Looks like its going to be a beautiful kitchen! I had similar concerns and what I did was to change out two of the floodlight bulbs in the recessed cans to spotlight bulbs. I have eyeball trim on my recessed lights that allows me to point the light beams, perhaps you can change to that kind of trim? So then I adjusted the spots to shine on my island which is my main prep area. It made a big difference! The whole room seems brighter, I think because of the concentration of light in the center of the room in the main work area. And all it took was changing two light bulbs! the rest of my can lights have floodlight bulbs for general illumination.

The easiest and most direct solutions are (I am repeating what others have said, but might as well for emphasis) removing clutter and the window valence, and changing the island color to white or light color. Perhaps consider removing the island entirely - do you need it? You don't need the island seating since the table is right there, and you have plenty of countertop work space if the clutter were removed. I would not do the other things mentioned until those de-cluttering/island things are done, and then re-assess if you even need to paint trim - a time-consuming and tedious job, and fraught with possibilities of problems. Do the clutter/island solutions first. I would also change the dining table light which seems fussy, and not adding to the fresh look of your kitchen. If you can spend a bit more money re the dining table light, hire an electrician to move the electrical box over so you don't need that chain there.

Re: Solatube That's the name brand. Some others are ODL and Velux. Unless you have a 2nd story room over the kitchen, you're able to install a cover on the roof and the light travels down a tube in the attic that has reflective material. The opening in the ceiling can be round or square. It can make a huge difference in the amount of light in a room. Some old threads [what-are-the-pros-and-cons-of-solatube-vs-velux-solar-tubes[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/what-are-the-pros-and-cons-of-solatube-vs-velux-solar-tubes-dsvw-vd~453951) [solatube-installed-what-a-difference[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/solatube-installed-what-a-difference-dsvw-vd~2665168) [solatube-or-sun-tunnel[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/solatube-or-sun-tunnel-dsvw-vd~2588576) [solar-tube-owners-please-weigh-in[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/solar-tube-owners-please-weigh-in-dsvw-vd~2257657)

Painting the walls only behind the desk area up to the horizontal trim …inside the cabinets and under desk ….would be a small area..but the contrast there will relieve the wood overkill in your view plane …and allow the details of the desk area to stand out better