Berry, you may consider placing some "soft lighting" hidden on the top side of your cabinets if you will still have that much space to fill.
"Should I pull out the existing cabinets to do the floor or work around them?"
Unless you intend on placing down an entire new floor, no. Simply work up to the cabinets leaving them in place.
Other advice... patience, and more patience and be prepared for the "unexpected". 
__________________
Ken
"A VETERAN"
"Whether active duty, retired, national guard or reserve - is someone who, at one point in their life, wrote a blank check made payable to "The United States of America", for an amount of "up to and including my life". That is HONOR, and there are way too many people in this country who no longer understand it." -Author Unknown
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