It all comes down to budget and how much one hates the cabinets. These cabinets will be harder to paint than my old slab ones were and if one has them painted professionally, the cost is quite high.

I would just start saving for a total kitchen re-do.

Agreed..to me, everything but the backsplash(since you essentially have two already-either take down mosaics, leave the ledge, paint-or take out all of it. find tile that goes with countertops..smth in taupe realm from what I can see), different hardware, and lighting, would be a slippery slope.

I can't see enough reason for it to start unless one decides to go all the way..because you need to consider all your elements. That kitchen was born to be stained kitchen..sure you can change that but then other elements should be considered and probably changed accordingly.

What irritates you the most(I suppose something does or else you wouldn't be asking)? The cabinets? The granite? The floors? What are your "whys"? Any reason you want to/need to update? approximate budget?

Just the painting, with your amount of cabs, I can see being several K. Then you get painted cabs that can't be reversed to stain, that might, or might not go with the rest of the elements. Most likely you'll need to change the rest. Maybe that's what you want, I don't know. Give us some more info as for what you want/expect to happen, during the course of your update. How much hassle, how much money, what overall look/feel/function you seek out of it.

Thanks for the replies. we are looking to redo everthing except the cabinets, We are leaving them in. But we're unsure of painting the cabinets white and the island maybe grey. Or, should we leave the cabinets natural and work off the way they are. If we change them white should we keep the backsplash? What kind of floors ceramic wood tile planks or? thanks again.

I responded to your points already in my post above. But perhaps others will post with different opinions, so far not.

Is the kitchen open to other room/s? What flooring is there?

Yes the living room is open to it. We will be changing the paint and flooring to match the kithens

If want to keep cabinets then professionally paint them 1st before investing in new countertop. Just in case something does not go well with paint job. Unfortunately, there have been many posts of cabinet paint jobs that did not fair well.

In VA that would cost around $5000-$7000 for a Pro Cabinet Refinish Painter to be done correctly. If the estimate is too low, it's a sign they will skimp on the proper prep work to get a lasting job.

I have had several clients regret investing in countertop on older cabinets 4-5 years later with paint jobs not holding up to everyday use. The only time I paint cabinets is for selling a home.

I think the kitchen is fine for now, except that backsplash. If it were my home, I redo the backsplash then later I redo it all with new cabinets, countertops,etc.

At this point, you are looking to change (colour wise) 5 of the 7 elements in a kitchen. It sounds like you will be leaving the lighting and the SS appliances in place/intact.

But you have NOT decided on the MOST CRUCIAL element: cabinet colour. Ouch. You are still on the fence for "will we/won't we" paint the cabinets. Without this decision in place, you are going to have a HORRIBLE time figuring out the other 4 elements.

The cabinet colour will dictate the counter top colour. The counter top colour will dictate the floor colour. The cabinet+counter top will dictate the backsplash. And all of it will dictate the wall colour.

And just for fun, the flooring in the kitchen will run through the living space. And all of this hangs on the single decision that is soooo important: what colour for the cabinets?

And cabinet refacing is always an option. So far you've only looked at paint or "leaving it be". The third option is refacing. I feel that would be a great avenue to investigate as well.

At this point in your decision making, I feel it is too early to make any decisions or recommendations. You really need to nail down the appearance of the cabinets. They anchor every other decision you will make.

You are welcome to invest in a Kitchen Designer to help you colour and materials. With so many things up in the air, this would probably move things along the fastest.

-no, don't keep the backsplash..especially not if you're set on painting.

-flooring..well depends where one lives, his needs and preferences. And it's such a big and important surface that I might just as well start figuring it out, even before all the rest

because it needs to address many of your needs and other decisions..it's a roller coaster of decisions

You also want it to be good with whatever cabinets you'll have..current stain? different paint?

White and gray-unless already cream and very very warm gray-won't have much in common with your countertops-either different countertops then, or different paint

I myself am not a fan of granite(unless it's white, or some exotic kind)-there's nothing wrong with yours though.

But. Let's say you're fed up with it..

Consider your flooring. Are you ok with having tiles allover? Would you rather run wood allover(seems you like the look?)

Consider your countertops. If you keep stain-I vote for lighter countertop. Can be ligher granite, Quartz, certain Quartzites I believe..

Whatever backsplash you think of-you need only one, Either the ledge, or taking the stone up all the way to cubs, or if tiles/some other type of backsplash-take it down to the countertop. Always consider where and how you finish it and what the edge would be. Seems easier in your kitchen since it naturally goes between the cabinets?

Look at lighting, figure out what appeals to you the most

look at hardware

maybe what you want is actually more color

maybe what you seek is actually less pattern/different pattern

leave this "update" thing if you're after how everybody thinks it should look now..everybody is already thinking something else while you're updating.

figure out what will bring you joy and best function

maybe it's not white and gray at all

maybe it's green..I see touches of green in your backsplash..they're probably there since you liked them?

find colors and combinations that inspire you..maybe you'll use them in countertops or in paint or in hardware or in lights or in tiles..

except for two backsplashes, there's nothing inherently wrong with your kitchen. You might be tired of it, for all sorts of reasons, it might be previous owners kitchen and you never picked it, never liked it, want to personalize it. So do that. slowly, in a very considerate way. We're really here to help you to figure out your needs and wants..one must have an idea then the concept then get to realization of a concept.

What's your concept? And it's okay to think about it for days, weeks, months. It's an expensive hassle that you want to love in the end. Should improve your quality of life..))

Paint the walls, keep the floors, keep cabinets the way they are, but, change out the hardware, which is not all that nice looking. You could get by not changing countertops, but, the backsplash, really needs to go, its really outdated (outdated doesnt bother me at all), but more than that it is ugly too.

Paint the walls. Replace countertops, backsplash and knobs. Leave the cabinets. They look great. Lower island counter to counter height.