I was hoping that there might be a thin solid surface type product. The concrete counter in the kitchen in the house that I bought is pitted, stained and dark brown. Replacing it would be a messy project and I’m not sure that any treatment to the current counter will yield good results.

Mari - I'm surprised lumberyard doesn't have exterior beadboard - thought a lot of people would use it for porch ceilings? Where do you live? I could come help stain if your DH would help me with my projects later LOL! Would predrilling be easier than setting nails? Or you'd have to set anyway? marybeth and remodelfla - nice mosaics! danielle - your DH is SuperDaddy! I can't let me kids see pics or they'll want one (and I'd have to build it since my DH is a software guy, I'm the hardware person!). Happy Birthday to the boys! Well, doesn't count since it's the end of the week, but it was raining today so carpenter cousin got off early from landscaping job (he's looking for different part-time job so he can do more carpentry, or a FT carpentry job again since he got laid off in Jan). I had taped off the counters to caulk, started marking studs to get shoe mold up when he called so I finished marking studs, taped off the lower island countertop edges too, then had to pick up our kids at school. He came over and was caulking and putting up shoe when we got home, then put up trim on sides of island (even though I wasn't happy with my finish job and would have liked to have done a final sanding)while the kids played, and cut the 12ft length of crown sitting in my DR to length. Brought me the mitred returns for cabinets on each side of corner and the center bay stool(sill) cut to proper depth but not notched. I've got lots of sanding and staining to do! Actually, putting crown on the kitchen cabinets was a winter make-work job for him that he didn't get to in March, so I told him my next priority is finishing that bay window stool and all the FR/kitchen door and window casings, and getting the baseboard (finished) nailed up. Hopefully I'll get the fiberglas pulled out from around the windows and slider, and low-expanding foam put in, then the next rainy day (or next w/e?) he'll come over and join up some casings with biscuit joiner, and maybe fit the new stool (3 pieces) so I can stain and finish that. I'd love to get the FR windows and slider trim finished and up by 4th of July, and if I can get tile issues resolved I can get kitchen door casings and then the last bit of baseboard in FR (runs into kitchen) and the small pieces of kitchen baseboard in (they're all finished) by Labor Day. It would be nice to have all the trim in the house finished 2 years after moving in, but I don't know if we can do the foyer, LR, half bath, and mudroom by then as well, since I haven't stained any of it yet and I have to do doors and window sashes this summer while I can set up sawhorses in the garage - short pieces of baseboard can wait til fall/winter, I finish them in the Master Bath (which will be finished in oh, 5 years). But maybe I can stain/finish and he can put up the crown by Thanksgiving so I can get it off my DR floor?

