Hi Jo-Ann
Good news! Your kitchen has both beauty and quality. You simply have an imbalance. And honestly I think it’s easier to fix than you realize.
Visually your kitchen is ‘weighty’ w wall-to-wall cabinets and ‘busy’ w too many patterns. The desk design is passé and dating things. So is placing a microwave over a stove. Finally, you have no focal point.
First let’s remove and minimize. Yes the backsplash must go. But so should some of the upper cabinets. This will open the room up.
The cabinets to the left and right of the window-gone! The passé desk-gone! Take down the microwave and cabinet above it too! Now hire a cabinet maker or carpenter to rework a new base cabinet from the unused cabinets for your new microwave station where your desk was.
Once your existing backsplash is gone, replace it (counter to ceiling) w a light color (warm-not yellow-off white). A very simple shape, quiet static design (no zigzag or running board design), nothing too small (too busy) and no contrasting grout. I see a matte finish. This will lift the heaviness of the brown and minimize patterns.
Now create a focal point-your windows can be the star of the show.
I would love to see more windows. Especially if your home is sided, a bank of windows it’s not that expensive, especially if they’re double Hungs or you use a picture/stationary window in part of the grouping. But regardless add some interest. Paint either the interior sash and grid, or the wood casing/trim around the window in a contrast color. This will draw the eye to the windows. You could play it safe with black or charcoal but you could have some fun with may be a deep dark green. (I remember someone commented the green never went. How can green not go with brown? Look outside trees are green and brown. Green is natures neutral.)
Here’s what I wouldn’t do. Do not paint those cabinets. You will never be able to recreate as durable finish like the factory finish. Also natural wood will become extremely prized in the near future. Everyone’s kitchen is white right now but that is starting to fade. Young people, who will be your most likely buyer of your home in seven years, are up-cycling, shopping resale and discovering antiquing. They will love the quality of your natural stained cabinets. (White kitchens are lovely but we don’t want to be clones either.)
You’ll probably want to change hardware and your pendant lights. But I would keep my hardware simple-let it blend into the cabinet-keep the noise down-you still have a lot of patterns between the countertop, the wood grain and the ceramic floor. But what I’m proposing I think will cost you around $5K. May be a bit more by the time you add the hood. Or have your carpenter make you something encased in wood and paint to blend w your new backsplash.
Essentially if you don’t like the granite and you don’t like the cabinets, no matter what you do you’re not going to absolutely fall in love with the kitchen. However there are still plenty to like about the kitchen. The amount of counter space is fabulous and everything appears to be quality.
I found a picture in my catalog of a very neutral backsplash. The focal in this kitchen is its 10 foot ceilings enhanced with wood and beams. But notice how the windows are a secondary focal. Essentially the cabinets blend in with the backsplash and the floor. It’s quiet and soothing. Not a lot of competition between the cabinets floor ceiling and countertops. It’s unfortunate it’s hard to find professionally designed and photographed kitchens that have normal proportions. But I’m sure you can catch what I’m trying to explain.
Q