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Paint it all.

I painted wood paneling just like that recently to prep a house for sale and it looked so great! Wish I had done it years ago. It took two coats of zinsser primer and two coats of sherwin williams superpaint with a brush.

The faux brick is fine. Just paint it. In fact, I'd consider buying a sheet of faux brick and replacing your backsplash; there are plenty of textures going on in there, you might not want to introduce more. You'll need to get a sheet of something non-combustible and heat resistant for behind the range.

I'm not sure how I feel about open shelving yet (still thinking about that for our own kitchen), but I'd try removing the upper cabinet doors and possibly that decorative wooden piece above your sink and painting out your upper cabinets.

Lighting would make a huge difference as well. If you only have one fixture, I think low profile, white track lighting is a good solution.

I see you have a pretty red mixer. I love the look of robins egg blue with red accents. I'd maybe try a blue on the paneling/brick/back splash and white on all he cabinets and window trim.

Here's a photo of Jenny Komenda's kitchen update with DIY countertops. She is incredibly talented and if you have he time, her's a wonderful blog to get sucked into. The attached link is to her countertop instructions if you're particularly handy...

Sorry such a long comment--what a great project.

Here is a link that might be useful: Little Green Notebook DIY Countertop

"If this were your kitchen..."

If it were mine and I had zilch for money, I'd rip down all the paneling and wallpaper/brick-stuff and get a couple of buckets of premixed drywall mud to skim-coat repair the walls under all that. The reason is that they are the cheapest things to repair compared to their impact, visually, on the room, and remediation of those impacts will let you step back and consider the next steps better.

You have a visual problem, so it can be prudent to ease the visual problem's immediate impact.

Paneling can be nasty. When we moved into our house twenty something years ago it was everywhere, sleazy-insurance-office quality, and terribly repaired. It was attached to painted and unpainted raw drywall walls with construction adhesive, caulking, silicone, drywall mud, tiny colored nails, bigger nails, #10 common nails, drywall screws, tape, and so on. We ripped it down and smoothed those walls out. Didn't even texture them. We then painted everything a non-distracting bland light gray and sat back for a couple of years so we could plan.

Then we were off! When one has pressure to do something right away, it can get expensive. We planned the whole house and it took us twenty years to finish it.

That's how long that gray paint lasted!

Remove the formica backsplash, faux brick, and paint those walls for now. Do a donation run to the Goodwill for excess items that you don't use, and check out their home goods section while you are there for some fabric for valances or seat cushions. Old drapes and tablecloths or even prom dresses can be the source for a lot of really pretty fabrics to repurpose.

Paint the uppers the same color as the lowers, and maybe think about refreshing the lowers while you are at it. Stalk your local paint stores ''oops'' section for a 5 gallon bucket of something decent quality white in satin, and you can probably get it for $25. Same for the wall paint. Nothing wrong with misstints if they work for you.

Painting plastic laminate walls and counters is only a very short term solution for those who are trying to stretch time until replacement. Skip even wasting your time on that and save your pennies to replace the counters with in stock laminate blanks from a local building supply. You won't need to worry about the paint chipping and peeling then.

Also stalk your local Habitat for Humanity's ReStore and other thrift stores for potential tile, lighting, and pulls. You can probably do the entire makeover for under $500 in material, and plenty of sweat.

Your paneling looks almost identical to what we were dealing with when we moved into our old house. We primed and painted it and it turned out like this:

If it was my kitchen, I'd get a roll of paintable wainscoting style wallpaper from Lowes and I'd paper right over the current backsplash. Then I would paint it to match whatever color I chose to paint the rest of the walls and the brick with. Don't worry about the width of the "stripes" being different than the rest of the walls. When everything is the same color, the texture variation will be minimized. If you look closely at our kitchen link, you'll see that we filled in some walls that we had to replace with wainscot paneling with a narrower bead, and it blended right in with the rest of the space.

Cream should work fine with your tile floor. I agree with Hollysprings to watch the oops paint. We've done most of our houses with them with good results.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_350745-37364-10-103_0__?productId=3379098&Ntt=paintable+wallpaper&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNtt%3Dpaintable%2Bwallpaper&facetInfo=

Curtains can be found inexpensively at Ollie's Deep Discount, Big Lots, TJ Maxx, and good old Wal Mart if the local thrift stores turn out to not have anything that grabs you. (It pays to stop in more than once, though.)

