The only thing I notice is the small slab at the side of a cabinet, but not the worst thing ever.

You said: "I came home for vacation and was actually startled by the spotted countertops."

What happened - I must be missing something...

I would replace the countertops with white quartz. I know it has its detractors but mine is 5 years old and looks as perfect as the day it was installed. Hopefully you could find a white that allowed you to keep your backsplash. Do you have under cabinet lighting? Having this on a hardwired switch is very convenient and would eliminate that dark zone under your cabinets.

1. How about glass or frosted glass cabinet fronts. They can be inserted or crafted with the cabinet doors you already have. You only need a couple of these done in the top cabinets. This is inexpensive as option.

2. Under cabinet lighting: an easy option by some battery operated undercabinet lights. It's a one day project.

I agree with the above options of new countertops, and maybe back splash.

How about some new island pendant lights? An electrician can install these in about a day. It will provide a new look.

Do you have any lights above the island now? I don't see any pictures so far.

I agree with Donald. Your kitchen looks great, but undercabinet lighting is amazing. Are there certain aspects of your vacation you loved you could incorporate with new accessories? If there were bright colors, maybe new canisters, kitchen towels, a plant, or new cabinet hardware? Perhaps your overhead lighting which we cannot see needs a refresh. Look at the vacation photos for inspiration.

The counter tops in my vacation home. I went from very light neutral counter tops to darker counter tops.

What about green soapstone? I think it will look great with the cabinets and current backsplash

Sounds pretty.

I have very similar finishes to you - natural cherry cabinets accented with some white painted pieces. Can't remember the name of the granite from 2000 but very similar and I think my backsplash might be the exact same. We are doing a relatively small remodel replacing the desk area with sort of a beverage center. I'm lowering the bar height counters to all one level. We are replacing the counters with a light colored natural quartzite and new backsplash and hardware. I am replacing my 3 bowl sink with one large workstation sink. That said I haven't added it all up but I bet I end up north of $30,000. You might want to start by getting a quote on new counters? Good luck!

Replacing the counters would be costly. Replacing the backsplash should be much less $$. Select a light solid-color tile backsplash which matches a light color in the counter material.

To visualize less ‘busy’ countertop, buy some large pieces of white fiberboard and lay them on your countertop and see what you think. Also changing light bulbs to ‘cooler’ lighting will make it look differently. I would not paint the cabinets. I replaced dark countertops with a faintly veined quartz (honey colored cabinets) this summer and continued the same as the backsplash up to the bottom of the cabinets and my kitchen looks brighter and larger. I removed most of the appliance clutter on the counters and accented with medium colored wood accessories (useful ones: breadbox, cutting board, cooking utensil container) and it looks great. I have under cabinet lighting and that’s an easy add.

Wynterwynd- are you happy that you used the same material for backplash and counter?!

The cabinets are gorgeous, I would never want to paint those! I'd go for new countertops and backsplash.

I just saw a show (Love it or List it) in which the kitchen had the same looking cabinets and granite. Hilary added a glass tile (taupe/brown ?) backsplash and it really changed the look of the kitchen

I think that idea about green soapstone sounds great.

I replaced the same countertop in our kitchen with a honed marble and was super happy. This marble is not within your $5k budget but you can see how it would look with your cabinets as it looks like your cabinets are similar color to mine.

We might recommend just updating the lighting, hardware, faucet, and window treatments. Your cabinets, countertop, and backsplash still look to be in good condition so we wouldn't recommend updating all of that until you have the budget to do it all at once.

Mid-Century Modern Kitchen · More Info