I think this piece is quite lovely. It appears that your couch and chairs have dark wood so I would be tempted to stain or paint the buffet to match these items. Changing the large modern handles to smaller antique ones might help to make it less bulky looking and tie in with the other items in your room.. I like the idea of putting a mirror in the upper door, however much as I like the criss cross effect in the sample pictures, adding more detail may conflict with the curves in your sofa and chairs. You could look for a decorative detail that has more subtle style. As for placement, it might go on the short wall where you have a bench or even on the wall where you have your table with two chairs, one on each side to balance the look.

Unfortunately all your options require custom work: It looks like you need an 18" corner cabinet. You will have to modify the last wall cabinet on the left. As I am eyeballing it, you should be able to cut the last cabinet in the middle and then shorten the left section to fit the space of the wall next to the door trim. It's an option that makes the area looks symmetric. Or you can install shelves over the sink. I would not recommend it because it will take the looks away. And the last option will be to remove the last cabinet, shorten it so it fits over the sink and install a single cabinet where the double one was. This will leave a triangle space behind the corner where the two cabinets will meet. You can block the space under it. Hope this helps!

thank you very much to everyone who responded! I'll look into espresso and charcoal grays. As well as the steel backplash. Emmarenes, I'm living abroad in India, and the only granites in my budget are the local ones. I was advised against the gray and white local ones because i was told that they would not hold up well in the kitchen. I could have gone with a black galaxy as well but i have that granite now and despise it because of the way it hides ants and bugs so well. we live in a tropical area and there are always critters here and there. My first choice was a Brazilian white granite but it was triple the price. This granite is called Shiva pink, so it has a pink salmon and gray look to it. Im really hoping I don't hate it once it's installed. The stoneyard was a 9 hour trip up and down and i was just pressured to make a choice after several undecided trips. And I'm getting new cabinets put in. but I think I can wait for them to put the slab before staining the wood. Thanks for that idea :)

I have some suggestions if you are thinking budget friendly changes. Make a photo gallery with different size frames and arrange them parallel to the stairs, so you can enjoy each photo as you climb up. And for the area that will be on a level with your upper floor, try some pretty decal that will connect the photo gallery to upper level. And last, if you have budget add some beautiful hanging lights in the stairwell. Also think about repositioning your refrigerator.