I painted my cabinets "Grey Matters" by Sherwin Williams and I love it and have gotten tons of compliments. If you want a warmer gray, I also love BM "Revere Pewter" - I went with cooler gray to go with my marble.

Hi iggs85 as it is an older kitchen I would not spend a huge amount of money on a revamp. It is definitely possible to paint laminate but good preparation is vital to ensure the paint 'sticks'. However a quality painter is going to charge you about the same as your resurfacing quote. Using either a painter or a resurfacing company does let you choose any colour though. The biggest disadvantage of the current benchtop is the bullnose which is very dated. From your photo, the colour and pattern look OK but you could get a stone 'overlay' put on it. They square off the bullnose so it looks more contemporary. An acrylic feature panel on the return is another alternative to vinyl planks. It looks like glass, comes in a good range of colours and is relatively inexpensive compared to glass. See http://zenolite.com/range as an example. You can buy acrylic sheets from Bunnings. You could also use pressed metal panels as a feature eg. http://www.wunderlite.com.au/catalogue/details/1/79/pressed-metal-crystal?start=25 Add some new handles on doors and drawers too.

Hi Tanya. Very nice colour scheme you have going on there. I think you could easily use one tile in bathrooms and another in hallways, kitchen, etc. as the hues of both appear very similar. Is the bathroom tile also to be used in laundry? You could also have a colourful rug in your kitchen to warm it up if you think the tone of tiles are too cool. Keep us posted what you decide.

Nice kitchen casdyson1! I rather like the idea of black handles, esp seeing your window frames are black and the track for sliding door is black; however, I do understand your hesitation. Out of those two samples, I prefer the Brushed Brass. It's prettier and the rounded design will feel better in your hand (ergonomic). It would be helpful to know what your backsplash will be, and if you plan any additional feature lighting in kitchen. It may alter my thinking.