I think updating the handles on the cabinets would go a long way. I'd do something popular and neutral in a brushed metal finish. Also, pulls seem much more current than knobs.

You have a great blank palette to work with. I agree that new knobs would be helpful. You have a lot of white going on! Target has Satin Nickel knobs in a value pack for a buck a piece. I would add a fabric valance on the window for color and softness.
A bowl of fruit and a pretty cookbook on a stand would look nice too.
I like the color on the backsplash. Have you considered painting the rest of the kitchen that color?

I agree that there's alot of white going on. However, since you have older cabinets, I would go with a vintage knob in a dark color. I wouldn't use nickel at all, but instead would try to match the color of the doorknob leading out of your kitchen, past the table.

You moved the tv from one picture to the next. I'd move the tv so it's not on the counter and make sure wires aren't draping across the opening.

I'd lower the picture on the wall by a couple of inches. I think there should be more black wall above the picture than below....not equal amts above and below.

I'd pick up on the gold, taupe and blue and possibly get new canisters or add other countertop uses of those colors. I wouldn't cover the windows at all.

You have a nice kitchen, but I think it mostly needs color.

I agree about updating the knobs. You could buy a couple in nickel and maybe oil rubbed bronze and see which looks better. Save the receipt and return the ones that don't work.

The wall colors are pretty, but you could try painting below the chair rail a slightly darker color, maybe the backsplash color. It would set off the backsplash nicely. I almost didn't notice the backsplash.

I was thinking about a window treatment, too, but the window isn't very big and I would hate to cover up the nice view. I would leave it alone.

The counters around the fridge are cluttered a bit. Put the papertowels on a holder, too.

I have the perfect valance for the window. I just ordered them in the blue & black, the black is very pretty, I think it would look awesome in your kitchen. Would give you a little bit of color.

On the knobs, I'd go with something that has color as well, whether a black or colored glass, which Target has. I think the colored glass would be really nice.

I would lose the white canisters, they get sucked into the counter.

Here is a link that might be useful: Nassau vine valance

Hi:
You have a great kitchen--like the lighting and the color of the backsplash.
I'd move the white canisters to the area beside the stove and put the largest one next to the stove, placing them very close together. For some reason they look odd the way they are arranged now and the room is "heavy" with all the things on one wall. I'd put the 2 colored cannisters on the other side of the sink to balance out the color. Nothing on the window--it looks charming the way it is. I'd take the plate off the wall above the stove and have nothing. A vertical paper towel holder would be great beside the sink--the left side. If you get new knobs it should match those. Take the stuff off the refrigerator and have nothing up there. Keep it spotless and put all the sink stuff in the cabinet under the sink in a basket so you can get to it fast & you have a perfectly staged kitchen show casing the large expanse of countertops which is what most people want. Less is more on the decorating.

Don't forget the inside of all the cabinets, too. Zero clutter and as few staples as you can deal with- you want to show loads of extra room everywhere they peek. I even staged the inside of my refrigerator and under the sink.

Y'all are gonna laugh, but I just pulled all the horrible old tarnished brass knobs and hinges off and replaced them with the white ones, argh!

The rest of the house has been updated completely to brushed nickel, maybe I need to do the knobs, too... Fwiw, the knobs are the white ceramic and they're clean and new.

I *just* added the backsplash color, it was some very bright and busy wallpaper before (which I did for me, but it wasn't good for selling).

I don't want to put a valance up because the private back yard where you can see your kids out the window was a big selling point to me, and I don't want to block it-if I could put the valance above the window so I didn't block any of the window I would but it goes right to the top.

I'll start shuffling some canisters around. My husband thinks the plates look "goofy", any opinions? scdeb says take the one off above the stove, should they both go?

I have some blue and yellow kitchen towels that I got from costco, I'll put those up on the stove and shuffle the canisters and post more pix when I get home today.

I was thinking about a plant on top of the fridge 'cause it looks so bare. Good,bad?

Yeah, I agree with the spotless. I bought the costco sized bottle of clorox clean up today-white kitchen=clorox clean...

Thanks for the ideas so far, any more?

