If you use an electric cooktop you can still use the top two drawers. If you use a gas cooktop, you may lose one, or both drawers. You can convert the drawer fronts to tilt-trays to utilize the storage or just add false front clips and remove the drawer boxes and glides altogether.

There is no reason to have a custom cabinet built when you already have what you need right there!

My husband and I discussed all of these options last night.

The more I look at the wood cabinets - the more I agree that we should consider keeping them as is.

I guess the one comment that stuck with me was Isabel's "wood kitchens that are painted white look like wood kitchens that were painted white"

Once I go there - there's no going back.

I too, like the mock-up. Ironically, the first proposal we worked up was taking out those cabinets to the right of the window - installing a chimney hood and tile the entire wall. I also thought about floating shelves to the right of the hood (or some sort of shelves) but decided against it. There is something nice about negative space. (plus, open shelving near a cooktop may not be the best idea, as far as grease etc. is concerned)

So….. now I'm contemplating all of this. I still have to talk to my painter and ask some of these questions and get her feedback.

1: I will still want to take the cabinets all the way to the top. Assuming I'm keeping the wood, I need to make sure they can match the stain on the new cabinet boxes.

2: The pull issue is still in question. The holes in my cabinets are 3" apart - but if you look at my photo above, you can see the fading. (the pulls extend beyond where the holes are) I don't know if the painter can do anything without striping them. I like hardware like this — but even if there was not fading issue, these particular ones wouldn't work b/c they don't come in 3" whole spacing.

3: As for countertop material. I don't like a busy granite - and my eye goes more toward marble - but I don't want marble. Quartz seems to be very popular. It just needs to be hardworking. Especially the island. What do you think for countertop?

4: Last - the island. I scoured Houzz this morning and there are very few kitchens shown with dark wood cabinets and a light island. And when I come across a photo, I'm not convinced that I like that look. Everything seems to be the reverse. (light cabinets, dark island) Could I go black? They can paint it so the wood still rubs through. Thoughts?

I can appreciate what some of you have said about sticking with my original plan. Once I got it in my head that I wanted white - that was it. But now that I can see how light countertops and the coordinating backsplash along that entire window wall can look, I'm open to exploring this. (thanks for that mock-up!)

Also - I really love the cabinet run where my fridge/oven is. (and by the way - the new double oven will move up to meet that top cabinet - that large empty space will be gone. A warming drawer will go beneath.)

So much to consider.

Dreamkitchen -

The drawer cabinet under the current cooktop is 30" The cabinet to the left is 40"

I think dreamkitchen has a good idea. Those sizes would work great for switching if you can do something about the cabinet to the right of the cooktop. Not sure what that one is - is a corner base of some sort or a single cabinet? If a corner base maybe it could be reworked so you can shorten it some and also make it accessible from the other side of the bar to not loose the storage, but allow you to center the 40" cabinet with a cook top.

I actually like your original idea of painting them white. Yes they look nice as they are now, but you seem to like white kitchens. Or you could compromise and keep the lowers as wood and just paint the uppers to lighten things up and not have to worry about matching stain. You could keep the fridge/oven side all wood too. OR you could take the left side (if facing into kitchen from family room) and make that into a hutch looking area and paint just those. BTW if you paint just a portion - no need to limit yourself to white. I think you have a great kitchen that will be fabulous when you're done.

Edited: BTW I have raised panels in my 8 year old house. We are looking for land now and I would use raised panel again, but will likely do painted then. Easier to clean to me with painted (I have the same cabinets painted in the baths) and also find the raised panels easier to wipe clean than the straight edge on shaker - had those in my old house in a bath.

The cab to the right of cooktop is a corner, lazy susan.

I think I may need to hire a decorator - someone to come over, look at my downstairs as a whole - and make sure I'm not getting myself into something that isn't going to flow with the rest of the house.

Once it's done - I'd hate to look at the other rooms and realize that they need to be changed too!

I thought about painting the wet bar the same as the island.

Can you make your island larger and add storage to it to make up for removing the wall cabinets?

