Thank you so much for the feedback so far - Also I guess I should mention the estimate to repaint them all properly (spraying them by a someone that specializes in cabinet painting) is $6500 in case that makes a difference on the suggestions.

re: layout. I LOVE the layout of the kitchen and find it is really functional. What's the main issue? Around 20% of the homes in our neighborhood have the exact layout (builder homes) so I don't think resale will be an issue. I haven't been in any where anyone reconfigured it.

re: Hood. I do love that idea. How much is that typically? We do use our microwave a lot but we have tons and tons of empty cabinets so could easily make it work somewhere else.

re: gray plank floor. I do have my concerns about that. We would like to avoid hardwood because we have had to replace hardwood floors THREE times in our prior 2 homes due to toilet leaks, cracking and various issues. After filing $60k in insurance claims related to hardwood floors in the past 7 years I'm over it. We also have lots of kids and dogs that destroy wood and we live in Florida and much prefer tile. For the price of home/neigborhood engineered wood, vinyl, laminate etc, isn't really an option. I've lived in many homes with blah tan tiles so trying to avoid basic square builder tiles. Lastly I should add we have 2500 sqft of complete open floor plan to tile so I can't do a cutesy black and white pattern in the kitchen. Whatever we pick has to work for a HUGE space and not be too busy or crazy difficult/expensive to install. What do you suggest?

If you might sell in 5-10 years, I would think the gray plank tile and blue cabinets could be dated by then. As a potential buyer, I would not want tile throughout the house, but especially not in the kitchen--hard on the legs and back. That alone would be a deal killer for me.

Do the base cabinets have roll outs? If not, that would deter me more than anything, since more drawers, and rollouts at the least (which can easily be added), would make the kitchen much easier to use.

I'd focus on making a more attractive looking island, and doing some of the other things mentioned--move MW and put in range hood, put in some glass doors where you would be storing dishes, MAYBE replacing the back splash (the chances of putting in a back splash that a potential buyer might like seems iffy to me, since people seem to have so much difficulty often in trying to decide what to put in their new kitchens), paint with something that looks good with the existing granite and cabinets, and replacing the lighting.

Can you draw a floor plan so we can get a better idea of the actual layout? Replacing all of those cabinets and doing everything else you have mentioned is going to cost you way more than you realize, unless you've already priced it out. But all of this could depend on what the other houses in your neighborhood have.

Anne

Unfortunately I don't have a layout and I'm a terrible computer artist. I've included a couple more photos. We REALLY hate hardwood because of all the issues we've had with them (warping, cracking, scratching, you name it!). I'm open to other ideas but I feel like tile makes the most sense in a hot climate? We do have to redo all the floors because there is a ton of weird inlaid carpet scattered all throughout the house (see below)

I think you need to sit down an really evaluate what you want out of updates and how much you're willing to make. You have a very traditional home from the arches to the cabinets. The moment you start updating things will snowball. Grey plank tile, especially if it's wood look, would be a very poor choice for your home unless you're changing just about EVERYTHING.

The reasons people brought up your kitchen layout is because its not the best. The island is too small and it's a major block in the flow of the kitchen. You have a decent work triangle otherwise. The two-tier raised bar is also a more dated style. Them there's the cabinets. Simply painting them isn't going to be enough. Also, that quote seems very low. Was that for JUST painting or does that include prep as well?

You mentioned a warm climate. Where do you live? Tile all over is less than ideal, but if it's somewhere like Florida or Arizona is makes sense.

IMO you either have to stick with a more traditional-transitional style of finishes, or you have to be ready to make more updates.

Sina Sadeddin - the OP said she lives in FL.

We are in Florida. We are using a contractor and this is part of a larger remodel (repainting the entire home, redoing the floors in the entire home) and the $6500 was just a number in the larger quote we received.

