You need at least 12'9" across for a standard island with seating. I'd lose the wall ovens and just do a range. You're fortunate that your fridge-dw-sink-range are in good locations already.

@benjesbride so you're saying to cut out the counter area where the stove is now and put a range there? And then put shelves where the current oven is? I hadn't thought of this ... definitely could work! Thanks! What do you think of painting just the lower cabinets gray?

What is your budget like and is it DIY or a contractor?

That old small 1980's oven is gonna kick the bucket someday not too far in the future. The 1980's homeowner painted cabinets don't have a lot of life left either. This isn't a kitchen that needs an island added, or the floor done, until you have a master plan for the bigger picture gut remodel that is not too far in the future. If you get that plan in place, then you won't be backtracking when the full remodel happens.

What has to stay?

If most of it does, like cabs, counters and back splash...

I'd do some color punch. Put a fun color inside your coved ceiling, and a softer complimentary color on the walls.

I understand if you want to spruce it up a bit while putting finds together for a full remodel.

And if you don't have clearance for an island, bring in a small work bench or cart.

Personally, I like your kitchen. Maybe some new hardware (but that can get a bit expensive) and new window treatments. Again, my personal opinion is to forget an island and put in a small dining set for an eat-in kitchen. Islands are much overrated IMO. I have lots of opinions. LOL.

@palimpsest our budget is tight because we have a few other more pressing things to do. If the money isn't there then we live with it the way it is. @sophie wheeler I definitely agree but unfortunately the master plan won't happen for another 5 years or so. Do you think it's a bad idea to at least put in a floor that matches the dining room and maybe change or fan or some colors? Thanks for the suggestions @Terri_PacNW and @WalnutCreek

Sometimes changing the flooring without changing the cabinets--running the flooring under the cabinets--can cause a problem for you down the road.

New flooring is just the beginning. Projects creep... In our first home together, my husband and I just wanted to install wood floors in our living/dining/kitchen. We ended up with a full blown kitchen renovation. In the thick of it we'd shake our heads and say, "but it just started with new flooring." :-)

@benjesbride were you happy with doing the renovation when you did? Would you suggest holding off on everything until we have funds to do the entire thing? Thanks for the insight.

Yeah! I'd put down a fun rug and maybe get an Ikea cart to hold you over until you have the master plan. No reason to rush into big changes right away.

@caligirl fun rug in the kitchen? My 3 kiddos and dog would have a field day. Not to mention I'm a bit of a clutz. Cart is a great idea and now that you mention the rug maybe we'll put that in the reading/dining room next to the kitchen instead of doing the floors right away.

Ikea Stenstorp might be perfect. If you live in an area with a bustling Craigslist or offer up community, I'd check there first. If you got a used one at a good price it would be cool to paint one in a fun color.

http://m.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/art/40323022/

lol, people use indoor/outdoor rugs that are easy to clean, but I take your point :)

the yellow walls are not working with terra cotta floor. I would paint the walls something else. I would get some replacement door fronts for wall cabinets with glass fronts and display a lot of colorful things. I would get a runner at least on the floor. can't see the hardware-so get something with a statement look that can be seen....big porcelain knobs...or faceted glass-maybe intermix colored glass with clear. Have fun with this space...I pick up a late fifties comfy/cozy vibe. Just leave the white perimeter. They have island programs in cabinet companies...you can do a cart that way with dimensions you wish.,,,butcher block top perhaps. I would get traditional colonial style legs-white or wood or painted color-whatever you like.......not Ikea -stick with traditional look. With a few things done you can hold out for several years I think for a bigger project

I have that ikea cart for my "island", we love it and I can move it so easily. Yes paint and accessories can go a long way.

The kitchen looks ok except for the floor. I think you should paint it : http://remingtonavenue.com/2015/08/the-girl-who-painted-her-tile.html

Is the tile trim on the counters blue or black? I think it's blue if so, take that colour and make curtains with that colour in them, do the cabinet knobs with that colour in them and do the pulls in a brushed nickel.

If it's black, you can still play it up in the same manner and you can do red accents.

This might be sacrilege to kitchen purists but I use colourful low-pile bathmats (without rubber backing) in the kitchen. They can be thrown in the washing machine..

I have just got to say on the painting tile thing--- I have a painted floor. I did a painted stencil floor, with Annie Sloan chalk paint like the tutorial Andrea just linked to. I did it on oak. I did it in a bedroom and had to finish floor before renovation was done. Walls, drywall, construction, all took place over my precious painting. It wore like steel.

Even if you are thinking maybe it's temporary, consider the painting route. You may be surprised and not need to replace.

Rug to hide the floor, and an island cart. Ikea makes several different sizes and styles. I have one and it's great!

