Why don't you consider a nice green color with a bit of a glaze for your cabinets? I did the cream with heavy glaze in my kitchen (your top link is my kitchen!) and I love them, but I never considered any other color and now that I've seen some green glazed cabinets - I think about redoing my island in green!!! (Its black now with the perimeter in glazed cream.) Green cabs would stand out nicely against your walls. There is a forum member here named Teppy and I'm attaching a link to her photobucket. She has a some inspiration photos on there with distressed green islands and they are gorgeous, as well as her own green island. Here is a link that might be useful: http://s293.photobucket.com/albums/mm49/1teppy1/

Either leave them as they are, or use the White Dove color. If you try to paint them gray, they won't work with your floors, back splash, or wall color. White Dove will work without having to change anything else. Are you also planning to paint your window trim? You might consider just painting the uppers in White Dove if you're trying to lighten the space.

If you have enough natural light in your kitchen, white walls will make your upper cabinets “disappear” for a cleaner look so your beautiful blue counters and backsplash can stand out. Blue and white is a beautiful combination. There are so many undertones to white—yellow, blue, pink (ugh!), green… If you want to go that route, make sure you do your research and sample test. The wrong white against your current white cabinet may contrast badly. It’s usually best to match whites against each other or at least be in the same undertone.

My trim and ceilings are SW Pure white. I have stained wood lowers and SW Pure white uppers. My walls are a very light gray though so that gives a bit more depth (Drift of Mist). In your case I would probably use SW alabaster on the cabinets as well unless you want the cabinets to look WHITE and the walls and trim to look creamy/slightly yellow. Personally I don't think I'd like the contrast.