Hi, everyone! I am new to these parts, been lurking for a few weeks (have gained so much knowledge in that time, you guys are awesome!). Ok, on with the meat of the post.

My kitchen is really small. Its dimensions are about 7x13. It's basically a galley style that is closed off one end by the doors to the garage and basement and the other side opens in to a "dining room" (it too is small.) There is a window in the kitchen and the dining room and there is overhead lighting in both as well, so it is fairly light.

My house was built in 1958 and almost everything in the kitchen is original, and some of it is in desperate need of replacing and most of it really needs updating. My budget is really limited and my DIY know-how is non existant, but I am not unwilling to learn.

All my appliances have less than 5 years old (my wonderful mother-in-law decided to replace all hers, so I had to pay nothing for mine) and are stainless. I had to get new counters because mine were literally falling apart (apparently 50 year old laminate tends to do that), and I spent most of my money on those. I live in a small town so my options, and prices, were limited. I ended up going with LG Hi Macs in grey granite. (The solid surface were only 40 dollars more than laminate and 1000 less than granite, so it was a pretty easy choice)

My cabinets are all in pretty good condition, are solid made of birch, and are stained almost a radioactive orange. It is frightening. I don't want white cabinets (my husband hates then with a fiery passion, and since it is really the one thing he has an opinion on, I am willing to let him have his way) and replacing the doors are out of my budget. I have been reading celticmoon's guide to gel staining, and I am intrigued by that. I want to go darker. I know that it might make my kitchen feel smaller and darker, but I hoping a nice cozy feeling. All the hardware on the cabinets are orange too, so I am thinking of spray painting them silver. Is this a good idea or a disaster in the making?

My current floors are yellow linoleum, also original and also falling apart. I will be replacing them with some oak laminate in about this color http://tinyurl.com/443p6p8

Not my top pick, but it is being given to me by someone who had a few left over boxes. Free is a trump card for me.

My wall was covered in yellow and green daisy wallpaper, but I removed all that and now the walls are bare and ready for me to do something, anything (affordable) with them.

Like I said earlier, my kitchen connects to my dining room, so I want things to flow nicely, but I don't necessarily want it to be same colors. My dining room is done in light beige-brown and light green (almost a spring green, but less pastel). I have planting box made of Indiana limestone with a black, iron lattice in it that marks the end of the room (I actually quite love this because its really the architecturally interest part of my home and comes from local quarries, so I find it neat). My pub table and antique hutch are both very dark wood, like and espresso or coffee color.

I would love some ideas for the walls, cabinets, and just some basic ideas on how to make my kitchen feel fun and playful. I want to keep to the spirit of the home. It's a simple, all limestone, ranch home. I don't want/need anything grand and magazine perfect. I just want it to be a fun place to be. I am doing this on a shoestring budget, and little DIY knowledge. Like I said, I am willing to learn though, and put effort into it.

The idea that is floating around in my head right now is to let it be inspired by Van Gogh's Starry Night painting. I love the blues, yellow, grey, and brown in the painting in addition to the swirls. It always makes me think of a warm summer's evening, and that's kind of the feel I want. My dining room reminds me of spring, so I think it would be neat to have a summer kitchen.

Ok, now that I have written a book, I will sign off. Sorry for the length. I will try to post pictures when I get home if I can remember. Thanks! :D