@Nancy- I plan on removing the molding and bridge above the sink as well. You should have seen the original other portions of the valances that we already removed, I just haven’t gotten the drill out to take the checkered ones out yet. I don’t know if their removal will bring out much additional light, but it’s worth a shot. I’m really concerned that it’s actually the blinds inside of the Pella windows that are knocking out so much light in the kitchen.

@Adoptsalot- Could you explain a little more about the “bump out” window you’re explaining? I can’t really envision what you’re recommending. The mission desk may not stay which is why I’m not really considering painting it at this point. When you move from a 1950 ranch (1400sf) to a 1907 Victorian (2600sf) there is a lot of furniture to buy, including something to act as an island.

@summery- I like the idea of removing the upper cabinets that flank the windows. They currently house our glasses and dishes, but those could easily be relocated elsewhere to other cabinets that are sitting empty in the kitchen.

@Mottles- Your floors are nice even if they are not oak. :) You have a beautiful home! It’s good to know that having two different stains does not feel overly obtrusive in your home.

@cage- Not sure if sola tubes are an option. It’s a 1907 Victorian. There’s an upstairs, and I’m not sure that I’m keen on having something so modern hanging out on the side of my house, no matter how much light it brings in :)

@Claire Thanks! This is our second (and likely, forever) home. The windows are as clean and “clear” as they can be with those mini-blinds in them. I’m waiting for my husband to get home to see if we can’t just take the blinds out of them, I do believe that would help. I shop at Restore all the time, unfortunately most pendants they have are way too big and meant for exteriors, but maybe I’ll get lucky. I’m not opposed to spending money on light fixtures, again, likely forever home. I’ll have to see about the rope light on the top of the cabinets, I do believe that would help. We’ve only lived here for almost 3 months now, and are taking it very slow…letting the house introduce itself to us. Tiny changes here and there until we figure out what we want. We just know for sure that this kitchen is way too dark and cannot stay as-is haha.

@4f- The desk may not stay in the kitchen forever, just there for now as we figure out what kinds of items we need from moving into a larger home after having a tiny one.

@Ctidler- See above, I don’t think sola tubes will be an answer in my situation due to not only having a second level, but not being overly keen on the idea of something so modern on such an old home. I’ve waffled back and forth with the floors in the kitchen and have even considered “what if we put in tile” but my heart just can’t pull that trigger (yet?) so they’ll stay as-is for now.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions!

I had doors with the blind inside the panes and I was able to pull them all the way to the top. Can yours do that? The slider that controls the way they tilt should also slide up or down, so the blinds go up and down.

Glossy paint on the ceiling will bounce light around (or semi gloss). Add rope lights to the top of the cabinets and undercounter lights as well. And light countertops and backsplash.

Is that a black ceiling? Def go ceiling white to spread the light and lighten up the wall color. If you like dark green get dark green towel or plates or something.

That wall with the small clock, add a narrow table or shelf with a large mirror over:

Maybe screw in pendant lights will throw more light around the room instead of straight down.

@nancy I couldn't wait for the husband to get home so I took to it myself, the inside blinds are gone! I also removed the valances. It's so nice to be able to SEE outside. I can't be a judge on if it made a huge difference in the lightness of the room yet because it is now dark outside, but we will see.

Thanks for the photos @pcmom.

@Patricia no, it is not a black ceiling, it is the off-white ceiling in the fist photo. The last photo makes is look dark because I was taking the photo to show the current lighting. I never painted the room dark green, it was this way when we moved in. I like your idea on some sconces.

I haven't read through this thread, but I think that removing the valence from the window and painting the walls a lighter color (don't forget above the cabinets), will go a LONG way in making this kitchen a lot brighter!

sp *valance*

Hi---I would not stain the wood floor lighter, as it would be an odd transition to adjacent rooms w/wood floors---that is, unless all the floors are lightened. I recommend installing a creamy travertine floor. Light granite counters, light travertine (subway) tile backsplash, and light walls. Choose a monochromatic cream/ivory color palette-in doing so the room will look lighter and feel larger. Hope this is helpful. Good Luck!
[houzz=]

@onetwothree painting is the first thing that is getting done, and the valance was removed just an hour ago :)

@Natalie I don't know if I have it in my heart to tile over the floor at this point, it is original to the house. Something I will need to consider much later down the line after living with bright white paint for a while. Travertine is nice, just not beige. The midwest already has too much of too many shades of brown! ; )

I am just smiling at your comment about not waiting for hubby to get home....and you did it yourself! TRUE ambition!!! And you love the result....that is even better. Will hubby notice???? LOL

How about some nice light rugs for now to lighten the floor?