Re: layout. We absolutely hate the large island trend. We love the two tiered peninsula because it hides all the dirty dishes from the family room. We also love the small island because the kitchen is super roomy. Our last home had a huge island and it was so hard to work around it - we were always having to push past one another to get to the oven, fridge etc. With the huge kitchen and small island we can all move around without feeling claustrophobic. I get the layout is dated but I love it so it's hard to justify changing it.

Re: traditional home. We don't love traditional homes. The issue is we LOVE our neighborhood (school zones, location, etc) and love our street and every home in our neighborhood was built in a traditional style in 2004. We also adore the layout of our home (open floor plan, rooms are just where we want them to be). So despite hating the look of the interior of our home we bought it because the layout and location is perfect for us. Our budget is $75k to make the entire home look different inside. A home on our street sold for $40 more per foot with an updated interior. It should be possible to recoup a large investment in theory. That being said we are having issues with the snowball effect and what to do and not do! Open to suggestions!

“A home on our street sold for $40 more per foot with an updated interior”

So what were those updates? What was the floor? What was the kitchen like?

I'm looking at the pictures now. Basic oak floors (I still hate wood floors!). Corian counters . White kitchen but same layout as mine (tiny island, peninsula). Black appliances. Same funky range- microwave thing going on, but in black. Cabinets are more shaker style (rather than my ugly cathedrals) but that was probably just a choice made in 2004 rather than a kitchen update that was done. Lots of builder grade carpet in the bedrooms. Better paint (white throughout). Honestly surprised we got ours for $40/ft less.

I think for maximum resale value wood floors and a white kitchen is the way to go but I do hate all white cabinets and wood floors. If we are staying in the house 10 years (or more?) I hate the idea of putting in things we don't personally like just for resale.

..do the columns stay?

“If we are staying in the house 10 years (or more?)...”

If you’ve graduated from ”5-10 years“ to “10 years or more”, perhaps it would be better to install new cabinets. Wood cabinets that have been painted will not look good in 10 years.

Typically black appliances, an OTR MW, and Corian counters would not equate to $40/sf more. There must be other factors such as location, acreage, landscaping or view. And of course the market is going to be higher today than it was in 2004.

The columns in the 3rd picture (really it's a funky half wall/divider flanked by columns) is already priced out to be demolished - it's not load bearing. The demo of that half wall is another reason we have to redo the floors (no flooring underneath). The entire house will be painted a neutral color in the white family so the weird faux brick painting in the 3rd picture will also be gone.

You need to put all of this on hold. You’re basically talking about putting in a very expensive mistake of avocado shag carpeting in 1980, when the powder blue and mauve plush was already being seen in some decor.

There is nothing wrong with all tile in a FL house. But it should NOT be so obviously and awfully fake. If you want wood look tile, it should be in a natural wood tone. Not artificial dead flesh gray. You should strive to have surprised guests when you tell them it’s tile. Or slate. Or stained concrete.

Natural materials, and materials that appear to be natural will always always carry through and transition the what-were-they-thinking fads that people regret when they come to their senses.

M Miller - we bought our house a month prior to the one that sold for $40/ft. I guess I should mention 12 other homes in the neighborhood have sold for $20-$50 more per ft than ours since we bought a couple months ago. I really think this house is undervalued because of all the strange paint, floors and ugly cabinetry. We bought it with the assumption that we'd need to put a lot of money into it to get more value at resale.

I guess chances are we'd stay in this house awhile - just seems scary to say that after only a couple of months! New cabinets are $30k (ballpark) vs $6800 for paint. It just seems so much more expensive! If they are painted correctly by professionals do they still look bad in 10 years? That's definitely a consideration I hadn't thought of.

If anyone is still reading I guess the bigger question is although all white cabinets and wood floors are best for resale I just don't like them. I don't want to remodel the house and hate it. So we've etablished I'm not going to do what's best for resale but don't want to make a house that's unsellable in 10 years. What updates should we make for under $75k so the house is "updated" but not so "stuck in 2019" we won't be able to sell it in 10 years. The #1 thing I hate in the kitchen is the cherry color of the cabinets and the catheral uppers (lowers are perfect). I don't know if $6800 for paint vs $30k to completely replace is justified?

