We are closing on our very first house in the end of July. We love this house, it is in very good shape with good bones and is unique (we don't like cookie-cutter homes). Not a whole lot has been done since the 80s so it needs a little updating. One of our main priorities is updating the kitchen because we love to cook. So far we know we are going to be putting a darker with reddish hue hardwood flooring throughout the house. So far we are considering the following:
-Knocking out the wall above the stove to open up to the dining room and moving the stove to the other side where the fridge is currently.
-Updating the appliances to stainless steel.
-Moving the fridge to the wall opposite the living room and putting custom built-ins around it.
-Either continuing the wood flooring into the kitchen or putting in slate-type tiling.
-We would like to work with the current cabinetry, it is good quality and in good condition but we don't like the coloring. So we either want to refinish with a darker stain or paint them.

I've been playing around with a design program so I'll attach a couple pictures that I took from that in the comments (they're very rough and we're just learning how to use it).

What do you think!? We'd love to hear your ideas!