I would remove from the equation the idea of white appliances having an effect on resale. No one says "I love the house, but forget it, it has a white range!" What is key to this whole discussion and has not been addressed is how much are you willing to spend on your appliances. The solution to your dilemma would be to panel the dishwasher and the fridge, and the fridge must be a fully-integrated style to pull this off. This will be very expensive. For the range, there are some lovely white ranges out there by Bertazzoni, Bluestar, Smeg, Miele, Lacanche for example, but those tend to be much more expensive than the old-style type of white range. There was a recent thread where someone posted about a white Kitchenaid range that looked fresh and not old-style, and was not priced as high as the other names I've mentioned, so look into that. I have a panelled DW, stainless fridge, white range, and stainless hood. I love it. The range is so easy to clean compared to a stainless range. The pairing of the white range with the stainless hood looks clean and fresh. The DW panelling does not show water drips the way stainless does. I was not willing to pay the $9000+ for an integrated fridge, so I am fine with my stainless one. (I am "lusting" a little for the white Miele fridge that Miller pictured above). One last note - your mention of the wood beams worries me. I know it's not what you asked, but adding wood beams has the potential to look very nice or to look artificial, "faux". A lot depends on your ceiling height. Make sure you have thought this through.

teach2015: We are in NJ and used http://www.weaverscustomwoodworking.com/index.html - they are out near the Dutch Wonderland theme park, but he has a pretty wide delivery area - I wouldn't be surprised if he comes to the Philly suburbs. We've had our cabinets for just about 2yrs and they've held up beautifully (but ours are stained wood, not painted). Pricing was excellent, the experience was excellent, the installation was flawless, and build quality is superb.

And here's a long shot of the total effect. They look a lot like built-ins. Because they AREN'T built-ins, we left a bigger space above the counter (partly because the TV needed it, but even if it hadn't, I'd have left a space so it looked like there was a "reason" we switched from one to the other. NOW...our fireplace is a bigger focal point than your TV, and our wall juts out there. So we left that big display space. Plus, we have no windows. In YOUR case, w/ those windows taking up so much of the wall, and your TV so low (and it being a TV, which to me is more functional and less decorative), I might consider whether I wanted a built-in look in the middle as well--sort of a "full wall" effect, wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling, with an empty space where the TV goes. If I wanted to do that, I'd want a backing on my upper shelves so it looked more like the whole thing was one unit. And with a "full wall" effect, I might even consider whether I wanted it all to be painted the same color as the other walls (or maybe white like the woodwork), so it was less like "kitchen cabinetry" or "furniture" and more like "part of the room / woodwork." That would keep the full wall of storage from overpowering the room, perhaps.

You can do either, but if you're already worried about it being dark maybe go for a painted option. If you paint it, I suggest painting it the same color as the wall. If you do the stain, have him do a sample before so you can compare it to the trim before committing. You may find it doesn't match well enough and you don't like it. But instead of shelves maybe move the TV off of the fireplace. It seems like it's small enough to fit int he nook. It's placement is really ruining the Victorian look more than anything else. If you're looking to brighten things up maybe go for a warm white rather than yellow, which can be tricky to work with.