Horizontal headboard seems like it would be even harder to keep clean than vertical headboard.

I wouldn't think of new paint or backsplash until you find a way to get more storage. Can you add cabinets between the uppers and the ceiling?

Is there another eating area - like a dining room?

mont, the biggest problem here is lack of storage. I like the current colors of your cabinets, and you could paint your current chairs white to immediately brighten the room. But nothing will have much impact unless you can clear the counters and the cabinet tops. Is there someplace you could put a pantry? How about eliminating the pass-thru altogether and making that a pantry wall?

I like your cabinets actually. The most glaring issues I see is your lighting and clutter. I would change bulbs out first, add under cabinet lights, & take everything you don't use daily off the counters and above cabinets.

A raspberry paint which would seem bright and informal, more so than current wood stain?

What if you raised the existing cabinets and added a shelf below them for all the stuff that is on the counters.

I really like the cabinets! I'd look into adding another row on top.

Additionally, I'd remove EVERYTHING in your kitchen, then replace after ensuring each item is truely used and needed. Part of a fresh kitchen, imo, is looking at a kitchen with very little on the surfaces, usually just a few select pieces.

I see things like the mixer- I know I use mine once or twice a week, but I'm able to keep it in the pantry. Would that be an option? The same for the little oven (can't think of the name). Find an undermount for your paper towels, and that will get those off the counter :). Do you have an office or other space you could use for all the office-like items? Or, if you do add more cabinets, could you make a "cabinet command center" (google it) for your office items?

Often, it's not more storage we need but less stuff. Be very sure that you're holding on to things because you use them and not because they might come in handy if we ever decide to get in the wedding cake decorating business ( just an example)

When I redid my kitchen and needed to de-clutter, I took everything off the counters, off the top of the fridge, and everything magnetized to the fridge, and put it all in one box. I put the box in another room during the reno, and then slowly took things back out only as needed. It's been 8 months, and most of the stuff is still in the box in a spare room, and will be donated/sold over the summer.

I can't tell what your backsplash is now, but I'd either paint it white, or replace it with white tiles. I really (REALLY) wanted beadboard for my backsplash, too, but wiser minds convinced me it would be a cleaning nightmare. There's a company that makes beadboard-look tile, but it's insanely expensive. I wound up using large white tiles with a linear texture to them. The tiles are 18" x 6", and the space between the counter and upper cabinets is 18", so I put them in vertically. It gave me the "feel" of what I originally wanted, but it so easy to keep clean.

I like the idea of raising the cabinets to the ceiling, and putting a shelf below. I didn't wind up doing that in my kitchen only because mine's an odd shape and it wouldn't have looked right. Just beware that you may have to re-sheetrock the walls. Still, I think that's a great option for you.

If you're going to replace the chairs anyway, put a storage bench under the opening, to also be used for sitting at the table. If you make the top a little longer than the storage part, you can keep the dog's bowls under the overhang.

I would get matching baskets and use those on top of the cabinets. I would put rarely used items in them, even non kitchen items from a closet, maybe even the laundry room you mentioned to help clear more space in the laundry room if it is more easily accessible then the top of a cabinet. I would put a square of fabric on top of each basket to keep the dust out. I would not put any decorative items up there, but put a small shelf on another wall for those. I have some of my frying pans on the wall and a small thing of baskets to help with a little storage:

https://www.houzz.com/photos/my-pics-work-in-progress-phvw-vp~47408852

I have a pie safe which stores many of my groceries. It is in the kitchen, but it could work in another room, so your thought of a pretty cabinet placed in another room is a good idea. You can also leave the wall cabinets where they are but still add a small shelf underneath.

It is very difficult to find space especially with a child - they need a cupboard all their own with the plastic bowls and sippy cups:)

You might be able to fit a small corner cabinet in the area of the high chair.

I have beadboard in my laundry room and in a bathroom. I do not find it hard to keep clean - in fact my backsplash area does not get that dirty. However, I would do it vertical - the traditional way - or just paint what you have, which looks like beadboard:)

You mentioned having to reach the top, you know, but I keep my plastic items there, that are safe to snatch quickly.... I have a large serving tray, paper plates... what about bringing the cabinets up then/ with shelves underneath?

There are some home bloggers who have added cabinets to the top of their kitchen cabinets. Try a google search of "adding cabinets on top of existing cabinets" to see what they did. here is one:

http://www.thriftydecorchick.com/2015/09/building-cabinets-up-to-ceiling.html

If you like a country or primitive style you can make different cabinets work more easily. The thing is to get them to work like you meant it to look that way and not that you put random cabinets up with no rhyme or reason.

I love this kitchen with different color cabinets:

It can be part of an "unfitted" kitchen look - which is how old country kitchens often looked:

I have been pulling together a kitchenette for my basement using reclaimed cabinets and shelves. It doesn't have the storage you need, but there is a lot you can do with shelves and cabinetry to make your kitchen pretty and functional.

Here is a pick of the basket idea I mentioned earlier: