I have the kraftmaid hickory beadboard for the desk area in the new house. I really love it. My only complaint is that the drawer fronts are slab, not 5 peice, which would give it a much more old fashioned feel in keeping with the beadboard. The drawer hardware is blum tandem, which is great, but the doors aren't soft close-- that's OK: it's an easy DIY. My kraftmaid order through HD arrived on time [6 week wait] and all the bits and pieces were as ordered. The hickory cabs are fine, but there is some damage to the finish on a couple of the other units, esp. the cherry [softer wood]. I wouldn't go with Kraftmaid for a whole kitchen. I perfer frameless [more space] kraftmaid is full frame, I like cabs that sit on legs [easier to tweak the plumbing and electric]; kraftmaid has an integral toekick. Of course, Kraftmaid isn't the only maker of hickory cabs. If your concerns are like mine, you may want to keep shopping. And the Kraftmaid hickory isn't especially rustic: there are companies out there that leave a lot more knotholes etc. if you like that sort of thing. But if you don't mind [or even prefer] framed, the hickory bead board really is very, very lovely. And because hickory is so hard [harder than maple, much harder than oak] that I expect it will wear very well-- I've had hickory for about 6 years in my current kitchen, and it is literally like new. The tandem glides are amazing-- I can't get over how easy it is to take the doors in and out.

3/8 step hinges? They pose an issue as the styles and colors are limited. Try Barker Cabinets you can easily make those drawers and doors full overlay which means you would only see the doors no frames. This would give a very clean modern look. If you like slab doors as you have they are very reasonably priced and might shock you that for under $1000 you have a brand new looking kitchen. If not I would sand not strip. Buy a nice random orbital sander and progressive grits from 180-220-400 and your ready for a nice fresh coat of General Finishes clear. By the way that Bar Keepers Friend contains oxalic acid which will also take the stain from the handle off and can also be used to bleach the wood back to new. If you like the tone they are now try repairing the areas that are damaged by sanding and applying amber shellac and then clear coat over what you have with a light sanding. General Finishes Enduro clear also has a slight amber tint to it like old non water based clears. I would not use a water based clear because it will not have the look you want on that species of wood. Good luck!

The fact that your renderings include a cat is adorable. I love the cadet grey all over. You could bring in some brightness by playing with color and reflective/shiny surfaces in the backsplash, appliances, and accessories. I notice your inspiration photo has shiny stainless appliances, lime green placemats and blue glass. These are good ways to give lightness to a grey space. Orange, Yellow, red, and lavender are also good colors to brighten up grey (choose one or two or don't choose and just let your favorite bright colors find their way into the space in whatever amount feels natural over time). The glass door uppers you are planning on will be awesome for bouncing light around the room. Can the insides be painted with a white wash like the soft white cabinets? That could be nice, though it isn't necessary. I'd definitely put lights inside of those cabinets. I notice that you don't have a backsplash tile on your rendering. Might just be the render, but it's worth mentioning that with a messy teenager cooking, some kind of backsplash will be your friend. Glass tile is expensive so without knowing your budget I won't suggest it for the whole backsplash, but you could do a small feature wall of glass tile behind the oven to bounce the light around on that side of the room. It could be the same color as your backsplash, a grey like your cabinets, or a completely different color. Whichever way you go on color, the finish of glass will be a nice contrast to the finish of grey stained wood. Large format tiles seem to be in fashion, so if that's your jam, good news! They make large format glass tiles! Or, you could go the opposite direction and do a 2-3" glass lantern or hex to really stand out. Whatever you do for backsplash, I would not do a matte finish. Same with your countertops. It will make the whole room look too flat. Another thing I don't see in your renderings, but I do see in your inspiration is light. Every counter surface and every walkway needs some amount of direct lighting and you need good light diffusion so that you can see into your cabinets well. You may already have this figured out and just not showing in the rendering - just wanted to be sure it was mentioned (it may also be making your renderings look darker than the reality will).

I bought some vintage cabinets from a craigslist seller, who bought them from a school which was being demolished. The bases look very similar to yours, but with inset doors. They are only 16" deep, so one was used as a buffet in the DR, set out from the wall to be 18" deep. I used the other set in the kitchen--two sections of the base fit perfectly against a bumpout from the LR, and the third section was modified to be deeper. I also had to add a small cabinet at the end, to fill the run. All cabinets were painted to match. The uppers are only 9" deep. The uppers in the DR have no doors--just open shelves where I keep my china and some silverplate pieces. The upper kitchen cabinets have glass doors, with shirred curtains hiding my baking staples, medicine cabinet items, coffee, tea, etc. On the top shelf, above the curtains, I have some vintage planters displayed. I have plenty of storage space in the pantry and other sections of the kitchen, so it was easy to make the choice (and as with yours, the price was great). If I was short on storage space, the choice would have been more difficult, but I love the vintage look.