Several people have hit the nail on the head with the light paint, and the refinishing of the floors, you will be amazed how much brighter the room appears. A couple more thoughts--

Window treatments, you only have two very small windows, so I would update the treatments, use a lighter colored fabric and place the treatments as high as you can, so there is little to no light being blocked from coming in your new kitchen.

The Island in the middle does not look like a built in--is it? If not, replace or paint it a light color, the contrast between the lightly painted island and the dark cherry cabinets would be beautiful! if you don't want to do white, do a soft blue or very light grey with a white counter top.

I would change out the light fixture to a mercury glass or clear glass hanging pendant.

Add under the cabinet lighting.

Add some greenery, faux or real florals and plant life to the tops of the cabinets and something on the island, to add a little life to the kitchen.

Using brighter colors will attract the light and make the whole room appear lighter.

--good luck! can't wait to see the transformation!

Undercabinet task lighting http://houzz.com/photos/1386658 and over cabinet battery powered LED's would add ambient light that would reflect off the ceiling. The fan throws more shadow than light IMHO. Removing that and putting up a 4 - 6 light fixture with a dimmer would help greatly.

Even island light hung 32 - 42" from the surface would offer mid level lighting and task lighting for that surface!

@ Miranda - ime, do NOT tile over the old wooden floors. The previous owners of the house we're in did that, and there are cracks everywhere, right across the tiles, as well as along the grout lines. The old wooden floors are too springy at certain times of the year to accommodate rigid tiles.

You can paint old wooden floors very successfully, however (in fact, it was often the original look) - one of my favourite looks is to do an 18" chequer-board on the diagonal, black interspersed with the natural wood. https://www.houzz.com/magazine/how-to-paint-your-hardwood-floors-stsetivw-vs~7140096 https://www.houzz.com/magazine/painted-wood-floors-stsetivw-vs~75580 https://www.houzz.com/magazine/diy-paint-your-floor-for-a-fresh-update-stsetivw-vs~793169 https://www.houzz.com/magazine/diy-how-to-paint-stripes-on-your-floor-stsetivw-vs~16292552

Hi---just to clarify-I NEVER suggested to tile OVER the hardwood. Rather, I RECOMMENDED installing cream travertine tiles.
CheerS!

Yes, the proper way is to take up the wood and put down a cement board underlayment.

Miranda, really nice looking little Tudor! Someone here mentioned taking down the valances in kitchen and I would definitely agree with that…just think you could paint walls and ceiling way, way lighter. An off-white cream would be in keeping with the Tudor style... Maybe consider new cabinets, maybe painted, without soffits above. I would consider pendant lights over island insteaf of fan / light combination…have fun! Good luck!

Paint walls AND ceiling one color-suggest a warm pale buttery yellow. FLAT (or eggshell) finish. One color will open up the room, flat finish softens and helps walls and ceiling recede (glossy mentioned above will make the ceiling a highlight, which may be nice in wide open rooms). The color will warm and brighten the wood. Definitely agree w/ comments above remove window curtain, and light fixtures-Look at Rejuvenation for a simple hanging pendant over the sink, and a flush-mount fixture for the ceiling center-unless you need the fan? Then just switch out to modern one w/stainless wings, will be less intrusive. Don't worry about floor so much, paint and lighting should take care of it!

Thanks everyone for the additional comments.

Tiling and the floor will likely never happen. My heart loves all of the original woodwork that has survived over the last 107 years and I don't have it in me to rip any of it out. Restaining is absolutely an option later down the line, however.

For reference, here are a few photos of what my house looks like. (I.e.: Kepes, the Tudor you saw above wasn't mine ; ) it was a different commenters). For the record, I'm 99% certain a photographers floodlight was used to make the kitchen look as bright as it does in the photo attached. All of these are from the MLS listing.

I'm currently looking for paint to cover the kitchen and will keep you posted. It is likely we will be able to paint in the next few weeks as my husband travels a lot, which, obviously, as we know, will make a huge difference. Hopefully then we'll be able to move forward to what's next to make this kitchen lighter.

Easiest thing to do, paint the dark walls any light color (I won't say white, as I really don't like anything white - except for snow). The cabinets, these are awesome looking. Counter tops could be change to lighter colors, or even simpler add better lights, that would lighten it up.

