Depends on what you have the ability to do.
What are the floor going to be?
Can you get new cabs or are you working with these?
What’s your style?
Can you rework the layout?
Is this your forever home?
What are your needs...?
There are so many questions to ask before even getting started.
Again, Everything depends on how much you can do to the space.
If this is going to be your home for the long run I would wait until you can do this right.

I plan to replace the whole house with wood flooring, the kitchen I plan to keep it either same wood flooring or matching ceramic tile flooring.

I also plan to change all the appliances to stainless steel appliances.

The cabinets I am not sure whether to paint it or to replace.

The wall behind the cook and refrigerator is a load bearing wall and behind that wall is the formal dining. I am not sure if in the future I would need to open it to make it more open?

For now, I don’t have the budget to do so.

Reign in your change list.

If you're on a tight budget you might consider painting the cabinets and fitting some with roll out trays. Kitchen cabinets are expensive, even cheap ones, once you add in installation etc. If you're really good at DIY you could do Ikea. But if you just want to do a face lift until you're settled and can do a full blown remodel in a few years then I would suggest you replace the floor with vinyl sheet or marmoleum, paint the cabinets and soffit, replace the appliances and remove the valence from the window. The countertop looks like butcher block or faux butcher block? If it's in good shape, I'd keep it. Good luck and congratulations on your new house. :)

I suggest living with the kitchen, until you can afford a whole renovation. In addition to new appliances, cabinets and flooring, you need a lot more, and updated lighting, new counters, a backsplash, and a proper vent hood.

For starters, remove the curvy wood valance over the window, and replace the fluorescent fixture, with something more updated, that uses LED bulbs. And, remove that fan.

What this kitchen needs cannot be done on a low budget.

A phone...on the wall, not seen in a long time. :)

@darbuka There's nothing wrong with making appliance up dates and cosmetic changes when you aren't ready for a full remodel. Not everyone can or wants to sink tens of thousands of dollars into a kitchen remodel especially when they just moved. The OP didn't ask "what the kitchen needs". She's looking for suggestions for improving it on a budget. Sheesh!

If the layout is satisfactory for at least 5 years, I think the biggest improvements are, in order, flooring, counters (and new sink), and lighting (which has to be done before you paint). Plenty of recessed lights makes a huge difference. I lived with appliances until I had cash to replace them one at a time. As others have said, get rid of valance by window. Also buy inexpensive pulls/handles for cabinets - HoneDepot and Lowe’s have lots of inexpensive choices. If you can replace the blinds. Home Depot and Lowe’s can be your friend here also with 25% off sales multiple tines per year. Your cabinets look fine. Painting always sounds like a good idea but done correctly it is expensive.

Easy cheap diy: take the scallop valance off. Paint is also relatively cheap. Add knobs &/or handles. Change lighting. More expensive, but clearly needed is new appliances. They are beyond end of life. They are likely energy hogs too. Start with fridge, then DW, then range + micro. Do all at once if you can. Watch for good sale, financing deals and take advantage of local energy rebates! Scratch & dent is an option if budget is super-tight, as long as you’re careful and take your time to be choosy. It also looks like your missing a gfci next to the sink. Electricians aren’t cheap, but not a diy for most. If you hire one, they could improve fixture placement on ceiling. Personally, I think fans are a mistake in the kitchen no one wants dust being blown onto their dinner 😉

If you are looking at buying new appliances, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and Labor Day are all times appliances are discounted.

If it were me I'd swap out the lighting and paint the ceiling and walls. For the lighting I'd look into LED remodel canless lighting. They're not very expensive and are so much more pleasant than fluorescent.

I would remove curved wood above the sink and paint cabinets with white

Wow thank you for all the suggestions! I am new here so I am amazed to see that you can change color of my picture to see how it looks after the color change!

Could you please let me know what kind of software or app you used to do so?

Thank you!

BTW, what is gfci?

The house need to replace all the pipes and rewire lots of electrical wires which I expect to be the major expenses for the remodeling. The flooring also need to be changed. All the appliances need to be replaced at once unfortunately because they are not in working condition plus the HVAC.

These are necessary changes. First time buying a house with so many things to fix and I have a lot more to learn.

