On year 2 of my remodeled kitchen. Think I want to go for the "premium '90s" look...

[superocd]

Right now I have a typical dark cherry wood/faux granite countertop kitchen with stainless. I feel like reverting back to a kitchen having the look of a premium kitchen of the '90s (but not upscale or "luxury". Think of trading in a Lexus for a Buick.). Oak cabinets, tile countertops, beige appliances including a double wall oven, track lighting in conjunction with recessed lighting, a desk for making lists and reading recipe books, a standard pantry plus a pantry cabinet and an "enclosure" for the fridge (want to have another French door).

I am not going to do this any time soon, but I think this is what I want to do if I do another remodel. The 2010's look is kind of boring. Some people may think I should have my head checked for wanting to do this.

 

[fan-of-fans]

My neighbor used to have a kitchen kind of like that. I like the look myself and would be happy with it if I happened to have a house with that kind of kitchen. I don't think I would redo a kitchen like you have currently to get that though as I would be happy with that as well.

 

[gusherb]

I like tile countertops. I look at a lot of modern kitchens and agree that it's kind of boring. My tastes do not match with the current trends at all. Too much gray used in everything (I despise gray), brushed nickel is not my thing, and neither is any of that tile made to look like stone or wood.

 

[circlew]

Tile countertops are nice, but be sure to use a grout that won't easily stain. Epoxy is probably the best, but there are some others that are reasonably stain resistant. I've lived in a house with tile counters that had regular grout, and they are hard to clean.

 

[vacerator]

it's your house,

you can do what you like. Latex modified grout additive makes grout stain resistant and additional sealer can be applied later.
You can install reinforced cement tile backer board over the base cabinets, then tile over it.