Unless your parents want to gut the kitchen, I suggest just removing the wallpaper and painting the walls. Kitchen looks serviceable and very clean and someday, down the road ,the entire space could be remodeled. Been where you are, years ago, in my father's summer home; I share my experience: don't spend on a "fix". Removing the wallpaper and painting the walls will be a rewarding temporary...

Is there a window? In a small space, natural light will be an important influence for the wall color,

The other option is keeping the cabinets and replacing the floor with a light colored LVP and painting the brown doors/trim white. Because we didnt think brown doors/trim would look good with a light colored LVP.

@Louie. The would just do barnwood if the cabinets were painted white. They wouldn't keep the cabinets brown and do barnwood. They want to change some things in the kitchen. It's 100% the wallpaper and they thought the cabinets. But they are considering keeping the cabinets. But they are also replacing the flooring on the entire floor. It's old and dirty carpet and laminate. So, they are changing the floor and then they wanted to do something in the kitchen. That's where we are.

Option 1: change the floor to barnwood and paint cabinets.

Option 2: change the floor to a lighter colored LVP and keep the cabinets. But with this one the whole house in in a brown trim with brown doors. So they would then change those as well.

@elcieg Thank you. That blue is very pretty. There is a small window over the kitchen sink. This is upstate NY so it's not super sunny all the time. But we are here in the summer when it's more likely to be sunny.

The thing that I didn't mention is that this used to be my grandparent's cottage and my parents inherited it. My mother was not on the best of terms with them, and loves the lake, but not the memories wth them here. So she asked if I'd help them to re-do some things in the cottage to make it feel like her own. I am no designer and they are old school where they would rather do things themselves vs paying for a full design consult, etc. So that's why I value everyone's opinion on here. I am trying to help them make it look different and updated, while making it their own.

They wouldn't mind keeping the cabinets she says, but worries that lighter floor wouldn't look good with a brown trim and doors. I'm not sure how hard or costly it is to paint all of the trim and change out the doors, but that might be a better option. Thank you!

It’s a rough rendering but hopefully shows the general idea of doing a mix in the wood look tones in LVP.

Also, I used a tile visualizer to just show a solid color on walls, the tool tiled all the walls - which would not be my approach, :) But you can get an idea of how this color might work in paint and how a tiled backsplash in same general color could possibly work. But I see you already have some white paint, too - from this shot

and it seems that current white may also work fine. I think shades of white for walls, backsplash - and I would lean at least a bit warm white with all the wood tones. But what I see in this view with the white and woods looks good.

Take one of the cabinet doors and a piece of the trim (maybe from inside a closet) with you to shop for the LVP. I think you can find one that works with the brown. I would upgrade the hardware and appliances myself, rather than spending a load on the cosmetics. Paint is relatively cheap.

@freedomplace1

ok clearly im not sure how this reply system on Houzz works. I was trying to figure out how to reply to you other than @ and somehow marked your answer as featured. I’m not sure what that means and i cant figure out how to change it.

That floor you showed looks great. Do you know the color? They were looking at Supercore because they temps here and it standing up to water and dogs/scratches. Thanks.

The cabinets look sturdy and are a perfect style for your cottage…i think the shortest ..easiest…biggest impact..would be to paint the cabinets a pretty color that your Mom loves…to make her smile ….and allow you to have any floor color you want …

Hi Cris,

No worries - I think that feature button has a mind of it’s own. And I somehow seem to get featured here quite a bit, so I am not spooked; I suspect readers of some of my posts might be, though. 😂

I just grabbed that flooring to demonstrate the coloration, but it is not LVP; it is actually bamboo.

https://www.flooranddecor.com/eco-forest/premium-carbonized-solid-bamboo-100193598.html

You can look for similar in LVP.

That is the direction I would go, btw. I would keep the wood cabinets, and trim, etc., and bring in the lighter wood look floor, add some under cabinet lighting if you don’t already have, paint the walls, maybe add a backsplash - and you will essentially have a new kitchen. New appliances, if wanted or needed, down the line. I like the warmth of your current wood cabinetry, etc. - and wood is very en vogue right now, plus is classic. Not to mention, you will save the money you would spend on refacing or replacing the cabinets. So it’s a win win.

To start it off, I would go with judiana20's suggestion to start off: walls in a slightly warm white. I would also go ahead and paint interior doors and trim in base coat white semigloss, or a white of your choice in semigloss.

I have been where your mom is except it was my mom's ranch where I grew up. After she passed, it was amazing how different it looked just painting the dark paneling, doors, and trim.

I went a little further and used a wipe-on polish from the antique store, and it took away the scratches while adding richness and shine. Then I got modern hardware. I did not even need to paint the cabinets.

I would start here and see how you like it. I had good result with 2 coats of primer and 2 coats of paint, on the wood and walls. If the trim is extra shiny, do a light sand first. Hold off on the floor choice until you decide if you are painting the cabinets.

I got emotional when I saw how nice mom's house turned out. The kitchen was no longer heavy and dark, but upbeat. The good points of the house were brought out, and the bad erased. It was therapeutic in a way.

Anyhow, that's my take on it. I can't wait to see what you decide.

I am never a fan of painting cabinets. But. Here we are! I would definitely paint those. Maybe a sage green. That Palladian shade could look cute and cottage-y. Maybe some retro boomerang Formica if budget permits. There is a Facebook page devoted to how to properly paint cabinets so you might look into that. Please share the finished project and more pics!

Well, that's a good reason to change up a few things.

How about: leaving the cabinets; updating the hardware: replacing the floor; painting the walls?

Instead of a wood look floor (enough wood in the kitchen now?), have you investigated sheet vinyl? It is very durable and, properly installed, it will last for years and years. It's cushion-like underfoot, so I would imagine a bit warmer that the LVP.

walls: B.M. Acadia White (looks on my monitor like the counters.)

Brass on brown

Tarkett 6-Ft x 8-Ft Grey Stone Sheet Vinyl

Put the blue on the ceiling! With one window, low light, the creamy white will warm up the space and the blue will bring in the outdoors.

Your mom needs to change the look of this house for her own emotional reasons. Get the barn wood flooring if that’s what she likes and paint the kitchen a warm white, a robin’s egg blue or a pale sage green. Look for remnants at the stone places since it’s such a small countertop you might luck out with good stone at a fair price. Pick new handles, a simple tile backsplash and it’s now HER country home. As much as I appreciate the look of the brown cabinets, your mom needs a huge change. Make the sanding/painting/installing doors activity a family project. I only question the color of the barn wood flooring because of dirt showing so easily on darker floors. But if she loves it, go for it.
Read up on painting kitchen cabinets before you remove one single door. It’s a lot of work, or more expensive than most people think because it’s labor intensive. For your mom, it’s worth it!
If you all want to change the brown doors and trim throughout the house later, well now you all know how to paint as a team. (Or chip in to get her a professional job.)

The cabinets look to be of good quality but wood cabinets with wood flooring might be a bit much. Would suggest you paint them and install new hardware for a modern farmhouse look.

Flooring take some thought as not know if doing a remodeled kitchen in the future. Replacing all flooring including kitchen a good neutral lighter tone will go with most anything. Dark shows every piece of lint, dust, sand and scratch. If think remodeling kitchen in near future need to think about what is under the cabinets or if changing layout. A different kitchen floor from rest of house can solve the future issue. Yet same flooring throughout does make house look bigger. Could purchase extra floor product for the future.

Hello Cris, any updates?