If you don’t like the look of wood, then look at tiles that look like slate or other materials. A good imitation black slate in a 12x24 could be nice.

Butbif you’re going to stay there any length of time, do that kitchen remodel, with new layout, now. Don't fall into the make it nice for the next people trap. Make it nice for yourself. That’s more than paint. That’s fixing the layout.

I think at this point it may be worth it for you to hire an interior designer. You're thinking of making some big and expensive changes, but don't seem to fully know what you want yet and have to work around certain features. An interior designer will be able to help you sort everything out and some up with a cohesive plan.

I agree that tiles looking like a material like slate would be nice. Don't do a black slate floor though. It shows every speck and piece of dust. A black floor of any material will drive you crazy.

ok..so if flooring is one element that definitely has to change..and it's quite a huge surface to cover...it should be your first decision to make I guess. Even though the initial question was about the cabinets..you need to determine the flloring first..and I agree-shouldn't mimic wood or even stone too much, unless of course it is a stone. You can go for stone, porcelain, concrete..

something like this in terms of color and size?

they've several options in both (I mean both in color and size)

they claim it's good for flooring, high traffic etc. I also like the price-it's cheap given other options they have..they're pretty high end

I'd go for white, or whatever they call "white"..it's not real white-has some gray to it. But subtle.

https://www.annsacks.com/products/tile-stone-mosaic/stampino-field-tile#/stampino-rectangle%2Fwhite-natural

if you were leaning more traditional, I'd have other suggestions. But I hear from you that you want to a) simplify b) get away from pallette that's too warm..but without fighting the house too much

check them out in any case. I was very happy with the quality and service there.

I’ve had black slate for 25 years. :-) It actually hides quite a bit. It’s not a solid black. There a bit of gray. It’s mottled, which always works better than a solid. When the cat is shedding his winter coat like now, oh yeah, you can see the drifts of fur. I don’t think that’s a bad thing. It makes it obvious that I need to dust mop.

In order for reno to be successful, no matter when was done, it has to make inner sense with the house. Granted you should love it and all-but your house should love it too.

which drives me to the question -what's the exterior of the house? are there any pics you're willing to share? how you'd describe it? in terms of style?

You say you dislike arches..which you have in your uppers..you have arches inside..you have arches in doors' pattern. Do they bother you, or not at all?

there's no right or wrong to it-I also mildly dislike cathedral arches in cabinetry (which I wouldn't change though if I got them) , while loving arches in general.

But it can create a snowball effect if you dislike them-and start to remodel.

I like slate too. I'm a bit hesitant because it's on the cooler side of things (while L N mentioned greige which is warmer)..and darker side of things..which can be great too. Depends on the house.

Here is your kitchen with navy cabinets, white counter and grey floor. If you're going to live in the house 10 or more years, I would reface the uppers and get rid of the cathedral style which is what stands out the most in your kitchen. Adding molding to the uppers and adding glass to some of the cabinet doors would break things up. Definitely update the floor and backsplash.

Thanks for all the information so far - it's incredibly helpful! We actually are working with an interior designer and she is the one that suggested greige wood look tiles. She put them in her own home and many of her $1M+ clients are doing the same. Our contractor/builder has also put them in 3 homes over $1M since January. I guess before we commit I'm just seeking other opinions! We hadn't really considered doing the kitchen (originally it was just an interior designer helping us with paint and floors) and last week we decided to at least consider fixing the look of the cabinets we hate so much (and the dated dark granite). The demo starts in July so we are trying to decide whether to add the kitchen and do it as part of this reno (new floors, new paint everywhere, and getting rid of that column wall!).