Wow, you all are being so helpful, THANKS!!!! I spent all morning on my reply because I appreciate your help so much. And ignore my messy desk. I won't pretend to say it doesn't always look like that :) I want to answer each of you individually, but some of the answers will overlap. Here are some more pics so you can see how it fits into the rest of the house. You'll see the reason the stucco over the range and fireplace are that color because it matches the stucco accents outside of the house. The rest of the outside is in that same white stone. The wall left of the fireplace will be replaced with a window, to match the right side. The TV will go above the fireplace. In removing that stone wall, there is going to be some patching done to the wood floor, which means we'll probably have to refinish it. That makes it a good time to change the color if we want to. I think I'd prefer a cooler brown tone if we keep the cabinets natural. The floor could use it anyway because there is a huge fade spot from the sun (which is why a light floor would be better). Changing the wall to a window will give us a much bigger lake view so we do believe that expenditure will enhance the value of the house. The office pic is the room that connects to the kitchen. There is a tiny tiny bathroom right of the desk which is our only guest bathroom. This room connects to the garage. The main house is on the other side of the kitchen. We were going to replace one of those desks with an enlarged nicer powder room, broom closet, and new pantry. The long hallway goes to the bedrooms and laundry room. You can see the courtyard through the front door that leads to the front entrance. You can see that except for the kitchen, everything in the house is very light. Yes, I have been wanting to change the paint color. I'm glad nobody seems to love it :) The house is old enough now, that it would need to be painted before we put it on the market anyway. I hope you all pick my color when we are done with the kitchen! Rhome (and everyone) Thank you! The finish is actually very worn on most of the cabinets-see pic. We were talking about refinishing them. I did an experiment with one door using some Murphys oil soap this morning and it it came out like new. I don't know how long that will last? How are you supposed to clean or treat wood cabinets? I am in Texas and people here do like their gas. I figured if we sell, I'd put a big sign up over the induction that says, this is hooked up for gas!!!! The slate is pretty, but ours is in horrible shape. I've enclosed pics so you can see the chips. If I could live with it, I'm not sure if there is a way to make them blend with a dark sealer, if that even exists. The main reason I don't like them is they are so textured they are a trap for crumbs, mud, kitty litter, and even dirt from the previous owners (see pic that shows how deep the groves are next to my finger). I hadn't considered anything but wood until yesterday. Maybe we could replace it with a light stone that is a little smoother so at least I can keep it clean. You'll see there is tons of the white stone on the other floors. We don't know if we can put that in because that stone is extremely thick and we may not have the room. But, we could match that pattern or match the pattern on the walls. Matching the walls, or just coordinating with the other stone floors may be better because I'm not sure we can match that pattern close enough. Charlikin- My husband had thought we should lighten up the area around the stove. It seems everyone agrees with him. I have enclosed a close up of the area. It's the slate that matches the floor. Eventually, I will have everyone give us input on how to reconfigure it. It would be nice to lighten it up and open up the view to to living room windows. Galleycook- Yes, nail on the head, the white stone is everywhere. If we were staying, I would definitely paint the cabinets because I would enjoy how it blends more. Hunt7191- Thank you. We live in Austin TX. So many of you like the idea of lightening things up around the range. Concrete could be a good option. Doonie- Thanks. The hard to clean floor is my number one complaint. The black countertops that only look clean for a minute is #2. In general I love dark surfaces, but I'm getting practical in my old age :) I am tired of the busy look of the cabinets, but I do see that if I went lighter with the floor and countertops, I would enjoy the cabinets. Hmmm, does anyone think we should paint the cabinet on the stone wall so it blends in? I'd love to see before and after pics of your new stone floors. Doraville- you got it... tons of pics ! Sabjimata- Thank you. And you are absolutely correct. But, the impractical side of me would just love to do something so I enjoy it for now. But, it only makes sense to be indulgent if I can at least make it look a little better. Riverspots- Great memory! And I remember your comment then too. You said I shouldn't gut the kitchen, and all the wood 'speaks to it's location'. You won! :) I do agree the house is contemporary with rustic elements. I think they picked the wall color to blend with the stucco and the slate stripes. We did lose a lot of plants in our cold winter and are replacing them with location appropriate plants so they don't freeze and die. Other than that, I have no eye for landscaping. If ultimately everyone convinces me to keep everything in the kitchen, I'm open to it. A friend suggested I invest the remodel money into someone helping me keep the counters and floors clean :) :) You and Rhome are squashing my induction dreams :) Speaking of... we have one oven. If we do something, does everyone think I should put in two? If we don't do the wall ovens, we could replace the range with a bigger one if we can give up some drawer space on either side. Actually, our current fridge is overflowing because we live in the country and have to stock up at the store. Our freezer is tight, but we can get by with what we currently have there. And most importantly, right now I'm so happy I can say I've never had a caterer :) Full disclosure: not that many wonderful meals have come out of this kitchen either.. I'm a horrible cook! Nkkp- You have wise advise too. Seems everyone is on board with paint! Bmorepanic- The hood does indeed look like a cave, even when it's lit up. If we do the new countertops, do you think I should use the same material in there, or would you like glass or something similar to the stone regardless. I will ultimately ask everyone for their input once we get the major things taken care of. I hope I answered everyone. Thank you for reading all of this!!

bumping this back up because we have opted to go with granite- originally, we were going to get what we thought was a quartzite, but we think it is actually marble and the fabricator was selling it as "qualtcite" trying to pass it off. We tested the sample and it etched almost immediately. We looked at quartz options, and both of us like the patterns, but they are all very dull and lifeless and flat to us. Which led us to going with granite because that is most affordable. However, the granite I chose is, of course, one of the most expensive ones out there... Pitaya White. Husband wants me to consider Colonial White Granite as it was recommended as a cheaper option by the fabricator we are now going with. There is a $1200 difference so of course the husband wants me to consider it. We are also going to likely pull the mosaic backsplash and just do a super neutral grayish white backsplash that will have a little dimension (hopefully) We went to the Triton to look at slabs and that is where we chose the Pitaya. We both LOVED it. They didn't have any colonial white at the time so we haven't seen it in person. In all of the pictures I've seen online, there is a TON of variance in all of the different slabs!! Any suggestions? Thoughts? Anyone have colonial white?