You've made a lot of great improvements so far. You also have good ideas for the future. We would need some idea of your long term vision for the kitchen to make a lot of detailed recommendations.

The area that sticks out now is the refrigerator. Bring the upper cabinet forward and put a panel on the side. I know this would take away your display area and that depends on how you and your family prioritize. Doing that would make it look finished and less cluttered, but you may prefer it that way at least for a few more years.

I would like to have a farmhouse/french country -ish kitchen. I want to remove the pantry closet entirely and put pull out storage there. with a possible counter space to the left of the frig and slide the frig over to the right.
I like how bright/fresh white cabinets look.
I want to get wide planked wood flooring for the entire first floor eventually.

below is a slideshow of kitchens that I really like. There are lots more on here that I haven't saved yet as inspiration. So many GREAT kitchens here!

Here is a link that might be useful: Inspiration Kitchens

Now we see where you are going:

Narrower pull out storage to move the fridge. That works, counter space next to the fridge is very useful.

You are not planning on new cabinets because you can match the existing ones. That's good planning, your cabinets are a good style for painting.

One big difference I see in your inspiration photos is the area behind the range. It will be hard to get the same impact with an OTR microwave, so when you do look at moving things around consider moving the microwave to add a hood and tile backsplash there.

I think your current kitchen is warmer and more inviting than many of the inspiration ones. I also think that granite looks better with wood than white which would bring out the gray. If it were my kitchen, I'd consider either darkening the cabinet color a few shades with gel stain to a medium brown for more contrast with the floor or using an off-white/cream paint.

Enclosing the fridge will give a more finished look.

i think your cabinets would look fabulous painted. change the microwave to hood, add a backsplash and give the fridge a built in look like has already been mentioned and you will be well on your way. you could also add beadboard and trim out your island.

Where do you put the microwave if you change it to a hood???
I use my microwave to defrost and to heat water for tea and to cook popcorn. I find myself using it almost 1x a day.

Can you get 30" next to the fridge when you redo that area? If you are getting a new wall cabinet there, then get one with a microwave shelf or mount it under the cabinet.

I have 7 ft total usable space on the frig wall. 36" of that is the frig and I would really like a pull out pantry of some shape or form. I would like the frig not to be all the way in the family room. I think it could work.

I have 7 ft total usable space on the frig wall. 36" of that is the frig and I would really like a pull out pantry of some shape or form. I would like the frig not to be all the way in the family room. I think it could work.

That would give you about 18" for a pull out pantry. There are components that will fit that dimension. You would have to evaluate the space you need for pantry storage to see if that will work.

Check sites such as the one below for available components.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pull out components

Steff - great to know about the site where I can add pull outs. That is one thing that has been nagging me is no cabinet upgrades (pullouts etc) when we decided to keep our oak cabinets. NOw i can add them and have it look like it came that way! THANK YOU!