A few years ago i bought a very run down mobile home and i started rebuilding it from the steel/iron frame up. Ill include a few pics of the in between in the comments, but this is my kitchen finally completed. I rehabbed some used cabinets and built a good bit of them from scratch as well as the cabinet doors. This is my first time building anything at this level. Many mistakes were made, but i learned alot.
I think the microwave will be a decent compromise, but time will tell. The counters were definitely a choice due to price. The whole build is coming from paychecks and i couldn't justify the cost of stone. I def didn't want the home depot special counters tho, formica or whatever. I picked up 30 feet of butcher block for just under $800.