I love my two tone kitchen. We have a java island with white delicatus granite and cherry colored perimeter with Copper Brown granite (black looking). I could never do the white here in the country. Yours is beautiful though! Here is a link that might be useful: two toned kitchen link

Maybe wooden vent hood? I've no idea how much they cost I must say. I looked at the listing as well-I hope it's allright-I think the kitchen does look a bit sterile and a bit ..not like the rest of the house. A bit too.. straightforward if you compare it to the rest? Because the house strives to be more traditional. Maybe what's bothering you is this slight dissonance. It's still slight, one can easily work with it. I think your direction of changing the hardware can be very good one. Not sure about the exact shade but you'll check it against other things there. Maybe softer, curved lines as well. Yes, add color, texture, have fun with accessories..connect it through color etc to the rest of the house..if other light fixtures stay and you like them-I might go for different pendants, not that it's needed but a great way to indulge yourself nevertheless, and relatively affordable and easy. I think everything that will signal "I'm a part of" will be welcome addition. Start small with things you both love and can use-and I think you'll be happy without any big overhaul in this kitchen.

I like both but do favor the lighter for now. I thought about herringbone but decided on brick lay as you see from my pic. I chose that bc I also picked a tonal tile with 3 shades for texture & interest wo being too busy (see pic) & chose grout to match tile not counter. My tile is 2 1/2” x 5”, Ztile Melange, Green Tea color. Looks gray! My advice to pass along on picking BS is to ”wait until the countertops are installed”! I’m so glad I did. I .read that over & over from Houzz Pros too. I took the advice to heart bc the person at countertop company told me to just wait! I had narrowed my choice down to 2, which it looks like you have done. Once tops were in I did a 180 change on BS tile I’d decided on & went with my second choice. And I was looking at multiple pieces of the 2 tiles to get a better idea. A surprise to me for sure that I changed. All of those whose opinions I’d solicited also seemed amazed at difference in look sitting on top of new counter. And, I solicited opinions from every trades person in my kitchen as well as friends & neighbors! 99% of them changed their pick after counters in too. Reason is that until counter is in, you’re looking at a small sample and a huge vertical slab. Light hits the counter very differently on the horizontal & in your home light. The BS tile as well. So, make sure both of your picks are available on quick turnaround & just wait. BTW, at this point, my pick for you is lighter tile Bc I Like it better with darker cabinets & tile will be right next to cabinet color next to frig. When I look at BS my eye goes down not up so I see base cabs more. Love your counter & cab together.

Wood for cabinetry is very much en vogue these days, and is a classic. The colors that you are planning to paint your cabinets are very taste specific, trendy, and will most likely look like the remnants of a bad trend in less than 5 years (my humble prediction:)). That being said, if this is a place where you are personally going to be residing long term, and you have no plans of selling any time soon, go for it. Just be very committed to the color palette you are choosing - because it will most likely look dated, in short order. But if you love it - and enjoy it - that is what ultimately matters. Alternatively, and if it were my space, I would start with a can of paint - for the walls. I would also change the fan to a sleeker/updated fan or to a light fixture. All dimmable. I would not do 4000k led lighting, because it is glaring, imo. If you want LED, I would suggest going softer and warmer. But of course you can try the 4000k and see how it works for you. It all comes down to personal preference. I would also change out the cabinet hardware, and might consider switching to stainless appliances (might). If that didn’t “update” and lighten the space enough for me - I’d maybe paint a few of the uppers white, and or add glass inserts on a couple of the uppers.