I'm going to bug you again about your other corner cab. I don't see much in that cabinet. It looks like decorative dishes. You could run shelves in place of that cabinet too. Now your window is wide open and your main prep area between sink and stove no longer has that hulking box overhead. You could stop there, but I'd change the cabinets on that wall. You could add 12-15" matching cabinets on the sides of the MW hood. I did a price check at Barker Cabinets. A 12"w x 30"h Shaker cabinet in paint grade alder with MDF center panel is $132. End panels, which you'll need two of, are $60. The two door hood cabinet is $217. They do have the contemporary hood cabinet that flips up, but they don't have the hinges that hold it open, but that style would be cool for your kitchen. Or you could get oak cabs to match the lowers and gel stain them. You might get by with just one new 12" upper cabinet and new doors to match the other uppers in that case. You would have to pay shipping from Oregon, so you may find a closer place like Scherr's or Conestoga Cabinets. All make high quality cabinets and doors. Or try a local cabinet maker. IMO it's a small investment for a big impact.

eam44, she did in her first post, which is eerily similar to the image nosoccermom just posted! Keep in mind that anything wax really needs to be sealed, no matter what these blogs claim. Wax come off with Windex (anything ammonia) and even vinegar, for those who think that's the way to go. It's NOT good in bathrooms or kitchens. Or outside, for that matter. There's a whole "revolution" of heresy among bloggers who regret selling their stuff with such non-durable finishes. Looks great, but lasting? Particularly for families with children? HAHAHAHHAHHAHA I find the efforts addicted2decorating when through totally unnecessary. Notice she took it down to no finish. I simply used gray stain, whereas she worked her @ss off. Citristrip doesn't require sanding, nor does wiping stain off. Go figure. (I like her blog, though.)

I would love to see a lovely "white washed" oak looking vinyl in this space. The teal counter tops should be able to pull together the "wood" tones of the cabinets and the "soft grayish" tones of a white wash. Something like this is an example of what I'm thinking of: https://www.armstrongflooring.com/residential/en-ca/vinyl-flooring/luxury-vinyl-tile/luxe-plank-with-fastak-install/item/A6716.html If you can find the right vinyl plank, you should be able to get this to run throughout the space (including bathrooms, entrances and utility rooms). If you cannot find one that works nicely with the counters, I would suggest you leave the kitchen floor in place (it is the PERFECT match to the counters...you won't find anything better) and replace the carpets with a wood-toned vinyl. Now...just for fun, these homes are often built with "carpet" in mind. That means the subfloor (whatever it is...) if possibly the lowest of the low in terms of quality. That means it is often wavy or as far away from flat as you can get. Again, this is always the case...but it happens so often that you need to ASSUME there is a problem before you rip out the carpet. Once the carpet is gone, you will need to have the flatness and the subfloor SURFACE (the material that is sitting underneath the pad) assessed for vinyl. If you FLOAT the vinyl, then you only need to deal with "flatness". If you GLUE the vinyl then you have to deal with the type of MATERIAL as well. And that's where the headaches begin. Many times there is fibre board or luan sitting under carpet in a trailer (regardless of how well built it is). Both of these materials are "OK" underneath a floating floor, but they often have to come out if you want to glue down. And then the "flatness" has to be dealt with. Vinyl HATES wonky subfloors. And I mean HATES it. The subfloor has to be SMOOTH (vinyl telegraphs things like staples, staple holes, seams, etc. to the surface). And to get fibre board or luan smooth is a nightmare. They don't like "patch" material. Again, this could mean they need to come out and be replaced with something that can handle patch, etc. Please be prepared for some ++prep costs to deal with whatever is underneath that carpet. Whomsoever is doing the work for you will need to WALK INTO your home and pull back the carpet BEFORE they offer a quote. And the quote should include a range for the prep. It should look like $1-$4/sf for subfloor preparation (the range will depend on where you are and how expensive it is to hire local labour).

OK...so you ARE updating the kitchen. OK. Now we are getting to the nitty gritty. Take TWO WEEKS (yep...1/2 month) to figure out your ENTIRE HOUSE colour scheme. This will become your 7 year renovation plan. 'Cause once you change ONE THING you start seeing how tired everything else looks. Nope. I'm not kidding. The 7 year renovation time frame is roughly how long it takes to do everything - piece by piece. What you are going to do is give yourself an END LOOK. It's like grabbing a train in a foreign country. Would you jump on one just 'hoping' you get where you are going? No. You would plan your trip to suit the train schedules. So don't just 'jump in' with flooring and hope (against hope) you get to where you want to be. Take the time right now to plank how each space will look. Go ahead and gather paint chips and list what colour you want for each space. Your kitchen has 7 (seven) elements: 1. Cabinets (big ticket item) 2. Counter tops (big ticket item) 3. Flooring (big ticket item) 4. Appliances: Total expenditure with 5 (or more) items = big ticket item 5. Backsplash (low budget) 6. Lighting (low budget) 7. Paint/wall colours (low budget) Wow! That's just for the kitchen!!!! Holy Hanna! Now imagine the sitting room with the fireplace...and the entrance...living room...dining room...bathrooms...bedrooms. Whew! If you mess up ONE choice today you mess up everything down the line. Trust me on this one (we see it multiple times a day on Houzz). Sit down and figure out the ENTIRE house and all of it's colours (get paint chips to match). Now you start purchasing things like paint, backsplashes, lighting, etc. And BTW...you want to update your LIGHTING well before you update anything else...so that you can see the FINAL colour of the products in your house.