Because the floors are driving the color, please add a closeup of the floor.

IMO no to so many of those things palnned . No waterfall in fact from what I can tell no island.Post a to scale plan here IMO wide walkways are a must and islands not so much The hood you plan is overkill in the space and for sure does not fit with the style that you need to have for the waterfall counter . IMO the floors in the kitchen should be ripped out and you have the same dark floos everyhwere. You are trying to do what often happens . You want all the things you see and like in a space that is not anything like the spaces you see these items in.Your inspo pic is nothing like your space and so stop now and get some pro help. You will get some free pro help here if you post a to scale floor plan in a comment please post in jpeg and also repost the kitchen pic in jpeg so both can be enlarged . Make suare all measurements are included in the kitchen plan .

That is an awful lot of money to spend on a remodel that you plan to be temporary. If you don't have the budget to have the kitchen you really want now, I would give yourself $5,000, do what you can with it, and save the rest for a comprehensive renovation in a few years, rather than spend $25k+ for temporary cosmetic fixes to a kitchen that are unlikely to achieve what you're looking for and that will be wasted when you reno again in a few years.

Thank you for sharing your comments so quickly. I'll begin by saying that the work will be done or about 10K Canadian. That includes professional refinishing of all cabinet doors and surfacing and the build of the custom rangehood. The quartz counters are inclued in that price. The "temporary fix" is meant to be in place for several years which we are considering doing because the cabinet finish is beginning to show it's age and the laminate countertops are falling apart. The cheapest thing to do would be to put laminate in, replace sink and faucet and try to restain the cabinet doors that are in bad shape. That is around $2500 in my area and would truly be temporary IMO.

In regard to the tile. I have taken a picture close up to show our starting point and I am including the builders floorplan. There is 40" around the island on all for sides and the replacement of the fluted legs will actually reduce the island by about 6" but the waterfall would likely reclaim that space.

Quartz option

Builder floorplan - This is just for dimensions. We moved the stove to the centre and the fridge to where the original pantry is shown. They the replaced the desk with double depth pantry cabinets. We have French doors where the sliders are.

Current pictures below:

The grout lines are quite dingy so we have a company coming to refresh them. They did a sample spot and it lightened the lines signficantly to a light taupe colour.

We want to simplify the look, remove valance and update crown on cabinets. We are also open to other styles of rangehood covers, if anyone has any suggestions. This kitchen is 17 years old and we picked it when we bought the house, so I only have ourselves to blame. I would replace the floors but the quotes to do that have been more than updating the cabinets. Our hope is that they are neutral enough that we can "work with them".

Thank you

I would not do a waterfall on the island. That is typically contemporary element, and your kitchen isn't contemporary. Yes, I know people do waterfalls in all sorts of kitchens, but it's really not the right look for your cabinets. Just do a conventional slab on top. If you are painting they can fix where the "legs" are removed.

Thank you for your comments, once again. I am hoping you can expand on the waterfall for contemporary kitchens. I noted a number of traditional/transitional kitchens with waterfall islands and hoped you could comment on whether these were good/appropriate applications of the waterfall counters to clarify the challenges. Appreciate your continued help.

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Thanks

I do kitchen design in Canada and there is no way this will happen for 10K something has to give That waterfll counter will cost clease to the whole budget . Please listen to what advice you get here before regretting your plan .

$10k seems like a normal price for just the quartz counters, or just the cabinet painting. If someone is offering you $10k for both, I would be really worried about the quality of the work you are going to get.

No concerns with the contractor or workmanship and the quartz isn't prestige brand, likely from China. Assuming all is well with the budget and the work quality as contracted, any thoughts on the base cabinet colour and the ask regarding waterfall counters in a traditional/transitional kitchen. I would really appreciate the design opinions of the group. Much appreciated.

What is it about a waterfall counter that you like? You will lose your “wow” moment running that quartz into that tile, i.e. no contrast. So, I think it would be a waste.

