Possible ideas

Change out the two doors to open frosted glass for a more modern edge.

Replace bar area upper cabinets to open shelving and make it a baking area with cool dishes on the shelves.

Paint out the cabinets in a soft color that works with the granite you have but also a future top.

Open shelves with mixed cabinet stains and colors; cool lighting

Tudor kitchen · More Info

cabinet and open shelves mixed; can be done with one cabinets taking up one third of area, and two thirds being open shelving

Park Slope brownstone · More Info

Grey cabinets on the lower shelves

Stratford Mountain · More Info

Glass door that can has some type of fun modern or frosted glass

French Country Kitchen · More Info

There are [9,411 blue kitchens[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/blue-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~a_88-6) on Houzz. Start a kitchen ideabook before you get too far into this thing. Here, I'll get you started:

Amherst House · More Info

Fort Greene New Construction · More Info

I would leave the kitchen untill you can afford to do it all in one go ..it's not that bad at the moment

My sister painted the lower cabinets and pantry cabinets in her mid-century kitchen a dark navy blue and the uppers a very light gray (almost white). She put in butcher block counters (very affordable option from IKEA). She had a little bar area like yours and put in open shelves on top instead of the upper cabinets and made a cute snack bar area (using clear, labeled jars for candies and other snack foods). Her walls are all a light gray like yours. It looks great and did not cost a whole lot of money.

Paint colors are almost limitless and there seems to be a tile for every situation. Countertop options are more limited. For that reason, as well as potentially damaging your new backsplash, I would consider using your improvements budget for countertops first if possible. I look forward to seeing after pics of your navy blue cabinets! Good luck with the new home.

You'll have to paint the kitchen walls.

Keep your backsplash tile to scale. You don't have a huge backsplash area, it may be medium at best. Try to not overwhelm your kitchen with changes just for change sake, unless you have money to burn. Styles change and life does too. I think the wall color is not good with the cabinets or counter? Maybe if you painted the walls just in the kitchen walls that have cabinets on them, a color like SW Alabaster. It's going to go very well with the gray you envision, and the white trim there now. It's also going to make the counter top look nice I think, and because it goes nice with gray, so will your stainless steel items and backsplash areas. Paint that kitchen alabaster (semi gloss or at least satin sheen) sheetrock areas only and step back and see if you don't have something in the general direction that can work with some of your plans to come. There's enough speckles in the counter top and waves of wood in the flooring. I would pick a nice solid backsplash if you have too, maybe in the black family? This could be very pretty, but I can't tell the exact flecks of dark color in your countertop. .this may blend nicely with it? Remember, that yellow tones and gray and black and navy and dusty blue can work nicely together in the right various sheens and textures, one would think...and likely look nice with your later counter surface, if you change? <https://www.overstock.com/search?refinevendorid=86362&featuredproduct=11910770&zzz=zzz?TID=0:PRODPG::02:CORECS-2>;

GROVER! You are magician. Cannot go wrong with dusty blue as denim goes with everything and you can dress it up or down. ...it's timeless. Alabaster walls, and either the texture of stone or subway tile, are going to change the tone of that area for sure.

All hail Grover. I mean seriously. I agree that denimy blue is superb on the cabinetry and that second image with the brass handles and the white appliances--- this might be one of the few photos where I think white appliances look great!

I WAS coming on to actually comment that the wood cabinets that the OP is seeking to replace/paint happen to look really nice to me.

So I guess the moral of the story is that anything done well works.:)

Love the mock up, thank you grover! I'm otherwise a little discouraged, I know the kitchen isn't awful and it's all new updates already... But I really hate the look of it. All the individual pieces are not bad by themselves, it's the combination that's just awful to me. These comments make me feel like I'm throwing awayoney by wanting to change it. Not sure what I should do now...

It's really an economic decision since your kitchen looks fine and fairly functional. You are not doing anything that improves the function of the kitchen but making solely cosmetic changes.

What are your finances like and how much do you want to spend on cosmetic changes to your kitchen versus other expenditures. What is your emergency fund account like and other savings? I was fairly pinched when I moved into my new house as mortgage, taxes, utilities were all a bit higher than my rent had been - not to mention normal maintenance expenses.

People can advise on how to achieve your dream kitchen but unless you are sitting down with a financial advisor disclosing your true economic reality, no one can advise as to whether the decision makes sense.

I personally would not spend money to solely improve the style of a kitchen especially when it is objectively not terrible - i.e. it is not a kitchen out of hell unless I was using purely discretionary income and had decided that a cosmetic fix on my kitchen was something I wanted more than other discretionary expenditures.

The finishes may not be to your taste, but it is quite functional. I would live with it while saving up to do all of it at once. It won't kill you, I promise. :)