I disagree that you should change the knobs because then they won't match the painted hinges and it will draw attention to the hinges (that paint's not gonna last, right?). I think you made the right choice.

What's the backsplash? Is that paint? If it is, I'd paint the whole kitchen that color. The yellow is too light. The only "problem" with this kitchen is that the contrast between the earthy floor and the bright white is too great. If you could get some of the earthy color up higher I think you'd be OK.

Is that picture hung too high?

I like your kitchen.

I agree with the others though, it needs a few punches of color.

Also, I see a few doors that are hanging funny. I know it's an older kitchen - and there's nothing wrong with that - but if you could tighten up the screws on the hinges, that would help it look a little less old and well maintained.

If the view from the window is good, I would replace the pendant light fixture with a flush or semi-flush one, or at the very least, shorten the stem.

I would also consider replacing the main overhead light fixture - it looks too modern and busy for the rest of the room.

I was going to say, you are 99.9% of the way there because it looks cleaner than a hospital! I'd pack the white cannisters away and look on clearance or at a garage sale for a colorful set to complement the decorative plate. If you have cabinet room for the cannisters, then a complementary ceramic bowl on that side of the counter could work.

If the cabinet that houses your electronic components (foreground, 2nd picture) has a door I would re-hang it.

Remove the stuff on top of the refrigerator.

I'm agnostic re. the hardware. Overall it looks very nice.

I don't want to put a valance up because the private back yard where you can see your kids out the window was a big selling point to me, and I don't want to block it-if I could put the valance above the window so I didn't block any of the window I would but it goes right to the top.

The thing is you are staging the kitchen to get buyers in. Buyers don't think about looking out the window to see their kids. You are trying to make it appealing to get people in and what is seen on this end is a sterile looking kitchen due to too much white. I would hang a valance at least for pictures. You can use a tension rod so as not to damage the walls. Target had cute ones.

I don't care for any of the yellow with the flooring choice but like the blue. what I'm seeing on my monitor, I would replace the yellow with taupe as I think it would flow better with the floor.

As a buyer, I notice the knobs, didn't even think about hinges, you could probably get away with painting the top part of the knob.

Top of the fridge needs something, what I don't know.

i really like the way it looks and i don't know that i'd change colours or anything major (but i would try to fix the way a few of the cupboard doors are hanging and get rid of everything off the counters). it's a great kitchen - i love how it's set up - a decent amount of counter space and lots of storage, a good light over the sink and i like the lighting fixture on the ceiling too. those seem to give a nice, clean light. i'm a sucker for a good kitchen. :)

i like being able to walk into a place and think about how i'd make it more colourful or interesting in a way that suits me. it's clean, decluttered and obviously well looked after and those are the things that make me interested in buying a place. i see where others are coming from when they say to add a bit of colour... but, if what you want is a good blank slate for a buyer's imagination, i think you pretty much have it.

Here's some really picky things, but heh, you asked;

Lower the picture in the dining nook 4-5" and put a crisp, white (yes, white!) tablecloth over the table. Add a vase with fresh flowers for showings.

Open 2 of the larger canisters and put your cooking implements (esp. wooden ones) in them, adds interest.

Put a *large*, dark wood basket over the fridge to bring some deep colors upward.

New pulls for sure!

disneyrsh, are you still in Dunwoody or another northern Atlanta suburb? Maybe we're neighbors!

I had a realtor walk through to give me ideas, and one thing she suggested was taking down all draperies, in line with the more minimalist trend now. Blinds or shutters, OK. Draperies and curtains, not so much. Just her opinion, based on feedback from her buyers in the Dunwoody market. If it were my kitchen, I wouldn't bother putting anything on the kitchen window. Keep the view and the great natural light.

I agree about lowering the picture in the kitchen, and I think the darker color below the chair rail would look great and would anchor the room.

The thing that jumped out at me the most is that the lights over both the kitchen and dining room tables appear to be hung too high -- a decorator told me that they should be hung closer to my eye level when standing (I'm 5'5"), but just make sure it doesn't prevent people from seeing one another when they're seated around the table. I didn't like her comment but did it anyway -- and it certainly looks more balanced. Just a thought ...

