I would have made the cabinets and fridge a bright white and contrasted the counter top with a midnight black ,

I would start by just adding under-cabinet lighting and two or three pendant lights between the two rooms. Use colored pendants to get an accent color into the kitchen. Later on, try to pick up a stainless counter depth frig at a sears outlet if budget is tight. Floor is fine. Throw down a rug with some color. You need more light, more color.

Your cabinets look quite nice so I would consider leaving them as is except replacing the knobs. Then replace the countertop with a quartz white or very light color.

How about a reflective glass backsplash and some undercounter lighting?

Stainless frig?

Thanks for all of the wonderful suggestions. We are adding the under cabinet lighting, adding pendant lighting between the two rooms and replacing the fridge with stainless steel. Once the fridge is in, we will decide on replacing the hardware on the cabinets. Thanks again.

Formica countertops can become granite with "Instant Granite." This may be a fix for now.