here is another view

What is your counter top made of now?

it is corian

Lisay- I really like your counter top, and it looks to be in perfect condition.

Your kitchen cabinets are beautiful, too.

The gray paint color in the kitchen really makes the place look gloomy,

I think if you changed the paint color in your kitchen to be more in the white family it would improve things a lot.

There are some paint color mavens here that can give you some great suggestions of pain that will go with your exact color of Corian. Please list the name.

As for backsplash, if you feel you need one, why don't you use Corian Rain Cloud.

It looks like marble but with all the easy maintenance of Corian.

Also, you could get under cabinet lighting if you don't already have that, and get different light bulbs for your recessed fixtures that will give you more light and cooler light.

Maybe try a Calcutta marble look alike. They typically have some warmer tones mixed in with the white and grey.

What about Calacatta Gold? It has some warmer tones but also white and gray.

lisay6666-

There is a real advantage to have that raised counter-

It conceals a lot of kitchen prep mess from guests in the dining and living room areas.

It keeps people sitting at the counter (presumably children) from touching food and (sharp) utensils on the kitchen counter that are being used in meal preparation.

Please re-think getting rid of the upper level.

What is the current color of Corian, do you know?

the corian color is Midnight. I do really like love corian with the integrated sink. It has held up beautifully after 20 years. I just really wanted to brighten the look of the kitchen with a more updated look. As for the bar overhang, I feel lowering it would open up the kitchen area and make it more practical. The higher barstools have always been a pain too. But I do appreciate your input and I will take your suggestions in consideration. I looked at the rain cloud in corian and I really do like that a lot.

I like the Calcutta selection above to the right is something similar. Best of Luck.

Your cabinets look beautiful! My aunt installed arctic white Corian with her cherry cabinets in the early 90s. I don’t think it’s ever looked dated and the surface is still in fantastic shape.

i second what loobab said about the raised counter hiding kitchen clutter, unless you’re neat and clean as you go. I have that little raised bit by the sink to hide my mess while I eat. If all you want is an updated look, what about a tile backsplash, new wall color and hardware?

If you want quartz look at Corian Quartz Calacatta Natura, or Valente Pearl

I like cherry cabinets with a white quartz. In fact, that's what I chose for my own kitchen, when doing it from scratch! :)

New Kitchen 2016 -- wall 1 after · More Info

New Kitchen 2016 -- wall 2 after · More Info

Anyway, another option to getting a marble-look counter at twice the price and then beating your head against the backsplash choices...

Thank you so much for all the suggestions. I have a lot to think about. If I did keep my current corian and I wanted to put a full backsplash of some kind of subway tile, what color would you suggest? I like the large glass subway tiles.

Is your 4" backsplash integrated or bonded to the countertop or is it a separate piece?

I consider myself a messy cook and always wait until I am finished to clean up my mess/dirty dishes; but, seriously, how messy can cooking and clean-up get?!?

I would make that overhang one level without thinking twice. It is a more modern look, gives a huge prep space, counter-height stools are more comfortable to sit at for young and old, and people sitting at the counter will not feel like a barrier is in front of them when talking to those in the kitchen.

You are going to lose your outlets when you make the top one level unless you put in pop-up outlets in the counter.

These are tints (white added) of the color pulled from the countertop itself in the two general areas. You can see that it seems warmer on the left than on the right.

I realize the countertop is black with white and gray particles, but it reads as a grey overall. I don't know that I would introduce another color, I would probably look for a medium light gray tile if you keep the existing countertops

I'll add another vote for making your counter all one height. It will make your kitchen seem more open and larger.

I took one of Palimpset's rectangles and tried to make it into countertops
from your first picture (using Printshop, not Photoshop). Not sure if this is helpful in visualizing, but...

This is the sink side using a marbelized pattern in the program. Again, I hope it does not dissuade you from using something like a marblized pattern because of my novice attempt.

I would take out the two cabinets to the left of the sink, make the whole deal one height. It will really open it up, you have nice natural light beyond, let som in

Hey lisay6666 did you ever get new countertops? I know this thread is 5years old, but I have same color cabinets (natural cherry) and am going through similar experience - deciding on floor and countertops! Share a picture of what your kitchen looks like now !