Do you happen to have a pic of the granite you are considering?
I would change counters (which also means a new undermount sink!), change the backsplash (a small brick-pattern mosaic would be quite handsome), change the handles on the cabinets, take down the collection of plates and baskets on the bulkhead, and remove the wallpaper, as you mentioned.
And don't worry, I have yet to meet a husband who wanted to paint oak cabinets! They are in good shape, so won't be a deterrent to sell your house, and the shape of the doors has mass appeal, though I would not be opposed to painting them if it were up to me. :0)

Counter tops will held allot but the tile, I think, dates the kitchen. For resale you should have a neutral color l like taupe or khaki with white trim. You may think about glass tile to replace the 4X4's. Several of the home improvement stores put them on sale frequently. The cabinets should stay but they should be painted since they don't match the floor. The other thing you might try is staining them a deeper, richer color. I did that recently to my bathroom and it made a big difference. Good luck.

I just sold my house, and as I was redoing the kitchen a few years ago, I wanted it to be current and appealing in three, five, seven years from now. So I saved and spent the money to redo my old wood cabinets to an Ikea white upper cabinets and black lowers - giving a dramatic look. Believe me, the kitchen sold my house. Every woman would like a chic but not intimidating kitchen.

You can go with either a dark counter or a light one but the problem with your kitchen now is the eye is disrupted as the counter wraps around and is jolted by the black stove. If your stove is to be black, then the counter has to be black - or it could be stainless for a more neutral) . As for the backsplash, stay away from the tumbler tiles - there are much more current, simple, inexpensive options for the backsplash. But use something that's not going to date the kitchen - simple is better - even if it's just small white tiles (at home depot)

Lowes and Home Depot sell kits that you can purchase to redo your counter tops. Our friends recently did theirs and it looks very nice. Probably cost anywhere from $150 to $250 based on how much you need. Also...tiling is very easy. DIY has some great video clips that you can look at and do a new back splash yourself and save yourself about $400 in labor! Good luck!

more modern handles and a new backsplash would look pretty good. I would paint above de cabinets in white. Maybe choose another type of lightning too. If you still have money, change the countertops, but if not, those few changes above will do the trick I think ;)

If you are looking at resale, yes, you absolutely must update the backsplash and the counters - but to be perfectly honest, the cabinets themselves are the most dated element of the kitchen, both in style and material. I would at least look into refacing them with a more contemporary design, and then go from there. You may be surprised at how affordable it can be to do that.

Do *not* put modern hardware on these cabinets; it will look terrible because they are very traditional - actually, kind of country. Keep your hardware appropriate in style to the cabinets.

What do you mean by "Brazil granite"? A picture of what you have in mind would help.

Granite from Brazil is available in a wide range of colors. A Google search on "Brazil granite" brings up this vast array of possibilities - https://www.google.com/search?q=brazil+granite&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=ZOf&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&prmd=imvns&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=V20TUNWMCdC3qAHx64CQDw&ved=0CEAQ_AUoAQ&biw=1680&bih=833

If you're thinking of the yellow and black stone similar to this http://www.stonecontact.com/stone-Ouro-Brazil-Granite.htm, truthfully, it's rather tired and overdone, but would certainly work with your existing cabinetry and appliances.

Take a trip through a local stoneyard, and you will find many, many options in all color ranges that will be far more interesting and still appealing to a broad base.

Since you seem to like blues, why not take a look at the vast range of blue granites out there, for example? https://www.google.com/search?q=blue+granite&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=SeK&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=LWwTUKPWDMSlqQGd64Aw&ved=0CHIQsAQ&biw=1680&bih=833

Granite also comes in a vast array of other colors and patterns as well - https://www.google.com/search?q=granite+colors&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=LLf&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=j2wTUOX9EpTpqAHOl4G4BQ&ved=0CIgBELAE&biw=1680&bih=833

The other thing you are fighting is the finishes on the cabinetry and the floor don't go together. The floor is very yellow in tone, but the cabinets lean in a more reddish direction. Don't try to match them to one another, but if you refinish either, or reface the cabinetry, try to be sure that the finishes are in the same color range. Squint your eyes when looking at them, and you'll see the yellow and red undertones.

Stainless appliances will also look better, if you've got the budget to change them out, and allow you a lot more flexibility with other finishes.

It's hard to be more specific about colors and finishes without knowing a) what is visible in other rooms from this one, b) what is selling in your neighborhood, and c) what your actual preferences are, as well as maintenance needs.

You can't get into wall colors until you finalize the rest of the finishes, because the wall color will grow out of those. I do agree the wallpaper should go, especially behind the stove, where it is a fire hazard.

Be sure that whatever you do is something you yourselves enjoy, because you will be living with it - and if for some reason, you do end up staying there longer than you expect, you want to be sure you'll still actually *like* it years down the road.

Yes, kitchens will definitely sell (or not sell) a house, but don't make all your decisions based on some unknown buyer out there whose tastes you cannot know. Personally, I'd rather buy a house that has *not* been updated, because I can just about guarantee I'll just tear it all out anyways, with few exceptions, and I don't want to pay extra for a house that someone has already spent money on "updating". You need to know the market where you are to determine which would be better for you, though.

