Refinishing the cabinets with a little DIY sweat was definitely the way to go ... champagne looks on a budweiser budget :) Also totally agree with your philosophy to DIY the small jobs now so you can better manage contractors on the bigger jobs tomorrow ... this is the only way to develop those "Spidey senses" in foreseeing contractor issues around estimates, quality of work, etc.I agree that a backsplash would be icing on the cake.

If you were looking to get a nice condo by the beach for lifestyle and you son't care that there's not much in the vicinity besides your development, you can uncork the champagne! 

Thanks,Jonah Champagne

If it has so much sun during the day, i prefer not to use dark colors because it fades in time (hopefully you won't own the property by then, but i always want to do renovations in a way that it will last longer for the buyer too).For interior colour, i prefer anything with hues of champagne, it is warmer than white or off white but calmer than yellow.