I second the comment about using melamine for the cabinet interiors. I built mine out of MCP nearly 20 years ago. They still look great; easy to clean and almost no signs of wear, stains, chemical attack, etc. I finished off the end of each run of cabinets with an end panel to match the doors/drawers, so you only see the melamine when you open the doors. I also used 5/8" thick melamine for the drawer boxes, for the same reasons. Look great (to me, anyway) and easy to clean. I put them together with biscuits - not one failure in almost 20 years, and my slides aren't soft close. If you don't like melamine, I would use 1/2" or 5/8" (if it's available) for the drawers, and edge band the top edges if you don't like the look of the plies. Finger joints look great with BB plywood, IMHO, and that makes an incredibly strong drawer box. As for the slides, I would only use soft close ones these days. For that matter, I'd only use undermount ones. Yes, they cost more, but not that much more, and not much at all compared to the whole project.

It's personal taste, but frameless cabinets will give you a lot more actual storage space, especially with the drawers. With your overlay doors, frameless would work great. I would only use the Blum Clip style hinges, and softclose of course. The FF hinges often only adjust in 2 axes, while the Clip style adjust in 3 axes, plus they lay closer to the cabinet as you mentioned. Also, they are easier to get on/off, which doesn't matter after it's all done, but is a big deal when you're installing the cabinets.

When I built my kitchen I didn't have spray equipment. I did a pretty good job, but a sprayed topcoat would have looked better, and saved a LOT of time, too. Whatever finish you use, make sure it's KCMA rated. I used a WB poly over an oil stain, and it still looks good after almost 20 years. The WB technology is so much better now, and that's the route I'd go especially if I were spraying.

I found your comment interesting about time not being a factor. It took me about 4 months to build my 27 cabinets, doors/drawers, while working a full time job. With that in mind, March is coming up fast. Good luck, and keep us posted. We love pictures.

John