Hi D.,
Not sure if you'd be interested in this, but this is what we did and it worked out very well - both by cost and beauty.
We found a few new cabinet kitchenettes on Craigslist that a man had purchased from a Lowe's store when they were remodeling their showroom. Then we went to Lowe's and ordered more to fill up our kitchen. Grand total from Lowe's was less than $5,000 - and these are their top of the line - Diamond brand.
We have another kitchenette set that we were going to install as a juice bar but have changed our color scheme - so it is sitting in the basement. It's in almost perfect condition and I am only asking $900 for it. You can still order more from Lowe's. Here's the link to our CL ad if you would like to see what they look like:
http://phoenix.craigslist.org/evl/hsh/1143503293.html
Also, here is a link to see our kitchen before and after pics. http://peanutttsremodels.blogspot.com/ With the exception of the crown/lightrail molding and the granite, we did all of the installation ourselves. So DIY can be accomplished with these cabinets - and they really are beautiful.
Let me know if you're interested and whichever route you take - best of luck!