In would start with the flooring. An engineered hardwood. The long planks will make the room look bigger than the square tiles. The corner bench or banqet? is a great idea. I like the cabinets. Maybe paint the top ones white and change appliances to black or stainless. Change the faucet. And bring your red back in with the fabric covering the banqet bench seat with a plaid.

I agree with Angela. The floor was what struck me first, before I noticed the cabinets. The floor is a bit busy, and doesn't go with the cabinets, and the color of the walls isn't doing anybody any favors, either. I'd change the floor and paint the walls and the cabinets.

What does your husband dislike about the cabinets? The color(s)? The beadboard? That they're painted, not wood finish? If he can articulate what bothers him, that will give you more of a start on what to do about it. Also, do you know, or can you figure out, what the cabinets are made of? I'd be leery of trying to do a stained finish if I couldn't be sure that whatever is under the paint is "stain grade," not "paint grade." It might not even be entirely "real" wood -- the centers of the doors could be some form of manufactured wood.

You might look into cabinet refacing, if your husband hates the doors and paint won't solve the problem. Maybe just change the uppers? I like the white lowers, but even if the uppers were white, it might be too much bead board for me.

I would figure out why you/husband hate the cabs before doing anything more than painting...the red should have been on the bottom, white on top...at a minimum repaint to colors you like...maybe just do that and live with it for a year or two and then decide what to do.

Well, I must say the floor was not the first thing I noticed. Hello red uppers!!!

:-) No worries, that's a somewhat easy fix with some white paint to match the lowers.

I was thinking about the layout and the long distance from fridge to sink, but I don't know how to fix that. I think with your budget you should be able to make it very nice.

,

thank you all. He hasn't really said what he dislikes just that the kitchen is ugly. When I went for the house inspection I really checked over the cabinets and they are made of solid wood. What kind of wood I'm not really sure. We are used to having a much larger kitchen so it will take a bit of adjustment but I think the space is definitely workable.

Paint. There are too many colors at work.

I sure wouldn't start stripping that off.

Apart from the usual, here are some more ideas for banquettes.

I don't know much about colors, but at least, on my monitor the wall color seem to make reddish cabs look more red, so I think the cheapest and easiest thing to do can be trying different paint colors for the walls.

Maybe a cool color like gray can be tried though I'm not sure how that color would look with the current flooring. I like the idea of changing the floors, but if new flooring isn't used under the cabs, then you may have problems when you need to change/move appliances.

I think you need to decide if you like the beadboard enough to work with it. Painting the uppers, replacing some of the uppers with glass, or painting both uppers and lowers in colors of your choosing are budget friendly options. Cool cottage-y vibe. If you feel you are not "beadboard people" then I would look into replacing the doors to something that better fits your style.

llucy, I love the beadboard. I like the idea of a cool cottage-y vibe especially since we live on the seacoast of NH.

nosoccermom we usually only sit four at our table for dinner sometimes 5. I love the look above with the couchy look instead of the usual banquette type of seating!

Seaside NH? I'd be all in with the cottage look. :-)

What color scheme do you want for the house? If red isn't your thing, you could have a lot of fun with your color.

llucy, I love the beadboard. I like the idea of a cool cottage-y vibe especially since we live on the seacoast of NH.

I would reverse the look. Since you love the look of a cool cottage-y vibe, I'd paint the lowers a medium blue/gray color, the uppers white and the walls a neutral or pale blue/gray. I agree those floors are hideous so would remove them. You could do a wood floor, or if that's too expensive, try a luxury vinyl tile with a beach-y wood look.

I would keep the cup pull handles and if you want to go more beach-y vibe, maybe a pale blue glass knob instead?

I love your idea of a built in. I would do it in the white, and pick up the blues for the cushions.

I can't see what the countertops are? They look ok in the picture.

I would suggest putting together a "mood" board of what you like. Find the color you'd like to paint the lowers, find a fabric you love, etc, and put it all together onto a foam board so you can see how it all plays together.

I think making those changes will get in in just under your budget for all.

cpartist thank you! the countertops are gray/black nothing fancy. I definitely like the ideas people have suggested here with the cottage beach look. That is what I am going to do. 4.5 weeks and I will be moving in!

Is the floor ceramic tiles? If yes, and replacing is not in the cards (and I probably wouldn't), get a large indoor/outdoor rug or an inexpensive one online (looks GW is all on the esalerugs.com train, justifiably so) and either paint the cabinets white or a two-tone look. Personally, I love navy and white.

I also like the look of the free standing banquets I posted above ---
unless you need the bench storage. And even then, you could pop baskets
below these benches.

As far as the window height, how high could
the back of your banquette go to still be comfortable? Or perhaps go
with a bench on the wall and two chairs.
I wonder if you could have a large rustic table that could also be used for prep space.

I'm not usually a big fan of red, but I love the red uppers for a country cottage look. Red is perfect for an older, New England cottage, but if you're ditching the red and going for beachy cottage, I like the blue-gray base cabinets and white uppers in the third photo nsm posted.

I like the idea of playing with color. I actually like the red and white but I think the red should be on the bottom. For now, I would simply paint the cabinets a color you and DH both like. A single color or two-tone. I also noticed the floor as the problem instead of the cabinets themselves. However, I wouldn't want to change out the floors if a major kitchen remodel might be a future possibility. It is possible that the right choice of cabinet/wall colors might make the flooring visually recede so it's less "jump in your face", especially if you use a couple floor rugs or a runner.

Like Rebunky, the long walk from fridge to sink jumped out at me. But you are also blessed with a nice, long stretch of prep counter.

I really think that people should live in a home for awhile before planning a major remodeling project. This way, you can identify what works for you in the kitchen and what doesn't. Sure, it's more of a hassle to remodel when you're living there but I think people tend to end up with a better finished project after they have lived with a space for awhile.

Congrats on the new home! Enjoy.

funkycamper I agree. We need to live there first to see what works and what doesn't. I am just planning for the near future. When the renovations do happen it will be while we are living there. Closing on one home and buying the other home in the same day so no where to go but my new home .

First thought was they should all be white, but then I saw the pale beachy turquoise-y blue Nosoccermom posted. That's nice too. Black and white checkerboard floor. Either the beachy blue (with white cabs) or white (with beachy blue cabs) on the walls. Love the banquette.

This kitchen brings back fond memories of my "French family" I stayed with in high school. About the same size and same layout, maybe a bit wider to accommodate the family of 6 plus two students sitting of both sides of the long table. "Maman" was a wonderful cook (well, she was French!) and that kitchen was a perfect size.

Is the baseboard heating electric or hot water? You're going to have to reconfigure it if you want built-in seating on the window wall.

You can have grates/vents in the built-ins or go freestanding.

DIY2Much2Do it is hot water for heat. I will do as nosoccermom stated with vents or most likely will go free standing.