It shouldn't be more than a couple of hundred dollars to panel the sides of the fridge and move that cabinet forward. I'd say $500 tops. You just haven't found the right person for the job yet. It's even pretty easily DIYable if you are remotely handy. Step #1 would be to take a cabinet door down to the best paint shop in town and having them color match it and sheen match it to the cabinets. That's actually the most difficult aspect of it. And sourcing some new crown molding that matches the profile of the old. If you can't source that, then it's easier to just replace all the cabinet's molding. Which actually would be a good thing, as you could then beef it up and take it to the ceiling. That might cost you 1K. But it would have a huge impact on the kitchen.

Thanks for the suggestions. We are getting closer. We took at look at the additional suggestions (SW Blonde, Ivorie and BM Shelburne Buff HC 28) but they didn't make the cut for what we are looking for. The good news is I think we are down to two (or at least that is all my DW wants to deal with at this point): BM Precious Ivory 185 (a little tan and slightly darker) and BM Soleil AF-330 (a little sunny). The Precious Ivory probably does have a better chance of complementing some of the ubatuba highlights, but I like the 'sunny' part of Soleil, especially since we have little direct light into our kitchen. Oh, and there might be some BM Popcorn Kernel 310 in there but I can't tell if the kids like the color or the name.

I think the granite looks great: very classic and a big improvement over the tile! I'd definitely look into undercabinet lights. Before, the white counters reflected the ceiling light back up under the cabinets. The dark granite holds onto the light and makes the undercabinet areas a little cave-like. Lighting will make a big difference. I think the previous suggestions are excellent: painting the wall in the kitchen, along with finding some colorful accessories. I had a small galley kitchen similar to this one, and I was amazed at the difference a bright blue rag rug and a few blue dishtowels over the stove handle made.

Glad I found this thread. I'm having my kitchen redone almost exactly like WillTV's, though I'm eschewing the black subway tile and having all-white. Yes, it's safe, but I live in a one-bedroom apartment in NYC and don't plan on being there more than three more years, so I want to appeal to myself and as many other people as possible. I personally love the clean look. Thanks, WillTV, for posting pictures -- I'm also going to copy right off of you for your floor!