Skip the intermediate expensive lipstick on a poor layout. Keep saving and actually fix the safety hazard and the rest of the functional issues that the room has.

@richfield95 the white appliances are old and going to go. We really don't like the cabinet colors so we will be changing them. They are built in oaks and really showing their age

@Sophie Wheeler thanks for the feedback, but I'm not quite sure where the safety hazard is and like the layout!

Your kitchen seems pretty dark in your pictures, not sure how the Kendall Charcoal will be in that space. perhaps do all mindful gray, or pick a second lighter color to go with that.

What are your floors now?

If you’re replacing your floor soon, it will be easier to make items coordinate if you choose the floor first then select a paint color for cabinets.

what are you doing with the chair rail and dark door? Are the doors and trims similar throughout the house or is the kitchen different?

pick one of the colors in the back splash for the walls. Not sure about those cabinet colors, especially the charcoal.

A range next to a travel path is a burn hazard. A professional spraying a conversion varnish on those cabinets averages 7-9K. A new quartz counter averages 5-8K.

Save your money. Address the real issues first. You need a different design. Don’t put very expensive lipstick on a pig. It’s a complete waste. Save your money and and do it right.

Fix the bad layout. And the soffit. And the terrible lighting.

That kitchen needs some work before the pretty stuff and that range is the first thing that needs addressing. The lighting for sure I am sorry but I would not spend money without redoing the floor plan

Sophie Wheeler- thank you for explaining the safety hazard - I was wondering what it was myself.

I have to agree... the range is scary. Also cabinets look pretty old to be putting money into then with paint and new doors.

Id live with it until you can afford to replace. New cabinets would let you correct the layout and add drawers.

I agree. I would save my $ until I could do a complete remodel. And I wouldn’t even think about using the charcoal in your dark kitchen.

To hold you over until you do the more extensive remodel, hire an electrician to come in and add more lighting. Add recessed lights, and under cabinet lights.

That will transfer on to any new kitchen, and will help you quite a bit with the existing kitchen, if you hire a KD to figure out the new better layout now. That would be the wiser long term plan.

You could still DIY paint the existimg cabinets to refresh it a bit, but it will not be nearly as durable as a factory conversion varnish finish.

Plan for Now, A Year From Now, and Two Years From Now. If you have the master plan, and do it in the right stages, it breaks it up into doable chunks. Good luck!

I agree with all the above. I also find your color choices and your pencil-brick backsplash choice in the OP to be dated. I am not trying to offend you, or to stir up people that will say "if she loves it, it doesn't matter if it's dated cause she loves it". That would be 100% right except I don't get the impression you love those choices, and since it's quite an expense to lay out on a kitchen that will need a full updating reno anyway, I wanted to mention that those choices will not be a good investment.

Those cabinet colors also too dark for your space. And the size of your kitchen does not support using two different cabinet colors. Do not get black appliances especially "black stainless" that is being pushed so hard right now by the appliances stores. They're going to scratch cause the black is just painted on, and your kitchen could use the gleam of regular stainless.

If as The Cook's Kitchen mentioned you want to DIY paint the cabinets so you have a brighter more cheerful kitchen just for a couple years until a full re-do, that would be great if you pick a lighter color than the 2 drab grays in your OP.

The first thing I noticed was the placement of the stove. Besides the safety issue, it's really unattractive looking at a bare stove from the other living areas of the house. The same holds true of any appliance in such a position.

Sorry, but that lipstick isnt going to fix the issues. Any future buyer will just see the needed gut to fix the issues that you ignored. And take that off of their offer.

If you aren’t going to do the gut that it needs, then the goal is to spend the least amount of money possible on cosmetic changes only. Like a flipper.

Youre wasting money on new doors. Just paint what is there and leave the rest alone. That’s it. Match the white appliances. And leave the white appliances.

Or do a new white IKEA kitchen for not much more than you had planned to spend, and add functionality and value to your home.

Where are you planning to stop painting? Are all the doors in the house the oak grain, like the one in the eating area? Why shaker cabinet doors? Why the new tile?

Personally I don't care for the gray look and would be concerned that it would be out of place with the features in the rest of your home. If you're changing the floor, I'd recommend selecting the floor before wall colors---it's easier to match flooring to the infinite # of paint colors rather than the other way around.

