I don't know what else to say except that I find the shape of your Peninsula granite counter very distracting. The overhang space is nearly useless, correct?

Its 15" at the apex...probably could've made it a deeper overhang but it still functions well enough (I usually eat breakfast there with my son)

Since the rest of your trim is painted, consider paining the trim around the kitchen window and door trim (not the door) white also. I have an oak kitchen and my wall color is Valspar Savory Beige - it is a creamy beige with just enough color to set it off from my white trim. Pics of my kitchen and some of a few other rooms here:

https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/57579129/thumbs/my-pics-work-in-progress

What is the floor in the dining room? Is it hardwood that can be refinished?

Beautiful cabinets! I like the curved granite. It is much safer with small children to have something with round edges. The biggest improvement that you could make would be to clean and varnish those hardwood floors in the dining area. I suggest sending the little one off to spend some time with Grandma or auntie so they are not exposed to fumes. The floors will need to be cleaned with mineral spirits, and roughed up with steel wool for finish adhesion. If there are any dark stains in the wood, clean them with high concentration peroxide (hair bleach), then apply 2 coats of urethane varnish. It will make those floors look like new.

Your wall color is fine. It would be helpful to invest in a step activated waste basket with a lid, since your waste basket is out in the open. Since you have a door covered with cloth, you might try to find a rod and some grommet drapes to cover the doorway. I am suggesting grommet drapes, since the grommets should make them stronger and more darable for repeated gliding on the curtain rod. If you can find something that is a good match for your existing drapes, buy it.

The room would be more cheerful with some colorful art. Perhaps you could make or buy a ribbon bulletin board to show off pictures and children’s artwork:.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/48976714667209694/

Wow I really like your kitchen! Super cozy and the farmhouse sink is really cool. Thanks for the tips, I think painting the trim is a good idea and would likely have happened along with refinishing the cabinets. The floor in the dining room is 7" wide douglas fir- the original plan was to refinish it a darker color, but as of now I am leaning towards replacing it entirely (for several reasons). Again leaning towards dark, but not positive and which wood species to choose is up in the air. Any ideas on refinishing the cabinets? The original plan was white with gel paint in the nooks and crannies...but part of me dies inside every time I think about painting over the cherry

I will be the first to admit (even though I have them) that arched doors are not in style:) However, warm toned cabinetry is returning to popularity and the white / gray trend has peaked - but by no means is over. Painting your cabinets will not change the fact the doors are ached, and your warm kitchen could become a bit sterile looking - granite, floor, backsplash, cabinets all light - and the black ovens will be more noticeable. Painted cabinets also require upkeep - you look like you have an active family. How easy will it be to keep those white cabinets clean and free from chips?

Fir is a soft wood. It would be lovely refinished, but if you think it is too soft to withstand family life wear and tear, consider solid oak. As far as wood floor color tone, newer design pics are showing lighter, more natural wood floors. While the darker are lovely, they show every scratch and bit of dust while natural or lightly stained are more forgiving. I really like the kitchen floor you have.

Since my cabinets are older and I like cottage style, French country, vintage, I decided to go with a more "old fashion" look - and I love old houses:) So I went with a less formal, more cottage style. It is a style that helps keep things from looking dated, because they look vintage instead.

Here are some things I might do if this was my kitchen - but this my not be your style. If the small shelves on each side of the window can be removed, I would, or simplify the decor on them. The glass cabinet by the peninsula - I would do that with more decor - it could be a pretty set of dishes you don't often use or some other decor in your style. I like pretty - so often decorate with mismatched china, botanical / floral art and floral fabrics, vintage art - I guess I have a touch of shabby chic:) You might do a roman shade or faux roman shade on the kitchen window. There are some tutorials, including No-sew I think, online:

I would simplify the dining room window treatment and add more art with color.

It is hard to tell in pictures, but there seems to be a line around the top of the wall - perhaps some ceiling repair is in process? Fixing that will make you feel better too. A beadboard ceiling can cover an old ceiling nicely.