You might be able to find replacement counters on Craigslist. It doesn't hurt to look.

Have fun with your project! : )

Here is a link that might be useful: The rest of our kitchen reveal

Echoing others in many ways here. I would donate any excess kitchen stuff. Then pull down the paneling and backsplash and skim coat for a smooth surface.

Then I would paint the lowers a medium blue or green. And paint the walls a pale neutral. And either replace the Formica counter with a neutral laminate or, if that's not in the budget, paint it. (Or if it us in very good shape, investigate tiling it).

Behind the paneling in the fixer we're currently working on, there was absolutely no drywall and in two rooms there was lathe and plaster. The newer, drywall free portion of the house was built in 1948.

I sounds like others have had good experiences removing paneling, but I caution you that pulling down paneling can also open a can of worms. In another home I removed rough hewn cedar that was adhered to a drywalled wall as an accent wall (1980 style.) After that wall was repaired and muddled and textured I vowed to never do that again. I admit I'm not a DIYer, though.

I think you should do the minimal for now to make it something you can live with. Just start with painting the paneling. Then live with it for awhile and ponder, scour photos online of kitchen and save photos of any you like, might also tear out kitchens you like in magazines. After you've lived with it for awhile and seen how things look in different types of lighting, and have developed a better sense for what you like based on the trends in the photos you've saved, ponder what will best fit your home style. I think the best removations/remodels/redecorating are those which compliment the home's bones instead of trying to make the home something it's not, i.e., things like Tuscan kitchens in humble ramblers.

Then I think you'll be in a better position to know what you like and can live with for a bit longer-term until you can afford to do a more extensive remodel. Or you may discover ways to make what you have so fantastic you don't feel a need to completely remodel.

Most mistakes people make when changing a space seem to be when they are in a rush to do something. Anything.

For example, some are saying to paint the upper cabinets, getting rid of the pink formica, yada yada. What if, after pondering for awhile, you decide that you'd love to paint the bottom cabinets red and the wood tones on the upper cabinets compliment the shade of red and the pink formica looks fantastic with the red?

Just a silly example but I've done that quick fix without a lot of thought in the past and I've always regretted it. Living with the space for awhile always seems to open up more creative and satisfying options. And I usually am also able to find less expensive ways of making the changes needed that don't look like cheap fixes if I take my time.

We have painted over wood paneling too, and it looks great. I actually like the extra texture it adds. It's a lot easier to prime and paint than to pull it down and patch. And it's not like you can't still decide to do that later. It's a quick, cheap fix.

I don't recommend this option (cost, etc), but my parents couldn't bring themselves to pull down their (higher end) wood paneling, so they wallpapered over it with a thick washable wallpaper. It's been like that for 30ish years now. Still looks great actually. Someday, after my parents sell, someone will go to pull off that wallpaper and be in for quite a surprise. LOL

I agree with painting the paneling for now. We attempted to remove the dark brown (think dark chocolate) paneling in our original 1961 kitchen, and discovered that 2/3 up from the floor there was adhesive from tiles that had been torn out. We just painted it, and it made a world of difference. We also had the faux brick, but as a backsplash, with black "mortar", and one single 60 watt light fixture. And brown slab cabinets.
Also, I recommend adding undercabinet lighting, even if it's just a fluorescent that plugs in.

It sounds like you are not planning to replace the kitchen in the future, that's where we were with our last house. There, we removed some similar paneling and painted the rest, and I really liked the painted paneling. It ended up airy, yet cozy. We used, I think, Antique white. I love a creamy white with pure white trim (reminds me of ice cream with whipped cream!)

Agree that if you can remove the faux brick, do. Otherwise, paint the same color as the paneling.

The sink base is a replacement, looks like melamine. Can that be painted the same as the cabinets? You probably couldn't find replacement doors that match the others, in the size you need. But, if you go for a country look, you could replace those door with washable fabric on a rod.

Change out all the knobs and pulls to match. And if you do paint the lowers, patch the holes when you remove the hardware and reinstall in the same position as they are on the uppers.

What is that pull-down door to the left of the sink?

