Sweetstephanie, could you post a few pics of your current kitchen from different angles to show what it looks like now with the LR floor, removed clutter, and new stools? Your photos will bring in the current reality. I also wonder if the realtor used a wide angle lens because your aisles appear greater than 42" in the listing photos. Are all of the aisles only 42"? How do you use your butlers pantry? Could be a great place to charge stuff out of site. Did you install the wainscoting in the music room? Do you have a carpenter to call on for some fixes? It sounds like you'd really like to do a hood, ovens, MW move, and some fridge refinement. If this is essential in your 10 year plan can you draw up a floor plan with accurate measurements? I emphasize this because I think (and understand) that you really want the new counters, but other essentials should happen first. With a carpenter's help you may be able to move some of your cabinetry around to streamline the look and make the appliance changes. Do you want to level out the cab tops? An additional thought is to change out the cabinet crown once cabinet work is done for a more contemporary look and to use some of the above cab space. We've seen some great examples here. Cove lighting would also be nice along with UCL. While you are working on the big decisions, I'd start getting paint decks, paint samples and poster boards to pick your colors. Grays are fun to work with. I chose SW Agreeable Grey as my transitional color that joined my spaces and goes up and down stairways. I have a slightly darker gray and a plum as an accent color. You can have some interesting transitions between your spaces and certainly an accent color. Any plan for repeating the wainscoting in the living room? We don't know what part of the country you live in, but from what you've shown us it looks like your house has good bones and will only benefit from the wise improvements you make. Ten years is a long time as others have pointed out to not be happy in the most important room in the house.

It would be very helpful if you posted something different. Your IKEA layout isn't enough. We need actual measurements of all walls. I suggest hand drawing your kitchen space without cabinets with each wall/window/door/doorway marked and labeled (including trim) as well as the distance between each wall/window/door/doorway. Label where rack l each door/doorway leads. Then, post a sketch of the entire floor so we can see how traffic flows in and around the kitchen. The Layout Help FAQ has a sample layout. (I'll see if I can find one on my phone but if I cannot find one see the FAQ below. How do I ask for Layout Help and what information should I include? http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2767033/how-do-i-ask-for-layout-help-and-what-information-should-i-include

Rather than concentrating on the counter and the small area in kitchen, consider what suits your entire area and decor. I guess you can’t provide pictures of the rooms to get suggestions in this regard. I recently painted a few connecting rooms, including the kitchen, in a creamy white and love it. It’s light/airy, yet warm and feels so modern and fresh. Thought this link might help and suggest BM paint for ease of applying and durability. https://www.kylieminteriors.ca/the-best-cream-paint-colours-benjamin-moore/

Thank you so much for your insight. I can see how the gray might be a good choice. Driftwood has a gray/light brown appearance when looking at the actual sample. I agree with the rendition of the shutters. The shutters are a darker brown but probably photographed redder due to the time of day the photo was snapped. The siding is also looking pinkish in the photo but the beige siding leans yellowish, not pinkish. Taking a photo late in the day probably changed some of the colorings. I agree @Woody Vaughan or Shaun Fogarty that Driftwood would counteract all of the red tones from the brick. Thanks for bringing this to my attention. The brick created many coloring challenges and I can see how the teak would be too strong. I was able to get large samples from the roofing company and the red/orange in the teak popped out which didn't on the smaller brochure sample.