First remove the floral wallpaper and those black things over the windows. I agree take the cabinets down that are over the island that looks awkward. What is the black around the cabinet to the left of the ovens? Can it be removed or painted?

agree with jck. remove all wallpaper and all window treatments. take down those cabinets over the island and replace with island chandelier. paint those walls. then think about painting cabinets.

Remove any flammable window treatments over the cooktop for safety. What is the ventilation system for the cooktop?

that black thing to the left is the fridge. It is custom covered. Makes me laugh, but it was a super expensive accessory. I have stainless appliances that are not nearly as nice as the ones in the picture. Double convection ovens, custom fridge with digital thermometers, individual temp compartments, wine bar with fridge under the island, high end dishwasher etc. I may have to live with these for a while until we sell our old house, two mortgages are not exactly a good time. I just need to make it pretty and happy in the immediate future with inexpensive fixer upper ideas to tide me over for a year or so.

I think this room is completely workable. I can paint the cabinets. Maybe the island in black and the main cabinets in white. Get rid of the thing over the island, paint the fridge black to match the background? Add in a neutral countertop and some nickle hardware/ nickel chandelier.

Right now, that wall paper is first on my list to rip off, the windows need custom curtains and the walls need fresh paint to remove the ugly green/yellow.

If anyone has pics. i would appreciate it. I really need help on this one. This house is filled with wallpaper. Every room needs to have it stripped and painted. But we got it for 300k off the appraised value. Seriously a steal of a deal.

Apple. There wasn't one. I was surprised too. I can't figure out why not.

what paint color would you use for the kitchen and nook. Paint the cabinets or leave them wood?

Before painting cabinets I would do the following updates:
- remove that awful thing covering the refrigerator. Keep things honest. It is a refrigerator, shouldn't it look like one. Do you dress your car like a house? Your sink like a boat? why should the refrigerator look like paneling ? Trying to confuse people so they do not eat? it is like the ad of the cat trying to find the litter box.
- remove awful wallpaper and border.
- remove cabinets over the island
- paint the island.
- change the countertop I would do a distressed black island and countertop in a marble or white granite, or look-alike in quartz.
- change fixtures.

You should be able to get that kitchen done for around 30k, the cabinets are oak and are most likely not custom! You can get nice new RTA (ready to assemble) cabinets for approximately $200 per cab. You can assemble them yourself if you are handy, the company I use has great support if you need help, or pay a licensed, reputable kitchen installer to assemble and install. You can also finance your project with a home equity line of credit as long as you have equity to borrow against. You can reuse appliances if newer. The double oven and cook top are the pricy items. The two windows over the counter top may make for a tough design, hopefully the cooktop has a downdraft vent system. Just a couple tips. You can spend 60k if you want but it can be done for much less. I would budget between 30-40k depending on the level of dream kitchen you want.

You can get that kitchen revamped for under 3000.

I am not sure if you would classify them as custom or not. They have drawers in each cabinet, a knife holder, trash compartments, drawers for cookie tins etc. I can work on a kitchen remodel after our first house sells, but while we wait for that, two mortgage payments will not allow for a equity loan. I need cheap fix it up ideas to last me up to two years. I can't live with the wall paper for more than a week at best. It makes my brain hurt.

Cant wait to see what you decide! its a great kitchen! post after pics please!

Under 3,000 is in my price range!

Question. If these cabinets are fine, and they have all of the nice drawers etc. Why just pitch them? I mean. I could paint them, stain them darker or leave them, there has to be a way to recycle them to make them look nice.

Icy blue isn't exactly a traditional kitchen colour, and I think it would only work if you committed to painting the cabinets, either white, off white, grey, black, or a combination. Definitely not blue with the oak. If you stick with the oak cabinets for now, use a soft yellow, cream, or pale sage green for the walls.

If you eventually replace the cabinets, but stick with wood ones instead of painted, blue goes well with a dark brown/mahogany stain. And make them full height to the ceiling in the future.

Will you be putting in a tile backsplash now, or waiting until the counter top is replaced, when you do your full fledged reno?

Trying to paint the fridge panels black might not be a bad idea, and maybe the island to match too, but it will take a lot of prep work. We had some wooden chairs re-sprayed, and they have chipped in a few spots.

I think the island definitely needs it. Have you ever tried to stain a darker shade?

I have only ever restained an outdoor deck in a new colour, never anything interior. But doing a new stain can be tougher than paint, since you can't ensure that it will be absorbed evenly. It might come out very "splotchy". At least that can't happen with a solid paint.