Can you replace the amber glass with some kind of frosted?

And if it were my kitchen, I'd spend the money to replace the backsplash with painted drywall, and new laminate countertops in a solid that coordinates with the floor. Although, I never did do this .We did replace a worn vinyl floor with a new vinyl, but got stymied by the counters, because we didn't want to spend the money in case we ever did remodel, but that didn't happen. So we lived with the gold-flecked surface enhanced by knife marks! Should have replaced it.

Can you add a light over the sink when you replace the light fixture?

Your kitchen will be really cute and cheery with just lighter walls!

Putting up tile is not expensive. Taking down tile is a HUGE mess and the drywall would probably have to be replaced if you had to take this down later for new cabinets or counters. I am so glad someone gave me that advice when I was looking at inexpensive options for a temporary update.

I would go with cheap and fast for now to just give it a fresh new look. When we first moved in we had 80's peach counters and used the rustoleum counter transformation kit. It lasted 3 years and I noticed one small ding when we were removing it. Try ebay or Craigslist for a deal or you could also try their countertop paint but I have not seen as many long term good reviews on that as I have with the kit.

Also check out your local habitat for humanity for surplus paint. You may get lucky. I accidentally bought 5 gallons of an SW cashmere paint and I got the SW color when I wanted a HD color. I hope to be able to drop it off at my local habitat next week.

If you are keeping the desk and chair in the kitchen for a small office space, you may want to go with a more industrial look vs cottage look so that may guide your color choices also.

I am so glad we did not attempt to remove our counters or any walls/floors when we first moved in and really, really glad we did not tile the backsplash now that we have seen the joy of removing tile during our bathroom remodel.

Good Luck

Start by clearing all countertops. What you don't need goes to charity. If you need an item and cannot find a home for it then you'll need to find some other kind of storage. How much other storage and where exactly I could not tell from the pictures. Once you can see the space clearly you will have a better grip on what really bothers YOU. (For me, it would be the hanging light fixture that belongs over a table not over the middle of an open space, but that would not even make other's top ten list.)

I'll add my voice to the choirs - Paint!
(also, what a cute house!!!)

I'd start with the paneling...the rest of your house looks bright and airy with those cream-colored walls. If you extend that look through the kitchen, the whole house will look cohesive and larger. I had to do this in my BATHROOM when I bought my house (who the heck panels a bathroom? yuck). It brightened it up and made it cheerful while we saved for a few years to do tile.

I'd tackle the cabinets next. I'd make them cream, too, because I happen to love that look. But if I knew a large-scale renovation were just a short time away, I might go crazy and go with colors - black on the lowers/white uppers, sages, tans, yellows...the shorter the time commitment, the more options I'd feel comfortable with. Your floor is pretty neutral, so I wouldn't stress to much over finding something to "go with it". It's a great base for a wide palette.

I'd save countertops & backsplash for last. As others have said, they might not bother you as much once everything else is clean and cheerful.

Best of luck to you! Post back photos!

From the previous posts, it sounds like the paneling can be rather difficult to deal with, or, as in my own case, fairly easy. A previous owner installed paneling over three walls of our garage. It was attached with nothing more than finish nails and was easy as pie to remove ... we just pulled it off the walls. Repairs needed to the drywall below were minimal.

The paneling unfortunately can't be removed without an extensive drywall hanging, they pull off to the bare stud wall through most of the house (it's in the living and dining room as well, pulled up a corner to see if it was drywall when we were hanging TVs and alas, it's stud wall)

Thank you for all the advice on start with paint and the concerns with painting or filing the Formica. I am trying to figure out paints and whether I should replace the bottom flat cabinet doors since the top doors have an indent (not sure what it's called, there is a raised box around the edges).

Then this weekend I saw the rustoleum cabinet transformation, anyone have any experience with it?

I used the Rustoleum Cabinet Transformation, and I was very pleased with the results. I did not do the glaze. Winter Fog was the color I chose.

The paneling unfortunately can't be removed without an extensive drywall hanging, they pull off to the bare stud wall through most of the house...

All the more reason that the paneling has to go. The paneling is essentially tinder on top of logs (the studs). You really, really need drywall on the walls for some measure of fire resistance.

