amberm145, that would be one of my most thrilling points! Traditional, flesh eating strippers don't do anything with stain. However.... [insert drum roll] If you put a coat of Citristrip on your stripped wood, it will such the stain right out of the grain. See my pictures above. And we're talking a very dark, 1920s door with tons of paint and clear coats on it. and I have not sanded a speck on the 15 doors I've worked on, nor the kitchen cabinets I've done, other than to brush off the dried Citristrip as I mentioned above. The golden oak cabs I did got very light natural wood, too. I was able to ceruse them with a vinegar (I choose ume plum vinegar, just because I had it) and then a very thinned wash of Varathane 'Sunbleached'. I wanted them to stay light. I love that I don't have to sand.

I think it is regional. On Gardenweb, white is very popular. In the suburbs here, distinct off-white and glazes are popular. In the city, dark stains, very dark brown, maroonish, black. Talk to a realtor, and also look at a lot of real estate online, particularly at new construction, houses that say "recently renovated", and houses that look heavily staged.

Go for the ivory color in the granite. Bring home swatches and find one that matches well. For the backsplash, just remove all of the tile over the granite bs, clean up and paint the wall above it.

When you paint cabinets you have to use a particular kind of paint and follow a multi-step process in order to get a result that will last. You should do some research and then choose the white from the available whites in the right kind of paint. Also, there is no way for anyone to tell you remotely which white is going to work. Our perception of color really depends on the lighting, and colors don't look the same online as they do in person. The only way to find the right color is to sample. However, no matter which white you end up with, stainless steel is a good choice for new appliances.