Re: Interesting information about the drawers! Our island has 6 drawers. We have 12 other drawers in the kitchen. I detest large pull out drawers because they are heavy and awkward to dig through. We had more drawers in our old house and I hate drawers! I store all of our large appliances in the lower cabinets and adore them - I would never consider doing drawers because they have zero functionality to me. I have 6 drawers we aren't using in this house and all of my lower cabinets are so functional for us (pressure cooker, large blender, stand mixer, etc can all be neatly put away). I'm a huge cook and I adore everything about the layout and storage in the kitchen. The only thing I don't like is the color and arches. I guess it seems silly to me to spend $30k when I honestly would only change the color and arches even if I did buy new cabinets? The home is valuable enough to "justify" the $30k in cabinetry I just hate to do it when I love the cabinets as is just hate the look.

Karen - do you mind providing a source for your tile? I love your floors - definitely the look we are going for. Also what grout line size do you have?

Front photo:

thank you for posting the photo of the exterior

slate would work))

the floors like one that Karen Rose posted would too. That's a very good installation as well.

“She put them in her own home and many of her $1M+ clients are doing the same. Our contractor/builder has also put them in 3 homes over $1M since January.“

That’s the problem. The total ubiquity of it. Starting about 5 years ago, it’s been all anyone sees. That’s why it’s jumped the shark in many cities, and will in yours too. It’s not classic in the least, just the way cathedral cabinet doors weren’t. So there’s no staying power. And, in 10 years, when the next wave of homebuyers hits, what they’ll be saying to their realtors is, “please, not ANOTHER house with washed-out gray floors! Show me a house without them!”

“We actually are working with an interior designer and she is the one that suggested greige wood look tiles”

My advice is to have a heart-to-heart with your designer, and tell her you want a more classic look for your floors that has staying power. Wood-plank tiles would be a good choice if in a natural color like a white oak—i.e., no washed-gray, greige, faux pickled mahogany, faux-farmhouse, ”antiqued”, or the like. If she can’t do that, then find another designer. Cause it would mean all her other choices will be similarly un-original and what is the most common flash-in-the-pan.

Karen Rose’s pretty kitchen above doesn’t appear to have greige in it. At least on my phone It doesn’t.

I love Karen Rose’s floors. If you can find that tile, do it!

I guess I'm not good at color words! I would call Karen's floors "greige" in that they aren't a yellow or "tan" wood and read more in the "cool" family. We are looking at a similar color palatte - something that has some brown in it but reads more grey toned and less tan or yellow.

I'm trying to convince my husband to keep the granite we have for now and just save and spend $40k on a gut job kitchen reno in 5-10 years if we decide this is our forever home. Everyone keeps telling me I'll wish we had drawers in the lowers and the layout is terrible so maybe I'll feel that way in the future.

I'm considering just leaving the cathedral and painting them white on the uppers and a white wall so they won't be as dark and noticeable as they are now. I'm considering doing the lowers a blue-gray color (trendy, I know - but I love it so much!) and then leaving our black-ish granite. It is "wasting" $6500 on bad cabinets but I'm wondering if a facelift with new light fixtures and maybe a new hood would help me enjoy my house more aesthetically in the "short" term (5ish years). I just hate the cherry so much!

Just regarding drawers - I am linking a thread that I bookmarked for my own reference. It started out as being about drawers under a cooktop, and digressed a bit (as they often do!) to some comments about drawers in general. A poster commented similar to what you said about her friend's drawers not being good. People responded about how drawers should be sized and the drawer glides should be appropriate to get the good experience of drawers.

[https://www.houzz.com/discussions/drawers-under-cooktop-dsvw-vd~5667596?n=23[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/drawers-under-cooktop-dsvw-vd~5667596?n=23)

Thanks Miranda! Even though we came from a nice custom home before it was 15 years old and perhaps that's why I hated the drawers so much - they didn't glide nicely and pulling the huge drawers full of pots and pans out under the stove was a nightmare. I'll bookmark this for if/when we redo the lower cabinets.