Also, what is it about your inspiration pic that you like - just that black and white/dark and light cabinetry, or the whole vibe? I think part of its character are those light wood floors, wooden counter stools and wooden beams. By painting out your cabinetry, you’re losing that warmth and depth. The only wooden element left would be your dining table……

I do agree with others to hold off a bit, post your floor plan with every dimension, reconsider continuing your wood floors into the kitchen, etc., etc. Good advice above.

After all that, you could look at BM Classic Gray for the light color.

You have a great sense of taste and style, which is clear from the pics of your home and from the inspiration pics you gravitate towards. The frequent problem with inspiration pics is that these high end styles are often built in huge homes with large kitchens. While you can pick and choose elements of these styles to put in your space, they don't necessarily work on a smaller scale. Take these examples:

1. Your main inspiration pic - the white uppers work because there are gigantic ceilings and vast expanses of white wall space in the connecting rooms so that white cabinet wall disappears and seems to go on for ever. Your kitchen, which is more normally sized, is going to feel really choppy (and quickly dated) by having two toned uppers and lowers. What you see in your inspiration pic is just not going to translate the same in your space.

2. Waterfalls. All of your pics have them in huge spaces. I think they don't look nice in a small kitchen. It is just too crowded looking. Show me a good waterfall in a kitchen that is approximately your size, and perhaps you will change my mind.

3. Hood. The hood you are interested in is beautiful but too large for your space. Again, scale is the issue.

I would get new countertops that you love. Remove the legs from the island and paint the island a color that makes you really happy. And get new hardware for the island. Remove the extra trim below the bookshelves on either side of the hood.

Your cabinets look very on trend. Can you post a close up of the areas where they are worn?

Thanks Kendrah/Jenny Island for your comments. It's true that our current cabinet finish is en trend right now but they are definitely showing their age. They are maple but here is an example of where the finish is worn. I was going to replace the doors but the least expensive option was MDF which were going to be painted anyway so happier to work with the real wood.

The upper cabinets are fine (see below) but lowers have seen better days.

The rangehood is going to be narrower than our current configuration. We want to remove the open shelfs and the hood that is there for a simpler hood cover. slightly larger in scale but painted out the same colour as the uppers and with a coordinating backsplash. The focal point of the kitchen would be the simplified island aligned with the simple range hood. The island is 5 x 3 and the rangehood would be 40" wide x 20" deep, taken right to the ceiling. Our current rangehood configuration is 53" wide.

Here is a mock up of my image of my kitchen with new rangehood cover and island.

before

I completely get the point about the waterfall blending into the existing floor and losing that "wow" factor. We are mulling that over based on comments.

To be honest. The whole thing was inspired by the Angel Rose journey with her kitchen where she transformed her pokey kitchen into something more updated. I can't do everything she has done but she is providing inspiration for my much smller project.

Before:

After

I like how she took a very busy looking kitchen and unified the elements to a simpler look.

Helpful to see the additional inspiration pics and see where you are coming from.

If your current range configuration is 53" and your new one is 40" and you are keeping the same uppers, what is filling in the extra 13" gap - 6.5" on either side of the new hood? I don't think your new hood is simple at all. I think it looks more complex than your current configuration and seems to dwarf your 4 burner range.

I really dislike that enormous hood. It looks totally out of place in your kitchen.

I tried your kitchen with a white top on the island, I wasn't a fan, I prefer dark, and would probably do something different than the waterfall, your island is too small for that look

Here is with the Dark as just a placemarker

and maybe do something funky to liven this island up because of its small stature

Oh, and my personal favorite version of your kitchen:

I had to assume dimensions

Those renderings are amazing, but they all feature hardwood floors - I think this is misleading as OP plans to keep the huge square tiles, which are going to heavily influence the end result. OP - I know this isn't what you want to hear, but literally ALL of your inspiration pictures (including that blogger kitchen) feature wood floors. I think you should revisit changing out the floors. Take the time and save money if need be - but otherwise, you are definitely not going to love the end result of this work.