My sink is the Kohler Whitehaven "short apron" style farm sink. It can be retrofitted, but doing so is expensive. The countertop is not lifted, but the face frame of the sink base cabinet is removed, and replaced after the retrofit.

You could add a few pieces of cabinetry to the dining area - they could also help with storage. If you like a farmhouse / country / cottage style, a pie safe or similar is both functional and pretty.

Wow thank you again for all of the great tips! I can remove the shelves on either side of the kitchen sink without too much work, and I like the roman shade idea. As far as keeping the cabinets white after painting...not a chance haha so I'll hold off on that. There used to be a soffit above some cabinets so the ceiling repair is still in progress.

Fun fact: Those black ovens were originally lime green (they were painted over) and are older than me.

It takes me a while around here to get things done, but I'll go forth and redecorate. I'll give picture updates as I do!

It has been really slow going as usual, but I managed to switch out the flooring during the holiday break. I liked the floors so much in that last picture that I tried to replicate them.

Full disclosure originally we had planned on a granite with more tan/cream in it to match the kitchen tile a bit more (like venetian gold or bianco romano)...this was a bit cheaper than going with either of those and seemed more modern than going with uba tuba (which in retrospect would've looked awesome). The granite we have was called "madison spring" or I usually see it also listed as Dallas White.

Anyway it ended up being a bit more gray than intended. Originally my thought was to play with different warmer lighting to bring out the earth tones in it...but finally decided to let it be what it actually was and match the backsplash to the gray.

So the final color combo became orange cabinets, gray backsplash, and tan floor...not exactly a winning combination.

This new oak flooring gets away from the previous orange floor, but the new medium brown floor isn't exactly working too well with the gray in the backsplash, or the gray/eggplant of the granite.

On a side note the cabinet at the end of the peninsula was changed into a garbage can (the bin on the floor was for recycling). At some point I'll buy two garbage cans that will fit side by side in that cabinet.

After I put in this flooring I was ready to give up on ever pulling this mess of conflicting colors together...medium brown, tan, gray, orange, and a touch of purple in the granite...until I happened upon the picture below:

That charcoal gray somehow miraculously pulls the silver vein-cut travertine of the shower walls and the brown floor together! I had some paint on hand to give me a very rough idea of how it could look (it has too much navy blue in it)

So for now the only path forward to make it all appealing is to paint a charcoal gray (which will look great with the granite, backsplash, tile floor, oak floor, and bar stools.

The odd man out then is the orange-ish cherry. I had considered restaining the cherry in some dark taupe look...but sanding the cathedral style archers free hand with a dremel is REALLY difficult, the wood doesn't accept stain all that easily, and it wouldn't fit the older style of the cabinets anyway. So just like that inspirational picture I'm back on team paint them white and using gray gel paint on the cabinet arches. On the bright side it'll help offset how much extremely dark paint will be going on the walls. Am I saved? or am I just backing myself further into a color-wheel corner?

I think if you get a darker, more saturated wall color, it will go a long way toward making the kitchen blend into the space better and it will bring out the graining in your cabinetry. It's hard to show as we really don't have a good pic to try out paint colors on...if you take a pic of the blank wall with the island and the upper cab and the flooring, it would come out better, but here's the idea:

I kind of like the caramel tones though the blue-gray work nicely too.

Beautiful floor! Great job! Love that trash can receptacle!

I recommend against using a Dremel on the arches. If you want a different door style, you might want to price changing out the cabinet doors. Here’s a place that I have purchased doors from:

http://www.cabinetdoorshop.com/

The gray is okay, but I prefer happier colors. You might want to consider some of these:

http://m.behr.com/h5/mobile/en_US/color_trends_2018?gclid=Cj0KCQiAs9zSBRC5ARIsAFMtUXEhStQIO-J2t01gGNyUcGB8H3XZA-lNnNRqNzfGwiYAWJznLgwgPTkaApQdEALw_wcB