I know these aren't exactly like your cabinets, but I like how they took "dated" cabinets and made them look amazing.

Mid-Century Modern Kitchen Backsplash · More Info

If it were my kitchen, I'd do the lighting like Cook's recommended. Then I'd work on playing down the brown/beige/tan. I'd love a bright wall color, but do you need to carry it into the other rooms? Maybe a greige would work. Then an area rug on the floor to bring in color and tone down the tan.

An easy fix for the dangerous range location would be to move the cabinet to the right of the range to the other side then slide the range, vent hood and cabinet to the right so there are now cabinets on both sides. You seem like you're pretty handy and this would be an easy fix! If the wall and base cabinets between the refrigerator and range are large cabinets with 2 doors invest in a couple of unfinished base cabinets from a big box store or go to a Habitat for Humanity and get some old ones. (Saw the counter in half...you're going to replace it later anyway! And hold off on back splash until AFTER you do the new counters!!)

As far as the cabinet color choice I like what you have chosen. I have 4 kids and a messy husband and i feel like I spend half my time wiping food off the white base cabinets! Keep the colors you chose, once you fix the lighting it won't matter how dark they are!!

GOOD LUCK!

If you decide to paint use BenjM Advance or Cabinet Coat paint. They're made for cabs in kitchens. The coating gets very hard over a week curing and doesn't need a topcoat or spray gun.

I have to agree with others who have pointed out the awkward position of the range. Your kitchen looks to be too wide to be a real functional galley style kitchen, and it really could use a more workable lay out. The range needs to be more in line with the countertops and sink to make it more efficient. As it is now, it is a real hike from the sink and prep area over to the stove.

It is so very, very dark. Lighter colors would go a long way.

What’s “in” is very regional. I suppose. The gray cabinets & two toned kitchens are no longer favored in my area, however, one of my relatives who lives a several hundred miles east from me just sent me photos of her new gray kitchen cabinets. What’s important is what YOU like, trends be damned :)

If you are going to sell in a few years, you might want to stay away from trendy... two colors and black stainless are a waining trend. just paint what you have or do IKEA. Kitchen sale on now. You can do a nice creamy shaker, simple layout with a few changes to your current floor plan for $2-3k, you could whack out the soffits and do 40" uppers.

Oh, for pete's sake! If you like gray, go for gray. It is a nice neutral color. Since when do we change the colors of our durable goods items as often as we change our fashion colors? What nonsense!

Don't worry about how wall colors might impact the resale value. Those are easily changable. What really counts is the overall maintenance and up keep of your property. You are the one living in the house. You never know what the preferences of any future buyer might be so don't tailor your life to that. You can't, and should not live your life according to resale value.

Of course, avocado green would really date a kitchen, as would harvest gold.

Yes, color choices do change, but over time. not season.

I like to have my durable goods, and my walls to be quite neutral and to be able to change the accessorizing elements that are easy to change. as fashion changes.

Gray is a great neutral and timeless color!

The real problem in your kitchen is the stove, as just about everyone has pointed out to you, already.

That is quite a trek between the working area of your kitchen and the stovetop! And, there is no off load area to each side.

Moving the range to be on the short end of the L would give you a much more functional “prep cockpit”, that would be undisturbed by traffic. Move the fridge down to where the range is now. IKEA is affordable for the DIYer.

Sorta like this layout we did on this project. Adding a small peninsula would give a spot for seats as well.

Stunning in Somerville · More Info

Stunning in Somerville · More Info

One other thought about painting those cabinets and getting new doors. Even if you paint the new doors the same color as the cabinet bases, the two will never match. Why? Because the cabinet bases are oak and the doors are either MDF or maple which is a much tighter grain. It will look totally odd to have grainy cabinet boxes with smooth doors.

Or do a new white IKEA kitchen for not much more than you had planned to spend, and add functionality and value to your home.

I agree 100%. A basic Ikea kitchen will yield you much more in future dollars than painting those boxes and getting new doors. As I mentioned, the doors and boxes will never work well together.

Gray is a great neutral and timeless color!

Oh really? So what you're saying is that gray was timeless when NO ONE wanted gray after the early 80's and everyone wanted beige? I got a secret. NO one color is timeless. They are all trends that go in and out of style.

