Since your daylight is limited, I would not paint dark! And please don't touch that chimney, it's charming. Your counters are laminate, correct? Are you looking to do a budget quick change, or are you open to new flooring or counter tops?

Your friend watches too much HGTV:)

White and gray is way overdone. If you love it, that is fine, but you should decide what you love, not what "every one else" is doing. It should be a place that makes you smile, not your friend or anyone else who does not live there. What "everyone is doing" is sure to be tomorrow's "dated" - a term I hate. That is due to marketing - keep those trends moving to keep people buying new stuff.

This is a wood kitchens idea book with both new and refreshed older kitchens. it might give you some ideas should you decide not to paint.

https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/75202366/list/wood-kitchens

Do read up on the durability of painted over previously finished surfaces - especially if you are not an experienced DIY person. I have done it - painted my old cabinets and moved them to the laundry room. I am OK with them, but they don't get much wear there.

This DIY person did a good job - minimal wear in 3 years. I have seen cabinets that look worse - hers look pretty good:

https://www.confessionsofaserialdiyer.com/painted-kitchen-cabinets-three-years-later/

I'd paint the cabinets white or off-white. You already have brownish/greenish colors in the kitchen and adding a grey would darken the room even more. I love the chimney and would leave it as is. Would you be open to changing the lighting pendants to something more neutral with clear shades? The colored shades probably reduce the amount of light they provide.

I like the chimney too! You have a sweet kitchen that looks like you enjoy working in. I love the shelf to the right of the stove with the white dishes. What is your budget? $1000 or $5000. What are you keeping? Floors, Counters, Cabinets, Light fixtures, hardware....? What do you love about your kitchen? What do you want to change?

I think with the room feeling dark, updating your lighting might be a great way to bring in lightness. You also might think of a different style curtain. Something lighter in fabric and color. Although what you have looks nice with your light fixtures you might want to update that with something more simple. If you paint the cabinets gray are you keeping the red toned pendants? There are things you can do with paint but painting cabinets sometimes cheapens them. A stain to update them a little could work or simple clean them up a bit with a finish. I would collect some ideas of kitchens updates that you like.

The only color for cabinets that will stand the test of time is white. Anything else will decrease your sale price. The buyer would have to agree with your paint choice and that would be rare if not white. If you do redo them have them spray lacquered for durability. The design elements in your kitchen are all very nice. Chimney/wine holder/breakfast bar, don't mess with a good thing. I might look into replacing the upper doors over the coffee bar. The cathedral details looks odd on squares., IMHO

Yes, I am up for any suggestions. I am thinking of changing out the lights on ceiling to something more modern farmhouse style. I will definitely look into the pendant style clear shades.

The countertops are laminate. I would love to gut the whole thing and start again. It has been this same way for over 20 years. What would you suggest if I did do this. One good thing is it is a small area with not a ton of cabinets. The ceilings being slanted don’t make for a lot of space above. The floors will need to be replaced also. They are tile looks laminate.

I felt the black or dark cabinets would be a bit too dark for the small space, and I actually like the chimney look now it adds a rustic charm.

Oh and windows and treatments are always an issue. They are low due to ceiling pitch of house. I live in a very unique craft style farmhouse with actually 4 layers and gabled roofs. I am always looking for suggestions I have thought just to go back to white blinds, I know valances are out, but these windows are a pain to dress. And it’s an eat in kitchen with attached dining area so I try to keep the window coverings in both areas coordinated.

Gray and black would match but be depressing. White might be too stark, but ivory or cream might just work.

I love the chimney. Don't paint it! The whole setup is kind of charming, really. Can you pull a cream color out of the counters that will play nicely with the chimney?

(I don't mind the wood, but if it's getting tired, or you're getting tired of it, paint away!)

Window ideas... That might look a little nicer than blinds.

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And paint with brick.... Maybe a light paint is the way to go....ummmm I thought keeping them but now that I see a few ideas I can see a creamy paint might be lovely with the brick.

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I know from another post you have been working on the kitchen table - how do you like that color?

This is a budget redo that came up on This Old House site yesterday:

This is pretty - might be too dark for your space:

Here is another - you want "warm grays - which usually read green to keep the space from feeling cold:

Touches like the skirted sink, baskets and plate rail lend to a authentic farmhouse look - rather than one done with home goods type decor - which is fine in moderation.

I use a faux Roman shade in my kitchen - very easy to make if you sew, but it does not go down. It works like a valance. My short apron Whitehaven sink can be installed on a standard sink base cabinet - but I had to save up extra months for it.

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

Hi! If you are keeping that floor I would keep to the warm side of things. I would do a cream and a warm gray I feel would not look good here. If these are oak the grain will always be present so I would encourage you to look at painted oak cabs to see if this painted look is OK to you.

Of all the kitchen elements, the one that seems off to me is the color of the counters.....on my monitor they look green. Before I painted cabs (a warm white would look lovely), I would consider replacing your counters. BUT...if you ultimately think you would replace cabs, do not redo counters.

If you want to avoid a total cab replacement and wanted to update the look (arch on the uppers is an older style), you could order new maple doors from a manufacturer like Barker’s to paint or have Barkers paint them and keep your boxes/face frames. If you have full overlay doors, very little of the oak grain frame will show, or you use grain filler before sanding and painting them.

Do not paint the brick!

Yes, the counters are a bit green toned, didn’t look like that in the big box store at time under their store lights.

Yes, I need help with the table and hutch in my other post. Thought about just buying new set, but wanted to give this set an update which I see people do all over instagram but to be honest I don’t know if I did a very good job. Maybe needs to be more something... haha idk! Definitely needs maybe a dark table top possibly or also painted white and I feel hutch needs painted also to either coordinate somehow or a different pop of color. I have been chalk painting them.

Will definitly take rug out from under table, since someone said too small. And I am softly looking for new lighting for kitchen and dining that matches. These are dated and I do not like them. I don’t know why they placed two in dining area like that.

The windows definitely need some new treatments, I thought the woven shades look nice but I wouldn’t mind a nice curtain on sliding glass door.. The curtains I have are tie up shades, I currently tie them up or leave them down like curtains show in pics. The kitchen-dining used to be a wine red just lightened it up with a cream paint. Was suppose to be it’s primer and then onto maybe a greige color. But I am kinda sick of painting so leaving that as is for now. It definitely brightened the space.

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