just get 5 inch pulls from knobdeals.com .... nickel would be pretty with blue walls

Not certain I would do knobs. Def would use your pictures, reverse them, print in black & white, then try out pencil sketches of "bar pulls?" Look through (was about to say magazines, lol) the most recent Photos on Houzz.
You have beautiful cabinets, don't change them. The first thing I noticed, sorry to say, was the clutter. And the magnets!

paint the walls, and add the hardware. i would think about a back splash for some spunk.

Yes, the clutter. Working on that. Christmas baking, you know. Everything everywhere. You should have seen it with the KitchenAid, Cuisinart, Crockpot, and rice cooker on there. I will definitely do the printout. The cabinets are actually falling apart, I will probably just repair them and put on nickel pulls. It is a great suggestion.
The blue counters are so ugly. I just want to draw attention from them. I will post a pic again tomorrow when the clutter is all gone.

It's hard to know what the "mystery buyer" will want. You could paint your cabinets charcoal grey or white and paint the walls a new color. What will turn you on for the time you're living in the house? It is yours for the time being and I doubt your choice will ruin resale value, right?

New countertops! Improve resale! Granite or Quartz. Keep the cabinets, but repair as best you can. Pulls dress would it up.

The backsplash is there, it's tile and very hard to see. My goodness. This is my first time on here and everyone is so helpful. What a lovely community!

You can paint a laminate counter top, even give it a stone-type finish. Your hardware store will have special paint for this. It looks as if your island has a different counter top. You could paint both the same. What color do you think would look good with your floor, cabinets and existing back splash? Or you may want to replace your existing back splash with a new one, since it's a relatively small area and much less fuss than replacing the floor or painting the laminate. Along with painting the walls, that would give you a really fresh look for relatively low cost.

I suggest that you remove everything from the top of your cabinets and the top of your refrigerator. It looks cluttered when things are stored up there.

If you post a few good photos of the floor and island, that will help people make suggestions about color. And maybe some photos of adjacent rooms as well as the other side of the kitchen , so that colors flow between rooms.

I would leave the cabs as is. Paint the walls BM white dove and paint the ceiling a soft gray blue, like BM gray cashmere.

Oh Judy, would that I could. I like the grey idea. My ceiling is ... sigh... popcorn. I just don't know if it's worth the time and effort to scrape that crap off. I am going to paint the one wall blue tomorrow and post it. I think I may do gray on the other walls. I don't want too much blue, just the wall behind the stove/fridge.

What should I put above the cabinets? Should I just leave them empty? Seems like something should be there.

Baskets for storing things?

My first suggestion is to keep the cabinets as is and add awesome hardware. If you are going to paint the cabinets, I would do it in a grey blue. Grey is a very neutral and trendy color right now and I feel once you decide to sale this would not get in the way of the potential buyer. If you don't plan to ever sale, PAINT THEM! :-)

Also that blue will be a great accent to your appliances.

Look at kitchens on Houzz and you'll see that most professionally decorated kitchens leave the upper space empty. It looks fine. If there is something up there, it is carefully arranged for visual appeal, not used as storage. If you really need the storage, buy 3 or 5 identical attractive boxes to hide the clutter. I would leave it empty, and draw no attention to that area.

Ok I love Blue cabinets. I have had blue cabinets and sold them a few times. I love them! But the cookie cutter resale part is a big toughie. I love blue paint, tile accent, fabric with brown and you retain resale value. Hardware if you are not sure go with cool maybe square knobs. You can always change to a large pull if you want but if you go with a pull you can't change that spread. 3" is always most common and easiest to change, if you want it to look longer get something with posts and a longer bar. I hate seeing clients make poor hardware choices.

My suggestion would be to paint the walls rather than the cabinets. If you are planning to sell in a few years, it leaves more options open to future buyers. Once you paint the cabinets it's difficult to strip off the paint and stain them. Trends are always changing - when it comes time to sell you can see what is popular at that time and change the walls/cabinets accordingly.

You can light the area above the top cabinets. It give a nice glow to the kitchen. You can just lay down a piece of rope light.

I would keep your cabinets as is and not paint them. I would update the handles, backsplash and counter tops. Declutter as much as possible and Paint the walls a colour that will compliment the cabinets. I'm not a fan of blue walls. However if you love blue and find a shade that you like then go for it.

Understand about the popcorn ceiling...although if you do plan to sell, it might be worth your time and effort to do it now.

You should be able to paint the popcorn.

Ok, I have decided, going to paint the back wall Behr Midnight Dream Blue, put a rope light on the cabinet top and get pulls. Going to try the Rustoleum counter refinish, and if it doesn't work, not a big loss and I will have to commit to just replace them. They are just SO ugly. The rest of the kitchen, I will look for a grey that works. Got ALL of the clutter gone this morning. I will deal with the ceiling another day. It's got horrible weird lights. I need lighting for over the island.

Be sure to post the "after" pictures!

These are the pictures of how it looked before we moved in. Going to start a living room and downstairs bath project next.

Look at BM Marilyn's Dress...its a soft gray that will pair nicely with blue. And it will inspire all kinds of interesting stories :)

Would this be too much pizzazz for the drawer/cabinet pulls? I don't want them to be too generic.

I'd feel them in your hands...they don't look comfortable to touch / grasp.

My kids would have gotten peanut butter or something inside those handles, needing a toothbrush to get out!

Ok, good point, I don't have kids, but this is a very kid friendly neighborhood. Anyone have suggestions on pulls that would make me happy to see (look and ability to clean)?

I would pint your upper cabinets white and lowers black. Then add hardware (maybe if your daring a crystal nob?!) I think it would be really pretty

I use this hardware frequently and have them at my desk. They are comfortable in the hand. Hardware is washable if you get something on them they are easy to wash just in the sink like a fork. If you like them do it! It's your room.

If planning to sell, definitely just paint the walls not the cabinetry. Wall color is easy to change, cabinetry not so much.

Agree, don't paint the cabinets, you have no idea what the "Buyers" will want. Paint (on walls) is the least expensive change. Yes, simple pulls, look at Restoration Hardware (you can get --I hate saying cheaper--) less expensive, honestly at Ikea. I replaced all the hardware in my Custom, woo hoo, Master Walk-in Closet done by Cal Closets. It was crap (sorry) & the next day went to Ikea & replaced it all.

Excuse the painting materials and little things on the counter. Gotta put up the rope lighting this week. The lights... eesh. Next project.