here is a couple of things that come to mind and are all my opinion 1- keep the oak. I replaced my fake oak with maple and it dings/dents like crazy. I am less than thrilled! in my defense my cabinets were not in great shape so replacing was my goal. I now wish I had gone with oak again 2- before you attempt to gel stain, use a bathroom cabinet as a trial. I stain a lot as we do tons of unfinished wood furniture and I find gel stain miserable to work with. I stick with minwax or another liquid stain. if your are a novice at staining wood, painting may be easier. also if your doors have a center veneer panel vs solid wood, I doubt it will take the stain well if at all. 3- I like your layout(kind of) the L shape gives you lots of prep between stove and sink so that's great. the fridge is a little awkward but not terrible. so getting new appliance would make a huge difference to the cook. 4- if you are concerned about budget, an expensive range hood may be too much especially if someone has to come in to create a vent to the outside. it is not popular here but I kept my otr micro that does not vent outside (for budget and convenience) and I like it just fine. I will say that I do not cook meat on the stove top so that can make a difference. 5- I love the orb/dark granite someone posted and it would give the oak a whole new look. plus you can always paint/stain them later so just chaining faucet,hardware and counter can be done first good luck!

I like light airy colors that lean toward grey. In addition to Paladian Blue and Edgecomb Gray, my bedroom and office is done in Accessible Beige. (in my home, Edgecomb Gray looks like a slightly lighter shade of Accessible Beige). My bathroom is SW Rainwashed with BM Pale Oak cabinets. I'd like to stay in this same basic color pallet. I just don't know how to pull it all together in my kitchen. (it's the last room I have to finish.) It's the cabinet colors that are giving me trouble. I want light cabinets but not bright white and nothing that looks yellow. There is very little trim on the walls with the cabinets but I want there to be enough difference in the color so that it looks intentional.

Looking for objective kitchen cabinet reviews. I’m looking for good mid priced cabinets.

I did the basic white in the Essence line for the perimeter cabinets. The island and hood are the Unique line in Summer Storm. I needed to use Unique for the hood because there were more style choices.