@ Miranda - thanks for the extra photos - what a very pretty house! Lucky you.

@Ron - The cabinets are Camelot custom made, very expensive and amazing quality. We are very fortunate to have them.

@summery - Thank you!

That is an awesome looking house, always wanted one of those...

Can't wait to see future pictures as time progresses.

here is one example of a bump out or garden window- but they come in all shapes and sizes-- http://www.jeld-wen.com/catalog/windows/builders/vinyl/garden

@ adoptsalot (dogs? Neat!) - those bump out garden windows bring in so much light, I agree, but imho such a window would be rather inappropriate, aesthetically, for this lovely old house.

The OP is fortunate that her historic house hasn't been modernized much - it looks like it's still got the original woodwork and so on - and adding such an albeit functional, but very modern, window, would look very strange and out of place.

@ Miranda - looking more closely at the kitchen photo (yes, photographer definitely used a good flash!) - painting over the dark green wall above the cabinets would make a great difference.

They are gorgeous cabinets, and I can see why you wouldn't want to paint them. But - and this is a LONG shot - what are the chances you could move them up 6" at least? It sounds like a lot of work, but they're so close to the lower cabinets, I can't see how anyone could work properly on those counters. Never mind what the industry standard is - if you're tall enough, it could make a huge difference to how the kitchen feels. I'm 5'8", and I like my upper cabinets to start at 5'.

How about wire mesh panels on some of the cabinet doors? They could lighten up and modernize your kitchen. Our Houzz ideabooks have examples, and our website has product information: http://www.mcnichols.com/products/wire-mesh

Better lighting and a brighter backsplash, (along with the light wall color) would probably make a big difference.

@Ron Thank you! It’s always been a dream of mine to own an older home; I’m so fortunate she’s mine!

@adoptsalot Thanks for clarifying the bumpout. I have to agree with summery as I don’t know how I feel about something so modern jutting out from the house like that (just like the sola tubes suggestions) because I’d really like the home to be as original looking as possible.

@summery - You are very right! We are so, so fortunate to have the home in such good condition. We have all original floors, moldings, trim, the entire staircase, all original windows and a lot of the original glass window panes throughout the home too. We really could not have gotten any luckier.

I don’t know that raising the cabinets is such a long shot as you may think :) It is something we have been talking about because of the height of the microwave for starters. They’re actually not that low to the cabinets. The lower cabinets are a standard 36”, and the upper cabinets are also 36”. The upper cabinets start at 55” from the ground and are 13” from the ceiling. We have 9 foot ceilings. And the space between the upper and lower cabinets is 18”. But, we have considered moving them up, again, because of how low the microwave cabinet set in particular is to the stove (it’s ridiculous trying to cook on the stovetop at this point in the game, I actually have to bend over to see the temperature and work the knobs - and I’m 5’4”!) but it seems silly to have the microwave cabinet move up and be out of line with the other cabinets. Is 60” from the floor standard these days? I’ve only ever lived with older kitchens (as I said, I came from a 1950 ranch, which had its original unit built kitchen) so I’m not sure I know today’s standards : )

@McNichols I hadn’t really thought about mesh. That definitely is a unique attribute and would modernize the kitchen. Something to consider!

@halfpint Absolutely, we’re planning on painting the walls white and seeing how things go from there. We’re sure that it will brighten things considerably, just need to get the paint to do it!

I would add hardware to cabinets. I have dark cabinents and added brushed chrome. Does someting to brighten cabinents.

So I ordered some test pots of paint and slapped some tester areas on the darkest wall in the kitchen. I can't tell you how much even those three areas lighten the kitchen – especially since I've removed the inner-blinds from the two windows!

I know that it's difficult to tell in photos, but I'll explain where I'm at anyway.

Top left– soft chamois (BM)
Top right– silver satin (BM)
Bottom left– simply white (BM)

I'm leaning heavily toward the Soft Chamois. Simply White is simply, haha, too white. It doesn't feel great against the beautiful wood. The Soft Chamois is warmer, it's technically a very, very light beige (which normally I am SO against) but in here it looks creamy and warm and lends itself very well to the woodwork. The Silver Satin is obviously much cooler, but still works well next to the wood without the wood feeling raw and unloved. The Simply White feels distracting and out of place next to it so it is no longer in the running for the kitchen.

