Hi cv2014, I still love the look of our Semihandmade walnut, to me it's very warm. We briefly looked into having Semihandmade make panels for the side and the back of the island, but we wanted a more substantial edge and it just seemed like we'd have better luck getting it to all work out if we hired a finish carpenter to do the job. We're very happy with how it turned out. You can go to almost any good lumber store and purchase a full sheet of walnut veneer for not a lot of $$s. Depending on where it's used, it could be ok if it doesn't match perfectly with the Semihandmade walnut. The corner cabinet has a filler piece, I think it was around 4 inches, that gives enough clearance so that the cabinet door can open without worrying about having it hit the door to the right. In my case I think I was also concerned about clearance so it wouldn't hit the oven handle as well. That was solved by making the pull-out next to the over slightly wider than originally planned. These are the older Ikea cabinet style, so I'm not sure if the new style has the same kind of corner cabinet or not. Good luck with your planning!

I assume you mean the cabinets are painted with a high gloss paint. If that is the case I would purchase a product called Dirtex. It's available as a powder and is very inexpensive. Follow the directions on the box. I use it for walls, but it can be used on wood. I prefer it over TSP as it does not need to be rinsed off. A single step is always better in my opinion.

@narnia75: I do not live in this house, so at this point, it does not do not bother me that much, but if it does, that's the only thing that I can think of. My major concerns are: (1) picking the right color and (b) shaving off the edges. For (1) I wish I could order a cheap sample. For (2) I think there is some tool that you can use, but I am not sure if it can be used on the sides that cannot be removed (not an issue for the shelves). So, there are some complexities that I can think of, but again, if the white bothered me too much, I'd figure out what to do and most likely use FastEdge.

IMO none . I really dislike plastic quartz in any color for kitchens I have a high gloss Ikea kitchen I did however mix some stainless cabinets with the high gloss white I have black counter since IMO a kitchen needs to have some contrast to make white cabinets appear to be white. Why not look at whilte granites IMO a polished white granite would be a much better choice .