In terms of the go-to-the-ceiling issue - I had really wanted my cabinets to go up to the ceiling, but I have this concrete soffit down one side of my kitchen. I have 100" ceilings, so with 42" uppers and a crown molding, I could have made it to the ceiling - but I would have needed to cut away a few inches from the backs of the cabinets to fit around the soffit. Instead, I got 36" uppers and nested them under the soffit... (ended up having to hang them a couple of inches lower to fit, so I'm ending up with only a 16" high backsplash.) With the crown molding, I've got a few inches open above the cabinets. I wasn't sure I was going to like this look (and I was concerned about how to clean up there), but I actually like it. (I'll let you know how the cleaning goes... ;-)) In any case, I would recommend (along with others here) that you *not* hang your cabinets higher in order to hit the ceiling. My old cabinets were at 20", and it was annoying to get things even off the bottom shelf.

I don't have any experience with marble. I'm in the Northeast and a concern with marble to me in the temp swings, is any issues with moisture getting into the fine natural fissures in the material, possibly causing damage. I don't know your location. Granite is another consideration, but it may have not be a true white. It's nice material but a bit pricey. Sealers can sometimes change color appearance after applied. I would try a test piece and let it dry before moving forward on sealing the material installed.

First things first: PAINT with WHITE PRIMER. Yes. Just get the walls READY for a new colour. Primer is SUPER cheap and SUPER USEFUL. It gets the walls ready for the EXPENSIVE paint...without pay for expensive paint+primer. Once you have the yellow walls covered you will see the REAL colour of the house. The kitchen really needs to have the yellow taken off the walls. And get the tiles off the backsplash. The other SINGLE option: new counter top. But I would only decide on that once I had gotten all the warm tones off the walls. For me the biggest issue for the house is the tile-like flooring. I'm hoping they are vinyl...that would make for an easy removal. If they are real tile...they will be expensive to remove and deal with. But first things first: cover your yellow walls with white primer. You will be amazed at how different the wood looks when it is not being washed with more yellow.

So, after reconsidering, my feeling ended up being to go with stools that are really inviting to sit in because you are going to need something really magnetizing to get people to want to turn their backs to the window and get them to embrace the action in the kitchen. I think the stools should to be keyed to the warmth and attraction of the overhead pendants. Even at the risk of competition with other dramas in the space. Not all of these upholstery choices would be mine, and several come in blue or green. although I’m not sure either color is a good idea. I think maybe it is best to get swivels, so that people can converse with people sitting at the table …. but some first blush choices This next comes in off-white/gray, which I think would probably be better, and also as a swivel These are probably too downscale but I like the huggyness of them Ditto Kind of zen austere but the width makes them inviting. They also come in maple, which is elegant If you are willing to spend a small fortune…