I already have quite a bit of storage in the island. We plan to extend the top so it overhangs 12". Any larger and we have clearance issues between the island and fridge wall (it's already on the tight side)

I'd love to have a more custom-looking island - so maybe I'll see if they can come up with legs or corbels for under the overhang so it looks more custom. (unfortunately, not in the budget for a new one)

I'm so glad you're pausing to consider your project more fully. If it's in the budget and you can find a good one, I think hiring a decorator to help ensure that what you're doing fits with the rest of your home is a great idea. You could also post more photos of other rooms here, especially views into the kitchen from those rooms, and I'm sure you'll get some great feedback. You might also want to post over at the Home Decorating forum for input. Some of the folks there, who don't tend to hang out here in the Kitchen forum, have great taste and amazing suggestions.

I'm so glad my mock-up has helped you see more possibilities for your kitchen.

I love benjebride's suggestion of adding another window (and her mock-up).

Dream Kitchen has a great suggestion of how to rework the base cabs so that you can do your 36" cook top. Hopefully, your base cabs are individual units so that you can move them about easily.

Yes, I would paint the wet bar the same as the island. That gives you the opportunity to reconfigure the island to give you more clearance between island and fridge wall (reduce width) and add cabs to lengthen it to make up for the lost upper cab storage and reduced island width.

I would not add seating to the island. You already have peninsula seating plus your island is only wide enough for 1 seat (you'd need a minimum of 48" width for 2 seats).

I'd use some of the savings from not painting the perimeter cabs to purchase a MW drawer and put it in the island across from the fridge wall.

I'd have a new upper made for the wet bar so that all uppers are the same height (assuming there isn't a bar sink at the right end; can't tell from pics). What do you store in the wet bar uppers? If glassware, eliminate the uppers' center panels and replace it with glass.

As for whether to go with one counter choice or two, I'm biased. I did 2 different cab finishes and 2 different counters in my kitchen and love it. I think your kitchen is large enough to do the same. Getting a designer's guidance is a good idea so that it all coordinates.

btw, I also think your kitchen would look lovely with the same counter everywhere.

Have you considered choosing a different color than white for the painted cabs? You mentioned navy above so perhaps you'd like a soft gray-blue? Or maybe a creamy-beige?

Here's a kitchen with stained perimeter and creamy yellow island:

Ireland in CT · More Info

Here's a kitchen with a gray-blue island and stained perimeter cabs (one side only, others are white), light counters and wood floors.

Franklin Ave. · More Info

I'll keep looking for more examples for you. In the meantime, I'll post a pic of my kitchen with stained perimeter cabs and an island and hutch in a color other than white. (if you want to see more, here's my reveal)

I am not suggesting that you do what I did. I'm only showing it because, as you noted, there is a predominance of white perimeter and stained island kitchens out there; finding examples of other options isn't easy.

The best way to choose new counters is to visit a showroom and look at quartz choices. There are quite a few lovely, quietly-patterned quartzes on the market.

Ask your cab maker/painter about how quickly the newly exposed cab face will age to blend in after you install new hardware. I suspect that difference will be a fairly temporary issue but I don't know for sure.

Funky - I have two decorators coming over this week for a consultation. Both are recommended from friends. I actually have been in one of the decorator's homes as she had it in our town’s Housewalk tour a couple of years ago.

Lisa - a couple things:

1: The window to the right of the cooktop is not desirable - as the view is into our neighbor’s yard and it’s not all that great.

2: Unfortunately changing the island is not in the budget - and I’m concerned that ripping it out will result in having to make floor repairs. So the microwave suggestion, while a good one, won’t work.

3: The reason why we like the idea of an overhang is that when we are eating dinner in the kitchen, my husband will often pull up a chair to that end of the island and just eat there. The island is 40x64

~ we don’t have a breakfast nook as we use that space for a sitting area instead. We eat most of our family meals in the DR - but would like a proper place for at least one stool (no back) to tuck against the island

4: As for wet bar - yes there is a sink there. We are turning that area into a coffee station - Espresso maker and coffee maker will go there. The microwave will go in the space below the right cab. (wine glasses hang there now)

5: I will need to decide if all glass there will be practical for us. If we lose the uppers on the hood wall - then all of my glassware will need to go over to the wet bar. I have some very pretty glassware - and then some not so much (ie. cutesy coffee mugs with my kids artwork on them that we use all the time - and other mis-matched things)

Thank you for posting those photos. And also for your kitchen photos! What an incredible transformation. I love your color choices - and your storage in your cabinets is enviable! booze and drugs - brilliant!

