First: it looks like you have two islands. if this is the case and you would want to stain one, I would stain both as trying to recreate the shipman look on the simpler cabinets would be expensive. The other alternative would be to do a medium or dark stain or paint on all lowers. Thus will make the shiplap island pop but it won't causes issues by having each section of lowers be different. This will also allow you to still paint the uppers white for a more open look.

Second, buy new doors including for the glass section. They aren't expensive, so if you can part with a few hundred instead of sanding and painting the doors, it will save you a lot of headache.

Third, I won't just remove the glass door. It will look like a door broke and wasn't replaced. if you replace the doors you can use a regular door there. if you sand and paint them, use one of the end doors. This will still give you an option section and no trying to match cabinet doors.

Fourth, try to find the tile on your backsplash and extend it to the area with the niche. this will make it look more a part of kitchen and create good flow.

Fifth, use black pulls. this will incorporate the black into the cabinets and update the cabinets. on the white top, put out a black bowl for fruit or other decorative piece that is wider than tall (you don't want to interfere with line of sight).

Lastly, if you paint or stain the shiplap, do it on the hood as well or paint it white like the cabinets if you want it to blend in more.

I'm sorry, I forgot to talk about the lights, get more white track lights. Canned lights in that area would be hard. Any hanging light would interfere with line of sight and separate one area from the next. if you can find track lighting that goes on that track that can use a variety of bulb "watts" (in quotes as LEDs have a different scale for brightness). By having the ability to change up the intensity, you can create different accent lighting.

On the note of accent lighting, if you do open shelving, add lights (you can remove shelves and cut/chisel out 1/8" to 1/4 deep so you don't see the LED strips).

Thanks, I only have one big island. The other side of the kitchen is a peninsula with the shiplap outer and live edge bar top which separates our dining area from the kitchen. The shiplap is new so I am going to keep that. What would you do with the island knowing that info? What stain? A tone from the shiplap? I am going for this general look (see pics attached)

I would remove the crown, it’s not right for the space, paint the cabinets and island white, letting the hood and the rustic ship lap be the accents. I would not do open shelves.

I wouldnt paint the cabinets. What you have will hold up better with small children, and they look to be in great condition. No, I would not do any open shelves. I like the glass doors. Its just a small area, put something pretty in there. If you insist on painting the cabinets, then, still no open shelves, just put some pretty i there. I would like to see the hood and the planked type island, left just as they are. It makes your kitchen a bit unique, and less cookie cutter.

@angiekinva If that is the case, i would stain the lower a darker tone in the medium scale. sounds funny I know but not black or ebony. Think more of a walnut stain. Pictures never tell the whole picture, so you may need a more red, yellow, of cool undertone. It will also help with little fingers. if you have littles, White lowers are awful as they show everything. They will get as messy, but its harder to see and annoy you between cleanings.

Its hard to find exact stock photos but this will give you a general idea. thes have two tone at the bottom, but i sould do that with the shiplap you have in the area. but it should give you a general Idea.

Also, if you have any leftover paint from your walls, I'd paint that white section above the cabinets so it doesnt stand out.

Jesse Fay, good catch on the angled wall. Definitely paint the whole thing right to the cabinets the wall color!

Which part is this referring to? I am confused.

Wood cabinets are way back in style right now, and your cabs are of a wood style that they could be in a kitchen show room. Please don’t paint them - they’re perfect, and will have a lot more longevity than chasing a trend from five years ago by painting them white (to be fair, I love white kitchens - but I think most attempts to paint them look, well, like someone came in after the fact and painted their cabs white).

Sadly, I don’t think the natural shiplap works well with the cabs - at least not on my computer. Although I just noticed that the hood is also shiplap and that doesn’t look as jarring on my monitor. The peninsula shiplap has a lot of variation on my monitor and just doesn’t look quite right. If it looks that way in real life, I’d be inclined to paint it. Maybe a creamy white, or some other color that works with the earth colors on the rest of the house (green, griege, etc). Or if it’s all the same wood that’s been stained different colors, I would maybe sand it down and stain it all the same color.

Countertops are lovely, and I would consider a new hardware plus please clear off your counters!