Since you hate the cherry and the curved tops of the cabinets, but like the layout, focus on your priorities. Paint the lowers a dark taupe, and get new fronts for the uppers in white. I would use glass fronts on some of the uppers to break up all the cabinets. You may not have to change out the countertops if you don't want to. I agree with others that having a grey tile may not work with the rest of the house. I would find a floor tile you like in a neutral tan/taupe so whatever colors you (or someone else) wants in the future, it will still work.

Clearly, you didn't have "good" drawers or else you'd be the only woman in American to not greatly prefer drawers over doors! It's why I re-did my kitchen! I was sick to death of getting down on my hands and knees (holding a flashlight) to dig an angle food cake pan out of the back depth of a lower cabinet. It was in the back as I only bake this cake 3 times a year, but when I want it, I want it!

I can't tell you how much I love my drawers! It's SO easy to see everything that is in there, easy to take it out/put it back - just plain "easier". I have good quality cabinets - Shiloh - a brand that is considered mid-range, but I think is closer in quality to upper mid-range. They slide out effortlessly, open all the way and I can do it with one hand quite easily. And I'm a 75 year old woman!

I would either live with what you have for a year and see how well you like it, and then replace everything, than waste money doing a "lipstick on a pig" remuddle. There is just so much wrong with this kitchen. We humans are infinitely adaptable to bad design, but that doesn't mean we have to be if it's possible to improve on it.

I am tempted to redo the floors and walls now and live with the ugly cabinets to give me time to understand why I may want another kitchen layout! I've attached two unorganized pictures of my lower cabinets to try to explain why I LOVE them so much

In my old house I had drawers under the stove. Every time I needed a pan I still had to bend over except because it was a drawer I had to lift every single pan out to get to the bottom pan. I hated them so much. Now with an open cabinet I can more easily see what I have (instead of with a drawer where it was stacked) and I can just simply lift the handles of the top pans and slide the bottom pan out. So much easier! I can't understand the drawer argument although I'm trying. Reaching a pan involves bending in both scenarios but I find the bottom pan both easier to see and easier to reach in a cabinet.

Second example

Every small appliance I own I can see if I open my cabinets. Yes I need to bend over but I don't mind bending over to have clear counters free of any appliances. There is literally no drawer configuration that in the same amount of space would hold every appliance so handily. I have a similar one for all the appliances related to when I bake (a scale, stand mixer, etc) that I love to open and see easily.

I guess I'm the only one that hates drawers but I'm trying to be open minded for resale if we do end up replacing all the cabinets.

I’m not a fan of the idea of drawers either, although I’ve never had them. We recently moved into a home with pull out shelves in the cabinets though and that’s been really nice. In no hurry to redo our kitchen but when we do I suspect I’d pick the roll outs over drawers. It might be a nice option for you though since you don’t like drawers.

perhaps you are much younger than some of us and don't mind getting down on the floor on your hands and knees to get something out of that back corner of the doored cabinet. Drawers correctly sized (not too wide, nor too narrow), with the wonderful hinges that are available is wonderful - pull the drawer open, everything is right there (I only stack pots/pans two high). I would show you how mine look but I am packing up to move on Friday (to a place with doored cabinets, no drawers!) But you can know I will be renovating the kitchen very soon.

If you are planning to be there for 10 years, you need the kitchen to work for you - not what you think others may want for resale. Don't rush into it, and give yourself time to really prioritize what is important to you and your family.

If you know you prefer cupboards to drawers, don't sweat it -- that's one easier decision.

just wanted to chime in that I fear your all-blue kitchen could get really dark, even if you stop short of navy. blue lowers and gray or white uppers will keep it fresh while letting a little more light into the space too.

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Why don't you try putting THREE sets of roll outs (when originally ordering cabinets they only come with two) in each of your existing base cabinets that you've shown in your pictures that have the several stacked pans. Or choose the base cabinets that you have the most in the same width (so you could switch the rollouts to where they work best, if needed). They come in the normal standard widths, can be ordered aftermarket, and can be put at several different heights, so think about where you would want which pans before you have the rollouts screwed in, although they can be changed at any time.

