As others have said, a lot depends on the storage inside, not just the boxes. Most of us put in drawers in all of the lowers which not only maximizes storage, but is more convenient for access. WIth a small kitchen, what to do with your corners are also impt. Choices can be an easy-reach, super susan or even making it a dead corner if it allows for larger cabinet boxes to either side. If soffets are removed then you will also gain that storage all the way to the ceiling. Most also put in a deeper cabinet over the refrigerator; without the soffet the cabinet can not only be deeper, but taller and a great space for vertical tray storage. I agree removing the cabinets over the peninsula would make your kitchen look more open and brighter, but for that you will really need to maximize your storage solutions elsewhere. I'd suggest visiting a kitchen showroom and looking at all the options available with kitchen cabinets, not just the door styles, but the interior components, include the hardware.

Thanks so much everyone! I'm reading this instead of doing my statistics midterm...so maybe that's a thanks? Instead of a thanks! Ha ha! Anyway, this year's budget is about $2k which could stretch to cover new stairs or new railings but wouldn't extend to porching out the roofline unless I learn some carpentry skills really quick. I completely 100% agree that adding a porch over the front door would be amazing. I live in a rainy climate and it is so much more welcoming that way. I totally dream of a front porch so maybe I should look into making it happen. circuspeanut and GreenDesigns, thanks so much for your photoshops. I do love the longer hat! I think I may have made a mistake by making it so high contrast ... maybe a darker beige would be better than charcoal. I have an idea involving doing the porch and the hat in one color on vinyl shake, and leaving the bottom and the side the beige. Let me think on it...but don't let me photoshop it tonight! My midterm is due at midnight. Although I like colored trim, there is no way I would paint cheap vinyl trim, thereby removing its only bonus (low maintenance) but maybe I can go shopping and see if there are multi-colored trims available? I kind of like the look of a white trim with just a little black square around it. Very tailored. I'm mixed on the barn boards. I like the look of them online but am unsure if they fit with the decided charmlessness of my builder-grade beige vinyl -- I love them on houses with shakes! Replacing and reframing the front door is probably out of the budget. Unless I could get one the same width but with skinny sidelights on either side... Ok - what if the darker brown parts were coordinating vinyl shakes? Man I wish my roof were more peaked. This post was edited by robotropolis on Sat, Mar 9, 13 at 21:51

Yes, if you paint the wall (the paneling) the same colors, top and bottom and paint the chair rail that color also, it will make it all joint together and disappear sotaspeak. Then paint the doors the white color as your other white in-house. You can paint the kick molding (shoe molding) or you can leave it the same color as your (dentil work, etc) molding at the top. In fact, I think I would paint the room the same color, yellow, green, gold, whatever, and then paint the doors like the other white trim in your house. Leave the shoe and quarter-round molding in the stain color and leave the stain at the top. I have seen this done before and it looks good. Then you have the white colors which connect to your foyer, your main color and only the color of the molding as a third color. Your room will look united and larger, more open. Another trick is to line paneling with cheap wallpaper and paint over it. They used to sell what is called wallpaper lining for that specific purpose, to hide the "creases/dents" in your paneling but most people do not mind them (I don't). But, if you do, you can spackle or grout them, whatever it is called, or you can just buy cheap-as-dirt wallpaper to put over the paneling and paint that.

Just make sure removing an island doesn't leave you with bigger problems (no workspace, replacing flooring -- especially if that could lead to larger or other changes). An isolated change is one thing, but project creep is the one thing you want to avoid in you situation. If your solid surface counters are in good shape, I wouldn't change to granite. Some folks don't like granite and would rather have the alternative. A lot of folks might prefer their choice of granite over the generic one chosen for resale. And the folks who might rather reno the whole kitchen if they aren't paying for the updating too have already been mentioned. You see a fair number of whiners on HGTV who want move-in ready, but even they seem to be willing to paint a couple of rooms, change a floor before they move in or even have granite put in to make a good house their own. The higher the market, the more people seem to want something to make it their own. I also wouldn't paint the cabinets white. My next door neighbors hired painters to paint their oak cabinets white, then paid a contractor to resurface them. We gutted our kitchen and changed out to frameless cabinets with more drawers, added organization and function and a lot more usable space and our kitchen probably took less time in the end -- we wonder if they spent much less or even more than we did. We know it took longer. First thing I would do is look into refurbishing the finish on the cabinets. I'd remove the hardware on a couple of those drawers and see what you can do with them. First thing is to give them a good cleaning using a cleaner intended for wood finishes and make sure you don't leave any residual cleaner on the surface. Products to try once clean would be Old English Oil and/or Scratch Cover (look at their website for more info before you shop, but you can probably find these at your grocery store, Walmart or Target), Restor-a-Finish in a color to match the cabinets (both this and Scott's Liquid Gold have some solvents that will smooth out a worn old finish -- they are meant for solvent based finishes, not a poly based, so test if you aren't sure). Formby probably has some similar products, but the point is that if you give the cabinets a good cleaning and then make the best of the cabinets as they are, you will probably come out way ahead. Working with what is there is almost always the best bang for the buck. Go from there.