You need to be careful mixing cool grays with warm wood tones. Neither does anything for the other. Warm wood tones work best with cream, creamy beige and blues and greens - the blues and greens can have gray undertones. The gray in your inspiration pic is almost blue which is why it is working.

Cream would be a good choice for the backsplash. White may be too stark. I would not do the accent strip - somewhat not as popular as before and tends to look busy in a real working kitchen - when stuff is out on the counters.

Here is a cream backsplash with dark counters:

One thing to think about - it is the counters that are making your kitchen dark. Do the floor first and then wait a bit, then decide what to do next. Counters come before backsplash - backsplash is last because it can get damaged when replacing countertops. So do the island if you want, but consider a quartz you would be happy with on the perimeter too. Use a quartz with creams and beiges mixed in with the grays and whites - it does not need to be brown, but it should read "warm" - I know they are out there because I found one:) My neighbor with cherry wood cabinets got LG Aria quartz and is just had installed a cream backsplash in a herringbone pattern - it looks very pretty.

Thanks so much jhmarie! I also have a sample of a cream colored cabinet for the island with a warm brown wash and an off-white subway tile for the backsplash. I like it and it definitely coordinates, but it looks very traditional. The adjoining dining room is gray and the family room has gray/cool tones as well. Is there a way to coordinate the kitchen with these rooms and make it look more modern without adding the cool grays that don't match? If it's the cherry cabinets that are the issue, maybe I will have to paint them sooner than I wanted.

You are a little headed for a cool home / warm home disconnect:)

The popular grays are being paired with white woodwork and cabinets - sometimes very dark woodwork, but not with warm toned wood. Some of the "grays" which are really blue or green are used with warner tones and some warmer wood colors are coming back. White trim work goes with either warm or cool tones. You can paint a room with white trim and no cabinetry either cool gray or creamy beige and either will look good, though the gray will look better with a cool floor and the beige with a warm one. Warm hardwoods with a pretty area rug can play down the "warm" enough to manage with the gray.

If you prefer the gray / white cool look then you should paint the cabinets first. Your choices for countertop and backsplash will be affected by the color of the cabinets. However, keep in mind that the current trends only last 10 or so years. Your modern gray/white look will become passé at some point - probably the day you complete your whole house renovation and have spent a ton of $$.

Take some time to think about what you really like and are drawn to because you may be living with it long past the "on trend" point. Personally, I find extremes don't wear well over time. I see a lot of newer designs using lighter wood tones mixed with whites and using grays that read more warm and less cool.

It is usually more cost effective to update what you have keeping the warm tone, but not if you strongly dislike it. "Modern" has a way of becoming "dated" quite quickly.

I would suggest that you go with the light wood floors as shown in your inspiration pic! They are beautiful.

whoa. that's a whole lot of stuff going on in that kitchen! What's most important to you? the floors and the island. To me, the cherry cabinets throw a wrench in your entire design. They are red and warm. You want a cool dark floor, a cool gray island, bright white quartz, gray/blue/green/ cool splash,,,,,nope. the cherry and the gray with the black and white are just too much. If you are going through all the trouble of redoing this kitchen, then why leave those cherry cabs?? either work with them and incorporate them (pick a diff color island and flooring if you do), or get rid of them.

btw, that pic you posted, that island is a blueish/gray. the blue goes w/that cherry (although it's not my fave). the color gray you have is more beige-taupe. Is there another gray you could pick?

I like that floor too - in the inspiration pic. It has been around for over a hundred years so classic rather than trendy and very flexible style wise.

Some of the newer light floors, like in my first 2 pics are also pretty, but they come and go in production making it harder to match or repair if needed. The classic floor is always available.

Have
you considered a metal backsplash for your kitchen? A stainless steel or
aluminum backsplash may brighten up the space (metal reflects light
nicely) and tie in nicely all the different materials and colors you have
in your kitchen.

The
first two kitchens feature a mix of glass and metal tiles. The last two have a
stainless steel backsplash.

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Good luck with your kitchen design!

My suggestion is you leave the floors in the kitchen. They look to be in good condition and pretty.

If you want a bigger island, that one change will give you a great kitchen (I think it's already pretty great, but I do see there is room for a bigger island.) Purchase an island in a color similar to the floor to brighten up the room.

If it were me, I'd live with it for a while longer. Replacing perfectly good floors just sounds like a waste of money. You just bought your first house. Enjoy it!