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.

Xenia, just to be clear, is the builder saying there doesn't need to be a non-combustible material covering the gap between the stone benchtop and the window?? Is that wall made of brick or some other non-combustible material, or is merely plasterboard? If it's plain ole' plasterboard, it is most certainly combustible and can ignite in say, a fat fire. Maybe I'm missing something. Would you please look closely at your plans and clarify? I very much like your table/butcher's block. The one in photo looks like it's higher than a table, so I'm guessing it is at a perfect height for you to work? Yes, that's a lovely, restful colour of glass, and no, I don't think it is overkill. You want to be happy in your own kitchen. Just a thought, but you could choose material with that colour of blue for any chairs or stools you have at the butcher block table. Ties it together.

Thank you everyone! I love how it turned out. Pictures don’t do it justice. The stone is granite, fantasy brown. We had it professionally painted. Not sure on what color gray. The contractor brought us samples and we just picked one. They glazed them with a darker gray to bring out the grain of the oak.

I assume the cabinets are laminate though -- it would be difficult to repaint them , PLUS a decent amount of colour will take the focus off them . The walls seem to have a blue tinge to them -- to me ,that adds to the colder , austere look . If I was going to repaint anything , I'd actually opt to do the walls in a warmer English Cream , or even a slight Apricot tinge would be more my taste . And then , the right hand wall in your 'new'pic 1 ( I think it heads to the rest of the house ? Theres a door there ) I would wallpaper in a textured paper , again with apricot tones ,maybe something like relatively simple apricot and cream diagonals 12-15mm wide on a woven textured paper ? ) . And 'double down'with the splashback tiles on the 'front' of the island . So that whole room would be English Cream or maybe a slight apricot tinge , instead of the slight steel blue tinge , with the warmer brown tiles , the pretty neutral floor , the slight coffee cabinets -- and then orange appliances and stools and pendent lights possibly . Obviously , you'd then need to go warmer tones for your dining furniture -- wooden frames , or black gloss and dark glass table , and creams , apricots , orange upholstery ? Mind you , once your present furniture is added , that may be enough ? It looks coldish and too neutral now IMO , but nice furniture will divert most of that attention .