Hello,

I would suggest a
complete 360° with a light modern look:

-
White cabinets

-
If it’s within your budget, change all handles to something
slick and linear (ex.: IKEA’s ‘LANSA’ range)

-
I agree with having under cabinet lighting (recessed spotlights)
or LED strips.

-
Lastly, changing the light fixtures above the island and by the
sink in keeping with the metallic current feel. http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00128188/

Hope this helps.

Looking forward to seeing updated photos.

Goodluck.

Dark counters don't necessarily make a kitchen dark. What is the other color of your cabinets? It looks green in your photo, but that may just be the camera. I'd suggest painting them the same color as the white cabinets. Your kitchen is very cute, like many here and the suggestions so far are very good. You may need more ambient light.

Now I’m thinking we should move under cabinet lighting to
the top of the list. Having good
lighting will make the wall paint selection so much easier because we’ll get a true
representation of the colors. I’ll get
started on researching UCL options tonight!

jesshs, I love that mother of pearl backsplash, it looks so
elegant. How do you think that would
look with our countertops which have flecks of green/yellow/gold in them?

nosoccermom, I’m going to get a sample pot of SW Creamy and
see how that looks on the walls. I’d
love to do grey (our living room next to the kitchen is SW Agreeable grey) but
I don’t think that looks very good with our countertops unfortunately. L

ajenne – thank you for the IKEA pull suggestion! I really like those! Would you suggest doing those pulls on both
the drawers and cabinet doors?

Thank you all for your suggestions so far, they have helped
really get my wheels turning and I’m excited to get this project started!

Linelle - you are correct! ALL of the cabinets are an unfortunate pea green color. Not a color I would have chosen myself.

Here's the kitchen from another angle:

I think your simple backsplash looks fine. There's not enough wall space to worry about tiling with the short splash and the microwave and raised control panel on the stove,

An idea that would work well in your kitchen is to cover the soffit with beadboard. You can also add beadboard around your island. I would also add base molding on three sides where you don't need a toe kick. You could paint the island green to pull out the flecks from the quartz.

This kitchen with beadboard soffit is cute! I'd like the black hardware with your black counter. The schoolhouse pendant light looks great too.

White kitchen · More Info

White kitchen · More Info

I thought the cabinets were white. Were they painted by the previous owner or is that factory paint?

No, the cabs are green. I'm not a cabinet expert but it looks to me like they were painted by the previous owner, I can see drips and runs on the inside of the doors.

Edited to add:

It's a great kitchen in terms of functionality and it's a large footprint which I love. It's just not so appealing to my eye.

Uh, ok. I also thought bad picture of white cabinets. Then by all means, go for a creamy white for the walls, perhaps black hardware, and maybe a black and white runner.

Or brass hardware or glass hardware?

I'd also lighten the light fixtures, lighter metal or white.

I'm assuming you don't like the green since you've got "painting cabinetry" on your to do list. I'd start looking for a cabinet color, a shade of white or cream that looks good with your granite.

This is definitely a long shot, but it couldn't hurt to get a quote on making the window bigger. It's probably out of budget, but what if by some miracle it isn't?

Are the two light fixtures, one over the sink and the other on the island the only light fixtures in the kitchen? What is your preliminary budget for this refresh of this kitchen? It is always good to start with a budget so that we can advise you correctly. Do you see a brand for the kitchen cabinets? I like the cabinets but don't love the color either but painting kitchen cabinets is not a simple process to do correctly. You may want to outsource it to someone who knows what they are doing so that you get the best result for your money. Also, do you have some kitchen inspiration pictures that you liked and would like to see if elements of that kitchen can be added to your kitchen?

I’ll get started on researching UCL options tonight!

I would definitely get in touch with inspiredled.com (mentioned above). They are super about helping you to lay out your UCL and figuring out exactly what you need to accomplish it, and their prices are VERY reasonable. FWIW, I would not go with 4000 - too bright and white for me. Our UCL is 3000 (I think - I can find out for sure) and it's really great task lighting.

