Lol! Step away from the flame thrower! That's my first suggestion.

Second is, yes, paint those sad little cabinets. You might consider painting the upper and lower ones different colors like below:



Third, replace the light fixture above the sink with a cool pendant of some sort.

Lastly, get some nice panels for the sliding glass (?) door and mount them all the way to the ceiling.

Once you get your bearings in your new place - you can plan for a full on redo. Congratualtions!

That's right! I forgot about the painted counter tops, Beyond the Stage. I'm glad to hear that they held up well. Sounds like a really good option.

It will be really inexpensive to change all the door knobs and hinges to brushed crome color.You can buy it from home depot or any home hardware stores..

I'm not so sure the grey/blue idea for the cabinets will look right with your floors....on the other hand I have no design ideas for you, sorry. Good luck and congratulations on your new home.

Paint your cabinets and butcher block at IKEA and do it yourself. Butcher block will run you only a few hundred dollars for the entire kitchen! Backsplash, you could do a stencil, don't know what your style is but you can get stencils that you design or just paint your own design...
http://lulupainting.com/2009/01/painted-backsplash/

Hi Serena, if you just paint the door of the cabinets black but leave the frame as wood or even add some new wood trims to cover the various stains, it will give you an updated look and works with the light countertop as well.

Good Luck.

Have you priced out refacing at all? I don't know your budget but if the layout is good you could get your whole kitchen refaced for under $500. If you budget is non-existent I think painting the cabinets is a good idea, thought the suggestion of grey put me right to sleep. I think the modern design of your cabinets would really stand up to a bold color choice like red, or cobalt blue.I love bright bright colors myself, not sure if that would fit your design aesthetic. I also liked the idea of going w/different colors on the top and bottom cabinets, this is a really hot look right now, you see that EVERYWHERE.

Best of luck, and post pictures of the finished product!

I like Dytecture's idea. It would look great with the floors and add a little detail to the cabinets.

You can't go wrong with a traditional white cabinets and you might consider adding some decorative trims to the doors giving them the look of a solid recessed panel door http://www.kraftmaid.com/products/cabinet-doors/992/#/dwti:Cherry/ds:/dwt:/do:/n:/p:6/bbt:DoorStyle/p2:3/f:vintage-dove-white. If appropriate you might take off some of the upper doors to have open shelving. As far as cabinet color (if you'd like something other than white) and countertop refurbishing, make sure your colors work with the rest of the house and take a look at http://rustoleumtransformations.com/ for product ideas and inspiration. Good luck!

The door to the right of the diswasher appears to be handmade with surface hinges ? Looks like someone added the DW and a door where they had 12" left over...did they cut a section out of a base cabinet to slide in the DW ? Is there a side panel inside that
cabinet on the DW side? Would removing that miss- fit door, painting interior, and inserting wicker baskets serve as a temporary solution ?

However-- you do have more space to the right - right? suggest you check cost of replacing countertop (by a pro- check with home ctr on $ ) and at same time add a larger new base cabinet to replace that 12" piece and extend a new counter toward the door another 18"-24" ? I think you'll find the price not too expensive. ( and you will also be able to add another wall cabs. to line up with the new base cab. and length of the counter.

2. will the pantry cabinet (next to future Ref) remain ? you can also look at home ctr store for alternative to the pantry cab. A new base cab. and a new wall mount cab. next to the ref. would provide a little more counter top surface. If you decide to paint then you can consider unfinished cabinets as replacements

3. I also looked into the rustoleum resurface products see web site: http://rustoleumtransformations.com/ and suggest you visit their web site.
4. here's sketch showing new end cabinet to help you visualize.

Best of luck

Along with painting your cabinets and possibly new doors (recommended) don't forget a nice crown molding and possibly a light rail at bottom of the wall cabinets... Both can be found at your local home store... This is a simple touch that will make the cabinets look finished!... A beautiful pendant above the sink would be super... as well as a simple subway tile or glass tile (more $$) back splash. Looks like you have enough room for an island! You can do that yourself too!

New doors and or paint, Crown, tile splash, new counter top... New Fantastic Kitchen! Good Luck!

Hey Serena, you got some wicked $ saving suggestions. Don't think anybody has addressed your back splash. Check out these wicked adhesive tiles, not sure if they'd last a lifetime...but might be good for a quick fix! Check out their complete collection at http://www.thesmarttiles.com/ Cheers!

i don't want to disagree :) but i will :) remember you will be spending a lot of time in your kitchen, so if you go for mosaic or subway kinds of tiles, you will be looking at them all the time...what i mean is that if you are a counter (as in counting :)) like moi?
it would drive you mad. that's why i di dn't go for subways in my new kitchen, although they do date to my house. i also wanted peaceful surroundings in a small space.
oh. an di had the kitchen from hell :) sorry :) the cabinets were too low to put much under or see what you were doing and they wouldn't stay shut (head bangs) and they almost wouldn't even open! and they were all lead paint...

