I would look at painting the boxes and ordering new doors. Get a nice quality sheet vinyl for the floor, obviously remove and add new laminate countertops. Cheap cabinets are going to be just that-cheap. You can add an undermount sink to laminate counter tops. I like your peninsula and the counter space it gives you. What does the refrigerator side look like?

Sorry I know it is none of my business and you don't need to answer, but were do you live that your house did not increase in value after 20 years. Did the area go bad? I agree I wouldn't put much money in the kitchen if you will not make a profit on the home. I wouldn't replace the cabinets either with cheap ones. Have you tried using Old English scratch cover on the cabinets? I use it on my vintage furniture and it does wonders. I think you are on the right track on the updates you want to do. And I also would get rid of the light box and add knobs or pulls to the cabinets. You can get very reasonable ones from the internet.

Thanks for all the suggestions! Here is the other side of the kitchen and the dining area. Sorry about the bad lighting. I may go ahead and try the Old English and add some pulls. While we're at it...any ideas as to what color to paint the walls (suitable for selling)? I have a thing for yellow (as you can see) because I live in the dreary midwest - and was originally thinking about BM Windham Cream. I'm thinking about Manchester Tan for the rest of the house.

Since you are moving and don't expect to recoup much from your updates, I probably wouldn't put money into new cabinets. Like katinparadis, keeping the peninsula seems like a good idea and updating the lighting is good advice from other commenters. We removed a light box from our 10x10 kitchen and had four recessed lights with dimmers installed and it made a huge difference. If your new counters include a backsplash as the current one, I would just remove the wallpaper and paint the walls off-white or use the Manchester Tan everywhere. The new homeowners can customize as they see fit. Stainless steel appliances might be a good investment.

Also, do the updates soon so you can at least enjoy them a little bit before you sell the house. :)

Thanks for all the suggestions! The more I look at the cabinets the more I think I want to paint them. I think I'll go forward with getting a few estimates just so I can see what we're looking at in terms of cost. It's a smallish kitchen so it may not be too expensive.

I'll also check out the IKEA cabinets although the nearest store is 2 hours from here. It may be difficult logistically to purchase from them.

Put the least amount of money you can into updates. Decide on counter tops before you decide on paint but a warm off white would be a good choice to brighten things up. Another thing to consider is whether it's only the kitchen that needs updating. If baths are similar, I would definitely not take go through the expense of painting the cabinets. My house was all builder grade oak cabinets when I moved in and I've been slowly updating. I did my kitchen last summer and this summer I replaced carpet with laminates and did a refresh on both of my bathrooms. I wouldn't spend money you're not going to recoup. Sometimes it's better to just declutter, clean, clean, clean and adjust your asking price. The more I look at it, the wiser I think it would be to remove wallpaper, replace countertops with a neutral laminate, depersonalize and declutter, add inexpensive hardware and paint.

Don't use the old English if you might want to paint. It might create areas that repel the paint.

Ideas are as follows: why not try painting the cabinets first and getting new hardware? Also try removing the wallpaper and just painting the walls the same color as the rest of your walls? The add in accent colors from the adjoining rooms via rugs and bowls?

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As many mentioned above, you should either paint/resurface the cabinets or get new doors and paint the boxes. You dont want to spend money on new cheap cabinets and end up having to replace them again before selling.

As for paint on walls, since you are still staying there for a few years, you should paint a color that you will enjoy (as you mentioned yellow family would be your preference). But I would keep on the lightests shades if that is what you go with, to give more light and open up the kitchen.

Any ideas on what countertops you are looking at? Also, you didn't mention anything in regards to appliances, would you be replacing those also? If so, what finish?

I have the same exact kitchen cabinets... I have been researching painting them myself... I have pulls on mine but they seem awkward...

OP here...resurrecting this thread with some additional ideas that I would like your opinion on. We have already removed the cabinets from directly above the peninsula but I am now thinking about also removing the cabinets to the left of the sink - the remaining ones above the peninsula to open things up a bit - maybe add some open shelving. (?)

Also thinking about removing the counter and cabinets above and to the right of the refrigerator. It would give us the ability to get a french door/counter depth refrigerator and maybe add a coffee cart to the right of the fridge.

Finally - I think we will go ahead and paint the cabinets a creamy white. Do these seem like good ideas? I am seeing a trend toward fewer cabinets but I don't want to take down too many if it will be a detriment to selling in 3-5 years. Any other suggestions? Thanks!

