Yknow, IMHO, I wish we all could drop the "D" word from our vocabulary. If we love it , if its well made, if its functional - then a place can be found for it, period. In other words - your china cab is just fine, and it does look good on the side rather than viewed head on. That said of course we like our rooms freshened up now and then - but I think you can jazz it up in other ways incl choosing a new color ILOVE greens/browns/tans, but the pea soup color Im kind of tired of. (or so it looks on my monitor anyway, which has been known to be wrong.) Definitely think about going deeper richer. Dont know if Penny's or Anglo's deep dark colors are good for you but it gives you an idea at least of what deeper/richer could do for you. If all else fails maybe you could just take the living room color and just go a few steps darker/more intense with it. Let the DR be cozy and intimate complete w/ a big china cabinet - why not? The DR should relate well to the LR, and that would be one way of doing it. Minor quibble - I would think about that wall space where the china cab was - is there a third pic that could fit in there? With cabinet moved, that wall becomes very significant. Not liking just the two pics , needs to be 3 I think..... Or some other wall decor or arrangement .... minor thing, so perhaps just wait for the inspiration or right thing to come along.

With the fireplace in the corner, the only way that I see any built-ins working is to recess them into the wall. Is there a room behind that wall that you can steal some space from? Or remove the fireplace and put the built-ins there. I suppose that you could remove the mantle and do cabinets in front of the fireplace, too. Depends on whether or not the fireplace is important to you. (It's been at least five years since I used mine.)

Thanks for your input. I'll definitly be doing a whiter trim no matter what color I go with. I'm considering a blue-gray as you mentioned. I tried uploading a photo. Benjamin moore whale gray. Or Sherwin Williams smoky blue. I tried uploading photos but it never works. Really frustrating. Normally I would want something to pop out of the landscape but in person there something nice about driving up to it. It's private and woody so it feels tucked in. If I went with sage it doesn't have to be this exact shade and it would have a lighter trim.

Would not paint oak cabinets in good condition myself, however, your kitchen should reflect your taste. Would keep all the whites (except the flat white ceiling) the same white so you don't end up with "dingy" white amid a more true or bright white. Have you considered just painting the upper cabinets and wall white but leaving the lower cabinets with a natural oak finish? It is a much warmer and more welcoming look than a cold stark all or mostly white kitchen. https://www.decorpad.com/photo.htm?photoId=114502