Thanks! I’m looking for bar stools

I would leave the pony wall due to there really is not that much room for seating as is. When people seated they will be out in the walkway already at bar heigth with stools. Plus, there's a lot of useful electrical sockets within the pony wall above cabinet heigth. If lose pony wall, putting electric in cabinets, will lose valuable storage depth within cabinets. What I would do now is replace the backsplash. The countertop is ok, imho. Countertop will look so much better with a brighter less pattern backsplash. Suggest moving in & seeing how well the kitchen layout feels while using for a few months at least. They may like the L shape as is. Make sure they love the cabinet color & style & they all are in great shape,too. Then & only then would I invest $$$ into new countertop. If they want to keep a Lshape kitchen all one level with more leg room then shift peninsula cabinets 12" or so closer to stove, but that's a lot of work. Plus, kitchen will get smaller, but seating would be better. Hopefully there is flooring under cabinets or enough left over. Maybe some can be taken out of closet or can find exact flooring match. Pros & cons to changing layouts is common. They may not like the layout after using. Then save up for a new layout then remove pony wall. They may want to consider getting rid of the L shape layout & get an island instead. Hope that helps. Nice of you to help your niece :)

Where did you get those chairs? We are currently getting estimates on changing our bar to counter and changing our granite to quartzite. I love that counter top! Thanks!

12 in both upper sections[ pantry upper and wall cab upper] 5 or 7 in for lower pantry and lower cab [ probably 5 in] do both of those the same..... drawer can take 12 in or same as other lower [two of the 5 in or single 12 in] skip the small knob on wall cab idea . keep a simple c or d shape....satin nickel or similar....keep slender diameter .......you can select protrusion of your choice...greater protrusion if lots of various people and frequently used cabinets......if less used cabinets...and .small number people who are careful with use of hands then less protrusion can be nice but this is an issue of wear and tear , think through if it is important.