Everything works so well together - and gives me confidence that if I go with two different countertops, my stained wood cabinets and painted island - that it won’t be “too much”.

I'll be emailing my painter with more questions. Hopefully she won't shoot me.

so glad you are taking the suggestions. I certainly don't hate painted cabinetry by any stretch. I just think as others have mentioned there are so many other things you could do to improve your space besides painting all the wood cabinets when the wood is the prettiest element in the room. Doing a mixture is the best idea and will make it look more modern. adding glass to uppers is also a good idea to bounce light around and not have things exposed. I also put grasscloth inside my cabs when I put the glass doors on to have another texture peeking through.

Sounds like you are on the right track and I like the idea of having your stool close by. makes sense to me. Good luck and I can't wait to see what you end up with. please post pictures!!!

I actually just installed a brand new kitchen and I did a combination of raised panels on my kitchen island with shaker style doors (with an added detailed inner and outer edge) on all my cabinetry and it looks amazing! If your cabinetry is still in really good shape, I would just have it sprayed and I'm sure you will love it!

Oops, missed your response.

Good point about possible floor repair. Might only require sanding and refinishing that one area but you never know until you remove the island.

Don't forgot to look at obscure glass choices for the uppers for your proposed coffee bar area. The glass will bounce light around while hiding, in varying degrees, what's behind the doors.

Thanks for your compliments about my kitchen. It was 7 1/2yrs in the planning stage but it was worth the wait. =)

PS I'm green with envy about your proposed coffee bar.

Re your original question, I use slab cab fronts as I favor modern.

I scanned through and didn't see the stacked boxes addressed by anyone here. Did the person building the boxes do a drawing for you?

When you do stacked cabinets, they should be proportional. I think KDs here have said it's something like 1/3 to 2/3. How much space is between the cabinets and ceiling with crown removed? It looks like maybe 12"?

May - yes, it's 12. My upper cabs range from 30" - 42"

Coffee bar - 2 are 42, one is 30

Fridge wall - 2 are 30" one is 42"

If cabs come down on the cooktop wall, that won't be an issue.

Have you tried rubbing a walnut meat (or walnut husk if you have any trees nearby) over the areas that were under the handles? Sometimes that can hide variations due to scratches or repairs -- it might work here too.

Back when we were still considering a kitchen face lift over a complete remodel, we also looked into adding a cab in the 12" tall space between our 42" tall upper cabs and the ceiling. I hated dusting up there! We planned to use the new cabs for display (glass doors). The cab maker talked us out of it, explaining that we wouldn't get the full 12" to use; we'd have somewhere between 7-8" left to use once we subtracted out the thickness for the cab top and bottom (3/4" thick plywood) and the height of the crown molding above the new cab. That's not the height of the glass door, that's the opening; the glass portion would be about half that. It would have looked out of scale with the space and the original cabs, plus, we'd be limited to short items, which are hard to see that high up.

Now if our cabs were 36" tall and we had 18" above the uppers, it would have been doable.

IOW, the idea sounds great but the execution likely won't be what you see in all the pretty kitchen pics. The height of the area occupied by upper cabs and crown in this kitchen is close to 18", the cab itself is 12" to 14" tall (per the builder). There's not much glass; you'd have even less than this.

Custom Kitchens · More Info

IMO, you're better off with a tall fascia with a round bead at the bottom and a crown at the top to fill the space. It will also be cheaper.

Here are a few pics to help you visualize this.

Country Kitchen - Classic Farmhouse · More Info

Painted Kitchen · More Info

Mill Valley Classic Cottage · More Info

This might be a totally crazy idea but since you're strongly leaning towards painting the island and coffee bar, perhaps it might work.