@Rabbitt Design 's renderings are incredible. And, @mmmunroe I think they go to show why your kitchen is never going to look like that: 1.) You won't have hardwood floors, 2.) Your cabinets don't go to the ceiling, 3.) You are not using your island for seating and are cutting down sides to remove legs so it is going to be an even smaller island with waterfall, which is going to look odd, 4.) It takes away a cabinet of storage space. The one thing that I think is accurate is the ratio of hood size to range size, which is overkill and looks like a mistake.

You have fantastic ideas in your original post of trying to mix the right color paint and counters to the floor color. You seem to be on a budget, which should be respected, and you miraculously have found contractors who can do a lot of work in the budget. Have you asked them what the cost would be for replacing tile with hardwood in the kitchen and dining area? What if you didn't do a waterfall and kept the current hood painted, just removed the extra wood arches - would that free up some budget to redo the tile floors?

Wow. Exceptional insights, expertise and creativity shared here. I truly appreciate every comment. Rabbitt Design, I am blown away on your illustration of my vision/aspiration within my space. It was transformative and I love your material and colour choices which completely elevate the space. I love every example (even the ones illustrating the less ideal configurations), they are all beautiful. My absolute favour change is boxing in the space above the cabinets and painting it out to the ceiling. That takes away the horizontal line created by the crown. LOVE THAT! It also illustrated that I can get the drama with a similar backsplash application and go with a standard counter. :-).

JPL, I noted the impact of the floor change and the used of hardward. UNFORTUNATELY the hardwood shown in my initial is in every room of my house, barring the bathrooms and is no longer available in it's original tongue and groove profile. I started this journey trying to find a way to incorporate a flooring change to go with the existing hardwood that surrounds the kitchen on 2 sides. Near imppossible but I 100% get your point. You are not wrong.

Kendrah I love that you called out that a floor change is not in the plan and therefore I have to work with fewer changes elsewhere. Colour is our biggest and easiest tool. Removing the waterfall is definitely an area where I think we are going to pivot but the rangehood cover is mandatory. Long story, short, we have to replace the fan and the shelves are not functional for us and the crown has an issue that you can't see from the pictures. So the hood is going but we will be open to a different scale and, I guess, styles. The gap will be slighter smaller due to end pieces that have to be installed when the hood is removed but the backsplash material will continue up the wall on either side. The way it was illustrated by Rabbit Design.

Love all of the comments and feedback from such a talented and skilled group.

UPDATE: Mid-way through project and it's the most painful stage thus far. No doors, messy kitchen but keeping the finished space in mind.

Cabinet Colour: Benjamin Moore Calm

, backsplash tiles: Deco Tile Craft Blanco

Quartz with a simple vein

All a perfectly matched greige based white. We are adding wood veneer to our Island to bring in some warmth and using brass metals to keep it from being too cool.

Example of veneer - Inspiration Island

and antique brass handles:

Also taking the cabinets up to the ceiling height and adding trim to finish. Just as a refreshed take on the old cabinets.

Thinking of a traditional brick pattern for the backsplash but worry it's overdone. I want small grout lines with matching grout so an overly ornate pattern will be lost. My husband hates contrasting grout lines so that isn't going to happen. :-)

Any thoughts on tile patterns that may work with our transitional space? I liked the stacked vertical pattern but my husband thinks it only works in bathrooms.

Finally our kitchen journey is finished. Thanks to everyone for their suggestions, designs and advice. Every comment was reviewed, considered and in many cases incorporated, even when the advice was not to include an element that would not serve the aesthetics or budget for our project. Much appreciated to all. I especially appreciate the time and effort of the professionals in the thread who helped without compensation. Their expertise was invaluable and gave us the econfidence to make choices that helped to push us to the finish line. I wanted to share our final pictures and some of the learnings from the process.