The floor tiles have GOT TO GO. If you are on a budget go with a whole sheet linoleum. Maybe something in a graphic geometric pattern (Morocco anyone?) Then for the cabinets, I would with something bold. Even white can be bold as long as you get the white right. But I am thinking Bright white paint on the walls and black cabinets over a blue mosaic linoleum floor and then stark white subway tiles. Now the tiles need not be expensive. You can buy 40 cent tiles but lay them in a subway patter and spend a few extra $$ for some accent tiles. then over your windo a simple white ballon valance with black trim and then accessorize with pops of yellow and white or Blues (like turquoise, jade green, etc. Then that little empty wall you can put in a simple counter top and buy cheapo legs from Ikea (they sell the legs to many desks separately or invest in turned legs painted black and then get some stools and you have an inexpensive eat in kitchen or space of kids to do homework. Hang a dramatic pendant, put in cheap task lighting uner cabinet and do down lights over your peninsula and done.

You've got a lot of good ideas. I'll add a couple,... If you like modern, consider taking down all the upper cabinets and replacing with shelving. Ikea has lots of options. Hard to tell from this angle, but it looks like some of your upper cabinets are the same width. They could be stacked on top of each other, and placed to the right of the DW to cover the problem with the floor. Laminate counters are great now, come in all sorts of options and are cheap. I love the mini-SS stick-on tiles from Home Depot for a quick, modern backsplash. Congrats on the new house and have fun!

PS. go to your local auto body shop and see if they will do your cabinet painting on the cheap. Or they may have a small compressor they can come by with and do the cabinets right on the wall. The only thing... AND IT'S A BIGGIE... You must tape down the entire place to within and inch of its life. But the results are so worth it. High gloss and voila inexpensive cabinets look like something Mick De Giulio whipped up for you.

Keep your white walls and go a nice grey for the cabinets (similar to what's shown in another persons photo). If your pulls are the clean, stainless dumbbell pull (I think they call it) it will look very nice with the dark floors. You could also paint the uppers white like some suggested.

Congrats on your new place! I painted my drab golden oak cabinets with the rustoleum cabinet transformations and I LOVE them! I used the black for a truly sleek and modern glamorous look, however they have lots of colors for any style. My suggestion is to find pictures of a kitchen and style you love and try to duplicate it. You can also add moulding to your cabinets or glass and don't forget funky or cool knobs and handles. HAVE FUN! :)

You've received plenty of ideas for painting the cabinets. Trending right now is darker base cabs, lighter top cabs.
*Update the hardware to long handles.
*Update your floor with FLOR tiles. http://www.flor.com/spring-12 Loads of options, colors and patterns. The link to their site will take you to a page showing a multitude of ways to use their 19" square tiles together. They are carpet squares made of reclaimed and recycled materials, so you can feel good about using them. Perfect for a kitchen b/c if one is damaged beyond repair (dropped a hot pan?) You can simply replace that tile and send the damaged one back to the company so it can be recycled again. The tiles are backed with rubber. FLOR provides round adhesive dots to connect the tiles to each other, not your floor. They are easy to cut with a utility knife, if you want to customize.
*Add a smashing focal point. A modern chandelier. I've used this one in a Victorian kitchen. Gorgeous contrast and lots of light. $399 at Lamps Plus http://www.lampsplus.com/products/possini-euro-design-opal-glass-pendant-chandelier__95323.html
*Go to Lamps Plus coupons, https://secure.lampsplus.com/secure/lampsplus-coupons/
There is a $50 coupon you can print good on any hanging fixture over $50
>Congratulations on purchasing your first home. Take a deep breath, pat yourself on the back for making it this far. Then have fun selecting the colors and finishes. Invite some friends to join in the painting party and have at it!

About half way done remodeling and I love the ideas you have given me. I wish I could take more into consideration. I have a Giani countertop kit in Bombei Black, Thomas's liquid stainless steel for the backsplash and the white appliances left, textured wallpaper for the backsplash, an actual curtain instead of a tablecloth over the window, and a ton of white paint for the walls and ceilings. I will be posting pictures again once I have everything finished.

What a transformation! Great job!

Wonderful!

Great job! Can't wait to see the finished product, but you've done an amazing job so far!

It's really coming along, can't wait to see the finished product.

as long as you are happy that's all that matters. we only need to know what time to be there for dinner :)

So far so good! You're doing a great job, traditional yet updated!

looking good!