The windows and doorway lead off to our screened in porch. I'd rather not change the window over the sink (but I suppose it's an option to consider). I do not like the green color, surprisingly the color looks better in photographs than it does in person. It person its a very pea/muddy green. I want a color that makes the kitchen feel fresh and airy. Another poster suggested SW Creamy, so I'll pick up a sample pot of that after work today and see how it looks on the cabinets.

As far as the lighting, there is one pendant over the sink, the lights over the island and one fixture over the table area. Very little natural light comes in through the windows and doorways because of the screen porch.

I'll give the cabinets a good once over tonight to see if I can find a brand. I've never noticed any markings before, but haven't been on the hunt for them either.

Ideally I'd like to keep the budget around $3k. I know with home improvements there has to be wiggle room so we've given ourselves extra in the "Kitchen Fund".

Here's one more angle from the previous real estate listing showing the lights and windows:

Okay, so not green + white cabs after all. I would paint them all white in a heartbeat. While it's true that just painting something white doesn't necessarily make everything super light and bright, that green color would have me in the doldrums.

Mother of pearl can have greenish/goldish iridescent tones. The only way to see if it would work with your counters would be to get some samples. I think it could be very pretty in an understated way.

You can absolutely do a lot with paint, but have you ever painted cabinets before? It's a TON of work doing it properly, especially if the previous owner left you drips. And you have a lot of cabinets.

Since you really hate the color, paint will be the answer, but choose a similar color. Painting them white will be twice the work of painting them another shade of green. Shouldn't be true, but it is. You'll have to strip and sand, prime, then paint two coats at least if you want white cabinets, whereas you can sand, tack cloth, and paint if you keep them green. These are Farrow and Ball Cabbage White and Dix Blue.

If you go this route, you won't want SW Creamy. It's a little too yellow to pair with Frank greens. You might chose something like Wevet for the walls.

Its really important to the feel of "light and bright" to get light on the ceiling, as rwei mentioned above. If you only have task lighting, you'll have bright spots in a dark space. You want bright spots in a light space. Just so you know, you can easily spend 3k on light fixtures and electrical wiring alone. Good luck!

Here are some of my inspiration pics

San Jose Res 2 · More Info

Cramped Cooking Space to Gourmet Eat-in Kitchen · More Info

I think you have a great kitchen - and this won't be a difficult space to update.

Definitely the UCL. Makes a huge difference. And a backsplash that is shiny to bounce the light around.

You should look at photos with dark counters and white cabinets:

dark granite white cabinets kitchen

I like the idea of painting the island a different color.

Can you turn any of your cabinets into glass fronts? The the ones above the wine rack (I think that's what it is) on your desk?

If this were my kitchen, and I wanted it brighter, I'd:

Paint the walls and trim white -- and I'd probably leave the green cabinet color. White paint will really make the green and black pop.

I'd replace the hardware with black or brushed stainless. Can give it a fresher, more contemporary look.

Check the wattage of the bulbs in the fixtures -- you may need higher wattage. Also, those frosted shades can actually eat up the lumens. Also the metal band on the sink light will block some of the light. In my old bathroom, we had fixtures like that, and we took off the bottom metal bands and found it really brightened things up.

Under cabinet lights can make a world of difference. An inexpensive fix is the Costco LED AAA battery puck lights with remove control. You can use them one by one by taping them, or you can use the remote to control them all (just attach the remote to the wall or fridge for easy access.

Finally, if you replace the light fixture over the island with one that has up lights too - this will bounce more light off the ceiling.

Nosoccermom's inspiration pictures show some great green / white / black combo kitchens.

Paint the cabinets and wall, add UCL (another recommendation for InspireLED), and go from there. Painting cabinets (especially those that have already been painted) is not difficult, just time consuming. Start with your island so that you can see what a huge difference it will make :)

Like some of the other posters, I thought the cabs were white and that it was only the lighting (and the contrast with the wall) that was making them look green.

Several suggested painting your walls, but if you are definitely planning to paint your cabinets (and it sounded to me like you were), I would hold off on that. The wall color looks truly awful with the current cabinet color, but might be perfectly fine with a white cabinet. You might still want to change the wall color, but deal with the cabinets first and then reevaluate.