Five years is not that long to wait. Heck, I waited 32 years to do new cabinets in my own kitchen!

These are all such great ideas and insights. Thank you! I really like the painted floor idea. I think the stencils are awesome but would probably prefer a single color. Any suggestions on what color to go with? @andreaW @ kai615

I did my bedroom floor in Loius Blue and then went and found a comparable yellow for my walls that matched Annie Sloane Arles. All her colors go really nicely together. I did not buy her wall paint, not worth it, go match colors at HD or SW, but I would recommend using only her sealing system for the floor it is expensive, but from my research chemically bonds to the chalk paint to cure with the paint as it dries instead of any other brand drying just on top to protect the paint and possibly chipping.

That being said, I have also painted with Chateau Grey. Oddly enough I painted a kitchen floor that was meant to be temporary. We are remodeling and have to wait to finish our cabs and floors. I needed something quick and easy, so I painted the subfloor with Chateau Grey. It is a beautiful green color. I added some small yellow flower stencils randomly, to hide the fact it was sub floor, and now I am not feeling so bad.... it has now been 2 years on that, we will get to our floor one day :-) until then at least I can mop.

I would say it depends on what kind of change your going for. If you are looking at this as temporary, then try something bold, it's only paint. Go visit a Stocklist who carries samples and paints. See what they have. Read up on mixing, anything in the line can be mixed easily to make new colors, mostly people use this to Lighten or darken a specific shade.

I would love to see what you decide. Whatever you do, take your time and do it right, you won't regret the effort.

Good luck.

I'm no style expert, but my understanding is that grey is in. It should look good with your white and black kitchen. Of course there are a million greys. You might go with a medium to dark, cool (slightly bluish) gray, and paint the yellow walls a pale blue of your choice. Hints of blue in kitchens is popular. Or grey. Grey is always popular. Just look through Houzz for color combinations you like. I'm seeing one right now to the right, but it is a Benjamin Moore ad - pale blue on the wall and the floor appears to be a variation of white, and the island top is some sort of plum!

You might switch the cabinet hardware for silver or black.

That cobalt blue on the counter edge is a great starting point. I agree that you need to bring more color in, and I would go with a blue or bluish-green to play off the blue tile and make the white tile on the walls sparkle (I myself would paint the cabinets -- I love color on cabinets). Is there some green in the accent tile on the wall? I can't really tell, but that is another color to play off of. The yellow walls just don't work here.

Of course you could go with a grey -- I seriously considered a grey called "campfire ash" for my cabinets and ended up with a mild grey or bone called "Gull". But I would choose a blue or green here, I think.

Another thing that bothers me is that the whites of the cabinets and the appliances are different; something that doesn't bother many people but to me it makes the space look disjointed. (Another excuse to paint the cabinets)

You could paint the trim around the windows to match the blue tile also -- look for examples of window trim in dark colors or black, it really is a good look but not often done. I think it would be smashing with your tile.

I've not seen painted floor tile but that sounds like a great idea. I've a flat weave rug in my kitchen (with a dog and a cat), not actually an indoor-outdoor rug, but I take it out, spray and broom some rug doctor solution into it, then throw it over the patio chairs and rinse with the power washer. Takes less than 30 minutes and it is dry (on a sunny day) in a few hours.

Yes to the cart instead of an island, more economical, practical and no guilt if later you want to do a full remodel; and also yes to new hardware on the cabs.

I agree with Raee on the appliances vs. cabinets, but painting cabinets is a big job. What about a color wash, like a tinted clear coat, or chalk paint?

I was telling my husband about your kitchen and he said "paint it dark blue" ...in response to your cove/tray ceiling..That was before I told him about your edge tile.

Then he said especially with the tile edge...

I have seen many iterations of monochrome colors in a room, so don't quite understand all of the negativism towards varying colors of white for a more or less monochrome kitchen with a touch of blue. IMO monochrome color schemes of white are very refreshing in that they have variations of the white color.

Yep, WalnutCreek, as I said it doesn't bother many people but I find it irritating. It makes the cabinets look old or dirty to me. Décor is always a matter of "the eye of the beholder"!

To me, the appliances make the cabinets immediately around them look yellow. It's almost like there are two different color cabinets. But the effect is not as bad as the tile vs. the yellow paint.

You know you can also paint or cover the appliances, and leave the cabinets white, depending on what you like. Search on "diy paint appliances" (or "refrigerator" or "stove") or "appliance art." I don't think you can use appliance art ("skins") on a stove though. There are paints and skins that are supposed to look like stainless steel, but they seem sketchy to me. I'd rather use color.

