I say leave it alone for resale except to de-clutter mightily. All the counter appliances and other stuff on the counters just broadcasts "there is little cabinet storage here". I don't agree with remove that peninsula tile because it will then need to be replaced - with what? The kitchen is a gut as the OP said so let the new buyer deal with it.

When it comes time to sell the house, remove the curtain valence pictured at the dining table, and all those pillows (and I assume curtain valences and rows of pillows are elsewhere in the house besides what you show in the photo, so remove them).

With resale in mind, yes, remove the tile.

When the time comes, price the house realistically, and it will sell.

Just before resale paint the tile.

Consider replacing the stained-glass pendant light.

The cabinets are the nicest part.

The cabinets look good to me. When I was looking for a new house my number one requirement was no white cabinets. Not everyone “follows the herd”. Painting the island tile as someone suggested would be helpful.

The little tile was for sure a choice that will solidly keep your kitchen at the turn of this century. I would have to agree removing it would be a great service to any future buyer. Should you spend money to GUESS what a buyer might want in a few years?? HECK NO!! Your cabinets are what they are. The soffit too. Let the buyer make their choices and there is no reason for you to throw money at it that will unlikely be what anyone else would choose. Nothing about your taste is inferred it's just the way these things go. My daughter is currently looking. Her #1 pet peeve is the painted cabinets she is finding flippers did--because often the quality is not there in the job. White is of course classic, and will always be a part of some parts of the country. For most of us it is a fad--along with these odd color painted cabinets. Wood is on it's way back!! Enjoy your kitchen while you have it!! Then just walk away.

Yes, it is dated by most buyer’s standards. Eventually the buyer will probably want a complete change. But I disagree with other who recommend that you don’t make some changes to the cabinets. When I was looking for a my current home, nearly EVERYTHING I saw was dated. It became less a hunt for an updated kitchen (and baths), and more a hunt for something neutral enough that I could live with it until I saved enough for the remodel. This is super important, bc very few buyers can afford to rip out a kitchen right after purchasing a home. Which house did I pick? The one with the kitchens and baths that were the most neutral and timeless. It had white cabinets, white countertops, and a wood floor. So to me, the money and effort it takes to turn the kitchen into something that people are relieved to see bc they can live with it for a few years will pay you back in terms of how fast the house sells (faster sale = less money spent on carrying costs for the house, and generally speaking, a higher sale price).

I would do the following, none of which is super expensive: change out the pendants for something more current and simple, remove the wooden bridge piece over the sink if you possibly can, paint the cabinets and the tiled area of the peninsula white (the same white), and switch out the faucet for a stainless one. The only thing which could be expensive is painting the cabinets if you don’t do it yourselves. Of all of this, the most important thing is to paint the tile peninsula. If you don’t paint the cabinets, paint the tile the same color as the walls.

Best of luck 😊. HGTV has done irreparable damage to the expectations of buyers, but I think you can overcome some of that reasonably easily.

M Miller -- yup, we built the house in 2000 and updated the kitchen in 2013 (previously it had an island with a cooktop and a wall oven -- never felt functional). We didn't retained the original cabinets, just changed the layout (the under-island cabinets were used under the peninsula, etc.).

THANKS FOR ALL THE INPUT :)

The problem with the kitchen is its poor layout -- it has a hallway running through the middle of it.

Your kitchen will not keep someone from buying your house unless they are looking for a reason. You like it; so keep it. When it comes time to sell, declutter and clean. You can't guess what your buyer will want and there's no point spending on something they'll rip out.

To sell a house, it has to be:

• very clean
• very de-cluttered
• any obvious blemishes fixed: e.g. marks on the trim or dents in the drywall

If you really want to spend money above that, paint it an extremely neutral colour throughout the house. Other than that, the return-on-investment doesn't often work out. Save your money for the house you'll be buying.

I am not sure what the market is like where the OP lives but where I live it is super hot right now and there is no need to bend over backwards for a buyer. Of course, this could change down the road. However, I would still not make major changes hoping to satisfy a potential buyer. When we sold our previous house, the real estate agent suggested we do all sorts of things. I didn’t do any of it and it sold in a week. It was clean and decluttered. Definitely not HGTV material either. And BTW dark brown cabinets with dark countertops.