I wouldn't take down any more cabinets than you have to. I agree the peninsula ones needed to come down. I never heard of someone walking into a kitchen and saying "Wonderful not much storage". You apparently don't have enough storage as it is, with small appliances and stuff all over the counters and on top of fridge. I would remove the cabinet above your fridge and move the remaining cabinets to the right to accommodate a larger fridge. You will either have to add on to the bulk head or remove it.

Thanks for the suggestions. If I end up NOT painting the cabinets, can you recommend a good neutral wall color that will go with the cabinets and be good for resale? Thanks!

I wouldn't remove any more cabinets. The cabinets above the dishwasher seem like a natural place for dishes and glasses. The cabinets next to the refrigerator create a drop zone for groceries to be put away and make the fridge feel built in. You might move them down a bit to create room for a larger, cabinet depth refrigerator but I wouldn't remove them completely. I always like blues and greens with oak. You could take a look at a sage green for paint for starters.

I agree soft blues, greens and grays look nice with orange toned wood. You might choose a color that works with whatever flooring you buy. Maybe a stone-look vinyl if you are keeping costs down. I like the look of this kitchen with the green-gray paint and slate tile floor.

Home Depot has a few sheet vinyl options...

Would Manchester Tan go with oak cabinets? That is the color I was considering throughout the house when I was going to paint them white (I still may).

Also, one other issue to contend with is everything in the house is oak (trim, doors, etc.) Oak overload!

Diane R - I just checked housing appreciation for my city and it is showing -1% (negative 1%) for the time period 2000-2017. Very stagnant market here.

I just realized when looking at your first picture that your cabinets have three different hues depending on the lighting. Which color is the best representation? The brown under the peninsula by the chairs, the reddish oak of the corner cabinet or the more golden color to the right of the stove?

It would be the golden color to the right of the stove. Typical 80's honey oak.

Here is Manchester Tan with oak floors to give you an idea of how it might look; although, you probably already know because you said you have it (and more oak) in other rooms of the house. Apparently you aren't alone in pairing it with honey oak...

Thanks. The Manchester Tan looks nice with the oak. We don't have it yet in the house. It's the color I thought I would like throughout the house when we are ready to sell.

I took an updated pic of the kitchen with the peninsula cabinets removed and with natural sunlight. We also need to deal with the soffit where the cabinets were.

I'm leaning towards keeping the cabinets as is and replacing the counter, flooring, lighting and adding knobs and handles to the cabinets. I'm sure the cabinets will look better to me once I improve the other things around them. (Excuse the walls in the back. I started removing the wallpaper.)

I think I will still get an estimate on painting the cabinets since I would be able to enjoy them myself for probably 5 years. I really have no idea how much it will run and I would prefer not to have to make all my design choices based on trying to make oak look better.

Big difference already with the overhead cabinets and just that bit of wallpaper gone. If you decide to go ahead and paint the cabinets, I would expect a quote around 3-4K. You want someone who will paint the boxes on site but take the doors to a paint booth and spray them so you get a good clean finish. Oak has a very heavy grain that is hard to cover so you really need a professional who knows what they're doing so they don't end up looking like a DIY project gone wrong. I would wait on counter tops and flooring until you decide which way you're going with the cabinets.

I would hang on pendants over the peninsula.

Can someone advise as to whether we should remove the cabinet to the far left of the sink that faces a different direction than the other two?

Great suggestion on the pendants. Should we remove the soffit or keep it up?

If it ends up costing $3-4K to get the cabinets painted, I think I will just keep them oak. We have too much other work around the house that we could use the money on.

Wow, what a difference after removing the cabinets above the peninsula. I think I would remove the soffit that is left behind. As for the end cabinet, can you replace it with one you might be removing from the right of the fridge? Otherwise, it might be hard to match new wood with old wood with a corner cabinet of some kind. Floating shelves?

I don't think I have an extra cabinet that would fit in that spot. I could take that cabinet down and leave the other two and put two smaller shelves next to the two cabinets (or just put art work there or something), or I could take all three cabinets down and have two longer open shelves - but that would take away a lot of cabinet space.

I think you should definitely remove the cabinet at the far left. It's such an odd cabinet and it would be difficult to reach as well. Shelves there would be a nice idea.