Hi everyone,

My family just bought a new house and the kitchen, while brand new, is very dark and not really our style. We are making minimal changes (because of cost) and I'm wondering if anyone has any advice on how to lighten things up. The cabinets are dark wood, and the granite may be giallo veneziano. The appliances are black (this is my biggest issue) and we just ripped out the backsplash and will replace it with an off-white subway tile (any recos on what might work?) in high gloss to reflect some light. We are putting in white oak floors and will stain a medium tone (any thoughts on a good, warm but not red medium tone? i like honey or amber).

I wanted to paint the cabinets but a friend who is a contractor said it will be a disaster because of the factory finish. Has anyone had experience with this? A painter said he would do it and didn't mention it being very hard but I don't want to risk ruining the cabinets because I can't buy new ones!

Thanks so much for any advice you can offer. I tried to upload three pics but it didn't work. This one shows the cabinets and the black and the counter, so I guess that's all you need! I appreciate your help!