Pick a warm gray that doesn't fight the tile color.

I can replace it all.... just trying to figure out what my cheapest options are. The tile seems very challenging to remove seeing as its all over the kitchen. I would love to redo it all. If I could not remove the backsplash and maybe paint it, that would be ideal. Just not sure if that is possible?

Hello Erica Davis, I do not think the tile is your biggest problem here. It is fairly neutral and would look fine with a warm grey- taupe. But you do have so many other elements in this room such as your floor. That is a large table and the sideboard are very warm wood. You would need to repaint your walls to make this work. Although your furniture pieces are lovely it seems the kitchen may not be that functional. Just painting the cabinets won't change that. I would hold off until you can do a whole redo. Good luck.

I would love to get rid of the furniture pieces too, since they are very bulky. Also what color for the walls would you recommend? Like I stated earlier, I am definitely willing to redo the whole room (minus the newer appliances), everything else is fair game. Thank you so much for your advice.

Updating the ceiling and lighting would make a huge difference in this room. The drop panel and fluorescent light scream "outdated". Adding some recessed lighting will be a huge upgrade for not that much money.

I completely agree with cream colored cabinets, not gray. If you're set on gray save it for another room. I can see this as one of those projects that just continues to snowball and that's never fun.

Cream cabinets against your brown walls would look fantastic! And won't fight your floor or your other brown rooms.

I'd also advise to clear the clutter, especially everything above your cabinets. In this picture you can see where small cabinets were placed above the wall cabinets, maybe you could look into something like this. [houzz=https://www.houzz.com/photos/modified-telluride-by-candlelight-homes-traditional-kitchen-salt-lake-city-phvw-vp~384348]

Thank you very much! Yes I do not want a snowball experience. Cream colored cabinets wouldn't clash with the white appliances? Also, getting rid of the dining table and buffet would be best I assume. Maybe something thinner?

You can mix an off-white with your white appliances successfully if you stay away from an off-white with a yellow tone. When we first moved here the appliances were white and the walls and cabs were yellowish. Ugh. I called the yellowish paint chicken fat yellow.

At the paint store when you're looking at the dizzying array of colors, pick a cream or off-white from the brown section and you should be fine.

Do you have room for a banquette? Maybe if you remove the buffet and table you could do a U shaped banquette?

Very good point ID. Also, the soffit around your kitchen; if they are not needed for duct work and can be removed it would give some breathing room. New flooring for sure. If you remove the furniture you could add a counter to the back wall with stools. Take advantage of the wall space for open shelves. Extend the cabinet over the fridge all the way out to give a more built in look and a deeper cabinet! Here's a pic of an oak kitchen I painted recently in a taupe. Hope this helps.

I didn't think about that for the banquette. Like you said, if that buffet is removed and table, I think we could fit a banquette area. Its definitely a small kitchen. I love the ideas for cabinets. I will try and stay away from the chicken fat yellow (haha).

Wonderful pic lynartist & very helpful. I love that color. Flooring is definitely being replaced. Its old, outdated, and falling apart. Not sure what kind of flooring yet, but since it will be the last project (so I don't accidentally ruin it), I will look around for ideas on it.

I think you should plan to keep the wall tile -- it's about the only part of your kitchen that would play well with updates elsewhere. The only thing that would undermine that is that new counter will have to recreate the current partial backsplash, which isn't generally a favored approach. But you are right that pulling down all that tile is a big undertaking, and if you want to keep your cabinets and save some money, try not to do it.

Don't be intimidated or feel hopeless -- there should be plenty of options for giving this kitchen a facelift on the budget you have. Here is the order in which I would prioritize things, so you can do the cheaper ones right away and then decide when/whether you want to take on the rest when your energy recovers. :)

1) Paint cabinets. A warm gray would be nice and would play well with your classy white appliances. Be sure to update all the pulls to modern nickel ones at the same time. [Also note that while one can do this painting oneself, it is a big undertaking involving lots of prep, priming, painting. A pro might be a good call.]

2) Paint the walls. Get rid of all the rust brown in favor of a very pale gray or tan, something several shades lighter than your new cabinets. Just warm enough to feel sunny, just cool enough to feel chic. :)

3) New floor. You deserve an update from this ancient linoleum. One of the new concrete-looking tiles could be cool, but so could just about any relatively neutral flooring, whether tile or vinyl. Try to keep in the tone family of your paints, while not clashing too badly with whatever the flooring is in the adjacent room(s).

4) New countertop. If you know you're doing this, then try to choose this and the floor at the same time. Ideally each will contrast with the cabinets, but give some kind of shout out to each other. For example, you could do a plainish stone-look floor tile, and then a counter that pulls in that color and the gray of the cabinets with some pattern or mix of tones. Or you could do a white counter and just about any contrasting floor. You'll have to keep in mind the color of your wall tile when making all these choices, but just bring home samples of everything to hold up against each other. As for budget, if granite seems out of reach, today's laminate counters are head and shoulders above their forebearers, and you can get a rounded edge that looks like stone, or just about anything else. When you do this, be sure to get a modern undermount sink and a high-necked faucet, for both flash and utility.

