Lighten the cabinets,get gas stove. Under cabinet lights.

Can you give us a ballpark for what you'd like to limit the spending to?

Paint the cabinets a light color or white. You can buy new doors and drawer fronts to change the look of the kitchen. Remove the spindles from the wall and replace appliances. If your budget allows, a solid surface countertop like granite or Quartz is really nice and under cabinet lighting will bring a modern and useful element to the project.

Do you have a budget range in mind? For $200, you can replace and add lights. It'll take a bit more to repaint after removing wallpaper.

A new kitchen will run anywhere from $25,000 to $50,000 where I live. Not everyone wants to spend that kind of money on their kitchen and an update or mini remodel is sufficient for most

Paint cabinets white including the wainscoting

Replace hinges with hidden hinges

Remove wallpaper and paint walls a light color

Remove the decorative woodwork to open up the kitchen

You can leave the trim around the doors and windows and the overhead beams dark if you aren't into painting all the woodwork throughout the house.

I would paint all the dark woods bits white.

At the very least, remove the spindles separating the two rooms (they are very dated) and remove the wallpaper. You might want to consider changing the light fixture.

Putting even the prettiest shade of an expensive lipstick on a pig does nothing to improve the actuality of its porcine qualities. Soffits, lack of correct electrical, lack of ventilation, and basic layout flaws doom even a well painted pig into eternal pig status. Paint will be an adequate holdover until those fundamental deficiencies can be corrected. Lipstick is never the actual SOLUTION though.

Congratulations on your new home! I agree that removing the spindles and wallpaper will go a long way in updating the look of your kitchen. A new sink and faucet would be a big help as well. Painting the paneling and walls a nice, bright color would also be a big help. If you are considering a remodel in the near future, I wouldn't bother to paint your cabinets at this point. It's an awful lot of work and can be more trouble than it's worth if not done correctly.

So if you can't afford a Lexus, don't buy a car. I guess that is what she is saying. Hope she can afford one

thanks for all the suggestions... some ideas I've already been thinking of...my closing is next month and I can't wait to tackle this kitchen lol

Nice floors though....I cannot stop laughing at some of the comments....At least you could see past the kitchen...Keep us in the loop for the remodel.

thank you! I have a couple other things I'd love to get ideas on.... like a fireplace that im debating wether to stain or paint white I've had opinions on both from friends

well I'm back with my almost redone kitchen...now I'm stuck on which granite will work well with these cabinets..it's a toss up btwn netuno bordeux ...monte cristo and prada gold..ideas???

Finally after almost 4 yrs.... a mother in and out of the hospital for 2 yrs.... and buying and returning backsplash lol.... my kitchen is finished