Thank you! I should add, the floors are old and have lots of warping/water damage at the seams so we are planning on replacing it regardless - now is the time to make a change if we want!

Do you have any recommendations on adding color and texture or playing down the gray? The problem with the open concept is the living room/entryway are also connected to the main hallway so I've been hesitant to paint it anything but neutral so it's not overbearing. Plus when you walk into the first room (living room/entry/hallway), you can see right into the kitchen/dining area so the green in that area would need to be very complementary to a different color. I'm totally open to suggestions!!

You could consider an accent wall in the entry hall that carries down through to the kitchen. A soft green in the same intensity as the grey in the living room (looks like a mid tone) would work well - maybe a tint of the green in the kitchen? Alternatively, a wallpaper with a good mix of both colors could work. Personally, I would like to see a lighter floor colour but still a warm tone, and some leafy green accessories in the living room.

I am guessing the floors are laminate wood look? If so I understand replacing them. The classic hardwood style is more timeless than trendy and you might want to consider real hardwood in a similar style to the laminate - it already works and is very flexible style wise since it has been used in homes over a hundred years old.

Here is my wood kitchens idea book with both new and older, refreshed wood kitchens - maybe give you some ideas:

https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/75202366/list/wood-kitchens

I would work with oak in a clear coat or Hickory if you like lots of movement (you can use character grade to get the variation you are looking for). You have red/orange tones that is in the wheel house of red oak. If you want a stain then white oak is a better choice.

Here's the problem you are running into, and I see this all the time: men (not always but often) LOVE the look of 'wood'. Any wood. So long as they can see the grain and watch it glint in sunlight (we call this depth). Getting someone like that to paint or 'change' wood is a hassle. They grab that bone and fight fiercely to hold on to it. Sadly they don't see the forest for the trees (ha...see what I did there?).

If you can convince partner to CLEAN UP that kitchen (the two woods are NOT working together...the traditional/dated accents are less than ideal) you will win a battle while at the same time winning the war.

Prove the REAL WOOD on the floor can do EVERYTHING your partner wants in wood (see all the pretty gold sparklies) while MODERNIZING the kitchen.

The kitchen is killing BOTH of your vibes. It is a mishmash of wood and concepts. It screams out 'patchwork repairs' which does NOTHING for the home NOR the wood NOR your styles (either of them). The way to UNIFY this kitchen is to paint it. I know. Partner is DEAD set against it. But it will do EVERYTHING you want.

Painted cupboards mean you get the BEST POSSIBLE WOOD FLOOR you want while at the same time UPDATING a kitchen that is out of step with itself. Painting the cabinets will make the counter tops SHINE! They will be the STAR of the kitchen. Right now they are an after thought because the mix of woods is overwhelming them. And those are LOUD counters (not a bad thing...they just are). So imagine the RACKET the cabinets HAVE TO MAKE to cause those Divas to take a back seat! Yah...now you are getting it.

Your style of cabinets paint out VERY NICELY. The 'outdated' oak turns into a fresh transitional kitchen with only a few thousand dollars spent painting them. A single colour cabinet means your counter tops can really make themselves SEEN.

In short, your partners 'want' to keep the kitchen as-is, is causing EVERYTHING to look bad (or badly thought out). If he allows the ONE thing to be done (painting the cabinets) he can have EVERYTHING ELSE work marvelously. And have marvelous hardwood floors as well.

Compromise will allow EVERYONE to get what they want while allowing the entire house to shine.

Have hubby read these posts. It might help wake him up to the possibilities.

Here are my thoughts. These projects are fun. I have a husband who thinks 20yo towels are good enough so imagine the back and forth we’ve had on renovations/updates. I love him so much though!

When I think of modern and industrial, both of which I love, I think no frills, no curtains, straight lines, greys, whites, blacks...which all look very nice with oak.

You say cabinets stay, granite stays (both are very nice), but maybe you can change the reddish brown cabs and floors. I like the hardware you chose!

My first thought: whitewashed floors.

Maybe you could go white, grey or even black on the reddish cabinets...and go with a slab door. This pic shows mixed door fronts. This might be tricky to coordinate with your arched cabinet doors, but worth thinking about

Maybe your hubby will compromise and you could do white uppers (get rid of those arched cabinets) in a more modern style door. This pic also has mixed door fronts (I’m not proposing blue cabinets).

I would also consider changing the shelving and wood arch around the window. Remove what’s there and do some open shelving on each side?

Lastly, your home is gorgeous. You don’t need to really change a thing. Embrace the oak. Inspiration:

I’m not a pro, but I am a problem-solver. My advice is to keep searching for inspiration. There’s a solution to every problem.

Here’s another good Inspiration photo.

I hope I’m not bombarding you with too many ideas or going too far off-topic. I do that sometimes. I wanted to show you some photos that show how black can push things into a modern direction.

I’m not suggesting you do all of these updates together, but they show how many options you have!

I like SJ mcCarthy's wood flooring suggestion. I would NOT do a multi-wood look. Get a simple oak flooring for the house.

if you want different in the kitchen, I'd do a dark gray porcelain tile

I like the black accents that Katie has shown you.

If you did want to try a backsplash, I'd pry off the 4" piece and do a simple tile (a 4x4 tile in an offset, or a larger subway tile) . you don't have to 'cut it off'. It's very simple to pry off the wall in order to do tile. There are tons of videos on how to do this.

I like the black splash in the 4x4 tile in Katie's photo. I also like the really dark charcoal walls w/that. I think that would look better in your rooms than that teal shade.

paint the walls a lighter white tone if going w/the dark accent.

like this room.

I think in this room alone it would look great if you could paint the trim work white and blend the two rooms as one. To me, this floor color doesn't work. too many wood tones w/the cabinets (both of them) the wood trim, baseboards, crown, casing. That's why I think doing this room in white trim would look great.

I HATE the honey oak cabinets but my husband loves them and they are not going anywhere or getting painted anytime soon. Same with the wood trim that is everywhere (base, crown molding, door and window frames, etc.)

Well, someone is going to have compromise IF you want to update the space.

Not quite sure why you have two wood tones here, but are adamant against painting? The wood tones don't really go w/another. Ditto the wood around the window.

I'd remove the wood surround around the window. if you need a wine rack, get one to put on the wall at the end of the cabinets.

Or, what do you think about what they've done here? Ignore the cabinet color. just look at removing the one upper cabinet on the right, tiling to the ceiling and putting in some open shelving on that open area

Notice the window how it's all done in white.

some other tones to work w/wall/wood

notice the white trim/crown with this color. Too much wood trim isn't always a good thing

I really like these updated colors to work w/your kitchen space. I'd seriously consider painting the lowers, maybe the pantry portion, removing the window wood surround, and doing a neutral white oak flooring. white subway tile splash.

bring in these colors/prints in the other portion of the room. dining table?

I'd also remove the curtain. it just makes it more cluttered looking.