I think it can be stunning! I agree with cabinets to the ceiling except use cdrown molding for the English look you desire. By all means good lighting however to achieve the look do not use harsh lighting. Have dimmers and have a smallish lamp on one of your countertops for ambient lighting. I do suggest Carrera marble if you go grey or hammered stainless (to resemble pewter) if you go dark blue for your countertops and pl;ease consider hanging some antique mirror. I have a wonderful photo of a tiny deep blue kitchen and cannot seem to lay my hands on it. If I find it soon I will post it for you. I hope you will go for it and post photos! Hope this helps. :)

Gloss is lovely, such as these cabinets that were shipped from Italy to Chicago for our custom installation:

A medium color floor is easier to keep looking clean than a dark or light floor. For an open floor plan, I would choose planks. One of the main features in the design of an open floor plan is to draw the eye through the space. A herringbone pattern would be confusing to the eye. Use herringbone in a small room.

All the laminate covering had peeled off, I primed it with the BIN primer and finished it with oilbased satinwood.