You can contact the fridge manufacturer to see how to order new black panels.

I think you will enjoy the kitchen. Remove the cabinet over the island (keep it for garage), remove wallpaper, paint. Figure out what to do about the ventilation for the cooktop. Line the built in drawers in the cabinets with something fun.

Agree with removing cabinets over island, wallpaper, and cabinet change... also might want to paint the grout. Inexpensive change that makes a big difference in brightening up your floors and area.

The least expensive way to go is to remove the wall paper and paint walls. If you decide to paint the cabinets, make sure you use a primer SEALER or the stain will most likely bleed through the paint and leave the cabinets with a yellow streaking coming through. Keep in mind painting over raised panel doors is not the easiest task and you should remove all hardware including hinges and knobs which means removing all the doors, painting them and then reinstalling them, this can be very time consuming, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but i've been there so many times, so I know what it takes to do it right and make it look good. Or just leave the cabs till your ready to replace. I hope this helps. Let me know how it goes! Congratulations on your new home.

You seem determined to paint the cabinetry. But if you want a fix up to last just 2 years, removing wallpaper (as you have said you will), painting the walls, removing the cabinets over the island and replacing with pendants would be the starting point. You say you have stainless appliances not the ones in the picture so the custom covered refrigerator is gone? Must have been a foreclosure at that big a discount and without appliances

I have my own appliances in stainless at our current home, but the ones in the picture are actually nicer than mine ( big box store package deal). My set was under $2000 for a dishwasher, fridge and electric stove. They are basic and I would probably just sell them with the old house since they are B grade. The fridge in the picture is deeper, taller and digital with more shelving, more buttons and other extras.

I think you are right about the panels. They may even pop off. I do not typically use lower curtains on my kitchen windows so a pretty valance below the arch would probably be fine. There is a deep shelf behind the stove, but difficult to see in the pictures. The window overlooks a 40x20 deck which is private view on 40 acres. It backs up to 34,000 acres of federal lands. As you can see, this really is a steal of a deal on a house.
The mailbox is a 1/2 mile walk to the dirt road in the front. In other words, window coverings would not be for privacy, but for aesthetics.

I want to fix it up ( the kitchen) to last at LEAST two years. That is the earliest date I can afford a kitchen remodel, I also need time to decide on what I really want. I am a believer in living with a property for a year before you make drastic changes to see what you want. I will need to redo all of the bedrooms and most walls throughout the house first. They are all covered in wallpaper. The house just appraised for 250k more than we paid for it. It is 5,600 sq feet, 7 bedrooms and 6.5 baths for 135k. Yes, 135,000! The only thing wrong with it is the decorating and it needs two new toilets, 3 new faucets and about a thousand gallons of fresh paint!

Question, do you think they would be okay if left alone with only new wall paint, removing the over cabinet, painting the grout and new counter tops, or would it still look dull and uninspiring?

I would be happy to live with the cabinets if painting the walls spruced it up enough to make it a happy place. It is difficult to look past the wood when I like white on white and perky /clean colors. My style is a french traditional cottage estate. I love antiques but prefer to mix them up with down sofa's, comfy chairs with ottomans and nice pillows. I find white on white to be the most relaxing for my personality.

We typically do formal dining which is off the kitchen behind the french door pantry and although in addition the kitchen has a little breakfast nook, we will probably use the formal dining room instead and I will put a nice indoor/outdoor set in the nook to enjoy coffee and the newspaper in the morning sun.

When you paint grout, what do you use on it? Auto, interior gloss, exterior or rustoleum?

I love the look of this kitchen.

missreneerow, I think you are spot on the money there. This is what I would do:
1.- remove wallpaper and border. rip that stuff out will be therapeutic for the soul. repeat with window treatments'
2.- remove cabinet over the island. save it. to might come handy of you change things around.
3.- paint your island black. do in 2 coats. first a dark brown, then a black coat. distress.
4.- paint the walls
5.- add a island pendant.
6.- If you have leftover money take a look at countertops if they bother you.
if you have money leftover and the refrigerator is energy efficient and younger than 4 years order a ss panel or a black panel. otherwise wait. it will probably go in a few years, then you can change it.

Besides what others have said replace the floors. If you paint the cabinets white you could use black and white tiles. The black counters would look elegant. See pic. Paint all woodwork white, too.

Also, remove breadbasket thing with roll top--it takes up a lot of counter space.