One thing about Home Depot and Lowe's-they are truly "home improvement" stations. At the dawn of the DIY revolution, the "go to" item was Homer Formby's furniture products. You can still buy them. They make stuff that actually refinishes, or just rejuvenates-and to rejuvenate your cabinets maybe something you and your husband might like to try. They may still sell this at these stores, but you can buy it online, too.
http://www.formbys.com/

The "rejuvenating" stuff basically cleans the wood, and it also moisturizes old wood, so it will look glossier and brighter. You might be shocked at how good your cabinets might look if you give them a treatment. It would be like waxing your cabinets. You have a lot of cabinets, so it would be time consuming-and probably tiring, but it would certainly be worth it if if made you cabinets look really great. Old English also makes a lemon oil product that makes real wood look really nice.

Of course, I might be telling you something you, or your husband, already know-if so, I apologize for rambling on. I live in a house full of antiques, and my father was a gun smith who put some really beautiful finishes on the gun stocks he built. He refinished one of the antiques we have-a sideboard that we estimate is probably about one hundred and sixty years old. So, I picked up a few pointers from my dad about wood way back when.

One thing you haven't mentioned is what kind of house that you have. If it is a relatively older one, you might want to consider trying to get the kitchen back to a more modern version of its original style. There are a lots of great examples out here on this site of people who have done that with their homes.

Your husband is right in keeping the timber cabinetry (even though I'm not a fan myself, it is expensive to buy and expensive to replace). If you are selling you only need to do what is absolutely necessary to update the existing look. I would definitely keep the handmade mexican tiles. Just regrout them. They work wonderfully with your cooker and timber floor. As for the benchtop itself, I would replace it with a gloss black granite look with a rounded edge. This will tie in beautifully with your black cooker. Consider a butler's sink, and change all the door handles (perhaps a groovy pewter type). Lose the wallpaper and the hanging pots and repaint warm white. Then oil all the timber!

The trend in kitchens right now seems to be for lighter, brighter kitchens. Maybe you could remove the soffit and get rid of the shadows. If it were me I would try to upgrade what I already had and only replace what is broken or in disrepair. It is very difficult to anticipate what a new buyer is going to want in a few years and it is also difficult to recoup remodeling costs. As others have suggested, consider little fixes, remove wall paper and then paint (choose a neutral white from the tiles), instal new hardware for cabinets (something modern and sleek), a new faucet, refinish the cabinets if you don't want to paint them. Add some color. Then look at the counter-tops, back-splash and appliances.

Thank you everyone for the input!
Here is a picture of the brazil countertop. The 2nd image is of the 4x4 tiles that we (actually I'm writing on behalf of a relative) are considering using as a backsplash. The camel colored one would be a lower border next to the granite. The lighter one will be placed in a diagonal with intermittent camel colored flowered tile. Someone has suggested that the shininess and size of the 4x4s felt dated and bathroom-y. They are also thinking of doing doing a creme colored 16x16 porcelin tile on the floor.
Agree with changing out the hardware (to something not modern).
With regards to glass tiles and smaller tiles in general (glass tiles only come in small, correct?), thinking they may be too modern for this kitchen?
thanks again for all the fantastic advice.
Annemarie

The granite looks lovely and will help pull the eye away from the cabinetry in addition to helping it blend in. I would lose those tiles 4x4 immediately! (dated and bathroom)
Glass tiles come in many sizes, not just small mosaic. If you think the glass is too modern. A square tumbled travertine tile would add a richer feel for the back splash. Although this seems very beigey neutral, it will appeal to potential buyers. I would accessorize the counter tops with rich reds, mustard yellows and/or deep eggplant purple. Home Depot, Lowes and Target carry cabinet hardware with the oil rubbed bronze look. Good Luck!

I think the granite looks very pretty, and the tiles will probably look nice.

I'm in total agreement with faireden. There's no way you can read any future buyer's mind. It seems that these choices are attractive, but still very neutral. When it comes time to sell again, then whatever the "next big thing" in kitchen design is can be considered then to see if it would be worth it to add to the kitchen.

This granite would certainly work, although frankly it's been done to death and back.

I agree with Callie that the tiles are a no go. Not only do they look bathroomy and dated, but they are just not the right colors to go with that stone.

The stone has got some specks of deep red in it - I'd go find something in that color range for the backsplashes, like the Ann Sacks Profile image shown here.

Or into the yellows, look at things like like Ann Sacks Lume Sticks in Cream http://www.annsacks.com/onlinecatalog/program.jsp?cat=268004&coll=268304&prg=2825904 or Lake Garda Amber Glossy http://www.annsacks.com/onlinecatalog/program.jsp?cat=268004&coll=268304&prg=274004, maybe mixed with Lake Garda Twighlight Rose Glossy http://www.annsacks.com/onlinecatalog/program.jsp?cat=268004&coll=268304&prg=274004&tab=3&startrow=61

Heath Ceramics also has a wide range of colors and styles that would work well - http://www.heathceramics.com/home/pages/tile-build/designing-with-heath-tile/color-palette-classic-field

No matter what you choose, there will always be some prospective buyers who won't like it, so don't go hugely overboard, but do install something you and your family will actually enjoy living with.

I agree with other comments about replacing the countertop and backsplash. Your flooring looks to be in good condition, perhaps changing the door handles as well could be an relatively easy update with big impact.