I must share your taste, because I love the little tiles! I would lighten the cabinet colour, and it would be even better - for me. For resale, it is what it is, and I wouldn't change it too much other than to adjust the price for people who will want to re-do it. I wouldn't do something like painting over the tile, because if someone else likes the tile, they'll hate that you ruined it by painting it over. Declutter, clean and clean again, and increase the light levels before showing.

People on this site on nuts when they say to not update things for sale and rather price accordingly. Unlike the self-selected crowd on Houzz, 99% of home buyers can't redo a kitchen when they buy a new house. As someone noted above, they may not be able to afford a new kitchen, but they'd sure rather have a neutral one than an ugly one. And because those same buyers aren't hanging out on Houzz, they also have no idea how to spot cheap superficial fixes. So yes, the week before you place your home for sale, you paint the tile a creamy color that works with the room ($25 and 3 hours of your time), you replace the light fixtures ($300 and 2 hours of your time), remove the wooden thing above the sink if easy (free and 5 minutes) and DECLUTTER. End result: less than $500 and a neutral kitchen. In my neighborhood (also hot), that tile would psychologically get in people's heads -- and result in a significant price discount - more than the cost of replacing the tile.

People's preferences will vary. Personally, I wouldn't want to buy a house with grey or white painted cabinets if I can get stained wood ones instead (all other things being equal).

I can deal with the wood thing over the sink. Easy enough to remove if desired.

I am not fond of the peninsula tile, however. Don't paint the tile, it will look like hell WHEN it chips.

I would not be interested in a house that had painted tiles, etc. I would assume these were attempted DIY quick fixes for resale, and it would make me wonder what other surprises await.

Your kitchen is perfectly nice, attractive, inviting, and looks well taken care of. It’s certainly showable and livable for the next owners, who can then make their own design choices. Don’t paint the cabinets (unless you hire a pro to do it expertly).

It’s impossible to know what every buyer wants and might be a very expensive risk in your case. Another thing to keep in mind: the kitchen doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Any major changes will need to coordinate and flow with the rest of the house.

However — I don’t know the market in your area, so my advice might be way off. Your realtor should be able to advise you when the time comes. Until then, enjoy this kitchen you love because who the he** knows what The Next Big Trend will be.

The tile won’t chip when you paint it one week before listing. And again, people on this site may think painted tile is unacceptable. But this site does not reflect 99 percent of homebuyers. Most people coming to look at houses won’t notice whether the tiles are painted or not. And especially not in a crazy sellers market like this. But they sure will notice those purple tiles, and they will walk away,

“The tile won’t chip when you paint it one week before listing.”

Perfect example of why I wouldn’t want to buy a house with painted tile.

"The tile won’t chip when you paint it one week before listing."

Yup, but people will look at it and know it will chip because you shouldn't paint over tile. It will look like a cheap patch job, and they'll wonder what else in the house was done cheaply that will come back to bite them in the butt later.

One of the things I looked for when buying a home or cottage was whether the place looks like it was built with care, or slapped together. The type of finish or whether something was "in style" didn't bother me, but what did bother me is whether it was done well and properly......because I'd always wonder if someone who did a slap-on-some-paint to cover it up also tried to save money on their electricals or plumbing.

Jinx - again, i've said a bunch of times: The people on this site aren't who you're trying to sell to. Regular people don't read Houzz and have no idea that painted tile is a cheap fix that will start chipping. It's fine that YOU wouldn't buy a house with painted tile, but we're not talking about you.

I have two different friends I can think of offhand who bought $1m+ houses and lamented months later that the bathroom tile had been painted but they didn't realize that when they bought. These are smart busy people who don't spend time on design or DIY blogs. And painted tile isn't an inspection item that gets flagged by the inspector. People do cheap fixed ALL time time when they sell houses. Sometimes they come back to bite the home buyer in the butt and sometimes they last long enough...

So the original poster's likely outcomes are: (1) Don't paint the tile and drastically reduce the price and/or have the house lingering on the market until someone shows interest from the 5% of homebuyers who are able to spend $70k on a kitchen before moving in, or (2) spend $25 to paint the tile and list at a higher price and potentially get interest from the 50% of homebuyers who don't know anything about design or repairs but have zero interest in renovating a kitchen, and worst case it doesn't work and you're out $25 and end up still in category #1.

This is a no-brainer.

Hyperbolic nonsense.

I would frame it in wood or beadboard and then paint it. It would look nice and not chip in a few months.