I would not spend even one penny on cosmetics until that was fixed. Obviously starting with the kitchen because that's where a lot of fires get started.

I do think the pictures above of the painted paneling are quite nice and would be a huge improvement.

"I am trying to figure out ... whether I should replace the bottom flat cabinet doors since the top doors have an indent (not sure what it's called, there is a raised box around the edges"

You could purchase some wood trim and attach it around the edges of the bottom doors before your paint them. One of my neighbors did this with her old flat kitchen cabinet doors and it looked quite good ... turned them into a shaker style! You would not need to duplicate the arch on your lower cabinets that you have on the uppers.

I agree with ci_lantro that one of the first major projects needs to be removing all the paneling in the house that doesn't have drywall under it and getting some drywall up due to that fire issue. However, that's a huge job and can get expensive so, for now, I'd paint the paneling and get settled in.

Then, as it sounds like your budget is tight, I'd start with removing the paneling in whatever room will people will see the least, probably a bedroom, and you and your husband should hang the sheetrock, mud and tape it yourselves. Then rent a sprayer and spray your own plaster. Or, if you want some texture, trowel it on by hand and experiment with how to make different textural looks. I say this because professional hanging is expensive. You can cut costs dramatically if you do this yourselves. But it is something that takes practice to do well. My husband and I have learned to do this because we own several rentals we've rehabbed. The ones we do now look so very much better than our first efforts. Google around for tutorials/videos about how to do it. It's not really that hard. It's simply a bit of an art to get walls smooth so seams don't show.

Didn't you have a home inspection before purchase? If so, it seems this should have been something brought to your attention and the price adjusted to account for it as I don't believe it would meet your local building codes. At least it wouldn't in my area. It's something to check into as you may have some legal recourse for damages if owners and realtors didn't reveal this information to you. Also legal recourse against the inspector. I'm not Perry Mason so I might be all wet on that but I'd sure check into it if I were you, just in case. The small cost of a consult with an attorney would be worth it if you find out that you do, indeed, have legal standing to sue for damages.

Havien't read all the comments, but I love the texture of paneling and (faux) brick. So, I'd:
1. paint the paneling and the brick white, using a good primer and a good paint
2. Remove the formica backsplash. If money is an issue, look at contact paper, wall paper, or just paint.
3. Replace the formica tops with IKEA butcher block counters. If the colors don't match the existing ones, stain, and put waterlox on.
4. I'd leave the uppers as is for now. I personally like the two-tone look with wood uppers. Maybe replace some of the upper inserts with glass.
5. Get a new light fixture.
6. If you're ambitious, get a cute DIY relaxed Roman shade valance.

Also, and I'm ashamed to say that, I put "faux instant granite" in a rental kitchen over the Formica, and two years later, I'm amazed that it still looks great. Maybe use the new marble look-alike on the Formica counter?

Link below, scroll down half ways.

Here is a link that might be useful: faux granite and faux marble

This post was edited by nosoccermom on Mon, Oct 27, 14 at 12:01

For a limited budget - take out the formica backsplash. This shouldn't be hard to do. We removed ours, expecting it to be difficult, it wasn't bad at all. Sand and putty the backsplash area and paint it, along with the paneling and faux brick. Paint the cabinets, both uppers and lowers. From the photo, it looks like you don't have a lot of natural light, so I'd keep the paint colors light - maybe a cream for the cabinets, the paneling, brick and backsplash a color, but keep it light. Your glass doors look like they are amber color - replace that with clear glass. Get inexpensive cabinet hardware that are all the same material (looks like you have a little of everything now) You should be able to do all this for under $200, is my guess. See how the counters work with it after its all painted, they might not look bad at all. If the budget permits, get a new light fixture. These changes will make a huge difference in the appearance and won't break the bank. It will, of course, be a fair amount of work but the end result will be worth it.

I still caution against doing anything too quickly. If you can't take down paneling due to there being nothing underneath, you might find the same problem with the laminate backsplash. Just move in, settle in, explore the guts of your home to determine what is a priority, and work on that first. I still think fire safety and ensuring your home is up to code takes priority over counters and backsplashes and such. And I also still think this gives you time to make informed decisions about what to do instead of kneejerking and then possibly doing something you'll regret later because you didn't think it through.