Found this pic on Houzz of great looking corner shelving. The wallpaper detailing makes it sing! If you kept the bench height shelf for the kettle and toaster (still a tight fit!) you could start the display shelves (for mugs etc) up higher (leaving enough room for heat/steam to escape. Ideally you'd put a little cupboard (as in with doors to close it off/hide it from view) for the appliances. Doing that, you might be able to make some sort of pull out bench arrangement to give you more space, but probably not generally recommended where heat/hot water are involved…

I think the colour used on these cabinets is great. This is a colour which is unlikely to unsettle anyone who sees it and is teamed with very neutral walls and furnishings. This room looks modern, with a little retro or Scandinavian twist.I believe that if you really love a particular colour, why not use it as a colour block on cabinets. Just keep the main elements in the room neutral and the accent colours to a minimum, like the orange accent used here.

Perhaps you could post some photos of your selections? I am having trouble visualising what a blue marble-look floor tile actually is? Could you use it as a splashback tile?

A few of your cabinet doors will need realignment, but painting it may make it look even more dated it depends on your colour selection. Definitely change out the handles and if budget permits change the bench top too. They are easy to install if you get laminate bench top. You could try for a two tone kitchen to test run your colour selection. I'm under the impression the current kitchen matches the rest of the house so if you paint either top or bottom cabinets first and test out if it suits lighting and overall scheme paint the rest.