I think the cabinets should be painted a light grey. sometimes white on wood looks chalky and cheap looking. painting the trims white is a good idea it will contrast the grey walls. definitely need to change window treatment. but I think you pretty much have a clear idea of what you want and it sounds pretty

That's a lot of green.

• Remove the border on the bulkhead
• Add a crown moulding to the bulkhead & paint the bulkhead the same as what ever you decide on for the cabinets. This will add height to the kitchen.
• Paint the walls different from the bulkhead/cabinets.
• Change out the ceiling fan for a different fixture. It doesn't look like it's centred over the island. Is it? Unfortunate if not.
• Definitely new knobs
• The desk is using a lot of storage real estate. Unless you would need it as a desk, possibly move the island cabinetry in place of the desk to give you a longer, single level counter and install new cabinetry for the island.... Just a thought.

I'm with AnnKH. Why not live with it for a while? I know kitchens are expensive, but if you are later going to bust it all out, or take out the desk and island, then maybe you might rethink? Just a suggestion.

Echoing others who say to live with it for a while before updating it. It's the only way to know if the layout works for you. Painting all those cabinets is long, tedious work and it would be a shame to go to all the effort only to realize six months down the line, the kitchen is not as functional as you'd like.

The best advice is to live with it for now. Remove the wallpaper and paint the walls and just wait to see how the kitchen works for you. It looks rather dysfunctional in terms of working so you may find yourself wanting to instead wait a bit and do a full gut down the line to get a better functioning space.

Also oak cabinets are quite difficult to get to look good when painted. It's very labor intensive for something that you may not even want to keep once you live in the space for a while.

I agree with previous posters ... Definitely paint the walls and trim, but wait on the cabinets. That is a huge job, and you definitely want to be sure you like the layout. If you must update now, then do new counters, backsplash, and hardware.

On a less practical note, you might rethink your choice of grays. Gray on gray on gray is on its way out, and may not marry well with the warm neutral of your floors, anyway. Once you've really lightened up the space with those other changes, you may find that the nice woodgrain is growing on you.

Edited to add: ... And congrats on your new home!

Fantastic pictures, gm_tx! I'm really loving white and woods these days.

A little side note.... it looks like the corner base cabinet is a turn-in-place/swivel, lazy susan where the door is connected to the LS. If so, watch your little ones' fingers. I can't tell you how many times I got my fingers caught in those things when I was a kid.

I recommend taking it in stages:

- Paint the walls. That's a really strong color. Live with it a while and see if you're satisfied.

- If not, paint the kitchen cabinets. Live with it a while and see if you're satisfied.

- If not, paint the trim (which is the most work).

wow. 1985 threw up in there big time.

I'd paint every inch of that oak molding (baseboards, windows, doors,,) white.

Simply White.

Would look nice w/Alpaca.

but alpaca leans a little on the taupe/pink side, not sure if that's going to work w/the honey oak. (you may want to check out Drift of Mist)

I don't know about you, but I couldn't live with that. cook a few meals in there and you'll know what works and what doesn't.

if you're on a serious budget, then check out Craigslist for appliances. you'd be amazed at the deals you find on there. for a flip house we did I got everything (except the fridge) on there. even a wall oven that was 800 (reg 2300) because of a tiny dent you can't see. so, check that option.

instead of laminate, (and a good laminate counter can cost just as much as stone or quartz) try looking at pre-fab granite/quartz countertops. a 9' section runs about $400. you hire a fabricator to cut it for your space.

I'd paint the cabs, no question. if you plan on doing it yourselves, let me know. I have a great link to the complete how to. If you plan on hiring, a pro cabinet painter (not a house painter) should charge you in the 3.5-5K range.

I think the rooms are nice sized and it seems like it has been well maintained. I would remove the wallpaper, and remove those awful curtains in the dining room, and prime over that really dark not so pretty green paint, and then pick another color for the kitchen, and live with the rest for a while. Even the burn mark in the counter. Once you have lived there 3 or 4 months, you will know how well the kitchen functions, and if you still want to keep the lay out and even the cabinets (painted or unpainted, because, they do look nice as they are,) then go buy your countertops. If you should decide to leave the wood cabinets, please pick a color paint with no yellow tones to it.

Inefficiently designed kitchen, unfortunately. I hope you'll be able to correct that eventually.

In the mean time, definitely paint all the wood white. I'd consider painting the chase/soffit above the cabinets white, too. It will make your room really open up, more. Gray on the walls is great. You are onto something. Please keep us updated.

The OP said herself that it needs updated. Nothing Beth said was out of line. The kitchen is hideous, no way could I live with it either.

shadywillowfarm.. what's your prob? that's the only comment you read? 1985 did throw up there. how is that snark? Maybe I should have said, "vomited'. Even the OP called her kitchen ugly. If it is her first house, great. then she probably doesn't remember 1985. Now she knows what it looked like.

Back off of me and go find some other crusade.

Beth's comment was fine since I'm guessing Jenna agrees based on her post. Also, if you read through this, there's A LOT of very helpful suggestions from Beth.

ETA - We still have those same oak cabs, and ours also look like 1985 got pretty sick. :-/

OP states the counters are burnt, and "ugly as well". Posting that "1985 threw up in there" takes this quite a few steps further than asking for advice on "updating".