You definitely need more lighting, and while undercabinet lighting will help, I actually think you need more ambient lighting. I'm not sure how best to accomplish that. A different island fixture that throws light up as well as down would help. If you didn't have the soffit, I might suggest some uplighting on top of the cabinets to bounce off the ceiling. Do you know if there is anything in the soffit? I'm not a big fan of recessed lighting, but it might help if other options don't pan out.

my priorities would be on repainting over/around the cabinets in some white - at least for now. I think that color 'colors' everything in your kitchen in a bad way. you can later redo it to a better white/grey after deciding on cab color.

then the lighting! you need ceiling lightening. have a lightening expert help with that. don't do too many - my sister has about 13 in her 13 x 13 kitchen. I think someone wanted to sell more lightening, it's way overdone.

then new sink/island fixtures. yours do seem very low too.

be 'working' on what color for the cabs. I wouldn't bother with tiling and just leave the edging you have. It's a very small space between counter and under cabs. And I'd be afraid trying to remove it will damage the counter top. I think the iridescent tiles would clash with the specks in your countertop. they'd at least compete with it.

then if you still have some $s, I'd get the lower cab doors to R of sink changed to drawers. your other drawers have simple faces so should be easy enough to match.

also, be looking for the hardware in case you will need holes filled when redoing your cabs. best done at that time.

and if the gridwork can come out of your window, I do that. I think those things block light and obstruct views.

Edb2n's (now Evan on Houzz) kitchen remodel came to mind with the suggestions of improving lighting & cabinet painting. Here's his original post - I think the consensus was "don't paint the cabinets." http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2422455/guidance-with-kitchen-refresh

Edit: see link 2 posts below for Evan's reveal.

"don't paint the cabinets."

I think the wall color and lighting can make a dramatic change in cabinet color. How would you even choose w/out good lighting to test a color in?

and a bad color around the cabinet area would also detract from any other color.

I'm with desertsteph:

I'd paint the walls white/cream and a. check the light bulbs, and b. add lighting before starting to paint the cabinets.

I thought I added the link - Evan did paint the cabinets. His original budget was $5000 and that was after he installed new countertops. This is one of my favorite kitchen refreshes. He painted the cabinets, DIY, and they are beautiful.

http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2677456/diy-kitchen-reveal

I saw this pic someone just posted on another recent thread

and thought of your post. This is a pretty example of a green island (or another color that is in your granite), black counters, and white perimeter cabs.

Your last inspiration pic was one of my inspiration pics too. Love that green too. I love green!

I agree that a toe kick on the island would look nice and new lighting above the island. Maybe something fun with some color in it.

Lose the beige walls (won't tell you exactly what the color reminds me of but think of raising puppies...) That is biggest light killer in the room (aside from those black counter things)

White is very harsh. Maybe a cream - think buttermilk or 18th century buff (very light but warm)

Maybe a pale light carmel kinda color for the cabinets - sets up a contrast with a light cream walls. All white is so B-o-o-r-r-r-ing

For a temporary counter fix, you might consider doing the featherfinish concrete thing and then painting it so it looks like a stone you like and then seal it with a 2 part expoxy (good for 10 years+)

I like the green! On my monitor, depending on the photo, it either looks like a lovely, pale celery green or a pale mint green. Either way, me like!

I agree that it's the wall color and lack of lighting that is the problem. You've already been given great ideas for improving the lighting. UCL is a must, imho, and then some combination of the other suggestions. I do think a lighting expert would be very helpful to you if you can find one.

I like Ann' suggestion of doing the concrete on the counters. Although improved lighting and wall color could really make the black pop well so new counters aren't necessary.

While there is nothing wrong with an all-white kitchen, they have become so common that I'd really love to see you stay with a color on the cabinets.

I actually like the green cabs on perimeter but probably would change the green island, along with desk area. Eclectic space in the waiting here. Botanical or patterned wallpaper above cabs and around door over to desk. Think of a change to island and desk. Pull in another color, stronger hardware statement, upgrade lighting. Don't whitewash your kitchen.

