The island would really only work if you did not have a DR. You will need a better hood fan with gas as for the cabinets I would not go dark in a small space

Thank you Patricia.

I like all your ideas, but I think I agree with Patricia about the island. I am faced with moving to a new house with a somewhat similar (but smaller) kitchen, and I have thought about putting glass doors in the upper cabinets, adding a window (you have a great window!), and possibly painting white, although I am nervous about covering wood (nice maple) with paint. My new kitchen needs more light badly, but yours seems bright and cheerful!

I agree about removing the breakfast bar and backsplash - they both date the kitchen. My personal preference is for an unobtrusive backsplash to keep the place calm, but I might be in the minority. In my present kitchen, I have white upper cabinets and open shelving, and a medium-dark gray on the lower. I love it, but I fear it will look dated, too, in a few more years. On your cabinets, a stain that makes them less orange would be lovely.

Thank you Anne and Patricia. We do have a dining area (14' x 10' approx) and a living area of about 10' x 12' We do have a lot of natural light in the kitchen and were considering a darker shade for the cabinets but the counter top and backsplash to be neutral and a much lighter colour. I am afraid we may not use the breakfast bar for breakfast, rather it may be used as a counter top to keep things. :)

This is the view of dining area from kitchen

The last picture is both, dining and living room.

Oops, the pictures didn't upload. so I have linked the pictures on Google.

https://goo.gl/photos/4KBSJc2yUzFErULR7

https://goo.gl/photos/7K7RoESL6DHXYtrE9

https://goo.gl/photos/45uaoXtpEr6w3bXa7

I have thought about buying wrapping paper or something in the color I'm thinking of, and hanging it up all over the cabinets, to see what effect it would have visually. It would be hard to get the exact color, of course, but as to light vs. dark it could give one an idea about how it would look afterward.

Your kitchen does seem to provide a lot of light to the adjoining rooms (from what little I can tell); you wouldn't want to lose that.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=555979551232989&set=gm.551242691719383&type=3

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=555979427899668&set=gm.551242395052746&type=3

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=555978967899714&set=gm.551241755052810&type=3

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=555785501252394&set=gm.550963225080663&type=3

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=555783731252571&set=gm.550962368414082&type=3

Please do not go espresso for cabinets IMO it is already a dated look maybe a walnut stain if you want darker and a white quartz counter I think if you have a spot for stools you will be surprised how often they will be used.

Thank you Patricia, and Housegal200. These are great ideas.

There is a lot of information online about stripping cabinets. I am not sure if sanding can remove all the topcoat from cracks. I like a brown stain, just not a dark one.

Please post photos when you make progress.