5) Get rid of the table. Do you have someplace else nearby to eat, or is this the main dining spot for your family? If the former, then maybe you'd get more from an island, that would give you extra working space (especially since you have no counter next to your stove!) and then maybe have space for a couple of stools to sit. If you need to eat here, then look for a more compact table that will give you more room to walk -- something with drop leaves could be ideal if you only occasionally need to seat more than two. Alternatively, you could oust your piece of storage furniture from the long wall and slide a rectangular table over there (maybe with some new shelves or cabinets above for added storage) to give both parts of the room more breathing space. In fact, if you end up with a drop-leaf table against that wall, you might even have room for a smaller rolling island in the middle of the room for added storage and counter space.

6) On the Someday pile, I'd dream about redesigning this whole kitchen. Your stove placement is nightmarish, your longest counter is only half depth, and you should be able to get a wall of modern pantry cupboards around the fridge. If you think you can manage 10-20k of investment (maybe less with savvy planning and your pre-existing appliances), you'll get the best kitchen by doing everything at once and really making things right in terms of layout and design.

So that's how I'd be thinking about it. An overhaul would be great, but only you know whether that would be in the picture anytime soon. By doing the smaller subset of things, you'll get an improvement in look and some improvement in function, but you'll have to throw most of it away (not least the expensive counters) if you ever decide to do a complete gut.

Edit: oh my goodness, lighting! yes, that would help a lot. It will be tricky to address the drop ceiling and soffits if keeping all the cabinets and so forth, but you'd get a ton of improvement by putting some lights on the counters where you work rather than a huge central fixture.

Yep, that chicken fat yellow was narsty. It took me months to paint over that!

A couple of banquette ideas. The first picture may even allow you to use your own table and chairs, just add storage benches: [houzz=https://www.houzz.com/photos/kitchen-transitional-kitchen-boston-phvw-vp~76254]

[houzz=https://www.houzz.com/photos/el-dorado-transitional-kitchen-new-york-phvw-vp~1642137]

Give it a great scrubbing is all. Here's from Ikea for 199. Even oil cloth over it, or seasonal.

Or glass top:

An idea, but seems it'd interfere with foot traffic going through there:

I'm sorry Erica, I never addressed your color question! I think a light taupe would look so nice with your white appliances. That then opens up so many options for wall color! Any soft dusky color will look beautiful! Here is a bit of inspiration.

I don't mind cream and white at all. Both with similar muted blue-green.

Let's say all you can tackle right now is the cabinets...take a well-lit picture of the kitchen and use some of the online color tools (most of the big name paint brands have them) and try different warm greiges. I think you can do gray and pull it off fine with your other colors but it may take some hunting. Colors are location/lighting specific, and cabinets are so much more difficult than a wall. Also, use colors swatches: the darkest on a swatch should match up tone-wise with the countertops, tile, etc., you already have, that makes it easier when picking a lighter shade that doesn't mess you up with funky undertones.
White appliances should not be an issue either.

You can make this work without it costing a fortune until you can redo, and you can get the color family you want to work together. Using some imagination, there's nothing wrong with an outfit of gray slacks, beige sweater, and white shirt - even with brown shoes or boots! So of course those colors could work in a kitchen!

Yours is like a lot of kitchens with mixed lines of cabinets and appliances. Because it's a small cozy kitchen I wouldn't break it up with color. Save the color for opposite wall and re-do the chest if possible to a muted blue-green, etc... for the accent you like.

In other words I'd paint them white. Or white with a creamy glaze.

Do you have a budget range in mind or are you in the idea-gathering stage? Is the kitchen table used for eating every day or do you use a dining room instead?

Is your aim distressed or sleek? Nice article here:

[https://www.houzz.com/magazine/stress-less-with-distressed-cabinets-stsetivw-vs~1425171[(https://www.houzz.com/magazine/stress-less-with-distressed-cabinets-stsetivw-vs~1425171)

Not sure a banquette will work here as you have so many doors and an air return in the middle of you wall. This is a tight space; a smaller island with stools may work better and give you the extra counter space you can use.

DECLUTTER

Granite countertops. New knobs for the cabinets

Done

Personally I would take down the entire pantry wall side, put in an island/bar top that can be used as a nook type seating. Get the table out and use a wall hung table or smaller expandable table. Pull all the stuff off the counter-tops and a nice updated grout stain will really pop. Repaint, the dark is killing you. Stain/paint or replace top cabinets with white but leave the bottom alone. Put in new light fixtures, and putt the sink out from the wall, with that style, I'd go apron front. You could possibly try layering the tile, but it's usually a huge nightmare. cutting it down to back-splash only would open up the upper area for paint. Just depends on your budget which way to go.

Also, easy things, get rid of paint, decor, and light all on the soffit. If you aren't replacing cabinets, I would go white, and completely clear of decor. Soffit's look super outdated when anything is hung on them. If you are able to replace or stain the trim around the window, that's another cheaper fix that would look great. And a simple pendant light over the sink would add a lot. Stain that grout bright white, polish and number one is paint the walls anything lighter. The kitchen feels heavy, and I imagine dark, and since most of us congregate there it isn't giving you a light airy space to cook in.

Try Sherman Williams color snap app for choosing paint options, it's great.

Dream maker...2015 post!

lol, It's a good thing my car drives 88. Were there any after photos?