How about a soft, dusty green?

I think it's a great idea. however, I can't even see the island. the first thing I'd do is sell those stools and purchase others that are slimmer in appearance and less colonial looking.

you have very nice looking wood floors. do you want to stay with warm colors? The colors in ikat curtain? darker tones?

what else is in the room we can't see? stand next to the fridge and shoot the other direction.

is that light directly over the island? it looks off in the photo.

what kind of countertops are you considering? Let's pick that one first before we pick a color for the island.

what do you think about replacing a few of the upper panels doors w/glass?

what color are your walls? will you be painting those or do you want to leave them?

you like any of these ideas?

Thank you both. Yes, I agree new lighting is in order as well as the bar stools. Soft dusty green sounds very interesting. Thank you for the suggestion.

Beth H, Yes I would consider replacing a few of the upper panel doors with glass, but I am not sure which ones to pick to swap out. Yes, the light is directly over the island and I want to replace that as well. Good idea on the chairs. I am deciding between granite and quartz. If you look closely at the photo you can see the walls around the window are a terra cotta color and the rest is a cream color.

Here is the kitchen looking from a different angle. You can see the far wall has the oven and a desk. you can get a better idea of the wall color on that back wall.

mom,,,if you go w/a green, a beautiful walnut or similar butcher block would look great w/a soft sage tone

As far as the colors, my thought is to get a counter top (and maybe island color) that is neutral enough that I could change the wall color and curtains as time goes on and get a new look. Our whole home is all warm colors.

I do like the look of that soft sage. Very pretty. Thank you for the suggestion.

ok..I see what you have now. so you only want to paint the island cabs? what about the rest? I think your kitchen would really look great if you did. I know it's a ton of work,,,i've done it 3 diff times for others.

I like a black island, walnut butcher block, and a soft white for the rest of the cabs. maybe do a honed virginia mist or Jet Mist, granite.

here is a pic of it w/white cabs, and with a copper sink (which would pick up on your warm terra cotta tones) all of these play well w/the black and walnut

walnut butcher block. with black island

with the white cabs and a white farmhouse sink

or,,,if you kept your oak, and did a polished darker granite on everything, slate backsplash

The butcher block is an interesting idea. I hadn't thought of that.

As they say in life, pick your battles, and painting all of the cabinets is not one I want to pick with my husband!! He is totally against painting the cabinets, but I have convinced him that we can start with the island and see how that goes. The island is showing more signs of wear than the rest of the cabinets. I would have to do more repair work on those. I don't want to put on a new countertop onto worn out cabinets, so I am getting prices now to "freshen up " the cabinets. from contractors who can either paint, or take the doors off and refresh the finish.

How does that honed granite hold up as far as stains, or water marks? I need easy care with my counter.

I understand. it is a big job. I just thought when you said they were worn, they needed to be done. If you plan on painting the island yourself, let me know and Ill give the link to the best how to (all inclusive info) on the web.

if you are hiring someone to paint,(and they should be pro cabinet painters. not house painters, not a friend of the GC, etc,,,) they should take them off, clean, prime sand, and use a good paint. if they don't prep these well, it won't last. and if you get a quote for less than 4-5K for all those cabs, (not just the island), then they prob are skipping the most important steps in prepping.

Most granite, and black granite, is pretty much bulletproof. honed is just a matte finish. leathered has a bit of texture. both of these will resist showing the oil spots, fingerprints, crumbs, etc. since it's granite, it holds up just as well as the polished counterpart. some of the very light whites have had some issues, but that's even w/polished. stick w/the darker ones and you'll be fine. for budget concerns, look at pre-fab granite/quartz counters. they are already cut in 9' lengths and just need a fabricator to fit them to your spot. these cost about 400 bucks,,,fabricator varies, but my guy does it for 700.

samples of pre fabs

I refreshed my oak kitchen with new quartz counter, apron front sink (short apron style to work with my standard sink base cabinet), and cream backsplash. Just one of many ways to go:

[https://www.houzz.com/photos/my-pics-work-in-progress-phvw-vp~110720042[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/my-pics-work-in-progress-phvw-vp~110720042)

A few years ago I retrofitted a plate rail and spice boxes - just another way to change up a cabinet.

[https://www.houzz.com/photos/my-pics-work-in-progress-phvw-vp~109854029[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/my-pics-work-in-progress-phvw-vp~109854029)

I have changed out a panel for glass - but in another room. My glass panel door came that way.

The most functional thing I added was under cabinet lighting. A friend recently added that to her older kitchen and loves the difference it makes - it looks lighter and prettier. It also is wonderful for helping my "not so young as they used to be eyes" when prepping.

momtotwins,,,jhmarie has very nice quartz countertops w/her oak. something like that would look great w//yours too. Since you said your cabs need a refresh, maybe some cabinet refinishers could give your oak faces a bit of a 'face lift', by doing some sanding and re-staining. I just know that doing that properly is a ton of work, especially if there is a top coat that's still on the wood.

if you guys are handy, taking out the middle door panel and replacing w/glass is easy enough and costs about $50 per door.

you said you wanted new countertops but then said you don't want to put new counters on top of the old cabinets! maybe show hub some pictures and decide what would be best for you.

I like Jhmarie's kitchen. So pretty. So Beth H those prefab granite slabs are only $400? That is pretty inexpensive. I will have to see if those would work for me and if I can find them around here. How wide are they? No, we are not handy at all and won't be doing any painting ourselves. The quotes I have gotten so far are higher than $4-5K and they would be taking off the doors/drawers and taking them back to the shop to refinish in a several step process. We have a small bathroom with a tiny vanity of the same material as the kitchen and I am going to have whomever we select do that one first just as a test before we do the entire kitchen. The island needs the most work - that is why I am thinking of painting, but the rest of the cabinets are pretty good for the most part, but I will have them all sanded and restained. Based on your experience, does that process pretty effective in making the cabinets not look 20 years old?

Kathleen MK, so you would suggest painting the island the same cream color as the walls? I was thinking of that also. What counter top color would you suggest with the cream color island.

Beth H how does that prefab granite work if it has to be seamed?

so the prefabs are pre cut in 9' (some are 6' or 8') lengths and kitchen counter depth...24" or so, I believe. they also have island sizes at 3x5 or 4x6' sizes, and the edges are simply finished.

here's a close up of some,,,

this is Python (click on the pick and you'll get to see the finished edge)

they also have quartz (a little bit more. maybe 500 or so

this was at a different stone yard and these are rounded edges.

more quartz

the fabricator brings them to the residence and cuts the holes for sinks or stove tops. some fabricators my come out and template your kitchen before hand if they have to cut for an L shape. Once at the home, they install them just like they would any other granite.

just as an example, this was a kitchen we did for a rental about 7 years ago. the L shaped perimeter countertop and the island were all pre-fab granite. for the granite alone, I paid 700 or so? maybe less? i can't remember. and then had the guy come out and cut it to fit was another 1000 or so. so the granite for that entire kitchen came less than 1800 or so. it was very nice granite, nothing wrong w/it and the fabricator did a great job w/the cuts and the seaming.

these are cheaper than slabs because they come pre-fabbed and are limited in types and colors. They still have plenty to choose from though. I live in SoCal so there are hundreds of stone yards and tile places around here. Depending on where you live, you may have this, or you may not.