The white knobs don't bother me at all. They just add to the crisp, clean look of your kitchen.

If I were a potential buyer walking into your home, your kitchen would certainly be in the plus column.

The lower cabinet next to the stove, was it just not closed properly in the picture or does it need fixing? Fix it if needed.

I like the idea of a attractive large basket over the fridge. I also agree about hanging the picture a little lower and painting the lower part of the walls in the breakfast room a darker color like your backsplash.

Put away the white canisters, get more canisters with the colors of the plate and the canisters near it and put them on the counters. Leave your new knobs, you just replaced them and they are fine. Consider painting below the chair rail in order to tie in the floor's warm colors to the rest of the area because the white is cold (but clean!) looking, but the warm floor can solve that if you tie it in. I am not sure I would keep the creamy yellow color above the chair rail, because as others said, it does not really go with the earthtone color of the backsplash and floor. You may want to paint the top half of the wall a lighter shade of the color of the backsplash. I like the wooden spoon idea, too. I like having some things that make the kitchen look like it does get cooked in. I also agree with the basket or plant above the fridge. A plant on the counter near the window or doorwall would also be homey. I agree with no curtains or valance and do think that people consider if they can see the kids in the backyard while working in the kitchen.

My only original thought concerns the light switch and outlet covers on the backsplash. The contrast of white on the earthy tan is too stark. How are you at painting a design on them after a basecoat of the backsplash color? Maybe a pattern from the plate or other crockery that sits out? It can give the kitchen a really warm feeling and look more personalized and decorated and less sterile.

I noticed the light switches and outlet covers, too. You can take them off and paint them the same color as the backsplash with a small paint roller. I've done this and it holds up very well. You can prime first, but I've never needed to. They will blend really well then.

I actually think it's cute as is. The pendant fixture, grooved cabinet doors, and style of cabs gives a great cottage vibe, so even though it's an older kitchen, I don't think it looks dated at all. I don't know if cottage is what you're going for or if it meshes with the rest of the house (it looks like your dining table is cottagey too), but I'd go in that direction. If you want to do something with the knobs, I'd try to get vintage-y looking ones - either white porcelain with the screw in the middle or some kind of colored glass. I'd leave the sink pendant and maybe replace the faucet to something that doesn't look old/dated, but rather more vintagey (gooseneck with porcelain handles). Maybe swap out the modern track-lighting type fixture with something more vintagey that matches the style of the pendant over the sink. Then I'd accessorize the counters with vintagey looking things - glass jars with cookies in them, old wooden cutting boards, etc.

But that's just me. I'm a vintage/cottage freak so that's how I think. :-)

Seriously, though, I think even if you didn't do a thing to it, it would be fine.

My comment about hinges wasn't aesthetic - it was functional.

The cabinet doors above the sink, below the sink, to the left of the sink (as you face it), and to the right of the stove appear crooked. It might just be the photo - but they look like they are falling off. It could just be a matter of tightening the hinges, or you may need to put wood putty in the screw holes on the cabinet frame and then re drill them in the same spot (one way to fix a loose screw due to the hole being too big).

Whoah, I'm blown away by all the ideas! I'm going to have to re-read it all a few times :)

lkplatow, yeah, I have a serious cottage vibe going on with the whole house. Except for my powder room which I basically coated in creamy travertine (It was on sale, I was learning how to tile, I went nuts). The outside is all cottage-y, too. I like the comfy vibe of cottages. It was a dark and dreary colonial when we bought it, it's a lot cheerier now.

maryann, yep, still in Dunwoody. We have no soft curtains up anywhere anymore, they're all either plantation shutters or plantation blinds. People looking at houses in dunwoody tend to see a lot of "grandma" houses with fussy curtains and I'm really trying to offer something clean and refreshing.

The outlets, and switches, all through the house were replaced with the new decorator levitron switches. I can't even begin to tell you what a HUGE job that has been. But when switches are 40 years old, they are GROSS! Now they're new and clean and shiny :)

I'm laughing at the "lower the chandelier" "lower the pictures" because I'm 6 feet tall and my husband is 6'4", so for us those ARE normal height, lol...

