I'm no expert, but I'll chime in. : ) I'd recommend you live with the space for a bit before you make any expensive, permanent changes. I'd hate to see you sink a lot of money into the project only to find out a year or so down the road that something about the layout really irks you. (For example, you can't have someone using the sink at the same time someone else is at the stove...) It looks clean, fresh and serviceable, so you've got time to plan and dream.

Enjoy your new home! : )

I'm also no expert, but would agree with laughable. You may find all kinds of things to change, or all kinds of things you love and don't want to change!

As far as color....based on those yellow undertones from your photo, you are not going to be happy with a grey combination and will probably need to plan to paint them a truer white.

I would suggest visiting mariakilliam.com - she is a color expert and blogs a lot about undertones not matching. I've learned a TON from reading her posts.

I love the cabs and the wood floor. I think the counter you are suggesting will be wrong for the space. I think if you want something white, it should really pull the beige tones of the cabs out of it too.
Like Akdo Millenium (sic) cream

I agree the best bet is to wait and live with it awhile until you decide what you really need/want.

all kinds of things can be done,however the kitchen has the dated base cabs with a single drawer and door below. Kitchen drawers are becoming the norm,and for a reason. Going forward, the kitchen will not be current but not because of colors. I wouldn't do anything-it's fresh and functional.The grey and marble you mention sounds formal, will cost you and then you still have an outdated kitchen.It's really fine until more detailed critique can be done, more serious goals established for worthwhile changes. I know lots of people take 80's kitchens and paint/change counters, etc., but there is more than that to getting a kitchen up to speed. If one is a total DIY,they absolutely lack the money for other changes,more power to them.The overall situation and the situation of the particular kitchen in the home can't be known by anyone upon moving in...all the posters saying wait are correct....every realtor I've dealt with has said wait on anything fairly major,for a year,actually.

If you like marble like Carrera I would consider Calacatta, it's a lot like Carrera but a little warmer. It would look better with your tan IMO. Of course it's hard to tell on the monitor for sure what colors are. But I'm thinking the warmer colors in the Calacatta would look a bit more compatible. It also comes in splash tiles. Good luck! I like your cabinets and think the new counter will make them look amazing.

Beige painted oak cabinets! That sounds gross. But those look pretty good. I agree the white doesn't look good with them.

But I even more agree with the advice to live there until you're sure you want to spend more money on that layout. You might love it in which case great! But you might learn to loathe it but refuse to redo it because of the new counters and then be miserable forevah.

So I pretend to be an expert, yet don't play one on TV.

Here is my expert opinion:

I agree with what everyone's said.

That'll be $250 please.

I think with oil-rubbed bronze hardware, new counters and appliances those cabinets will look great. I actually like the color a lot!

Avoid painting the cabinets if you can, and pick a marble that will be pretty with them. For those cabs I would consider either a Calacatta Gold marble, that has grey and gold veins throughout.

or something really unique, like this Karnazeika beige.

Then I'd pick a glass crackle tile in a color to compliment the rest, like the tile below.

Others have commented on the cabinet layout, but just looking at the image you posted my guess is you have stick cabinetry, not boxes. If you just bought a house, can't think about moving the cooktop or buying cabinets, but don't want to live with that tile counter then by all means, get a new counter. An alternative would be to buy group A Corian and put your savings into a kitchen fund for later, in which case don't waste any elbow grease painting anything. But if you think painting cabinets and buying marble will allow you to love your space, go for it!

I love the color. White will only make it look like every other kitchen.

But I wouldn't update the pretty parts without updating the functional parts. Do the cabinets have pull-outs or stationary shelves? What is the cabinet configuration in the peninsula? More cupboards with drawers over them? I'm hoping you'll say it's all drawers because otherwise where do you put everything? Can you show us photos of the peninsula and refrigerator wall?

I was going back through to read people's ideas about different things and reread here.

Looking at your kitchen again, I thought you might want to know that my very first, initial impression was of a clean, light, modern kitchen. I had to look to notice the tile on the counters, but the back splash didn't bother me at all. Tile on counters is gross and I won't live with that again; I get it.

Anyway, I'd actually love to know the name of that paint, because I think it's cool and calm. The cleanness even hides the fact that when I look harder, I see my own, builder grade oak cabinets!!! These look far more modern.

Take a breath and look at the functionality first. And, unless you're going to reconfigure your kitchen, counter tops. If you're going to reconfigure, don't waste the money.

Oh - I've been reading this blog and product page about an inexpensive concrete product that you can put over pretty much anything. Their big thing is that it can go over tile floors and other things with high, commercial traffic! Just an idea...

I can tell you that I have that exact same setup of sink and stove (mine's a range) and it drives me mental! Think about the truism that the counter between the sink and stove is the hardest working part of the kitchen - and it's nonexistent.

I actually like the color of the cabinets (sounded horrible in your title), but not with the marble you're considering. I love what AnnieDeighnaugh posted, to pull out the tan color.

But mostly wanted to say - wait, wait, wait. This is a space you really need to live in to know if the layout will drive you insane or not. Where's the oven?

Wow. Thanks for all the great advice. I definitely hear you about waiting to live in the space, but I'd also love to get at least some things (like countertops since I HATE tile) changed sooner rather than later since life isn't getting less hectic for us. We're going to give it some more thought and maybe meet with a designer to see if there are better layout options for the space. Thanks everyone for being the voice of reason.

CEFreeman--I can check on the paint color ... I think there's a can of it still in the garage

Chiefly 76/May flowers--wall ovens and fridge are on the wall you can't see. There's a wall opening that leads to the dining room next to the cooktop and the other side of that has the walk-in pantry, fridge and ovens. Kind of a G layout with an extra space for the doorway to the other room.

If your peninsula is raised bar, you might want to think about going one level if you get a new countertop. I think it was the norm to have a raised bar in the oak days, and there's been a few threads lately discussing the advantages of one level.

I actually kinda like that paint color. It's very pretty in the picture. I can visualize it with a calacatta top easily or if that is getting too expensive a Corian of some sort that compliments it. They have lots of new colors that mimic marble. Easy care. There are sites where you can buy pull outs for your interiors behind the doors. Cabintets look to be in good condition you could just make them more user friendly until you decide what to do. I wouldn't like that tile to work on either so I don't blame you for wanting to get that changed as quickly as you can.