Searching for a vision

I know what I do not like about my kitchen. My problem is that I don't have a vision for what I do want in it. I keep searching for a picture that will be my inspiration, but even after hundreds of magazine pages, no luck so far. Wandering around Home Depot/Expo/Lowes/tile stores/granite warehouse hasn't helped much either. It's how I shop for everything--I'll know the perfect thing when I see it.
I do know that I want to keep the vintage feel in the kitchen, but I'm not going to go for the authentic 1940s kitchen--I'm sure if my grandmother could have had an undermount sink, she would have loved it! So I need to find things that capture the impression of vintage, but have the modern advantages of easy care and cleaning. That doesn't sound like it would be too hard, but some people just don't get it. I recently saw an article in a magazine about a kitchen remodel in a 1920s home--the owners were so proud of how they made their new kitchen look true to their period house, but the kitchen was all cherry cabinets, black granite countertops and a big island in the middle--I don't think the original owner of their house would be fooled. I want my kitchen to look relatively timeless, not trendy. If it does look stuck in time, I want it to be stuck in the 1940s, so it will look like it has always been there. Why can't there be a "retro" aisle at Home Depot to make all this easier?

Here's the list of what has to go:
cheap laminate countertops
enamel double sink with 2 bowls that are too small to be useful
faucet (that is now leaking--it knows the end is near)
stick-on vinyl tile floor that is chipped, cracked and scuffed
too-small window on back wall

Here's the list of what will be going in:
some kind of countertop
an undermount sink
a new faucet
some kind of floor (with under-floor heating installed--no more cold feet!)
big bay window with window seat that can be used with kitchen table

I am still searching for the perfect choices...trying to consider cost, style (timeless not trendy), and environmental implications (I try to be as green as possible without going over the edge) The window is the only thing that is easy to choose--it will match the rest of the windows in the house.

Next entry...narrowing down the field.