Hi Craig, what is the condition of the 'inner' of the cabinet? I can see all the doors are out of alignment, gappy, etc. The other question you need to ask is if the old cabinetry will take the weight of stone? If the ply/mdf inside is perishing, bowing, etc...probably not.

I'd google building/renovator auction clearance warehouses for Melbourne for stone slabs- you will then need to find a stone mason for installation. I'm Sydney-based and have previously picked up slabs of cheap granite from Paradise Kitchens. The other option is to replace it with a stone-look laminate- this will avoid the gap you will have between your splashback and bench top.

This looks a pretty standard u-shape kitchen. You might even find a flat pack on clearance at an auction clearance place. They often include the benchtop also.

I can't help you with the bench top supplier, sorry! But I think your current cupboards will come up amazingly well with paint! The shape looks pretty dated in timber, but that shape painted white, will look fresh, even those dinky little window doors... almost a bit Hamptons! ; D

You may not need to as they're timber, so with a light sand and primer/enamel paint they should come up well. But I recently painted my kitchen cupboards. The lower cupboards were laminate so I used the White Knight Primer & Laminate Paint (in a dark blue-grey!) and the upper were painted timber so I just used enamel paint. But the White Knight paint just came up so much better and was so much easier to paint with, the finish is incredibly smooth, they look like brand new cupboards, I've even suggest using that as it's so strong too.

But having seen what a transformation a simple paint job made to mine, I'm sure yours will come up really well. Just put the effort into preparing the surfaces of course, the actual painting was the much easier part!

Also, try for a light stone, it'll make the space look bigger and your sink etc will blend better, making it seem larger.

Hi Craig, Your kitchen looks like a standard U shape layout from what you photo shows, does it have a wall oven and pantry? Painting the cupboards what ever colour you like, perhaps Navy/Black or white would look great on that profile door, with a white look marble bench top. You could do a Navy / Black lower and white upper ,re adjust the door hinges as they look as though they need it to line up the doors up correctly. And as suggested make sure the cabinets can take the weight of the stone bench top, looking at the size of your cabinets it should be OK but can be easily fixed by your carpenter with adding a couple of extra bits of timber. Or you can create a shadow line bench top by first placing a slim white laminate top set back a bit and have the slim stone on top of this which would sit forward

And paint the plinth above the wall cabinets the same as the ceiling. Your gas cook,top looks like a Cannon, we had one it was brilliant and so easy to clean.

A new square deep sink and tap would all add to the new look. If you aren't planning on changing your range hood white upper cabinets would blend this in beautifully,cheers

I agree that timber is far more affordable than stone from either Bunnings or Ikea.

The glass door wall cabinets could keep the lead light or replace with plain glass or Chicken wire or just be used as painted open shelves cheers

before and after. First coat is already looking amazing. Thanks for the suggestions guys. I'm now considering a timber bench top but one which maybe looks modern but also industrial is sort of the style of the house. Any thoughts about any particular types of timber or caesar stone colours.

What about the Caesar Stone overlays. They are only about 5ml thick and are made to go over your existing bench top. I saw them the other day and great way to update a kitchen without spending nearly as much as new benches. Companies in Melbourne. Google Caesar stone overlays.