I wouldn't do that quartz. Looks beyond "faux". But that's me.

I also wouldn't split colors upper and lower. All of this is opinion. If you are after drama? Black, all of the cabinetry with brass. Or a great green same. No split either way.

I'd post a picture of the kitchen getting the tops...........please. What gray?? What is the cabinet style etc?

I would go all white. For sure the gray has to go.

keep the cabinets as is if they dont need a paint job. that is not like painting a wall. very expensive undertaking. if the light gray has some warmth [grays are all different ] you can do the warmer hardware for a nice change. if its a cold gray stick w cooler metal hardware or black even.

Thanks for the feedback thus far, here is the current kitchen. Not sure if you would classify this as warm or cool grey. I just know there is too much grey.

I should mention that this kitchen looks really out of place with the rest of my color palette here is a pic of my dinning room that sits adjacent to it

Well that quartz may not help: ) Maybe paint the cabinets all black, add modern brass hardware, and TONE DOWN those tops. Think a warmer, more subtle veining...........

And yes I would say the kitchen feels quite cold. and FLAT.

SAY BYE TO THE GRAY. Black, green....whatever.

I agree that countertop isn’t going to help. I have pretty much the same color scheme and used dark soapstone look countertops.

Ok thanks, for the suggestion I still like the countertops but I may consider using it as just on the island which I plan to extend an add a waterfall and keep the other countertops more neutral.

"More neutral as in PLAIN WHITE.

walls are the issue.....almost lavender. accentuates the gray cabs and the gray cabs accentuate the wall tone. try a pale yellow wall avoid painting cabinet job. the cabs are older so dont invest so much....look elsewhere for tweaks.... bring home some pale yellow paint cards for your walls. how about a granite with some grays and browns. ? first pic shows warmer stones w gray and warm beige walls...then kitchens w yellow walls working the gray cabs a little different way. [and your cabs arent even that dark]

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you want new counters and expensive paint job to cabs when nothing is in poor condition? its a bit older space and issue w cooktop on small island so I'd avoid as much of these costly things as possible. I'd stop at new counters and do reasonably priced granite w warms/cools in the stone...a lot more value with that .....along w walls. Go look at granite and get one to up the looks factor and blend things together without high price tag.

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True herbflavor, I am planning to paint the walls Alabaster white by SW. Hopefully that will tone down the gray. I don't like granite too much for this space. The cabinets are in pretty good shape actually just that the color doesn't work for me. I will re-evaluate paint them once I replace the countertops.

I like those options you shared @Jan

Just adding this pic to show a better view of the slab

Maureen thank you! The kitchen is actually quite big, I didnt take all angels of it, it is also oddly shaped. This palette you posted 

is actually what I'm going for, I love it!

Echoing what Jan and Maureen said, that countertop isn’t a bad choice necessarily but would require very careful coordination with all the other design choices in the kitchen and adjoining room. I couldn’t find many example photos of it being used and probably for good reason. What I see in this photo is just the countertop even though a beautiful kitchen surrounds it. It takes over the entire room. If you love it then that works in your favor, but it feels like it is fighting every thing else around it. If it is the strong veining you like, have you considered something a little less “loud”? I think if you paint, green or black cabinets would look nice with the adjoining dining room

First place to start is determining how long you plan to be in this home.

That helps determine how much you should be spending on renovations. The other consideration is income/expenses and priorities. You can only spend money once, so determining your priorities is a key in all of these decisions. Do you want to renovate the kitchen, pay off your student loans, buy a bigger home, put money away for your kid's college education, travel to Europe, buy a new car. . .

Once you know your renovation budget you can determine what you can and cannot afford to change.

The next thing I do map out the home, what rooms are visible from one room to the next.

While mapping the room I determine the colors in each room that must stay. (Either not in budget to change or what you love and don't want to change.)

My next step is to pick out the colors that make your heart sing. What colors will you naturally be drawn to an want to buy when you pick out art or décor items. These are the colors that will bring you joy when you walk through your home. I like to plan how I can incorporate the colors you love into each room. Then I figure out the neutral family that works best with the colors you love and the colors that must stay.

The last step is to pick out the white that is going to work best with the colors and neutrals.

If you plan now around the colors that you love you build on that theme, as you move from home to home and buy furnishings and art they will move and grow with you.

Didn’t see it mentioned and just want to add that if you choose the boldly veined quartz, make sure you know exactly how the seams will be matched up—insist on seeing a template and signing off on the design.

Maybe you could use a color other than brown on the accent wall, a blue or green and then use the same color in the kitchen to help tie the two together.

Sorry, the greens on the two photos don't seem to want to display as the same green. . .

I looked up your countertop this morning out of curiosity.

I happen to want a really bold veining in my kitchen and fell in love with Cambria Bentley.

I saw your pattern and wanted to take a closer look.

Like others, didn't see many pictures, and I wasn't familiar with the company, so I searched for reviews of Compac quartz. Didn't find any real reviews.

I did run across this Houzz thread, which would make me hesitate before buying Compac quartz.

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/4078409/has-anyone-used-compac-stone-unique-calacatta-quartz

Just wanted to share an update. So I stuck to the Calcutta Black quartz. I really love the look. Still planning to refinish my cabinets but you can see progress pics here (for anyone curious)

Nice!! Looks like they did a great job with matching the veins on the waterfall!

They did! They also cut it in a way that I got more of the white which helped the busy factor. In any case, I love it and I can't wait to put on the new fixtures and paint the cabinets to complete the look!

I’d go with all black cabinetry to help with balancing the strong veining (and white walls).

Before adding fixtures (assume you mean hardware) hold off until cupboards are painted. Hardware is so important; consider woodfilling where needed, so you can also add other than knobs for a more modern look.

Waterfall islands look best in very contemporary kitchens and also with nothing in the island . Your kitchen is not that style and I dislike quartz always and that one is interesting but not in your space . A homes color palette is best chosen as a whole not one room at a time and as much as I love drama that counter does not work in your home from what I see. If you must inist on that counter then IMO black cabinets and forget the waterfall.

Patricia, read the whole thread. The OP gave an update and already installed the counters and waterfall.

Really nice and the installer did a great job. Would look super cool with black cabinets as in Maureen's and Jennifer's pic.

This gives you an idea how it will look with black cabinets.

Very helpful Zeld!

Posting an update -in case it helps anyone in the future debating about using this style quartz. I love it, I don't regret it, came together beautifully (in my opinion). Thanks to some of the great suggestions, I appreciate being able to brainstorm here.

Beautiful! What color is on the cabinets, it’s gorgeous!

Thank you! Dard Hunter Green by Sherwin Williams.