Hi Stacey, I know you like the white wash look and the photos you posted were great examples of this finish. No one really likes that dark brick look so why not do the ceiling first after you knock out that wall in the middle & step back in to look at the changes. I'm sure you will be tiling before the new kitchen goes in so after this is done your room will be lighter again. The ugly duckling is becoming more like a swan! At this point you will be more certain of the finished look so before the kitchen is installed do a patch behind where the cupboards will go to see how you like it.There are some you tube videos of the process if you want to diy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkVBm3bitEE And here's a before & after story like yours with a happy ending on Houzz. https://www.houzz.com/discussions/before-and-after-brick-and-dark-wood-transformation-dsvw-vd~3130506 Good luck!

http://www.timberlinebp.com.au/ have you had a look at this mob? they do the cupboards in laminex and then the tops are white.. we had them done for our rentals..came up great and not as pricey.. Beaumont should have their catalogue

Thank you to everyone who has commented - it is really lovely and so useful to have such thoughtful and encouraging comments! annab1997, the natural white is very yellow against the essastone sample we have, but does seem to work with the ticking. I'm trying a half strength version to see if that works - I also need to try it in the actual kitchen space but can't get in until the weekend (it is a building site). We don't really have any wall space in the kitchen/dining to paint as the wall opposite is full length windows. This provides loads of light to the island, but not much passing through to the back wall of the kitchen. Those small sections we do have - to the right of the bifolds on the picture - will either be in ticking (a great background to some of our artworks) or in the colour we paint the cupboards. I will definitely give the Resene colours a go as well as the Whisper White.

Don't go with white. While it is easy to replace door fronts and drawer fronts you won't be able to replace the tall vertical panels adjacent to the fridge recess and the microwave recess without pulling out half of your cabinetwork. If you went with a white you wouldn't be able to match the same white as these vertical panels, and the new white would look off next to the old white or vice versa! I'm afraid there is no easy solution that will make the new doors blend in with the old vertical panels, so I would go with a bold contrast colour block that looks good with the white vertical panels, as well as the black granite. Perhaps consider a Piet Mondrian inspired kitchen facelift, by introducing some black edging to the vertical cabinets and a careful composition of blocks of primary colours? Best of luck, Dr Retro of Dr Retro House Calls/Dr Retro Virtual Visits