You could paint just the bottom cabinets. This is beautiful: https://makemearuby.wordpress.com/2013/09/02/rustoleum-cabinet-transformation-kit-review/

The cabinet above the oven is kind of funky. You could replace it with open shelves, and maybe also the next one, next to the window. That would allow the sunlight to move around more. (If you're really brave, you can replace all the upper cabinets with open shelves. There are a lot of examples on Houzz.)

This is pretty: [https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-traditional-kitchen-portland-phvw-vp~137159[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-traditional-kitchen-portland-phvw-vp~137159)

I found your cabinets: [https://www.houzz.com/photos/updated-kitchen-traditional-kitchen-cedar-rapids-phvw-vp~86806541[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/updated-kitchen-traditional-kitchen-cedar-rapids-phvw-vp~86806541) - also with white appliances and the tile floor is almost the same, a little lighter. Notice the use of dark grey-brown to provide contrast. Not sure you want to do that dark ...

(Just fyi, we're also remodeling our kitchen, with white "transitional" cabinets, white appliances, Olympic white (bluish-grey) walls, and with crema luna polished limestone 24" tile and butcher block counter tops, and travertine and blue glass tile back splash. Limestone is not a desirable kitchen counter top material, but we got all the counter top/back splash material for almost-free at the Re-store. Our floor tile is a whitewashed slightly-pinkish beige ceramic, also from Re-store but not so cheap, that matches the limestone/travertine. So except for the counter tops, our kitchen is not so different from yours. I'm praying that it all works together.)

Just in case you aren't convinced to leave the current flooring, here's another thought: Our previous house was built in 1971. We changed out our kitchen/dining room floors to (not very good) engineered wood in 2006 or so. When we were ready to replace the cabinets in 2011, we discovered that the footprint of 1971 cabinets was wider than 2011 cabinets. IOW, we had a gap between the engineered wood and the new cabinet base footprint. The (not very good) engineered wood was no longer available (ha!), so that led to changing out the flooring in the entire house to bamboo. Fortunately, the house was only just under 1500 sf, so it could have been worse. The moral of the story is, wait until you're ready for the big reno before you do something major like a floor. Alternately, make sure you have extra flooring just in case.

Good point Suzanne!

This reno cost $52,000 including appliances: [https://www.houzz.com/magazine/kitchen-of-the-week-a-bold-recipe-of-blue-white-brass-and-wood-stsetivw-vs~89317895[(https://www.houzz.com/magazine/kitchen-of-the-week-a-bold-recipe-of-blue-white-brass-and-wood-stsetivw-vs~89317895). They only changed the cabinet doors, the tile floor, and the counter top. If you're only going to do a partial reno, you don't want to spend a lot of money. Or you could hire a designer to get recommendations. We actually did that, on a very minimal basis.

I wonder if the floor could be painted into 12 x 24 tiles, by painting "grout lines" around every 2 tiles after painting the floor. The mottled stone-look tiles at the link above look good in that color scheme. You could paint a faux-stone look onto the floor tile.

@Andrea W I would love to see a picture of your kitchen. It sounds awesome!! Thanks for all of the advice.

If you decide to paint cabs Cabinet Coat or BM Advance are the 2 often suggested paints to choose.

I know you said you don't want to do a stencil. But I have to ask why? Is it because you just want one color? Or you think it is too much work? Because I just went through a bunch of pins from when I was looking for my floors and some new ones, and found a couple, simple one color stencils that would look great in your kitchen. And from experience....having done a three color floor in bedroom with a complicated stencil, and a pretty much one color kitchen floor to get me through what at the time I thought would be a year or two, the work of a stencil is not much for what it gives you in return.

Some stenciled floors:

If it were me I would go vintage, but I live in an old house and love vintage:-) the sky is the limit as to what you can do. I would say you have it way easier to stencil with a tile floor too. A pre-made grid. Get a stencil the same dimension as your tile, then just paint each one.

Of course this is more worth it if you are thinking of maybe keeping this floor as long as you can.

Bryan, I will, when we finish, if we ever do ... (Maybe a month.)

I think I'm convinced on the stencil @kai615 thanks for the motivation and the images! Best of luck @Andea W rootn' for you!

You won't regret it Bryan. Please post pics, ask questions, whatever you need to get it done. Good luck.

Here's my kitchen ideabook, fwiw: https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/68951114/thumbs/florida-kitchen. Notice that most of the kitchens on Houzz have wood floors?

Amazing ideabook @Andrea W I'll take all of them!

I have also painted tile and I've painted grout. It's the way to go if you want to get by until the big reno. I used the BM cabinet coat paint on my tile and there is grout colorant that can be used on grout to change color and reseal. good luck!