@ raehelen, Thank you, and YES, I am soooo happy that the granite/BS search is behind me!! LOL @ jancy, the cabinet color that I chose was Coffee Clutch. The code for the color is D1-7. I have read of many others using Bittersweet Chocolate by BM and Black Bean by SW. But, the Coffee Clutch looked great to me at Ace, so I chose it. I did have to sand the cabinets to rough them up, and I primed them with a tinted primer first. I think I used Zinser 123. The cabinet and trim paint goes on really nice. I just brushed it on and it went on nice and smooth. Almost smooths itself out. Just use long strokes and plan on 2 coats. It dries hard and shiny. I did not have to poly over it. I painted them over a year ago and they've held up beautifully! The other nice thing was that the wood grain still shows through. It came out really well. Don't be afraid... go for it!! :)

I agree with keeping the cabinets in a wood tone vs white. Although this kitchen in all white would be sharp. I'd wait to replace the appliances (all stainless would be my choice over white even if you paint the cabinets white) as I think with a new island and new flooring they will become non issues. I would use a lighter countertop on the new island to create drama. While you may like the mirrored look tile, you may benefit from using a glass tile(not ceramic) instead of mirror. Number 1 you can leave the backsplash and 2 you can introduce color with even solid colored glass tile. You didn't mention if you have under cabinet lighting?? With under cabinet lighting and glass tile you'd be introducing both bling and brightness. Add a nice vintage looking hanging light over your new island and something similar over the sink that is similar looking but smaller in scale. Hard to see what you have for pulls and knobs but they look like they are white porcelain. There are lots of beautiful pulls and knobs that might add brightness to your cabinets also. Another idea would be to only paint the cabinets by the frig and the island white. Not a really stark white but something that would compliment the wood in the cabinets. If you chose this option - I'd replace all the appliances to stainless. Could you install a drawer microwave in the island? It would really break up the look of ALL those cabinets if you put the microwave into island and put in a nice hood. You could remove the cabinet above the present microwave or leave it ( I'd remove it.) Behind the stove you could then install a design tile to create focal interest. Congrats on your new place.

How did you find an actual fireback to insert? I did a image search for firebacks and picked one that was shot straight on and square (easier to copy and paste squares or rectangles than ovals and other shapes). I played with the image in Paint to get it to the right size for your image. I learned this all by trial and error when I worked on my kitchen design. ...that's more gray, so I guess if I chose a gray one, then Carrara marble would probably look better that calacutta? I personally prefer the marble tile over the white subways and prefer calacatta over carrara for your kitchen. You've got a lot of white and black going on already; the gold veins bring in the warmth from your lovely wood floors (and possibly your walls, can't quite tell what color they are). I don't think you have to have everything match exactly. As long as the tones compliment each other - no cool grays with warm grays - I think you can blend a grayish fireback with near black counters and calacatta marble tile. Personally, I think that also makes for a more interesting mix.

Keeping the countertops the same ties the island to the wall cabinets, especially with the colors being so completely different. We did a wood island with white wall cabinets as a display in our showroom, to show a variety of finishes and color schemes. However that is not typically what clients want in their homes. Unless the second color is very similar to the first it will look too haphazard. Cambria shows two different products here but they are so similar they blend well together. Generally we see more kitchens like this, with the same countertop throughout. Best of luck!