Leave curtains until last--you may not need them.

You have such a good deal that if you can afford to go forward with the kitchen renovation it would be so much easier than doing it after you move in.

"Question, do you think they would be okay if left alone with only new wall paint, removing the over cabinet, painting the grout and new counter tops, or would it still look dull and uninspiring?"

I'd try just removing the cabinet, and painting the whole thing white, and seeing how it looks. These kitchens mixes white with oak nicely:
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This one is more of a cream which isn't my preference but maybe you may like it:

You may also consider dressing up the island instead of painting cabinets- maybe painting just that a fun colour like this french stove:
- A vibrant blue would work well with oak and go a long way to looking more modern.

It also seems like french islands often have kind of architectural details like useless legs:


Those might be easy to add on to the island to get the look you're going for? Legs like that can be had a home reno stores for maybe 20$ a piece, and they wouldn't be load bearing so wouldn't be difficult to install.


Painting grout uses grout paint - but it's such a pain in the @#$ that you should do it last if at all!

As I see it the biggest barrier to achieving the look you want is the wallpaper and the black appliances, not the cabinets. I imagine as soon as you paint to white the whole place will look dramatically different. Who knows, maybe the appliances will look better once the room is white.

That royal blue stove/oven is to die for! OMG I am in love. The brownhouse looks pretty similar. I like the idea of trying to paint out the island. I could probably do a couple of glass door fronts inexpensively as well. To me, black is a neutral, like white. It disappears into the background. Countertops would be one of my first to do's. They are the most noticeable. Great suggestions! Thanks for pitching in. I love the Houzz community.

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Whoops, I accidentally posted the front porch. But since it is there and I can't remove it, what would brighten up the front porch? I am thinking a carolina blue ceiling, remove the red trims around the windows and paint the grey bottom and the red floor. Any suggestions would be welcome and appreciated.

The lower level is so dark and sad looking. I was thinking if we uumphed up the poles a little bit by boxing them in and painting the fish scales a brighter color to give some height to them it would help. But what can I do to lighten up the porch overall?

Consider refacing the cabinets, especially since they are outfitted so nicely. We did this kitchen with just new door/drawer fronts and then just had to worry about painting the cabinet face frames which we had matched to the door fronts. It is a little more expensive, but way less work than painting and I think you get a better end product. Definitely take the cabinets down above the island. Looks like a beautiful house!

I LOVE your butcher block counter tops. Great idea on the cabinet fronts. That would be a far less expensive and less time consuming project.

You could also do black and white to tie in the black appliances.

seeing the outside I am thinking you should clad the ends of the island with breadboard and paint black. As your porch goes I think you thinking well. Blue ceiling, white walls. Do you like americana? I am thinking red posts and a navy blue floor would be just this side of funky. Then you can paint or find an old flag painted on wood.

The oak cabinets do look like they are in reasonable shape, and it is a sturdy hardwood. Living with them and the kitchen for a while while you decide what you really want is always a good idea, and the room looks quite spacious. The oak french doors go well with the wood too. Everyone agrees with the wallpaper and upper island cabinet removal too.

If you like a french country look, painting the walls a soft, creamy yellow, and using blue and white accents will go far. You can still experiment with painting the island too.

If you redo countertops, will it just be in laminate for now, and then you'll do the granite or marble later with your "real reno"? You could probably install a simple, inexpensive tile backsplash if needed.

When you talk about painting grout, are you referring to the floor? I've seen some bad results of people trying that & I'm not sure if it's necessary.

recently stained a small oak dresser black. I sanded it lightly then applied the Minwax ebony. I wanted the oak to peek through a little so I worked it to it was heavier coverage where I wanted and some light coverage around the edges. I think that would work well for the island and the fridge- will look better than paint.

With your cabinets and unless the kitchen flow is terrible I would just leave them. There are soooo many other places and things and vacations to spend money that replacing a kitchen with good cabinets and good flow and paintable is just not very smart. The world is changing and people are not renovating just for the sake of seeing new things. If the kitchen flow is terrible you can take the kitchen apart and re-work the cabinets to improve flow. I have done it and the results are great. I would put good counters now instead of spending money on laminates.

If you are planning on replacing the cabinets in a couple of years I would wait on the counter tops, especially if you're planning on installing granite tops. You may want to redesign your cabinet layout later and most likely won't be able to reuse the tops. I've been in business for over 25 years and specialize in kitchen and bath remodeling. Here is a couple pics of my work.