TJ, why do you think painted cabinets will make your space look too small? It is a popular misconception that white makes everything look bigger. In truth, great design makes everything look better. Grey cabinets with white counters and SS appliances would be beautiful in any size space.

sparkelkitty posted this image in a grey cabinet thread.

And white cabs with grey counters are beautiful too

But if you want some warmth, why not pick a warmer neutral for your counter?

These are white cabs with Pebble CS and SS rangetop

Of course your backsplash can help you warm things up as well, but Pebble might be a good option for you.

Here is a link that might be useful: Dark Grey Thread

Interesting!

I was thinking something along the lines of the attached photo here. A warm floor, cool counter, with the walls and cabinets 'keeping out of the way' if you know what I mean. I have seen grey cabinets but the kitchen is directly visible from the living room which has a huge grey floor, so I don't want a visual running line of grey all the way from one room to the other. I do like white. It's neutral. Nobody ever complains about white when you try to sell (which I may later on). But I hear what you say - thanks!

The pebble seems to be a honed surface and has the 'splotches' which I'm trying to avoid. Perhaps those Linen, Haze or Seattle Sky colours may work somehow...I really wanted a grey in between those and the darker Urban and Oyster colours.

Helps if I attach the photo!

The backsplash helps to add a bit of colour here, which is an idea I like.

I think Oyster is actually lighter than some of the other colors you names as being too light. The Caesarstone website describes Oyster as a "shaded white". Linen is a "light brown", Haze is a "soft gray."

What about Silestone Unsui? Very uniform, a warm gray, and doesn't look as dark as Caesarstone Urban. On the cooler side, Silestone also has Kensho.

I agree with EAM44 that you don't need to go all white/light to keep your space from looking small. In particular, I don't think the floor color has that much effect and may be an area where you can add some color or warmth.

Thanks cawaps. Apparently Silestone is considerably more expensive than CaesarStone here in Singapore, which is why I'm probably just sticking with the CaesarStone. But I do appreciate your advice, thanks!

I have seen oyster and my biggest problem with it is the splotches. I prefer a uniform finish. I was thinking about making the floor a warm colour, something almost like a warm white without being yellow, if that makes any sense. The problem I have with the floor is that it adjoins the living room which has a grey granite floor, and I would like to have a separate colour to visibly separate the two spaces.

But every time I think I've made my mind up, I end up second guessing myself...

Haze is a lovely option, and I would say it is a warmer gray than most, so there should be no doctor's office starkness problem. Here's an image of Linen, that I think is very pretty and would work for you as well, next to a carrera marble bs. It was posted by BlackChamois on another thread here.

I know you aren't asking about floors really, but if you want to visually separate two connected spaces, you might want to integrate the cool color in with the new warmer color with interleaving tiles of grey and cream, for example, so that you get a harmonious transition. This is much larger format than I would recommend for a small space, but will give you an idea.

Here is a link that might be useful: BlackChamois

Here's the 3D rendering I just received from my interior designer. I'll make the counter a little darker (it's almost white in the drawing), so it should be pretty much perfect I think. What do you think?