If you have Silestone counters, I sure wouldn't mess around with concrete or paint on them.

Also, it's the pinkish beige walls that don't do the cabinets any favor.

I think the current wall color is the worst thing. I would first change all light bulbs to 3000k LEDs (4000 is too cold, 2700 is too yellow IMO) and get a larger but shorter pendant for over the sink, perhaps something different for over the island too -- they just don't look right to me. Maybe something more like what is over the table.

Talk to someone about the cost of adding ceiling boxes or cans for the LED recessed lighting kits available at the big box stores. They made a huge difference in my kitchen (I went from only 2 lights to 5 disc LEDs) and was not that complicated to do.

InspiredLED.com has a very good reputation here, but I have been quite satisfied with the UCLs that I bought off the shelf at Lowes as well. Again, go 3000k for the light temperature.

Then I would paint the walls! Try to select a color that works with the counters and current green -- unless you really want white cabinets --but you will have to look at it away from the current wall color since that will affect how the new color looks. Outdoors in indirect light worked for me when I was choosing paint.

Once those walls are painted you may find that you like the green -- but if not, or you want the cabinets white, a couple of the pictures above with various shades of pale blue and pale green are lovely and should provide some inspiration for either the cabinets or the walls. I love the 3 that nosoccermom posted, and also the green tile in your first inspiration picture.

I think you will find that it will all work out fine with your counter!

Ugh, no, the cabinets just aren't cutting it in that green. Have them professionally painted white. Not a cold, blue white, but a softer one to go with the countertop. I rather like your wall color, myself. Even though it's expensive, I think painting the cabinets is all you need to do. Then if you want to paint the walls (cheaper than doing the cabinets and a DIY job) almost anything will go with the cabinets.

Your cabs and island show up as a mint green, like mint chocolate ice cream, on my monitor, but I will take your word for it that they are pea green. We aren't too far away from monitors being able to show more true colors, but not quite there yet! :-) There are a lot of good suggestions here. I think everybody agrees on the lighting issue. I'm glad your door has the glass and the transom! You have a nice kitchen. The flow of the room looks really great, like it's very easy to cook in! That's the most important thing, that it's functional. It looks like the bottom cabs are already white. Is that correct? If so, I'm guessing the previous owners perhaps had all white and decided to paint the uppers and the island green. Would you paint all the cabs or try to match the uppers to the bases? I would go: lighting, cabs, then walls if there's still money in the budget. I'd keep the back splash; I think it would eat a pretty large amount of your budget to change it out and could damage your counters. If you do the cabs in white, or in the white/cream family, I think the black counters would provide a very nice contrast. With that and good UCL and good overhead lighting, it would be very eye-popping! If you had money in your budget for a new sink, a white sink might also break up the black and provide a nice focal point for the eye that's right by the window. :-) Good luck! I hope you post pictures as you go! :-)

That green is pretty awful IMO. I would definitely paint cabinets first. Yes it's work, but I did it - not that big a deal. Just take off all the doors and drawers and bring them outside (or preferably a garage if you have one. Sand everything thoroughly then clean, and use a bonding primer on the frames and doors/fronts. Then 2 coats of paint with a foam roller, allowing it to dry between coats. Use good quality paint. I used BM Simply White, a nice pure white and it really brightened up our kitchen from the pinky-tinged color there before. Of course now we ripped out the old cabinets and put in black-brown ones :)

I'd stay as far away from the green as possible! The other player with whom you need to contend, is the orange oak floor (I have the same). Good UCL, replace the light over the island, and paint.

I think hardwood floors are a treasure. Your hardwood floors will bring beautiful warmth to the space particularly when you have lightened the walls and updated the lighting, which are excellent suggestions as the first places to start.

1) paint walls, that wall color is pinky and awful.

