You have a lot of space, it's just not working very well, esp those little lips that pass for work spaces. If you could really re-do the entire space cost effectively, that would be best, not only for now but for longterm. Can you give us a good idea of what you have in budget and how much DIY you can expend? And where you are in the nation--climate, costs, labor, etc? One problem with planning on finding antiques and useful castoffs is that you will find them a week after you quit your search and commit to a plan B. Doesn't sound as if you have the luxury of time to collect useful stuff. I like to think that our G-shaped kitchen is somewhat like a farm kitchen. We can have 4 working cooks inside without saying "excuse me." We got new oak "shaker" cabinetry by a local guy at $8,000-10,000 and $3500 for finish and installation--you can avoid much of this if you re-use your oldies and work in some additional ones or perhaps just doors, trims, etc. We had to put in new floor and walls and plumbing and electrical fittings and had to marry three wood floors and accompanying walls, which was a big expenditure in time and money. You're in a better position--not making new spaces. As you note, you don't need to follow all the fanciest choices--we sure didn't for much of our project. I like the idea of Ikea butcherblock (we have two hunks of this in beech) but don't discount the new laminate countertops either. Don't feel the need to buy new appliances right now--you can leave standard spaces and swap out your stuff later. That's what we did--hard to trash or sell a 4 yr old Energy Star refrig so we didn't put it into a custom housing. When it dies or someone decides to trade it out, it can go. We have very modest appliances; affordable white enamel in sinks and appliances. If the old cabs are salvageable, it's possible to get doors to match new units. Or give your plain slab fronts a custom paint treatment, perhaps paint with one color and add a distinctive recurrent stencil motif along the bottoms of doors or such in a complimentary color. Then if the other new unit doors are similar, the motif can be used to make them match more. It's very important to plan for the young people when they become adults, or at least adult in physical presence. What will grown up women feel like in the space--you and a subordinate or co-cook? That collision potential was the worst aspect of our old kitchen and the best part of our better planned new space. I actually like other people better in an efficient kitchen than in an inefficient kitchen, or put it another way, my old kitchen made me dislike my own family sometimes. On one of my constant tirade topics, I recommend pullout breadboards/cutting boards to expand work surfaces and plunk space. Are your countertops less than 24 inches at present or do they just seem narrow? Eliminating the 1-inch backsplash at back give you another inch of room on counter. What amp electrical service do you have and how extensive will the work be to bring everything to code if it's not there already? Will you be opening up any exterior walls? If so, insulate, insulate, insulate. Even if it costs. Since you have marked that you are moving the sink, give yourself permission to really redo the room arrangement--you're committed to plumbing costs already. Strongly urge you to visit the paint counter each time you are in a store--ask about "mistake paint." One of our vendors gives it away; others ask $5 per gallon. This stuff might give you the freedom to paint insides of cabs & closets, clean up stained areas, etc. You can try some experiments with it too. Consider a movable work/island cart as a way to expand efficiency. If the floor cleans up but still looks sad, consider stencil painting a design on it, perhaps in a classic folk motif if that's your taste. Or just checks, stripes, rectangles for rugs, whatever. There are a lot of examples to look at and a wise pattern can reinforce or define a room's visual layout--walkpaths, work zones, etc.

I wouldn't like the counters and as a buyer would start looking at how much else I would have to replace in the kitchen. The reductions in offer prices will be more than counters. Something needs to change before you put it on the market, so you might swell make a short term change and get to enjoy it in the mean time. Counters are the most obvious because they are fighting the wall color -- maybe the floor too, and they are not what people are used to seeing on white cabinets these days. Wall color would also help, but I'm seeing the colors differently on my monitor than the poster above. I'd be looking at a green to an aqua, but I may be seeing it wrong. There is a hybrid of these two fixes -- paint or coating for laminate counters. I've seen it on TV and I think at Lowe's (which means Home Depot and paint stores probably have versions too). Maybe you can cover the counters with a dark grey or black and do nothing else -- probably less than $100. It probably isn't a long term solution, but I bet it would get you through a year or two. IKEA butcher block is another possibility for a lower cost counter solution. Maybe a combination -- butcher block on the island/peninsula and a dark color on the remainder?

More pictures are here! The house is almost done and things are starting to get cleaned up. Now it is very easy to see the countertops (although I wish I had cleared all of the junk off of them before taking these photos.) And you can see the total kitchen-- minus the fridge and microwave in their little nooks. I'll do a true reveal thread once it is completely functional, but for now this thread will have my sneak peek reveal. :) The BS is grouted and all is in order. This picture shows the hood that started this whole thread in all it's glory. I feel like I should carve "GW" in the hood somewhere as a testament to how this website made it possible. :) A closeup of the backsplash. Daltile Modern Dimensions subway 4 1/4" x 12 3/4". And the ledge we built into the wall behind the range run. The stove is the GE cafe dual fuel range with baking drawer. The view from the dining room. I want to change that outlet cover to match the island because it's an eyesore right now. A view from the pantry of the entire kitchen. The counters are Caesarstone piatra grey on the perimeter and frosty carrina on the island. Obviously missing the barstools-- if anyone has an opinion about what those should be, please speak up! That's it. I close with one last huge THANK YOU. There are a few of you who were helpful from the moment I first appeared on here with a dysfunctional floorplan right up until I figured out how to get exactly what I wanted. You know who you are and please know that I am sending so much sincere love and appreciation your way. I hope that people stumble across this thread and read it and realize the power that GW can have with it's collective wisdom and creative and collaborative problem solving. I keep thinking that if I had let my hurt feelings from people critiquing my original floorplan convince me to stay off of GW, my whole first floor and kitchen would be different. Thank goodness I decided to put on my big girl pants and stick around for the long haul!!

I spent some time perusing the Barker cabinet websites, and could actually order new uppers and doors for lowers for an acceptable price, already painted, and then paint the rest (frames, etc) to match, and keep the hutch as is as a kind of separate piece. But I admit that I am nervous about doing it all like that, without someone helping to design the little things--fillers, crown moulding, boxing in the frig, etc. I wonder if I could find a contractor willing to work with me and with Barker. That's what I would do. Someone here used Scherr's and got a lot of hand-holding. Even if you got all new cabinets, your upper layout wouldn't change much unless you removed the double oven, widened the window, or moved the fridge. Since you can't do any of those things, I'd replace the uppers now and fix their issues instead of throwing good money after bad with new doors. Bring the cabs to the ceiling. Use a chimney hood or a panel over a vent hood so you're not spending $400-500 on a useless over-hood cabinet. Replace the diagonal cabinet with a straight cabinet. I guarantee you that you will sometimes prep between sink and stove despite the DW, but at least eliminate the in-your-face cabinet. Add side panels to the fridge. I'd do what Lisa suggested and use a standard 12" cabinet but leave it open for cookbook and decorative display, just to lighten the look there by the window. I would use the three drawers in the island for dish storage to make unloading the DW and plating food on the island easier. I would also want to make the island look less like a plain box plunked down in the middle. Is there any way you can build out the back and dining room side of the island with shelves or shallow cabinets and put a furniture base molding on three sides? Or at lease add Shaker panels to the back and sides? That means new countertop and I'd use a light colored granite or quartz for everything.