I'd leave the oak cabs for now, clean them really well, and just repaint the walls.

If you must change the counters, I'd look at IKEA laminate.

Jenna, I wish my husband would agree to painting the cabinets. At least the appliances were stainless when we bought the house. Just changing all the hardware to brushed nickel made a big difference. We had to have a TON of wallpaper removed. The print border above your cabinets and plaid window fabric remind me of what was all over our house. We loved the house and, like you, knew we could make changes.

nosoccermom,,,oh you have a dog in this now? I notice you just love to poke at my comments. the other day you did the same. time to move on dear. And your advice? seriously? "If you must change the counters,,," She's already said she's changing them because they're horrible. She's not asking IF she should paint the cabs, she's asking what color. So why say, "leave them for now" ? How about answering her questions instead of trying to sway her decision or make it sound as if she's making a mistake? Or did you throw in that last minute 'advice' just so it wouldn't look like you just came on to berate my comment? either way, you should have just scrolled on by.

"1985 throwing up" is hardly an offending stab. why do you all care? If the OP is offended by that one statement, in the midst of all the other great ideas I left her, then she can say so.

As a vote of encouragement, I don't see what's so bad about the layout of your kitchen. After all, not everyone wants to spend $20000 redoing a functional kitchen!
And after revisiting your post I don't think white cabinets would be a good choice with your floor as a more contrasting color would be. Could you get a sample of the color you originally wanted in kitchen cabinets and put it next to your floor? See if you like it.
If you don't want a desk, you could do what we did and make that empty space into a drawer. We got a door front , put it on another piece of wood and got rev-a-shelf drawers to fit. I did not want to have the expense of putting in a new cabinet and new counters in order to replace the desk so we made it work and I love it.
I think your kitchen will look really nice when you're all done with it.

A quick, cheap, temporary fix for the burned counter top is to adhere a single tile over the burn spot. Just to clean it up while you wait for replacement. I agree with the others that suggest going ahead with removing wall paper and painting, then accessing what’s next. Lots of good space in your kitchen. Congratulations on your new home.

At OP, if you wan to go ahead and paint the cabinets, I'd seriously consider General Finishes milk paint. It requires relatively little prep and works like a dream. Here's a link to someone else using the paint with updates on how her cabs held up.

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/cabinet-paint-rave-dsvw-vd~3485219

@Beth, hard to comment on anything here without responding to any of your posts; you're just so PROlific.

No to the milk paint, chalk paint ect. Prep is the number one most important thing when painting cabinets. You have to clean, sand and prime, no exceptions.

In her comment she states " It requires relatively little prep", which contradicts what you say General Finishes recommends.

Congratulations on your new home! How exciting. I feel your pain...our kitchen looked similar when we moved in. We had three toddler boys so we decided to do the basics...paint the walls, change out the fixtures, change out the fan for a chandelier and chose a very inexpensive laminate from Lowe's to replace the counters. It was a functional kitchen and we didn't have to constantly worry that our kids would ram their big plastic trucks into new expensive or painted cabinets. (They will chip) I suggest you live with some basic changes and then enjoy your family, save for your dream kitchen and go from there.

nosoccermom,,,give it a rest. your poor other half.

General Finishes milk paint is an acrylic paint. any surface has to be properly prepped if you want good adherence. I've painted with it more times than I can count. The downside to this paint is that you really should apply a clear top coat over it (unlike one of the better acrylic enamels). If you don't have kids or a large family, and you use good hardware, you MAY be able to get away w/not using it, but your prep work better be spot on. (bare wood, sanded smooth and primed).

I think you should start with removing border paper and painting all the walls white. You may feel differently about the cabinets. They look to be in good condition and painting them is a big, expensive undertaking. Try living with the countertops for a while. New laminate is not too costly but you may wish to go for something better....It’s a nice space with lots of lovely windows. Love the desk...I think you can easily achieve a farmhouse look in here....

GF milk paint is a misnomer, see below.

MILK PAINT

"General Finishes Milk Paint is a premium interior/exterior mineral based paint named for its low-luster sheen, which mimics the look of old-world furniture paint. It is not a powdered, casein-based milk paint, but a premixed modern version that is so durable it does not require a topcoat unless you want to increase the sheen."

https://generalfinishes.com/wood-finishes-retail/water-based-milk-paints-chalk-style-paints-glazes-pearl-effects/milk-paint

Provides info about the paint, prep, specs, and links to projects.

And here for an overview of various cabinet paints:

https://www.thespruce.com/cabinet-paint-brands-4134632

Fine paints of Europe and the original Cabinet Coat are also acrylic-based.

I have used GF milk paint as well as BM Advance; the latter required way more prep.

However, this discussion is veering off, since OP stated that at least for now painting the cabs is off the table.

Itsme72, I think your cabinets are beautiful. I think fresh paint, (removbig that ivy border) a new lighting fixture and possibly a new backsplash would go a long way in updating your kitchen.

Removing

What are your countertop?

Anne Duke: I had totally forgotten about that Rustoleum counter kit. It totally works. The super at my first apartment spray painted her counters decades ago and it looked fabulous until the company was ready to replace them.

Itsme72, I just saw closeup of your backsplash. The grapes are very 90’s. I wonder if there’s any way to chisel out those tiles and replace them with something more current..

Sounds great. Good luck!