Since you want to paint your cabinets white I agree with the black countertop. I think it will look nice.
, how about green ?

..also, green is a colour that should tie in perfectly with white or delicate beige.

Hate the wainscot detail with the red - if you are in a condo you don't need any trim cutting up your walls. Take that down and paint the kitchen and the dining room together. How would you feel about painting the whole thing a citrus grellow (sherri petersik's coined this term for a greeny yellow - fresh as the kitchen above but light enough to take down the dining room wall too). Test something like ben moore http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/applesandpears apples and pears or sw gleeful if you want a bright. Great thing about green is that it really is a neutral that goes with so many things - it will look great with your wood floor.

Next to this in the living room I would try a soft pretty feather gray - like sw tinsmith - light and silvery, a great cool neutral. You can easily add aqua accents in all shades from turquoise to teal or just the pale spa blues. It could be sweet with white slipcovers or charcoal slipcovers. It could also be great with navy and coral if you want pops of brighter warm tones.

I think if you got rid of the red you might really love the black and white you have - it is just too harsh / masculine with red. So I want to suggest you repaint the kitchen and paint the backsplash area in a glossy tone to see if you like the grellow before you start painting cabinets (which is a big job that gets expensive).

If you repaint, and you still think you want to change out the kitchen, consider painting just the upper boxes on the side with the sink and getting brand new white doors only at ikea for long term maintenance - so you have a tuxedo kitchen like above. The black side with black appliances has a nice high end look for a small condo kitchen, and you can add a big blackboard (just paint the door and trim out on the back wall with blackboard paint) for a modern, fun look. Spend your money on making what you have look great with better colors and buying investment pieces you can take with you in 4-5 years.

That's a great suggestion!!! Thank you so much! I think I'm going to try the green. I really want to do white cabinets with black countertop, Do you think that greenish color would still work with that? Do you think I should add black hardware to the cabinets? Or more nickel brushed color/ stainless steel looking knobs? I've never been a fan of the tuxedo looking kitchen, but thanks for the suggestion!
You couldn't be more right about getting rid of the red and the wainscot detail in the dining area (my husband picked out that color- can you tell? ;) And we actually already do have a light neutral gray in the living room with pops of yellow. Thanks again for the comment! I really appreciate it. I love the idea of the blackboard door!

what a pretty kitchen that is that caddi posted.

Just fyi, I think that the previous owner added the wainscoting detail because above the wainscoting line, the wall has a very weird texture on it. We scraped it for hours when we first moved in, but couldn't completely remove it. I'm afraid that if I paint it anything but white the ugly texture will really show through...?

Yes indeed, very pretty- I love the backsplash in caddi's picture

If you are going to stick with black and white, just leave the black cabinets. They look really nice! You could simply add a cool, colorful backsplash right now.

I think that changing the floor color will make a big difference. The first photo with white cabinets showed a grey floor - that would be nice with black and white. There may be some options like large squares of linoleum tile or cork that come in different colors and patterns. Or, if it is wood, it might be sanded and stained.

emi05, I would also leave the black cabinets and the white countertop. Use libradesigneye' suggestion of getting rid of the red wainscoting. Have the ompletely wall retextured by a good painter, so both parts will be the same. And then, like suggested, paint kitchen and dining room the same, a yellow green sounds good.

Then look at it. If you must, then have the countertop reworked to accommodate an undermount sink. All you have to have done is the sink cutout polished. If you absolutely have to, you can find glass tile for the backsplash in the color of your paint, so that there is continuity.

Don't worry about a different texture - it might be pretty neat. If you have a friend who has ever done texturing then you can ask to recoat the wall, but otherwise take the trim down, paint it all the same in a flat paint and that will mostly fall away from the eye. I do think the green will look great with black and white as you will still have black appliances if you switch the cabinet colors around. I would recommend nickel hardware to echo the silver on the appliances.

The black cabinetry, white counter top and wood floors look good. Since budget is a consideration have you thought about stenciling or painting the back splash area. There are some nice metallic paints and other colors you can pick up at your local paint and/or hardware store. Maybe a faux painted mosaic checkerboard pattern would work with colors in a light silver metallic, a darker grey, and a cool cream color. It would be one method of changing the look while tying the two rooms together and staying on budget.

You all have given me great ideas! I think I'm going to keep everything as is in the kitchen for now. I plan on taking down the trim in the dining area first and then painting both the kitchen and dining area a light green color. I'll take your advice and leave the cabinets and countertop as is for a few days after I paint and see how I like it. Thank you!

Look at "Black and White Kitchens" on this site!! There are beautiful white cabinets/black counters on it!

I like the black cabinets with the white counter-tops; your dishwasher disappears. In a small kitchen the black appliances will pop against the white and might make it choppy. I would suggest keeping the bottom cabinets black and changing the upper cabinets to white with the doors removed or stainless open shelving. It would give it a modern industrial edge. I change the handles to long stainless rods. I would start at IKEA.

Another vote for keeping the cabinets black, at least the lower ones. My condo's kitchen is just about the same size as yours - white cabinets with black/stainless appliances. Looks.so.choppy. Plus I love seeing anything that's less common and white cabinets are so ubiquitous. Also, have you considered putting a white floating shelf on the wall above the sink?

Agree, with the white counter top idea, and the many other color suggestions ( out with the red). You said you could not change the lay out but if there is any way to re-think that and move the frig to the other wall I would do it. If the door (the one in the picture ) is the problem try just flipping the hinges to the other side or putting in double doors ( not sure what the door is for). If you cannot afford to put cabinets next to the oven, find a nice butcher block piece. The extra prep space will make the kitchen more functional.

I like the idea of moving the refrigerator. You could add some simple shelving between the upper cabinets and fridge. And then gain counter space next to the oven like exitsrategy suggested. Also liked roadrunner idea, but would still move the refrigerator. Maybe just slide the refrigerator over and see how it looks. good luck.

On the stove side it would be neat if budget allows to get a stainless vent assuming it can be vented properly. If you remove the upper cabinets on the stove side, reuse them by turning them sideways, vertical, put on wheels, build some shelves inside, and place it as a pull out between the refrigerator and the stove. If you go with a back splash white, beveled, rectangular subway tile would be nice.

What about a metallic tile backsplash like stainless? there are many sizes & shapes available. The black & red colors work together, and I am rather fond of the combo as they were my HS colors. If you don't like the stainless, what about a black or charcoal metallic?

After a lot of thinking, I have decided I will keep the colors as they are now. Black cabinets, with the white countertop, and I will probably add some hardware to the doors (will white knobs look too tacky? or should I do like a nickel color for the hardware on the cabinets?)

First thing I'm going to do is remove the trim in the dining area and paint it a greenish-yellow color. Trying to make the texture look good in that room will probably take some time itself since I don't have any friends that know how to retexture walls. I'll see how it looks after I paint both rooms. Thanks a lot everyone for the ideas!

Nickel or stainless, because your sink is stainless and your appliances have stainless accents.

Nickel or stainless - would love to see your room with the new paint - don't stress the texture. It didn't stop you from purchasing and it won't stop you from selling.

i saw a fabulous backsplash of pressed tin, as in tin ceiling, I will try to find the pic and post it.

found it, go to houzz and type in "kitchens with tin backsplash"

You need sparkle and/or shiny. mirror? metallic tiles? love the black cabinets. you can change up your colour scheme with pottery, kitchen towels and prints on the wall. change it with the seasons