I'll answer first and then read the other posts. Pretty sure that you don't want to hear this, but I wouldn't be so quick to paint the cabinets and rip out the counters, especially not to get another "creamy white with granite or butcher block" (a look which I love, BTW). Once you've painted, there's no return without lots of work, not to mention how much work it'll be to do a decent paint job. I'd paint the walls (probably off white) and add vinyl floor tiles with a checker pattern or some checks n for starters. You have this cool booth, and I'd play that up. I love, love turquoise and would pick more shades of turquoise in accessories and also in that booth (white and a watery aqua, for example, or add a coral to the mix). Oh, and I'd get different window treatments. Lastly, if you remove that one wall cabinet, could you add a hood? Of course, it depends on what you like and what the rest of your house looks like. More info on the link below. Looks like they actually stripped their white cabinets to get the maples back. Here is a link that might be useful: kitchen remodel

Thank you everyone for all of your replies! Sorry for the absence...I have no internet here at the house yet. In response to questions/comments: kudzu9: There are areas of the grout that are missing, and the remainder has turned yellow. I would like to replace the missing grout and whiten the yellowed. We hope to rent out the home, so I don't trust tenants to wipe down painted walls. I'm hoping to find a complementary alternative. benjesbride: Unfortunately, the reason I have little budget now is that most of the original plumbing has to be redone. The drains are all old cast iron, and have degraded...there are lead pipes too. So, since they are replacing them, I figure that now would be the time to relocate. Thank you for your advice on "embracing the retro" and your link! nosoccermom: I cant really remove the shower head, as its the only bath in the home. I LOVE your idea of glass, and will research it. Have to figure out how to seal it from moisture and how to make area where it meets tile waterproof. Fori is not pleased: LOL!!!! I'm not pleased either! Thanks for the laugh and suggestion. I will def head over there once I have internet at the house, and am ready to make all the decorating decisions.polly929: I had considered having a company reglaze the tub & tile white, but the many opinions of keeping the original intact have made me reconsider. I am keeping the home, but am trying to fix it up to rent out for now. bpathome: Thanks for sharing your experience. I was considering adding 4x4 tile above the existing, but someone else said it wouldn't look good and hearing your experience too really gives me pause. I agree that the glass sounds like a cool possibility, but I need to research the installation issues. Would wallpaper hold up in a shower??? Yes, I absolutely need to redo the floor. Its a pier and beam home, so I am avoiding any real tile. However, I have looked at black & white LVT alternatives in both the hex and penny. jesshs: That is amazing! I cannot believe someone on here has actually had this tile! And its funny you mentioned grey....that is exactly the color I was thinking of going with on the walls! As far as paint on the shower walls, as I said above to kudzu9, we are planning to rent the home out and I worry about tenants taking the time to do that sort of maintenance. I want to go with something I don't have to worry about them taking care of. cpartist: Another retro vote! I'm coming around :) The grout is yellowed, and missing in a few areas. I'm hoping there is a way to bring it back to white. I agree with you, and everyone else, about the grab bars, as well as the shower head. And so glad to get another grey vote! I am absolutely redoing the floor. Just haven't decided what would go best. Again, THANK YOU everyone for your opinions and suggestions. Please, keep the ideas coming!

It seems to me that if you're moving your table every time you have company, the bathroom is a problem. Maybe getting rid of it isn't the answer, but it does need to be addressed in some way. The two dining rooms are separated by 2 things. The ceiling header and partial walls (I can never remember what those are called.) But they're also separated by the path from the mud room to the kitchen. It seems to me that if you moved the entry door from the mud room over toward the back wall (to the left from the perspective of the floor plan) you would open up the perceived area of the smaller dining room to include what is currently the walkway. The end of the dining room with the bathroom could be used either as an entry hall with a table in the middle or as a sort of sunroom, with a couple of chairs and a small table, suitable for coffee and toast type breakfasts. You could disguise the separation between the rooms on the exterior wall with a gas fireplace something like this centered on the table.

Congratulations on your purchase! Are the cabinets original? If so, and if they are in good shape, I would preserve the cabinets that you can while changing only the problem areas. In order to fill a gap, I had a 6 inch cabinet made at a local Amish shop that exactly matched the 1950s cabinets in one of my rentals. A carpenter might be able to help you build in the refrigerator (to the right of the sink, perhaps, so it doesn't block the doorway as palimpest suggested). From the pictures, the cabinets around the stove look fine to me. Also, stained cabinets are easier to maintain than painted cabinets.