Hi Mags, they are on the same swatch as Gray Owl, but these colors are not the same as colors in other collections with descending chips showing greater saturations of the same hue. If you look at the top chip on the swatch, November Rain, it's almost taupe. The chips at the bottom aren't increasingly saturated, they're less brown, completely different colors. It's a little confusing. I hate it when they deviate from the rules... I have a few samples myself. I bought three samples before I found the right color for my family room walls. I hit the cabinet paint colors on the first try. You just never know. It's worth it to find the right color, and by the way, I'm sure your contractor loves you if he's painted that wall three times already. The single most confounding outstanding variable will be lighting (warm or cool LEDs), so if you want to wait for UCL to be installed, that's reasonable. But if possible, check out the cabinet color and the paint color together in daylight before you take home another sample. If they don't harmonize in the same light, they're not going to look good in your space. Good luck and don't forget to show us what you pick!

Frameless design or full overlay cabbinets have been around for decades. There is nothing ''wrong'' with the design of the cabinets. It's a poor counter fabricator who relies on having old fashioned partial overlay cabinets to bail him out of a substandard counter install. And if he actually installed counters on those cabinets with Liquid Nails as the OP says, then he isn't a pro, and deserves to learn the hack's lesson to get educated, or get out of the business. He should replace the cabinets and counters. If he won't do that, then he needs to not get paid anything, plus have complaints lodged publicly and professionally. If he's even licensed, which I would suspect not. The next victim down the line would appreciate you giving this guy the grief he deserves. He owes you. If you won't make the effort to hold him accountable, then you are doing his future customers a disservice by teaching him it's OK to do a crappy job as long as you can get away with it.

orPaint the trim around the door a nice crisp white (use a semi gloss enamel like BM Advance.) Paint the window and trim in the same white. paint your door black or Iron Ore. remove that valance. Replace the cabinet hardware to a matte black or a brushed nickel. try Pale oak on the walls, and two of these others for the trim/door color or for under the window you could do a built in bench against that wall (see pic,,,ignore the L shape. you would just do the single bench against the wall) and find a rectangle table to push up next to the bench. add two chairs for the other side

I agree with LWO--cooktop on the back wall. Also agree about time spent on each kitchen task. (The rest of his post seems a little hyperbolic.) You can then center the sink on the island, and prep to the left, across from the cooktop. The work triangle is contained in an area the size of a normal kitchen ;), and since the sink, DW, and trash pull-out are centered on the island, you have the option to reduce the widths of the drawers on each end, if finding a counter slab that wide proves difficult. I moved the ovens out of the corner (see pic at bottom for possible corner storage options), and drew the cabinets on the back wall deeper than standard, since you have such a wide work aisle. That will also provide more counter space, and if you're using a custom cabinet builder, you can have deeper drawers, for extra storage space. I'd suggest making the bar sink at least 18" wide, so it doubles as a prep sink when you have helpers in the kitchen. I reduced the size of the sink in the butler's pantry, to 18", and added a full-height ROTS pantry unit in there. You could also have a pull-out pantry to the right of the ovens, depending on which corner storage option is chosen. I made the counter deeper in the pantry and omitted the jog to recess the fridge. Cabinet widths are approximate and need to be verified. GW discussions--deeper counters GW discussions--deeper drawers