From the OP: Any other ideas to make this kitchen 2021 and beyond ready would be highly appreciated!

$15k+ not including appliances.

The rounded tops on your upper cabinets will look dated even if they are painted. You might be better off replacing the doors. Also replacing the micro wave and cabinet with a vent hood would update the look.

I agree live in the space for IMO 3 months min and 6 is better. When you come back also post a to scale floor plan showing all windows doorways and all measurements clearly marked. If plumbing is easily changed then you don’t need to mark that.Use graph paer for the drawing make sure it can beenlarged and all marks clearly visible. In the meantime start looking at appliances and think hard about what the “in” appliance is this year. We also need a bit more info as to how many cooks , how many need to sit in the space if you want an eat in kitchen not just a bar.

Budget and what something costs can be such a wide range. We had our cabinet professionally painted - we weren’t planning a full remodel but I wanted to update everything. The layout was also super function. They were full wood and great quality, it cost around $8k if I remember. I then got all new hardware this can be pricey - I think it was around $500 but I know you can spend much more. New backsplash was $2500 and we had a young guy that does it on the side evenings and weekend (he works full time during the day for a custom building company) I got plain wide subway tiles from homedepot. But if I’d gone with anything else I’m sure it would have been much more expensive. I also changed out lighting. We are in Ontario Canada and this was 5 years ago. Pricing has obviously gone up I’m sure. I’m happy with how everything looks and functions - we plan to keep it like this for the next 5 years then likely a full remodel maybe our issue is the function is great so it doesn’t really make sense to pay just to get new finishes and a few changes (I’d love a hood vs microwave over stone for better air venting and less noise).

paint the walls and live with it. You are too new to the space. It would become a very big project with all your lists of items. Appliances are black but maybe are functioning quite well. Leave well enough alone. Appliances are a problem for people w greater needs now w slowdowns. You could maybe find a small pedestal table and small type chairs for your "nook" ...area rug??[ Craigs List .] ...and change the hanging fixture....black metal on a schoolhouse pendant would be fun. Make a nice nook there for sitting and just think over possibilities.

Thank you guys! I should mention that we have lived here for 3 months now and yes, the layout could definitely use some help. When we bought the house, we budgeted for a facelift and not for a gut reno (ie, in the 20k range and not in the 50k range, keep the cabinets and keep the layout). If I have to change the layout, am I look at 50K+ ?

On the nook: my husband says that area is not meant for a table and should be left empty. I am on the side of having a table there. We are a family of 4. Any opinions one way or another?

@Patricia Colwell Consulting This is my first post on Houzz. When I come back with the graph and details, do I use this same post or create a new post. Thanks!

If you spend the money now to do the floors, but new appliances, backsplash and counters, you will then spend money again on flooring backsplash and counters when you are ready to actually do an update to the kitchen - wasted money. Sit down and have a chat with your SO and really determine how long it would take to save up the money ( and maybe do some financing ) to really get a kitchen you will love. You already know it is somewhat dysfunctional. Personally I would never put thousands of dollars into something where I am not getting any improvement other than visual.

Do it right so you'll have no regrets.

For now I would get a nice round table ( maybe 36" or 40" ) - that should be nice for 4 people

Good luck!

We are a family of 4 an

Oops sorry posted too soon and not sure how to delete- we are a family of 4 and added a round 4 person 36 inch table in the eat in kitchen area. I love it - but we also have a large more formal dinning room with a 8+ person table. We got the table from pier 1 and it has fold down sides. I find it super functional and pretty.

@Maya add the floorplan etc to this post

That space behind the island was meant for a table, centered under the light. A drawing with dimensions would really help get advice on what size you could fit there. I completely agree with living with the space (for a good while) as you can really see what you like and dislike about the functionality of a kitchen.

I imagine that an oval table would be ideal, but for a family of four, a nice pedestal table would be great with four chairs placed on the diagonal.

I don't really get the design of the island -- are you going to want stools on the side where all the prep is happening? -- but I imagine you could put a couple stools there too for when you're getting the kids breakfast or a quick snack and want to keep whipping around...

Maya...see the "Featured Answer" in the "New to Kitchens? Read Me First!" thread. It describes what we need if you're willing to do more than just paint.

I agree with others...if you cannot afford to do it now, wait. Save your money, even if it's for a few years. Then, work on the layout first (to make it functional), then the looks. It's easy to make a functional Kitchen look nice, but it's almost impossible to make a dysfunctional layout functional without tearing it out and starting over.

When you're ready, post a fully-measured layout of your space. Again, see the Read Me thread for more information.

Bottom line...I would not spend all the money it will take to just "fix it up" looks-wise. You'll end up tearing it out when you later try to make it more functional.

if you do end up waiting to redo the kitchen, you could still see some improvement by painting over the bright yellow walls.

For budget on the full reno, that largely depends on what materials you want to go with and your level of DIY. I know people who’ve stick-built entire houses for what some Houzz kitchens cost.

Piling on with the others urging you to wait. This kitchen is screaming for a rearrangement. Corner sink with dishwasher in the way between sink and stove, island turned the wrong way, fridge too far from the action. And once you spend money on any kind of stop-gap measure, it's wasted because it won't be useful in the end. I'd keep black appliances that still work if it meant getting a better layout. Paint those electric yellow walls a very neutral white/off white and save your pennies.

We wanted to share some images from our design portfolio that might aid you with your design dilemma. Note the layouts and colors.

Modern: Kitchen · More Info

Cascade Mountain Home: Kitchen · More Info

Belvedere Project · More Info

Hello all - am back with the layout! Thank you for your valuable input. Spent some time measuring and drawing my kitchen and it has helped us visualize it better!

GOALS:

• We HAVE to add an outside vent - the m/w vent will not cut it for my cooking
• We have 2 kids and would like the kitchen to accommodate a small table for daily dinners (we have a separate, more formal dining room)
• The brown and black finishes seem to weigh down the kitchen, hence we want to go with a white/light palette
• Layout wise - you guys are better at this than me
• As cabinets are the most expensive item in the budget, we want to keep what we have and work with it
• Kitchen is built on top of the garage and basement

The layout is dysfunctional, and knowing that is a sliding door to a deck--I wouldn't add a table to the dysfunction.

Thanks mama goose. Any reasonable way to fix this?

I wouldn't spend 20k to put lipstick on a pig. Live with it as is and start a kitchen fund with the money you would have spent. Keep adding to it until replacing the cabinets comes into reach. once you spend several thousand on new counters and paint, you're never going back for the functional problems... The look of the place is just fine.

mamagoose gave you a potential layout up above, but keeping the current cabinets is not going to lend itself to a better layout and functionality

From a countertop fabricator/installer's point of view. If you add new countertops to the existing cabinets, no problem there. The potential issues arise if and when you decide to get all new cabinets and want to use the new countertops. You'll have to get the same fabricator to remove the tops from your original cabinets and then re-install them unto the new cabinets. Other fabricators will not want to take this on as it is fraught with issues. We get asked all the time to do this and we always politely decline. Material breaks, sizing can be off on the new cabinets compared to the original. You would have to keep the cabinet footprint exactly the same and hope it all re-installs perfectly. More often than not homeowners who have done this wind up buying all new countertops, thus doubling your cost for this one portion of your project. Best of luck with your project.

@Fountainhead, I'm wondering what you decided to do?