2) add UCL and recessed cans in ceiling

3) replace lighting over sink and island, perhaps a semi flush schoolhouse over sink and a pair of vintage-y looking industrial pendants over island

4) black hardware, cup pulls on drawers

5) white subway backsplash (removing 4" piece if possible)

6) wrap island in wainscoting and paint a creamy white/ paint cabinets there too.

then and only then would I think about repainting the perimeter cabinets.

I really liked navymomma's idea of just doing the island first and seeing if that makes a big enough impression before you do the rest of the cabs. Having the island a different color could make the green look intentional and complimentary!

Pea green + dirty pink = nausea.

See if you can put a skylight in the screened porch near the window. It's not that expensive.

The lack of natural light in the working end of the kitchen is causing the problem. Fix that, along with the nasty colors, and you can leave the rest alone.

Just an update:

Thank you all for your wonderful suggestions and help thus far!

As some of you have suggested we are looking into UCL lighting options, and will be contacting a lighting specialist to add additional lights to the kitchen. The fixtures we currently have will also be replaced.

In the mean time, we've begun prepping the room for paint. We'll at least get the walls primed until we can decide on a color.

Someone asked early about the soffit, and we got curious and cut a small section out to take a peek. The soffit is concealing wiring and plumbing so that will stay as is.

Yes, all the cabinets are green. It's not a color that we enjoy so they will be repainted. I'd like to paint the perimeter cabinets some shade of cream/white and paint the island an accent color.

Another issue we've discovered in our cabinet doors are not solid wood, they appear to be some kind of particle board or MDF. In the photos below you'll see where damage has occurred to the bottom of the door (sorry I couldn't get the photo oriented correctly). Should we look into replacing the doors, can you buy cabinet doors without replacing all the boxes?

You absolutely can replace the doors -

We considered that - as we looked into a shaker style. But decided to keep our raised panel and just paint.

One advantage of replacing the doors and drawer fronts, is that you can have them factory finished. They'll look soooo much better than painting them yourself. Then have someone paint the interior boxes to match (or you do it yourself.)

We were given a price of $6000 to replace all of our door and drawer fronts with factory finished ones. We have a lot of cabinets. But you also have to keep in mind that you'll probably be replacing hinges too. Which isn't a bad thing. You can also think about getting the soft close for your drawers.

One thing always lead to another. I don't think you mentioned your budget. Do you plan to be in this house for a while?

I do like the cabinets and format. Its the green cabinets that is putting things off. Paint it white and then paint the walls another tone of white. As for lighting, I suggest putting in recessed spotlights - on top of your present lights. It makes the biggest difference.

jpmom - We have no plans to move, this is our home for the foreseeable future. Wow! I had no idea doors would be so expensive, for our kitchen we were thinking our budget would be 3K, but after hearing this we'll have to re-evaluate.

Regarding painting yourself vs new, factory-finished doors. If you choose a good quality paint and do all the proper steps of prepping, several light coats, sand between coats, and use quality brushes, you can get a very nice finish on your cabinets. We last painted the kitchen cabinets in a rental we own over 10 years ago and they still look great even though renters tend to be tougher on things. And our pantry was painted in the early 90's and the only chip is on an outer corner where we bonked a fridge into it while taking out the old fridge. And we have no noticeable brush marks. The newer paints that self-level or the addition of something like Flo-Max (sp?) will make brush marks even less of an issue.

Even many high-end cabinet brands use MDF as part of the fronts.

That bit of damage might be repaired with some wood filler and sanding.

Yes you certainly can paint your cabinets if you take your time and don't mind the work/mess. The key is to do meticulous prep work, and use quality paint and brushes. I did both our bathroom cabinets, a much smaller project, but they came out beautifully. There are some beautiful photos of various colored cabinets on GW if you want color. My own personal preference is white, simply because I tend to get bored with color after a time. We used Cabinet Coat paint on the bathroom cabinets and good Purdy brushes and there are practically no brush marks or drips. It made an amazing difference, brightened up the bathroom tremendously.

Maybe look into the General Finishes Milk Paint (it's not regular milk paint). Someone recently painted her cabinets with it.

Kiki- that link is impressive. Those cabinets look brand new. I wonder what the contractor charges for that job.