Are you painting them yourself? I ask because you said that's all you have the budget for. a proper pro cabinet painter should charge in the 4K-6K range for your kitchen. if someone is doing it for 1500, I wouldn't let them touch it. I guarantee within 6 months it will chip. for 3-4K, you can have all your countertops and splash demoed and have new stone put in. you have to know how and where to shop. you actually could get pre-fab marble countertops for about 450 - 500 for each 9' slab. find a fabricator to cut and install them for you (another 800-1200 or so) . they even have pre fab quartz I can give you explicit directions on how to paint those cabs if you want,,,it will take you a month or so, but if saving thousands in order to get your countertop is worth it,,,then do it. if not, just wait and save for both. down the road you can have your flooring refinished with more of brown/walnut tone that would look beautiful w/the white and marble. your kitchen will never look like your inspiration because of the type of cabinets and layout you have,,,but it can be white and marble w/it's own modern type of look. throw in some black, a little industrial lighting, some natural wood accents, and you can get it close to a modern farmhouse.

Go for a more natural light wood look. The grey/white washed won't age well and will only contribute to the washed out look. Something that is a little warmer will work better.

Thank you SJ! This is a bugger for me... no doubt. It was easy when we considered white cabinetry. I do like the large tile look. But the area is open concept with living dining and kitchen. I’m concerned the tile ‘look‘ may seem cold and uninviting. I’ll consider it, but a vinyl important. Seems whatever vinyl wood flooring I look at seems to clash or competes with the RC white oak cabinetry. Very seldom do I find a combination I like. It has to be the right tone, right wood (oak doesn’t do it for me); doesn’t take the limelight away with too much visible grain and knots; but still needs a bit of character. Below are pics that seem to work for me.

Not just "a light" but ALL LIGHTS. That's what you do when adding a floor that will be darker than the white/light gray you already have. You have very dark furniture which means a very light floor is a something that will help set off the furniture and keep the space very light. The cabinets have a STRONG red base to them. But the counters have a strong GOLD tone to them. Sigh. This one is going to be tough. Usually you would keep in the same colour tones as your cabinetry...but that would mean you would end up with a light pink wood. Not attractive. Or you work with something that has the same tones as the counter top = gold. BUT gold can CLASH with red/cherry tones. Oh dear. Now you are in a pickle. The cabinets could handle a gray floor but the COUNTER TOPS will not. Hmmmmm....what to do what to do. When are you going to change ANYTHING in the kitchen? Do you like the counter tops?