As a very easy first step towards improving the kitchen and your lives, please remove the wine bottles from above the stove. The wine has probably finished cooking by now. Unless you have a wine refrigerator, wine should not be stored in the kitchen (usually the hottest room in the house), and if you must store it in the kitchen, definitely not above the stove. Heat is the worst enemy of wine.

Gray IS neutral, as are beige based and off white colors. Why invest in "trends"? Invest in a more timeless color that is not subject to fashions trends. That is sound advice when building a wardrobe or adding elements to your home.

Who cares what "NO ONE" wants? The real question is to ask what it is that YOU want? "NO ONE" does not live there....you do.

You cannot go wrong with a neutral and non dictating base color. You can always add accent colors. Those should be the trendy colors---the accent colors. They are usually the things that are more easily changed out.

This kitchen needs more that just a change of color for the cabinets, though. It is almost a moot point. I agree that painting them is not always a good choice. I had painted some cabinets in my kitchen at one time. Once you opened the cabinet door, you saw that it was really an old cabinet. Unless you are going to go behind the doors and renew that space as well, you might as well not waste your money and time. They almost never look good. I have seen some that do. But, most times it is not a good look.

Besides, the finishes on a new cabinet door are finishes that I could never attain from using ordinary paint. And, to get such a resistant and smooth factory finish as what is on my KitchenMaid cabinets would require materials and tools and techniques that are not readily available to me, the DIY person. One advantage for you is that your doors are a slab door and are easier to work with.

The two colors that you chose are beautiful. It looks like what ever is on your floor has a gray tone to it.

If you are doing this for resale I agree with the suggestions to add lighting and keep the rest as inexpensive as possible. If I were in your shoes I would stick to painting the walls as the colour looks like it is contributing to the dark effect. Bring home the whole colour wheel and play around until you find something that goes with the room and the rest of the house and works for the wainscotting in the eating area. Some buyer could love oak. And buyers who don't are more likely to want to do their own kitchen from the ground up.

I would seriously consider pricing out Ikea cabs...you may be pleasantly surprised....especially considering the time/effort to get a quality paint job yourself. Ikea kitchens are DIY friendly if you have some DIY skills. Additionally, by addressing the layout issues, you will add value to your home for your efforts instead of spending money that will most likely not give you payback.

My daughter recently priced out Chinese cabs and Ikea cabs for a huge kitchen with large island in Miami. The Chinese cabs were almost $18,000 Installed; the Ikea cabs were $$9,000 without installation. Your kitchen would be much less for Ikea cabs. I suspect $3-5 thousand depending on the door style and if there is an Ikea cab sale. Since she is “somewhat” handy, I suggested that she handle putting the cabs together and hiring an installer.

Before you decide to spend money on the exiting kitchen, do yourself a favor and get an Ikea estimate. Take pictures of current kitchen and all measurements to a store or play wth the Ikea planner software.

Additionally, Ikea upper cabs are 15” deep so you might be able to self demo the bulkhead soffits and take the cabs all the way to the ceiling without having a lot of expense in drywall repair.

Tyler,

Maybe you should consult a local real estate agent about how much to do to the kitchen to not over improve or under improve the home based on other homes in your area. In our locality, right now buyers don't want a kitchen isolated from family room and won’t even bid low on a home without an open floor plan, they just walk away.

Oh, my goodness! Just live in your house as if you are living your own life and not in fear or consideration of what some perspective buyer in the future might want. Keep your home in good condition and well maintained, and paint what ever colors you want.

You have no idea of when you might want to sell or who might want to buy it, or what they might want. So, don't worry about it.

Also, don't bother a real estate agent about it. They have only stock answers to any questions and will only regurgitate the most obvious factors. You would do better to look at the listings and to look at what sells and make your own conclusions, if that is a concern of yours.

If a perspective buyer does not like the floor plan, they are probably not going to buy your house. So, don't worry about it. If they are looking for the latest fad in living, they are likely to not be looking at your older house.

A well maintained house is a pleasure to live in and will offer rewards to you, the person who is living there.

Just get on with your life and what gives you pleasure and comfort in your home. You cannot please some future perspective buyer. So, please yourself.