So how much of a remodel are you looking to do?

First, no faux wood next to real wood. So either run the hardwood into the kitchen (seems to go nice with the wood cabinets if you keep them) or get tile in a stone look. Grey faux wood will also date the space, if not now then for sure in a few years.

Based on the column, the wood seems to be a nice finish. Is it the wood you dislike or just that the kitchen feels dark? I wouldn't recommend painting them. It's nearly as expensive as new cabinets and I suspect their not the issue.

If you want to brighten it up it's time to lose the black granite. A brighter white countertop would really help lighten up the space. Then invest in better lighting. Lose the ceiling fan over the dining table (fans only belong over sitting spaces, not eating ones) and install undercabinet lighting if you don't have it already.

Thanks! Those are some really good tips especially with the floors. Our issue with the cabinets is the color just doesn’t go along with the rest of the house . The wood floors are a darker and different color. I attached a picture of the cabinets, floor and granite.

We we are trying to avoid replacing the granite as we have a large kitchen and ALOT of countertops/island. It’s not that It needs to be brighter, the painting we had done took care of

that and we are happy with it, just more of the color combinations between the cabinets, backsplash, tile and granite.

Once you've got everything done, if you still feel the cabinet shade doesn't work, check into Polyshades (I think it's MinWax). I know some people who had some really good results. Would be worth a look and if it looks positive, you could test on the interior of a door.

Your granite looks great, I would keep it. Add lighting if need be or even a lighter backsplash.... much easier and less cost!

Love what you've gotten done so far!

In looking at the rest of the room I see white painted wood work everywhere and I like it. I think that switching to white cabinets would tie the kitchen in better with the rest of the room and really brighten everything up. If you do paint the cabinets you will want to get a good professional job with proper prep. You might also look into the cost of just replacing the doors a drawer fronts and only painting the cabinet frames. My mom did this in her kitchen and it was not much difference in cost and she was able to update the style of her cabinets at the same time.

I also like the suggestion of going with a stone look for the kitchen floors and then you could tie that in with a simular stone in a new backsplash.

I like the idea of the hardware change... on the painting, yes, it's a lot of work but the kitchen isn't huge. However, before I paint a kitchen again, I'm going to give the polyshades a whirl.

As it is, I think the cabinets look pretty good. I might paint just the top cabinets if I needed a change.

If you do want to change door fronts/drawer fronts www.barkerdoor.com is fabulous. Custom sizes, lots of options, made in the USA, great service.

I like the cabinets as is. I would change the paint color, the backsplash and the floors.

Why not finish the other rooms with art and accessories before you do anything to the kitchen. The home doesn't look finished or even lived in. It will take the pressure off the kitchen.

I think Beverly's idea of finishing everything else before tackling the kitchen is a good one. You may discover you like your kitchen a lot more :)

Wow so many comments. Thank you all for your perspective. I have attached a better photo of the whole kitchen.

so I’ll try to address all the comments.

Mimi,

thanks for the tip I will look into that polyshade! We definitely will be doing this slowly to make sure we do it right!

We

Beth,

We are definitely going To replace the floor likely with stone look. Wall color is Summit Grey (Sherwin Williams 7669). We are trying to get away from the beige related colors. The house was half Dark brown/tan before which was brutal.

Backsplash will be replaced as well As all the hardware and as suggested we will replace floors and backsplash first to better understand what cabinet color we want. The wood you see in the cabinets top and bottom is also trim work in other areas of the house (banister footings) and we are changing that as well. We like the look of wood, we just have a lot of it in different colors.

Our floors, stairs, banister, cabinets, and front door are all different. We are going to refinish our main stairs to a darker wood stain to and likely the banisters. Our built in living room cabinetry is basically a stained black, and is adjacent to the kitchen.

Ci_lantro,

We just had the house painted (interior walls and ceilings) to the color we like. trying to bring everything towards a different theme. I like the cabinets too actually. They are a very nice stained wood, it all just doesn’t fit the rest of the house. Thanks for the input!

Beverly,

The reason we use cooler lights is the warmer lighs corrupt the paint color making it look weird basically. I have a lot of lights of all warmth levels and have tested different ones, cooler looks better. The reason the dining looks warmer is because the chandelier “Sconces” that hold the light bulbs have a yellow tint. We are going to be replacing the chandeliers as well so this effect is temporary. Also that dining and secondary living room had just been painted and we hadn’t yet Replaced the old rug and thus left it out. It is lived in I assure you. Not all pictures were current day. im not looking so much for accessory decorating ideas, more for what colors work woth the structure I have in cabinets floors and walls. im not interested in masking something I dont like with accessories.

We have a lot we plan to change, this is just one step in our grand scheme. This and our master bath tear our and remodel are our largest expenses, just depends how we do it.

I would be very careful concerning Polyshades. I suspect doing the prep needed so it will adhere decently without getting blotchy will be as much work as painting prep. I experimented on a raw, sanded piece of oak and was not a fan...lacked the rich, deep character of oil-based stain...not sure how to describe it...plastic, fake looking is the best I can do.

I would suggest first using it on a sample of raw wood. If you like the result, then experiment on the back of a door; but I think you will have to lightly sand (haven’t researched that though) The issue is will it adhere properly to the final cabinet coat on your cabs without sanding.

General Finishes makes gel stain, but you will want to research that also to see the techniques and if you like the look. One positive is that it can go over your cleaned, existing cabs.

You could also paint just the island or the uppers to tie the wood and painted wood together.

much better. do not use that polyshades! first off, you have to prepare the wood to accept another finish. it's not as easy as just brushing on the polyshade! (well, unless you want it to start peeling and chipping in a month)

personally I don't think that particular color does anything for the kitchen. I might do something a bit more dramatic or darker. maybe Iron Ore, Iron mountain or Kendall charcoal

maybe bring in something like this for the splash (for heavens sake, do not do a white subway tile!)

this would prob be my first choice,,Moonlight.

if you do decide on white, then going w/a black backsplash would look great

Lol thanks for the thoughts, we probably would get a professional to do anything for the cabinets, it’s way too much work to even consider doing ourselves.

I like your thoughts on a slightly Arlene kitchen walls, definitely something we could change as there isn’t truly much wall area in the kitchen given the cabinets and windows. Might contrast well against the walls in the living room. Also there is a 99.9% chance we will not be doing subway tiles, even smaller chance we would do white! Lol. If we did paint the cabinets white or some other light color, we would definitely have a contrasting backsplash. I don’t want to drown in white that’s for sure. We have lots of light so it wouldn’t be dark either way.

Really like the moonlight backsplash tile you posted there too, looks like a shinier slate~ very cool!

Its a nice kitchen. I would really try to leave the cabinets as they are. I dont mind the floors either, but, I am not fond of the backsplash, with your countertops. I do like the countertops.

The cool light doesn't render people in a flattering light. Warming the gray color is desirable in this situation IMO