Thank you so much for all the suggestions.

I will start to look at lights now. I like recessed lights but I believe they are more expensive if I plan to put a lot in there than just change a light fixture?

A GFCI is a ground fault circuit interrupter. It's code when an outlet is near a water source. I'm surprised your home inspector didn't list it as something that needed fixing. It's also possible that you have an outlet that can't be seen in your photo that is a GFCI outlet that the others are tied into. They're no big deal to install. If you're having major electrical work done you won't even notice the added cost.

swap out lighting and repaint ceiling. replace your floors. If budget allows, replace countertops, and paint the walls. Replace the appliances if you want stainless. I think the white looks fine, and would use that money elsewhere. Put up a nice valance or curtains, and some art on the walls and a few colorful accessories and it will be a very nice kitchen. It appears to be large, so I would never take the wall down. I dont like looking at all the dishes and pots and pans from meal prep, when I am eating. I do have an open kitchen and dining. House was built that way, and I hate it.

Since you have so much to do renovating the plumbing, electrical and HVAC, you may find that you don't want to splurge on recessed lights right now. They can be quite costly to install. A fixture like this could provide a good amount of light for now. https://www.lampsplus.com/products/swell-6-light-brushed-nickel-bell-led-track-fixture__40g50.html

thank you so much! I like this light!

This house itself is very bright and I am not sure if paint the cabinet white would make it too bright?

Would paint the cabinet light to medium grey color a feasible idea?

I wish I could know how to change the color of the picture so I can try it out myself

If you think you might eventually upgrade the cabinets, maybe have fun with color since you don’t need the bright white

"I am new here so I am amazed to see that you can change color of my picture to see how it looks after the color change!

Could you please let me know what kind of software or app you used to do so?"

I used Tikkurila's online feature. You can upload your photo there and make some basic edits to change the walls color. https://colorup.tikkurila.com/index.html#/l/en/13/8/colors

You may find similar online features from other paint manufacturers.

I would paint cabinets and get new hardware, take the valence out by window and get a pretty pendant, new floor, new appliances, new counter/sink.

I found photos of similar cabinets with updated stainless steel appliances, lighting, backsplash, flooring and paints. I feel like they also look good without having to paint the cabinets. Any thoughts?

Repainting the cabinets is much more expensive than painting walls. DYI will never look like a profesional repainting at a close sight. I don't see any urge of painting them. With a tight budget I would rather focus on replacing lighting, at least the technical light on the ceiling and above the sink, and removing the curved wooden piece above the sink. Some deco will also help in the end, you'll get a pretty kitchen.

And I would still think about installing a blacksplash.

Denny thanks for your suggestions. I will change the lighting, appliances, flooring, paint the wall and ceiling, remove the curvy wooden piece, add backsplash, and possibly add a breakfast bar or mobile island 🤗

How does this light look？

https://www.amazon.com/Sputnik-Chandelier-Century-Lighting-Chandeliers/dp/B0891PLQ7T

Adding cabinet hardware will be a big improvement for minimal cost.

New appliances, new flooring and new countertops will go a very long way in improving the overall appearance of the kitchen.

Others have said painting the cabinets isn't worth it (nor is it cheap) but the thought occurred that it may be possible to stain the cabinets a different tone instead? Perhaps a cherry stain? That might be possible.

Replace the cabinet door hinges with hidden soft close ones. It makes a huge difference in the overall look. I'd think about your dream redo. Where would you put appliances, etc? Invest in electrical and plumbing once now that can fit with that future plan. For us one simple fridge move was our only change to keep costs down. Recessed lights and a new countertop had a big impact for us. If your cabinets boxes are good, you could invest in countertops and flooring now with an eye to repaint or reface later if you feel like you need to.

I have been in my home 10 years and I am finally ready to do my crummy kitchen. We did all the mechanicals first, plumbing, electrical, roof, etc. Then we started with the interior spaces, first the downstairs bathroom, then the downstairs rooms. Then a full upstairs gut to the studs, and now the kitchen.

I wanted to do the kitchen the minute I moved in, but it ends up being the last room done. We have made small changes, like paint, lighting and new appliances, but until I could afford to do what I wanted, with the finishes I wanted, I held off.