Now that a couple of years passed, would you be willing to share your decision and if you think it was the correct one?

Hopefully, he paid for the remodel and let the student loans stay. You can always ask for deferment if everything went to hell and you lost your jobs. That is on the student loans.

Sucker here. I paid off my student loans three years after graduating from grad school. $52,000 to be exact.

The advice I'd given is teach your wife about deferring gratification and the importance of saving. In his case I'd pay off the debt first because in a pinch, i.e. medical emergency, auto-immune diagnosis, car accident, lose your job, etc. he'd feel better about taking the $50,000 and paying down debt than he would about a fancy kitchen that may be already on its way to being outdated.

I sold my gold position years ago and I wanted to make sure I had something enduring to show for my $25,000 capital gain. I paid off my truck and all of my student loans. In a crisis, you'll feel better about a stronger balance sheet than a newer kitchen. Further, you can have the kitchen too, but it will take a little more time.