If those are the seller's photos, they really loved that house. It's warm and friendly. Are you planning to make a few changes or gut the kitchen or something in between?

yes it was very loved for sure, and I dont want a cookie cutter makeover-I want to do something really special and true to the essence of the home. A modern kitchen would look silly in this house. I am open to all suggestions. For now I want to see how five people functioning in there will work but I think its small.

There are many attractive solutions obviously so this is just what I would be tempted to do.
I actually really like the blue and the white colors already going on
in the kitchen. I'm not always for two tone kitchens but here I'd consider
using a deep blue color for the lower cabinets and white on the upper.
Warm wood counters and maybe if there's room some wood open shelving and a few glass front upper
cabinets. Backsplash I'd use a white square tile just because I'm tired of subway tiles. I would integrate all the appliances and have the kichen be as modern as possible in terms of function.

I recommend using the online kitchen planner from Ikea to explore your options. It's fast and easy for drawing floor plans. Google sketchup is also excellent.