Sand, sand, sand, prime, sand, prime again, lightly sand again and then you should be good to go. Good luck, you will love going white. ~boxerpups. a few before and after going to white

I like your color scheme for the contempo look--but WITH the Tiffany style pendants instead of the modern ones.

Myself, if I have doubts about a choice, I go with something I know I will like. I don't want to risk a mistake, especially on something as expensive as cabinets or counters. I would not be able to replace them and would have to live with the bad choice. I am not a risk taker in that way. I went with medium cherry cabinets with a cinnamon stain and a Java wash. My counter will be Corian in tumbleweed which is fairly neutral. I saw the counter in a kitchen design display and loved it. I am a "weenie" when it comes to being risky with choices, so I pretty much go safe, traditional with the big purchases.

In that case I'd paint the island to match the other cabinets. Your counter will read black--do you really want a big black box in the middle of a light colored kitchen? If you add lighting over the island, it could be wrought iron and that would give you another touch of black. I think that's all you need. Travertine tile with speckled granite is too much sameness of pattern and isn't a combo used much anymore. I think you'll want to match tile to your cabinets rather than your counter. Maybe a handglazed ceramic to give some variation between tiles and to update it. This is the only photo I have of cream tile with variation. You could still add the ORB decos.