Although rollouts cost more than they ought to IMO, they are FAR less expensive than redoing the cabinets. Then the pans will only be stacked one or two high, and you may find, as I have, that that makes life much easier than getting down and reaching so far back to get things. You would only need two roll outs per cabinet if you have taller items

That's what I intentionally put in my new cabinets where I didn't want drawers (I also don't care for the deep wide ones that so many others do), and my most used pans and small appliances are on the topmost rollouts, although most small appliances are better in the corner Super Susan, which I don't think you have with the angles on your kitchen.

Anne

I've been reading along for a few days because I'm always curious about cathedral cabinet door solutions. Your kitchen has a TON of cabinets, it's amazing. But I feel you on the colors and the styles--I'm also not a fan of cathedral cabinet doors or anything overly ornate and super traditional.

In a few weeks I'll be moving from a house with a great kitchen -- with mostly lower drawers -- to a house with kitchen that is smaller, cathedral cabinets with mostly doors/roll outs and fewer drawers, and cathedral doors. I think I'm going to hate it. I will like other things about the house but the kitchen has finishes I dislike, styles I dislike... everything I dislike.

What do I like about the kitchen:

I liked that it was in relatively good condition, the layout doesn't seem terrible (we'll see), it has a window, it had a private location within the house, even if we open up a wall, and it's not so new that I would feel guilty remodeling but not so old that it was falling apart (remodeled in 2002 or 2003... so thoroughly Tuscan-Traditional, with busy granite countertops plus full height slab of matching barfy granite backsplash on every wall and the windowsill; they even retextured the walls with heavy sanded skip trowel... and the color scheme in there is rust, salmon, cinnamon overload...it's doesn't suit the home at all but was the height of fashionable at the time...too bad the popular trends at that time have zero appeal to me). The plan is to live with it for a few years and see how it goes.

I highly recommend you do the same. Live with that kitchen and don't spend too much $$$ just yet. Since you've already moved in, can floors wait for a few years or are they damaged now? If you're planning to tear everything out anyway, but it's undamaged now, just live with it for a few years whole you get the kitchen situation figured out.

In your kitchen the floors and counters seem to be cool colors already so maybe paint the walls a cool color and change your under-cabinet lighting to something with a white or blue-ish cast (those are the higher Ks I think). change the island pendant light. Then live there and cook and plan.

Remodeling for resale... not sure about that whole situation. When we were looking to move I looked at probably 50+ homes in person and even more online; I saw a range of kitchens from just remodeled to vintage. I mainly disliked the very new trendy kitchens because they were in flip homes with walls removed but kitchen layouts pretty much the same as original. I cared about so many other things besides the kitchen because kitchen could be fixed later... but I didn't want to pay extra for a new kitchen that didn't function well.

So if you are trying to factor in re-sale, you would need to choose timeless (does it exist???) and maybe even somewhat bland/neutral, but hope that what you selected is still timeless and neutral when you go to sell AND hope that buyers aren't turned away by this. It's challenging. Good luck. You don't know what the next buyer will want. My opinion is that the kitchen should suit the overall style of the home. Your home is adorable on the outside, and a "transitional" kitchen would suit well. The white/blue kitchen feels fresh, but it's likely just a passing trend. Maybe you start by painting the walls white or slate blue, get blue rugs and blue/white dishes, blue placemats and white towels... bring that trend in with accents and see how you like it.

Thank you so much for posting Reba - I've had the hardest time finding inspiration pictures where people kept the arches. Those look amazing and it makes me feel better about the decision to just paint (for now).

Reba- cabinets look great. I’ve been debating having mine painted for 5 yrs now !! Did you use SW canvas tan?

Hi, the cabinet color is natural tan & the wall color is canvas tan. The cabinets have held up good so far. The only trouble area is the trash can pull out but it’s a easy fix & I still love the change :-)

This is the sw product our painter used.