How much is tons of money? They look like stock cabinets. Can you get a quote from a big box store on new cabinets? They may look worse painted if not done correctly. Get an inexpensive granite installed. You will not go wrong there. Good Luck!

Are the cabinets in bad shape? If not, I'd just get new lighter granite or quartz slabs, sink, faucet and call it good.

Thanks - going with a lighter granite was our original idea with the new sink. But

were wondering if it would be worth it without changing everything else.

I think painting the cabinets would definitely brighten up the room, making it look contemporary and clean. You could also change the color of the wall to a neutral color with a stone backsplash.

New complimentary upper cabinets replacing what you have at the cook top wall may be enough to give the kitchen a better, more up to date feeling. Paint is the least expensive way to go. If you put $5000 into the kitchen, for example, do you think the house will sell for an additional $5K or more? Or, do you think this will make it sell more quickly. That slippery slope you alluded to is lurking near by. Black appliances??? Won't be changing them, right? Paint or forgetaboutit and let the new owner put their own stamp on it.

As a buyer, I would prefer to make my own choices. Just price your house well.

Kitchen isn't bad. You have matching new appliances. You could add new hardware, window valance and a few accesories.

That was our original thought but our agent suggests we make sink and countertop change because of the type of buyer in my area. But again...once I started looking into that it seems to snowball.

Call me crazy, but I can't see one thing wrong with the kitchen as it is. Maybe it's not everyone's style, but whatever you change it to won't be everyone's style either. I've seen gourmet kitchens that must have cost six figures that I think, "Yuk." My kitchen is not great at all, certainly not as nice as yours, but I have no plans to update it before listing it for sale because 1) the slippery slope thing you mentioned, and 2) we will NEVER recover the cost in the area we live in. The rest of the house is nice, and there have been some great updates in the recent past like a new roof, new garage door, new garage roof, new high-efficiency furnace, new hot water tank, a central air system, and fresh paint in all the rooms that should compensate. Whoever buys it can update the kitchen to suit their own taste, and we will reasonably price it and hope for the best. So my advice would be to save your money and the headaches that go with a kitchen remodel, accentuate the positives, and price it to sell. :)

update cabinet hardware, paint walls a gray which works well with current cabinets (correct undertones) and black granite tile. Stop spending $. maybe remove blind above sink when showing house. pcmom1 nailed it with her photo

Leave it. It's in good condition - if I were a buyer I'd suspect the recent paint job was hiding something. And I'd want to pick the paint myself. But beyond all that, I just don't think you'd see a return for the money you'd spend, and if you get it wrong you could end up losing money.

Thank you all for your comments....much appreciated.

Can't tell from the picture but is the sink white with white faucet? If so, I might think about changing them out to stainless, with a great faucet. New window treatment, or just remove the blind completely if there's a nice view, and new hardware. The black appliances are unfortunate. If there's a light in the range hood I would keep it on since there's quite a dark area in that spot that makes the room seem even darker. I would not paint the cabinets, the buyer will probably change them and the countertop anyway, and you can't predict their taste. Price it right.

First, change the cabinet hardware to a contemporary brushed nickel. Then, change the island countertop to white granite or a light color butcher block top. Then reconsider what else is necessary to sell the house. What strikes me is the darkness of everything in the room. These two quick fixes will add light. And if your dishwasher has decorator panels in the door, change it to stainless to reflect more light. There are also kits available to change the dishwasher to stainless. Is the fridge stainless or black?

Refrigerator is stainless. Since we need to change out the sink, we think changing the countertop to something light makes sense as the cost to just change the sink is pretty hefty.. But then we would probably need to change the cooktop to stainless as the contrast would be too stark we think. The hardware is brushed nickel.......we were told by our agent to keep the hardware to traditional as the cabinets are traditional. What type of hardware is everyone suggesting? We like the long straight line handles but aren't they too contemporary for the cabinets?

It's difficult to see the hardware in the pics, sorry. If you are certain you will change countertops to granite, then change the sink to an under mounted stainless. I also have a traditional home and the under mounted sink gives a clean updated look without being contemporary.

http://wegotcabinets.com/yahoo_site_admin/assets/images/Mocha_Maple_CypressHomeDecor.23094950_std.jpg

Some paint and updated lighting fixtures (physically add more light to the room) and SS appliances would be my vote. Sink for sure OR offer renovation options when someone purchases the home. If you don't want to throw money at it, then don't.

Pricing a home accordingly can get you further ahead then spending money and still having to drop the price because the buyers aren't getting a fully updated "dream" kitchen.

Yes - that is the big question mark....will it be worth it. Which I will never know, even when it sells..

A quick view of 'numbers' would help. Ask your realtor what the listing price would be RIGHT NOW (without any updates...as-is) and then ask what s/he would list it for if you did a partial update. Then take off a few thousand from each number because everyone will dicker with the price. The difference between the 2 numbers will tell you all you need to know.

The two numbers will tell the story. If you can list for another $50,000 for a partial update...then do the update...you will get your money back. If you will list it for $7,000 - $10,000 more with the partial update...you are taking a risk on anything more than paint and SS appliances.