THe picture I will lower, but the chandelier's a problem since rewiring it and getting the links to match (it's been faux painted), are tough.

I'm still going back and forth about valances, I definitely see roselvr's point. Maybe in the breakfast room windows?

The cabinet doors are all ok except for the ones over the sink. No matter how I reposition those dang screws it still hangs crooked. I'm at the 'tear my hair out' stage with them. I seriously want to glue them shut some days and just be done with it, but I like the storage.

I'll have to add some wooden spoons and a basket. Good thing I saved my coupon to bed bath and beyond, looks like I'll be using it this week...

I have one more room I need to stage-the great room, but I need to paint it first (probably friday-hello shaker beige!. What do you do with a 22 x 22 foot room? Other than do what we did and add a monster tv set, lol...

How about if you remove those doors altogether and use that area for display?

I love your kitchen. It has lots that most buyers would want.

If you can't lower the lighting fixture over the table, replace it. It looks uncomfortable. Make it hang just above eye level when seated. It doesn't have to be an expensive or new fixture.

I would keep the table set with two or four place settings -- charger, plate, silverware, big glass, big cloth napkin. It sounds hokey, but looks quite welcoming.

Did you try putting a round toothpick (or toothpicks, or a little slice from a Popsicle stick) and a little tiny bit of wood glue in the hinge screw holes? That trick usually works at my house.

I think if you have just replaced the knobs, then stay with them. What looks fresh and crisp in person may simply not have the same impact for us who are looking at a flat 2-D photo.

I agree your backsplash color is wonderful, and I would use that color on the whole kitchen. I think the yellow is too light, with not enough "punch" to offset the white.

I'd take everything off the counters, except for the two colored cannisters. And I mean everything - paper towels, everything with a cord, even the white cannisters. People want to see long stretches of uninterrupted countertop, and staging means putting in LESS than you normally would. I have many utensils in an organizer on the counter where I prep, but if I were selling, it would be gone, gone, gone. Buyers do not need to see your spatulas and ladles - they know this is a kitchen, there's no need to visually interrupt the space.

I think your table is charming and has no need for a tablecloth. Just set it nicely with a (small) centerpiece and four colorful place settings. I can understand why you hung your chandelier the way you did - it doesn't obstruct the view of the framed picture - so I'd leave it as is.

The real key to selling a house in this market is to price it right. You have a charming, cute, clean house, but these days it is ALL about price. As Neal Templin, WSJournal columnist says in his Cheapskate column today, "During my 28 years as a journalist, I've moved 11 times for my job. This was in some ways the hardest one...When we put our Dallas house on the market for $490,000 in February, we thought it would sell in weeks with little discounting. Talk about being delusional...We ended up lowering the price of our house five times before it finally sold last month. We didn't get our first offer until late June, and it was $102,000 below where we had started."

Thought I'd weigh in as well. A like the porcelain knobs, and the pale tones (white canisters and all). But I'd either go with more of the yellows and blues and make it more cottage-y (maybe even doing the valence), or on the other hand, keep it very clean and understated, a more modern edge remove colored canisters and plates and change out to a more subtle-toned picture on the wall). It just seems that now you're half one way, half the other.

To be totally honest, when I think about being a potential buyer, the only thing I really notice is that the three light fixtures are all quite different. The chandelier over the table is brass, the one over the sink is brushed nickel (though both more similar in style), but I really notice the modern track light. Can you spray the chandelier to a silver tone (if it's not an expensive solid brass piece) and perhaps replace the track lighting to something more in your cottage look?

The chandelier is actually a painted faux finish, very matte and using the same colors as the backsplash. The light over the sink and the track light are both brushed nickel. They definitel are ALL weird, though, lol...

It's a big kitchen; I had trouble getting enough light from one fixture that looks cottage-y. My big thing with my kitchen is that I really want to be able to see what I'm doing when I'm cooking, and that track light has SIX high powered halogens, great for cooking. Unfortunately, weird looking.

I may try and crop the picture so you don't see them as much, or, maybe paint the track lights white???

It's a good point, spacific.

