Thank you for all of your comments and compliments... You have reminded me not to rush into changing things. The house has alot of trim work throughout, including on the dining room ceiling, dining room walls, living room, windows, entry/foyer, doorways, etc...In those areas, all the trim has been painted white, but it appears to be the same style and type as what's in the kitchen/family room. I guess I was thinking that the rest of the trim work should be white too. But, I see now that it doesn't have to match and will leave a bit of character to the family room! The wood for the built-ins do appear to be an upgrade over the kitchen cabinets. As much as I love the look of all white trim, the family room has such a warm feeling, as is, so I will probably just keep any furniture in the room light for contrast and accent with color. I will definitely not rush to change to quickly! Some of our main reasons for choosing the new home is because it was custom built, is loaded with trim work and moldings and is in an older neighborhood with lots of large trees and yards. Of course, there is also plenty of shiny brass in all of the bathrooms, door handles and foyer lighting that we will be busy replacing. And, the landscaping needs some updating from the overly manicured large bushes surrounding the front entryway of the home. I may have trouble with interior design/decor, but I am in my element with landscaping and yard work! I appreciate all the comments about the kitchen...My husband and I have done a lot of work ourselves in our current home. He does most of our home repairs too; he hates hiring out! Life has gotten extremely hectic these days, so we have less time for DIY work like the time it would take to do paint the cabinets. But, I think we can easily handle the backsplash and modifying the cabinets with beadboard on the sides, but will find someone for counters/sink and help with whatever we do to the cabinets. It sounds like if we have to hire someone to paint the cabinets, it might put us way over our current budget. While I still love my inspiration kitchen photo, I may entertain the idea of darkening the stain/refacing the existing cabinets, possibly painting the center island as one of you mentioned and updating the counters, sink and adding backsplash and other details. This would buy us time (and save us money), until we can afford to get the wood floors we want and the painting of the cabinets the way GreenDay detailed. I appreciate all the advice.

I think you should post some more pictures. That picture is probably the most unflattering view of your nice house. It makes the garage door look exaggerated, which it probably isn't in person. Everything depends on your budget, of course, but without spending too much money (like changing the roof and exterior materials), which I am certainly not qualified to give opinions about, I would think about creating a wider, more substantial and nicer walkway to the front door. A couple of pretty planters on either side of the garage, and larger light fixtures would go a long way. Im sure you could do something else with that post. Let's wait for experts!

Thanks houssaon for the renderings! I agreed it would look better without the large gable but I don’t think we want to spend the money to do that. Too many other projects. I was hoping to make it more interesting with a mixture of siding perhaps. Your suggestion about the architect is a good one as well.

It’s a very nice kitchen! When you add the vent ignore the empty wall space. It’ll look fine. You have the same thing by the windows. It stops there too. Enjoy the space, and wait until you can make this your own! It looks very nice as is now!