I've included a photo of it during twilight (the fan light on) and with the lights off after dark (taken with my iPhone, so not high quality). Such an improvement already. I'm going to leave the swatches up a little while longer until my husband comes home from his recent trip and then make a final decision. It will likely be painted before he comes home from his trip after that! Woo!

Hi---yes favor the Soft Chamois, as it's within the color range I recommended. I guess we all have our own interpretations of what Beige is. LOL! Here's mine.
It's going to look beautiful---great with your wood and counters. Keep us posted. Good Luck!
[houzz=]

Under and over the cabinet lighting. It's easy to do and these lights are not expensive. Lighten up the paint to softer colors.

walls in older homes can take the richer colors very well, lighter colors often look insipid, or like a missed opportunity...while you are it it with Benjamin Moore-take a look at their HC-32-Standish White. It might work great with the wood-don't think you need to go SO light to get brighter in there-the existing green is a very low LRV (light reflective value) and pretty much anything in a white base will be way much brighter for you.

Hard to tell from photos, but I agree, the chamois looks the best. Have you looked at BM Ecru? It's got a (v subtle) hint of pink.....we had our entire rental (dark Victorian red brick) repainted that colour downstairs (to replace the vile minty green), and it's a lovely colour with the various types of wood used in the trim.

Think the paint will really open it up. Another color suggestion would be sherwin Williams. " wool skein". Love the way it changes throughout the day. Economically. I would change the lighting over island, if you are keeping the island. The kitchen really doesn't need it and removing it would really open and brighten the kitchen. Don't change your floors. Too much work for too little an area and it will never look as good as it does now. Your cabinets are beautiful. Losing the sink abutting sink is an option or maybe have doors fitted with glass and lights behind them. No solar tubes! On an older home it is like opening pandora a box. If you remove the cabinets a larger window is an option. Keep us updated and enjoy this beautiful home.

Natalie- Thanks. The photo you posted is wayyyy beige for me, haha. I could never go that far.

Susan- We have under cabinet lighting that needs a new bulb, we’ll look into over cabinet lighting.

Colorsmith- Standish White, while it may be a good suggestion for many, is much too yellow-beige to me. There are so many homes in the area (Nebraska) that has some sort of brown in every room in their home and I just can’t bring myself to get anywhere close.

Summery- I hadn’t looked into Ecru until you suggested. I don’t know that it’s right for the kitchen, but it could definitely be great for the dining room or a child’s room later down the road.

Karen- The color you suggested is a nice shade, but I also feel that would be too beige for me. The island is there as a stakeholder now. We’ve only lived here a few months and at this point nothing is for-sure staying. The floors will inevitably get refinished when we do the rest of the first floor. The owners before us decided to attempt to stain the floor themselves and it is horrendously done, you can see the lines and rag marks from where they put it on. If you move our stove or fridge you can see where they stopped staining because they only went halfway under the appliances! It’s very bad, and also much, much darker than any other floor in the house and we have hardwoods throughout.

@ Miranda - the BM Ecru is one of those stellar BM colours that doesn't *look* pink - it's more an air, or tone, of soft warmth. Now I sound like TP or chocolate ads, lol! I'm looking through at the living room now, with windows on north and east sides, so no direct light, and it's not pink at all, just not bright white, beige, yellow, green or blue! Anyway, give it a try, as you suggest, elsewhere in your lovely house.

@summery hahaha, you are very convincing! I am going to pick up a test pot to try out elsewhere in the house to see how it'd work. Hubby finally came home yesterday and LOVES Sot Chamois so we're going to be buying a half gallon of that and painting the kitchen :)

In addition to lighter walls, replacing the dark handles on the cabinets with silver ones might lighten the look and provide a nice contrast with the cherry.

Update: bought my gallon of soft chamois today, with the goal to start painting this week and finish next weekend! The hubby was home and loved the soft chamois so that's what we're going with. Cannot wait to show the dramatic before/after. :)

Can't wait to see it!

Letting you know that we painted the kitchen today and took down a couple cabinets. All I can say is HOLY COW it is an amazing difference. I can't wait to share photos, it's too dark now even though the difference at night is still huge too, so look back soon!

And if you add a mirror to the wall where the clock is, huge difference also. Double the light!

Oh, come on, I got all sucked in reading all of this and no pics of the newly painted kitchen? :)

Yes, we all would love to see!

No curtain topper at window. It will bring in more light.