Ask your cab maker if it would be possible to use a couple of doors or drawer fronts from the island and coffee bar to build fascia/faux panels for above the fridge/oven cabs. The existing crown will be reused and moved up to the ceiling. That way you won't have to worry about getting the stain to match. The cab maker can make new doors/drawer fronts for the coffee bar and island. Once painted, I'll bet you'll never know that they weren't original.

The area above the fridge/oven wall is a relatively small area so while it's a labor intensive solution, it might be one worth exploring.

May -- now I'm thinking I should just build up the crown -- I did a search here on GW and came up with some good ideas.

One is to add frieze board to the top of the cabinets - and then build the crown from there.

I don't really need the storage space (as far as the cabinets are concerned) They were just going to do a small, astragal trim piece -- as I don't have crown molding in the kitchen and attached family room (see my photos above)

Lisa -- Thank you so much. This is great info. And it makes a ton of sense.

In my own search I saw your photo #2… and all the others are super helpful.

Here's another issue: I don't have any crown in my kitchen or family room (they open up to one another) and I don't want to add it. Not for $$ reasons, just b/c it won't look right in my FR.

So - if I go with what you are suggesting - how do I handle the size of the molding? I'll continue to try to find samples.

Also -- we've gone back to painting the cabs. here is what our painter said with regard to building up the cabs and matching stain to our cabs:

"Although I like the design scheme, I don’t think it’s the right choice for multiple reasons. Mostly, cherry is a tricky species of wood. It is photoactive which means that exposure to light changes the color of the wood itself over time (regardless of being finished). This is exactly what you are seeing on the cabinet door where you removed the pull. It’s not an easy fix, and something we only ever do on a Time & Material basis. Further, although we could match new cabinetry to the existing finish today, the new cabinetry would also shift color over time, so that the match would not remain consistent."

She said that we could move forward with your suggestion (keep wood, change counters and backsplash, paint island and coffee bar) but we would have to keep the hardware, or find something that would cover the fading spots. Also, I couldn't have my 36" cooktop. Plus - I scoured the internet for photos of cherry cabs with painted islands. I did not like (at all) cream/white islands with the darker wood cabs. And I don't want to go black, b/c the purpose for this remodel is to lighten things up.

At this point, I really need to figure out this upper cabinet! They are coming out again to measure for the custom cabinet boxes this week. She's gonna hate me for changing my mind…. again!

Ironically, the decorator I met with the other day just emailed me an mentioned the same thing about those upper cabinet boxes. Said she'd been thinking about them and wasn't sure they would work.

I saw that right away and figured someone would bring it up. No one did so I thought I better post.

I don't have crown molding in the rooms open to my kitchen and it looks fine with my cabinets that go to the ceiling.

I think you saved me, May!

OP: if the stained cabs in your first post are yours, there is no way I would paint or remove them. They are gorgeous! I went with white shaker style cabs but I never envisioned any other style or color for this particular kitchen. I still love the raised panel/traditional door styles.

I read a while back that when the economy isn't doing that great, design becomes 'less is more' (simple shaker style). Don't know how true that is though

Mags -

I don't hate my cabinets. I think they are very pretty. but there are other things I want to change - and if I keep the cabs, I won't be able to do so. namely upgrading from my 30" to a 36" cooktop, and getting new hardware. This is a really long thread, and I've outlined a lot of pros and cons throughout it.

Because of cabinet discoloration issues with my current hardware, I'd have to keep it. (pictures are above)

I got very excited about the prospect of keeping the wood based on some GW suggestions - and painting the island - but I really don't like the look of a light island with dark perimeter cabs. And I don't want a black island with the stained cabs.

Keeping the cabs as is poses too many obstacles as far as the things I want to do and the look I want to acheive.

I have tried to make these cabinets work "in my head" - but at the end of the day, I really want to paint them white.

I think you are making the right decision, they will look amazing in white!

Thanks DC & Isabel.

I'm having the island painted black - rub through to show the stain.

I'm not going super white with cabs - but not cream either. Need to make several large color boards of different whites.

Not keeping black. But not quite sure about counters. I know I want light -- some contenders are:

I have actual stone samples of both of these -- #1 looks pretty true to color on the screen, but #2 is reading pinkish, and it's not.

