I love your style. There is nothing much to do in your kitchen. It looks great. Add some tea towels, a kettle, utensil crock and a big bow of fruit, a super nice end grain butcher block chopping board and you are golden. Maybe a runner if you really want to add sone color, and a Roman shade might be nice, but it’s juts a tucked away galley, city kitchen, let it be. BTW, those are my favorite kind of kitchens, discreet and functional. I really love your house. The art, the accessories, the color scheme, did I mention the gorgeous art?

I would remove at least one set of the cabinet doors, this wouldn't cause any damage and would certainly allow you to show off your personailty in the kitchen. Perhaps the doors over the sink and you could display cookbooks or a interesting collection of dishes there.

I did this when I was selling my last house and I filled the shelf with cookbooks. Everyone who came in commented on how beautiful and inviting the kitchen looked, which I have to admit was fairly drab before I took the doors down.

Your living room area is beautiful!

I wouldn't bother painting or removing cabinet doors. The kitchen is what it is and is never going to be a focal point - nor should it be. Guests are going to walk in the door with their eyes in front and attracted to your living area.

When I am actually cooking in the kitchen, I am not aware of my surroundings for the most part as I am looking at the food I am prepping or involved in other chores just as loading and unloading the dishwasher.

An attractive window covering of some kind would be nice as well as functional.

How do you find actually using the kitchen - what do you need to make it work well. It's small with limited counter space if you like to cook so you should concentrate on where and how you want to store things to make the space work for you. Form follows function. For example, most people keep utensils frequently used in a crock or something else at the stove for access. Where are you keeping your spices? Where is the paper towel holder - in my small urban kitchen, I mounted it under the cabinet.

I would leave the paint. It looks in good condition and flows with the rest of the house. Add some window covering with color, and add a few colorful accessories on the counters. Maybe a toaster, or a coffee pot or a mixer in a color would help. Find a place to hang some colorful towels. Right now, it is just a bit blah, mostly because you havent accessorized at all. It will all look very nice, once you do. Your living room looks great, so I am sure you can do the same to the kitchen.

I would paint... why not ? Draw a color out of one of the large art pieces you have. I would also hang a pretty picture or decorative mirror over the sink. Change the shade to a pretty pleated shade or fabric roman shade for additional color and depth. I would put a beautiful plant in a very colorful pot on top of the ref to fill that area... then maybe a fancy runner on the floor or mat in front of the sink...

Do it slow - add one or 2 things at a time and see what you think!

I echo the suggestion of a runner and a Roman shade to add color and pattern. But I'd also paint the walls. Paint can be so transformative.

I notice that you favor warm tones, golds and oranges. I think you could pull a wall color from the pillows or the Asian paintings. Maybe something like this:

I like your décor so far very much!

Wash the walls well first and then see how they look -- they might brighten up, if not then they are ready for paint should you decide to.

I would go with a bamboo blind to play off your other décor, and get a pretty runner.

Do you live near an Ikea? Either go there, or browse online for some great ideas for practical kitchen accessories -- their aesthetic seems to fit yours . Likewise World Market.

You can also probably carefully remove the door/drawer handles (store them away) and, if the finish isn't damaged under them, replace them with something complimentary to your overall look -- wood or dark metal. There are nice inexpensive ones out there.

Then think about picking a subtle color for the walls in the warm color ranges -- whatever is in the runner and accessories you choose -- there are blues and greens, as well as pinks, corals, peaches, golds, yellow.... go with what makes you smile. Go to any store that sells paint -- it will usually have a brochure of whites only but you will see that they are all different, very pale colors although on a large space will read white -- in a smaller space like yours the color will be a bit more noticeable. See what color makes your eyes light up and don't worry about it being "right" because any warm color will work in your space with what you already have. Think about your favorite accessories & make-up (if you wear mostly neutral colors), what colors do you choose to wear?

You could paint the ceiling instead of the walls, that is a great place to put a color in a small room.

For a little stronger color, I am a big fan of the various brand's Navajo Whites because they are always a subtle but complex rich color that works with nearly everything (and landlords don't object to). Every brand is different: Glidden's Navajo White is warm green toned, Behr's is more yellow tan to cream (depending on the light) and so forth.

Please come back and show us your finished kitchen!