I'm definitely challenged when it comes to pulling a "look" together. I tend to go with the "ooh, I like this let's get it and matching be damned" school of decorating.

You just made me laugh, disney, because my SIL is always telling me that if you love something, you should just go ahead and get it, because if your home is filled with pieces you love, they will all work together.

Apparently this philosophy works for her, because her home is beautifully decorated. I can't imagine that it would work for me, but I am the type that has to bring home three of everthing, look them over in my house, then return whatever doesn't look right.

Maybe you two are related...

I know what you mean about lighting. In our 1917 house, there was never enough light in the kitchen. I did the same thing with the modern track lighting because at the time so little else was available.

I don't think there's a thing in your kitchen that would be a deal-breaker. It's clean, large, charming, well laid out. But I did find some track lights that would more fit your cottage look...

Here is a link that might be useful: Traditional style track lights

I like the kitchen as it is. It is clean. It looks as if it gets lots of daylight. The layout of the sink, stove and fridge is very workable. There is a lot of counter space. I love the little cabinets up near the ceiling. I even like the white knobs!

As a house hunter right now, I want a kitchen that first and foremost works. This looks like the kitchen I want (too bad it isn't in Massachusetts!).

The only advice I'd give is to get the paper towels off the counter. And maybe a few of the other things off the counter as well.

Disney, I was at Macy's the other night, they had a few pieces that would match the blue & yellow jars you have. I almost took pics with my cell, wish I did. I found a few online, you'd have to go walk the store to get inspiration. A piece from this here, a piece from that, there.

blue dish

colorful

imperial blue

Now, I can't find the exact one and you'll probably laugh but there was a rooster using the blue. Do you remember the one staging post from a year ago with the rooster? The house was memorable due to the rooster used. I looked for one for our old kitchen when staging but wasn't able to find one in colors I use.

I'll leave a link to the model of the house we bought here. They use a lot of stuff to stage the house. Not sure if it's all in order. In the master sitting room pictures are a few things that I wanted to find to stage our house, it was a glass canister with coffee beans on a tray, a small pot for coffee and a cup pic here, they used the same canisters in the kitchen although I don't have a decent pic of it.

Anyway, maybe the album will give you inspiration.

roselvr, you so totally hit the nail on the head when you wrote, "The house was memorable due to the rooster used."

I feel although a clean, uncluttered space is important, equally so is the use of some well placed decor type items. It separates a bland milk toast space into one that becomes memorable for the buyer.

Put that counter plate on a plate stand, take away the little stuff on the counters, just keep a few big pieces, small looks like clutter. Too much white, clean is nice, but too much is sterile.

I think you have a very attractive kitchen here. De clutter around the refrigerator. Put the white canisters away as they don't add any to the decor. The window is great as is. People tend to hang pictures too high.

My friend hired a stager, and she said you repeat a decorating color 3 times in a room. Sooooo, pick one color thaqt is in your items on display and on the table. I notice that one thing stagers use a lot is a large wood bowl of green apples. That would look great with all the white. But then you need to repeat the green. So pick a color and repeat it on the table, on the counter and above the fridg. Then in the cookbook cover if you use one, and in the towels. Less is more and I do like that look for selling a house.

disney, I like the plate on the wall and two coloured canisters. I agree, there is too much white in there and I think all you need is a bit of colour to make it pop.

Go for the colours that are in the two cannisters and the plate. That will give you just a hint of colour you need. Finish it off with some matching towels, a fruit bowl and maybe a couple plants.

I just finished repainting the connecting dining room from a deep marine blue (which I loved but I get has limited appeal) to a lighter version of what's on the backsplash in the kitchen.

I painted 4 rooms yesterday with my MIL's help. I'm soooo tired!

I think the decorating scheme that seems to be emerging is blue punches for the kitchen, I have a big blue bowl that I can put red apples in, and the dining room has a french chandlier that's painted antique white and red, so a wood bowl with red apples and some punches of red in there.

I finish painting today, and then I'm going to clean like a nut and stage like a fiend, then I'll post the "after" pictures of the kitchen next week. Thanks so much for all the great suggestions!

:)