I would go with a classic white subway tile. It will never go out of style and always look classy. As for the cabinets, although I do like white kitchens I'm starting to see lots of beautiful kitchens with medium stain cabinets like yours. Have you seen the kitchen by Minnesota designer Todd Hansen in the Jan/Feb 210 Better Homes and Gardens magazine "Kitchen and Bath Ideas"? It is my current dream kitchen. It has white/cream cabinets for uppers and a light/medium wood (similar to your oak) on the bottoms. A few ideas: 1.) leave the bottom cabinets as is but paint the upper cabinets a white/cream color 2.) don't paint any cabinets but put a few glass panel/glass doors on your uppers. Either solution will solve the problem that you don't like all the graining on the oak cabinets. Most people in your kitchen looking at the cabinets are going to notice the uppers more than the lower cabinets. If you change out the uppers you will create the look you want. No matter what, I agree with the other posters that you should wait and see how you feel when your island is painted and your new counters are installed. Be sure to show us the pictures. It is going to look great. You have a very nice space to work with.

We have lived in our 1913 Foursquare for over 7 years now. I have definately had a love/hate relationship. When people ask, what are you doing this weekend, I just want to smack them. What do you think? WORKING ON THE HOUSE. It's ALWAYS something. There's also the question, why don't you just hire someone? Sure, we could hire someone to remodel the kitchen. But what about the roof? and the siding? and the deck? and the bathroom? and the floors, walls, attic, basement, on and on and on. If you hire someone to repair everything, then you've put way more money into the house then you'll EVER get back. It gets overwhelming at times. I seriously don't know what I'd do with my free time if I didn't have this house to work on. I really resented it until one day, a few years ago my kids told me I could never sell it. That they loved this house and one day I would have to sell it to them. I was shocked. THIS house? The one we slave over and that is constantly in chaos? The same house that tells you it's NOT okay to invite your friends over, until the deck is rebuilt, b/c it's too dangerous for guests. THIS HOUSE? And that made me really rethink it. The house is huge. The house has 8inch tall baseboards and working pocket doors. The house has 2 acres of wooded yard and allows them to do what they like in the yard. This house isn't so new that they have to worry about denting the floor. But it's much nicer than the smaller ranches that some of their friends live in. The basement was remodeled for the three boys and their friends. They have sleepovers there (with extra insulation, so I can't hear them!). If they want to change their room, or we need to add something, we just knocked down a wall, or build it in. Can you really do that in a new house? This house has sucked us dry, financially and emotionally. But it also has made us rely on ourselves even more. We find out how to fix things and we teach our kids that you do NOT have to be dependant on others to get things done. In the end, it has been worth it. And with at least another 2 years (hahahahaha, isn't that funny) worth of work on the house, we will continue on. What also made me feel better was watching my friends and family with their NEW houses. I have already see two people who built houses within the last 7 years need to replace ALL of the windows in those houses. Really. Also the furnaces. One friend needed to replace the exterior doors in his 5 year old house, built in an expensive neighborhood. PLUS, the siding. Just b/c it is new doesn't mean it's done right. Watch 'Holmes on Homes' on HGTV. BIG eye opener. Sometimes, you forget how your house looks nice. I find that it's good to take pictures and look at them on the computer. When you're walking into your living room every day for a month and only see the floors that need refinished, you miss the antique fireplace mantel you bought and installed and the stone tile you added. The walls you redid and the built ins. When I take a picture and look at it, I see the beauty of the ROOM, not the damage to the floor. Also, it's good to compare the new pictures to the old ones. Were there really hearts on the country blue wallpaper? hahahaha Lastly, dealing with the PO's previous mistakes are always What were they thinking? Just when we thought we got all of them corrected, we take down the deck to find they didn't use flashing on the ledger board. Sigh. I always worry that once I remove every last trace of the 80's, it will be time to remove every last trace of this decade. :) Sorry to go on and on, but I just found this forum and I'm glad there are people here that are just like me. Working on their old home, loving it and hating it. I wonder if everyone has lists for every room, if by the time you get to that list for a room you change your mind, if you have more than 4 projects going on at a time and if you think you'll be done by the time your youngest time graduates high school. If your idea of a great Sunday afternoon is going to Menards/Home Depot/Lowes and shopping. If the guy from the local wine/coffee shop knows your name very well (coffee in the morning/wine at the end of the day)and his first question is what are you working on now? If your friends/family come to you first when they get bids from their contractors, to see what the materials would cost vs labor, because why in the world would they put in a new door by themselves, let alone go on the hunt across the internet and two states to find the perfect 100 year old door for their house, then build it into the opening? Is this a disease?

How about updating with new laminate? It is the wood trim around the current laminate that makes the whole kitchen look a little dated. There are some very pretty new products available and for a few hundred bucks, it would cost much less than granite. A potential buyer may feel it is a kitchen they could move into, and "live with" for a while if it had a newer, barely used countertop product, knowing a complete reno may be needed down the road, which can appeal to many buyers. It's hard to see the condition of the countertops, but I understand your desire to update or clean them up a bit, especially if there are any scratches or stains on them. The rest of your home looks lovely and very well kept, in the picture you posted. I do agree with other posters, do nothing or spend as little as possible-not granite.

net,,,it you can't sand, then get a paint deglosser. you have 15 mins after application to paint. but you will need a primer first before applying the paint. I use Zinsser oil base primer in the spray can, or if the furniture is really glossy, even after de-glossing, then try this one you will have to use one of those sponge block sanders after priming. use your hand to feel for rough spots. once it feels smooth, blow off any dust w/vacuum or small blower. then wipe clean w/damp cloth or tack cloth. make sure wherever you paint is free of dust. throw down a sheet or paint cloth. I use a spray bottle on mist w/water and mist all around the piece to keep lint and dust from flying up on the fresh paint. use Advance paint or General Finishes milk paint. these are both great for furniture that gray color you like is Driftwood Gray or SeaGullget the best brush you can afford. Purdy or wooster. 3" and a smaller angled brush for painting around the moldings. thin w/a bit of water if the paint is too thick. brush on, and do not go back and forth. once dry, fine sand w/wet sandpaper at 600 grit. I'd use this on the top portion where you will have brush marks. lightly wet/sand to knock down the high edges. wipe w/water. paint 2nd coat.