My island will be black - but not absolute black, color is called ebony. I would like to do some shade of blue for backsplash - which will be a focal point. But need some help with this -- most of the white kitchens with white marble or quartz countertops I see on Houzz have white backsplash.

I like these looks:

Contemporary Lighting + Classic Design · More Info

San Jose Res 2 · More Info

The second photo's cabs are too white for me.

The first makes me happy. :) -- plus, I have the same color floors as #1, so I'm taking that into consideration too.

I have three small samples of cabinet color (about 6"x8") - but know I need larger ones.

I've placed them all in various areas of the kitchen so I can see how they change throughout the day, based on lighting etc.

It is exciting but overwhelming at the same time.

beautiful ideas. going to be special.

Now it's just keeping within my budget!

Sounds like you have your heart set on white cabinets, so go for it. Marble counters are gorgeous, if you can accept re-honing and sealing every year or so - or if the etching just won't bother you. There are countless back splashes that you could do. I love the sea foam greenish color of the back splash in your second photo; there is a closeup of this same kitchen on Houzz that will give you a better view of it. I also recently saw a back splash done in a pale grey-blue glass subway-shaped tile recently (definitely "read" on the blue side, not too grey) and it looked gorgeous; that was with wood cabinets, but it would look beautiful with white, too. There are a lot of beautiful glass tiles available. Another option is to do solid glass backed by any color you choose.

Masby - Yes - I agree that some of the grey read blue. I don't want baby blue - so it will be a little tricky. I liked this from quintessenza. I've seen it in person and it's really pretty

Did anyone suggest removing the cabs on the range wall and using only a decorative hood? I think that would open the kitchen up so much. You might not mind the cherry so much when it's just the perimeter and the base cabs. You'd only have those two short cabinet runs that don't go to the ceiling, which you might be able to live with, or you could build up the crown to fill some of the space--not 12" of course. Change the counter to a light color and paint the island.

May - we already thought of that.

Problem is this:

I would not be able to upgrade from a 30 - 36" cooktop (which is a priority for me) and I wouldn't be able to change out the hardware (due to discoloration beneath the existing) -- I wanted something more transitional and longer.

I also don't know if I could live without that cabinet.

As far as building up the crown with existing cabinets, my painter won't do that. She said she could certainly match the stain, but over time, I'd have a fading problem with the new crown - as it would fade at a different rate as the existing. I appreciated her honesty.

Lastly, after looking at thousands of photos - I really don't like a light painted island paired with dark cabinets (it's usually the other way around) and I don't really want a black island, because I'm trying to get away from so much dark.

At the end of the day, if we were to gut our kitchen, we would do it as the current plan.

Believe me -- we have looked at a dozen different options, combinations of options etc.
I wish that would work - b/c it would certainly help the budget.

I do appreciate all of your suggestions! It's truly been helpful. :)

IKEA Bodbyn = raised panels

Comes in white and grey.

The only issue with raised panels is that cleaning them is more of a problem, especially where grease and dirt accumulate. I've "cleaned off" the paint in parts of my raised panel white kitchen cabinets

Sorry, jp, I didn't mean to make you repeat all that stuff. I had read some of the first posts and knew the gist of your plans. I should have scrolled back about the hood but I didn't want to hunt through all the replies. I do remember Lisa's mock-up now but didn't study it at the time.

So with your 36" cooktop, you'll need a 42" hood, so how does that affect the cabinet to its right? Chimney hoods always look best with ample spacing from the cabinets--3 or more inches. I know it's difficult to get into a cabinet over a peninsula, especially yours with the doors opening the opposite way than they should.

Could you change a base cabinet to one with drawers to accommodate what's in that cabinet? Almost everything stored in a cabinet can be made to work in drawers.

Are you just chopping the top off the pony wall? I would have them remove it, frame it out and panel it. That's what we did, though we added 12" deep cabinets on the back instead of seating.

That's ok. Writing it out actually help me confirm that this is what I really want to do! :)

As for the cooktop. We are going with 36 hood over 36" cooktop. I've looked at a ton of photos - and see both (42 over 36 and 36 over 36)

Check this out:

Trish Namm · More Info

The Savannah Showhome (Calgary, Alberta) · More Info

Here is that space now:

This is what we discussed yesterday.

