It really depends on your budget priorities. You could do anything from re-doing the entire kitchen to just having the cabinets painted.

Live there for a year, your ideas for the space will change a lot in the 1st year. Build up a kitty and remodel the kitchen when you can afford it. Congrats on the new home. That said, here is a blog of an oak kitchen redone in colors similar to what you are thinking of and it looks great.

http://www.practicallyspoiled.com/2015/07/22/from-hate-to-great-a-tale-of-painting-oak-cabinets/

I plan on buying new appliances...stainless steel, and getting granite countertops, but the layout just seems so odd. I guess I could also just paint the cabinets too.

Don't have a layout of the house to check if this is feasible or not but if you can close off the archway opening you might be able to reconfigure the kitchen perimeter and remove peninsula and add a small island.

That's a great idea. Thank you.

To help you like your new home, here are few pros I see:

- it looks quite spacious (at least for my European eye:) )

- windows are awesome, so many natural light

- quite a nice view to the outside (makes you feel in sync with the nature)

What makes this space a bit odd, in my opinion are two main things:

1. the flooring zones - I would probably keep the tiles only in the kitchen zone or I would do one type of flooring through entire space. Or third option is to expand kitchen with breakfast table/island, so that that tile zone makes more sense.

2. As much as I love open space, and we are building one too, there is a problem with a large long/wide space: ceiling feels lower then it is. To fix this I would add some kind of visual vertical obstructions that would break this long horizontal line a bit. It could be pendant lights over (potential) island, a tall plant, some kind of space divider, anything that breaks horizontal line and accentuates vertical. Also, bringing the cabinets up to ceiling would help with the vertical extension.

I would not waste moneypainting cabinets in a layout you don’t like . Wait for at least 6 months before doing anything and that includes buying appliances. Get a good KD and IMO the first thing to go would be those floors in the kitchen.

I would add some colorful inexpensive indoor outdoor rugs that make me smile. A good size one for the sink area, one for the eating area and a runner in front of the fridge. Probably a new light fixture too. Then I would live with it for a while.

It's a great space, take your time with it. No need to rush.

"moving from a historic home with a beautiful expansive kitchen to an outdated house with no character."

well, that sucks. and i'm thinking you wouldnt have bought this house if you could have chosen another, so double sucks.

i'd not spend beyond wall paint on this kitchen while you assess. if money is short you'll want to spend wisely, and pro paint jobs on cabinets is pricey.

warm up your kitchen with the style of window treatment and decor you loved in your previous home. make this place feel like home. see what works, what doesnt work. build up a war chest.

best of luck to you.

The biggest offender in that room is the floors, not the walls or cabinets. Which is why you don’t go off half cocked and plan changes for a space you haven’t lived in unless you have an objective and skilled designer to help you plan those changes. And the big budget to pay for them. “Just” painting the cabinets professionally would be 7-9K, and would be wasted money that could be spent elsewhere.

Chiming in with the others - lack of "character" is not the only thing wrong with this kitchen, and I wouldn't spend a dime making minor changes now - I'd save up for a remodel, including new flooring (ideally, matching the adjacent room).

That said, your kitchen is functional enough to live in for a couple of years. I lived with much worse for 15 years, while I had kids, saved up for a remodel, and figured out exactly what I wanted. It was worth the wait!

Just an honest question. If you hate this kitchen why did you buy this house? I'm asking because the kitchen is one of the most lived in rooms in a home and usually the center for a family. I know when we bought I made sure I liked the kitchen.

for me the main problem is the floor, you need the same hardwood that you have in the dining area

Ditto: the floor is the biggest issue. Those tiles are very Ho-hum. Hardwood throughout would be lovely. Your views and backyard access are fantastic. I also agree to living with it for a while to determine priorities.

For me, the floor tiles are especially problematic. As already mentioned, you could cover them with a rug. Another option would be to use a paint stencil. Both www.cuttingedgestencils.com and www.royaldesignstudio.com offer terrific stencil patterns, and this is a project that you can very much do yourself for little money.

Thanks everyone..hubby is very happy to hear that I should wait 6 months :) I do plan on changing the floors now though. It extends from the front door to the kitchen.

One of the reasons for the immediate change is that the electric cooktop isn't working so since I cook three times a day, I need a replacement asap. Hubby suggested that I make other changes too so I feel more comfortable.

We moved for the elementary school in our new home's neighborhood.

At least spring for an induction cooktop instead of a standard electric so your actual cooking equipment is first rate :-)

For a small but fun change, I would take down the orphaned cabinet to the right of the window and put up some inexpensive open shelving. People seem to either love or hate open shelving. I find if the shelves aren’t near the stove (grease) and are near the dishwasher, it’s very easy to keep the area clean if you’re constantly moving dishes through as you use them. Regarding painted cabinets as a short to medium term solution, it’s possible to do a quality job yourself. I painted my walls and cabinets, changed out the lighting, and added window treatments and rugs to buy myself five years or so to figure out what I really wanted in a kitchen. It was worth it for me to have attractive surroundings, versus just living with something that depressed me.