1. Budget is a guideline.

Our guideline was 10k, a significant sum for a face lift and sufficient for a basic reface in my area, repainting cabinets, sink and countertop. It didn't allow for all of my wishlist (e.g. extending cabinets, custom rangehood, waterfall countertops, extra large sink and antique brass fittings). Those items required extra budget and some serious negotiation and shopping excursions to support. All in we spend 14K and that included extra cost fo unplanned updates (rewiring for undercabinet lighting, range vent, plumber to replace old plumbing). We also paid twice as much for our counters than we expected. $2700 grew to $5500 but still very reasonable considering our configuration. It meant that my island depth had to be reduced which still bugs me a little but ultimately works better for our floorplan.

2. Sometimes you just can't get a deal on price.

I was desperate to find a backsplash that would be timelines, add texture but not break the budget. We were going to go with quartz to match the counters but that was a budget buster. We decided on subway tile but had made spanish tiles that matched out counters exactly. We found the perfect tile but it was 45% higher than our budget so we searched high and low, for weeks but never found an alternative option. We went with that option and have not regretted it for a second, it has an old world feel that works with the rest of our transitional home.

3. Somes reusing something better serves the overall project

The floors in our kitchen were my biggest concern. "Lipstick on a pig" came to mind everytime we discussed, picking a cabinet colour, quartz countertops and tiles. We had to find a way to incorporate the existing flooring with a new bright kitchen. I needed to refresh our tile to a standard that would not detract from the new cabinets. This was a journey. We finally decided the biggest impact was to regrout the floor reducing the impact of the patter and lightening the floor overall. I think this labour intensive, cheap exercise ($50 in materials) was our biggest bang for our buck and the most satisfying update to our kitchen.

4. Having a plan will save you heartache and reduce regrettable spends.

We poured over thousands of pictures, asked hundred of questions and discussed the project with as many experience people to have a solid picture of what we were trying to achieve. This helped us to know where to spend our dollars effectively. We researched all of the people we worked with and understood the work that would need to be done and we only hired people who understood our vision.

5. Be realistic

You can't have everything, everything won't be perfect and sometimes concessions will have to be made unless you have unlimited time, resources and an army of tradesmen who can do anything you can imagine. I learned that the real fun is in the problem solving and thinking outside of the box.

It took 6 1/2 months but it was more than we had hoped to achieve within our budget.

Project: Update our builder kitchen, making it brighter, in line with the rest of the work we had done on the main floor and reusing as much of the original kitch as we could.

17'X 19' floorplan remained the same. It was dark, crowded outdated and just worn out from 17 years of use. The cabinet had a 10" dust collecting gap, the counters were laminate and in need of repair and we didn't have backsplash.

We focused on light, bright updates that were not overtly trendy or specific to 2023 but rather aligned with the transitional design that we have been incorporating throughout the house.

We also replaced the lighting to create unobstructed views within the room and out to the backyard.

Perfect spot for morning coffee, chatty dinners at the end of the day or a hand of crazy eights with the kids.

Is our kitchen magazine perfect? No but neither is the rest of the house but it is beginning to be perfect for us. :-)

Your kitchen looks great!

Beautiful! Stunned but delighted for you that you could accomplish so much on $14k. Really beautiful space.

Meant to ask why you didn't put crown on your sink wall since you have it everywhere else in the area.

We considered leaving the crown up but there were two challenges. The first was the size of the crown which is slightly larger than the crown on the cabinets. This isn't as noticeable as we transition back into the seating area of the kitchen but would have been more noticeable in that small run above the sink. I had planned to include it everywhere. We also decided that if we limited the crown to over the cabinets they made the cabinets feel built in.

We reinstalled the hutch cabinet to ensure that we had enough storage space even though I thought it was it was much lighter and brighter without it. I agree, it really helped the light to flow through the kitchen.

Thanks for you kind comments. Moving on to bathroom renovations and finding ways to be cost effective with high impact results! Fingers crossed.

That floor!! i strongly disagree - this is certainly a magazine worthy result!! Well done!