For the window wall:

Remove entire upper section. Install 36 inch chimney hood over 36 inch cooktop. Tile all the way to ceiling. Have a cabinet made the same width as the window. Cabinet would come down to counter.

She will be sending me a mock up, but this may help to envision…. See photo below

Imagine the cabinet on the left goes all the way to the counter. Hood will be centered between cabinet and window -- leaving roughly 3 1/2 inch space on either side of the widest part of the hood, so tile will be exposed.

Reason for taking the cabinet to the counter is two-fold.

1: symmetry with window

2: the lower part of the cabinet will have an appliance garage of sorts. With this "new" kitchen, I'd like to have a less cluttered look. Behind that door will be my knife block, olive oil and salts -- things I use every day when I cook. When cooking, door is open to access those items. When not cooking, items are hidden away.

Example of the cabinet with appliance door:

What do you mean about the pony wall?

Your drywalled raised bar. It's a little "builder basic" for today's kitchens. My viewpoint is if I recognize something that was in my home that was built in 1998, it's builder basic! We removed our pony wall and butted 12" cabinets up to the back of our kitchen-side cabinets. In your case, they'd frame it and cover with panels, including a larger end panel to cover the frame. We used two panels for our end cap because the peninsula is 36" wide.

You will find very strong arguments here for changing to a 42" hood. I won't get into it though. What will be the width of the new counter cabinet? You really need a hinged-right single cabinet there. I'd have her draw it up that way so you can visualize it.

Just measured and I can to the 42". However, there won't be space for tile to show at the widest part of the hood. The widest part will go flush touch the window and touch the cabinet.

Total rough sketch. 42" chimney over 36" cooktop.

I didn't have time to show the subway tile up to the ceiling.

I wonder if I can to a glass cabinet at the top of the cabinet to mimic the transom on the window? I can adjust the size of the appliance garage cabinet. It just needs to be tall enough to house my knife block.

I skipped over some posts, so hopefully I'm not repeating....

What about doing tuxedo cabinets?

As for pony wall, I have this to contend with:

I'm not sure how to deal with this part - where the wall extends. I can tell you that I don't want to rip that out - and then have the floor to deal with. One thing leads to another and leads to another.

The designer I met with last week had a similar recommendation. But then we realized the floor situation.

I found this photo -- I will show them…. maybe we can make it work:

Palmetto Bluff - Private Residence · More Info

Designer was talking about something like this:

Classic White Kitchen · More Info

I'll have to see how much this will cost. I've already doubled our original budget of just painting and new appliances.

"2: The pull issue is still in question. The holes in my cabinets are 3" apart - but if you look at my photo above, you can see the fading. (the pulls extend beyond where the holes are) I don't know if the painter can do anything without striping them. I like hardware like this — but even if there was not fading issue, these particular ones wouldn't work b/c they don't come in 3" whole spacing."

This site allows you to use the search function by selecting your pull size (center to center) then you can select a pull you like and look at the length of the pull. Select a pull with 3" centers but a length long enough to cover the faded areas.

As an example..I have used this pull and it is a beautiful pull. It has 3" centers but is 4 5/8" long. How long is your faded area?

https://www.thehardwarehut.com/catalog-product.php?p_ref=269021#productOption2

My pull is virtually the same size. I really want to use more transitional pulls -- like this:

Qualicum Beach Residence · More Info

I did a search last week and found a couple that are the bar shape - with 3" spreads that are 5" in length. I thought about ordering one or two to see if they cover it. They don't sit flush, though - so looking straight on it may be ok. But from an angle, it may not look so good.

Here's one - it has a 1 3/8" projection. Won't know unless I try.

Jpmom...my opinion is worth only what it cost you ;-)

but, I think the bar pulls are somehow not right for your lovely raised panel cabinets.

I appreciate that, Red. I love the "look" -- however, I've been talked into and out of a lot of things via this forum. :)

.

I'll keep an open mind. If you have any suggestions, I'm all ears!.

I love the "look" too, exactly, as a matter of fact ;)

Yep! That's the look! Beautiful kitchen.