First off love your selections! A brilliant two tone will create more of a modern appeal, I would suggest a beautiful crispy white with a a charcoal trim. This will highlight your selections without taking away from the colour combinations you have chosen.

It looks like you have a Colonial style banister in the house therefore in order to modernize the whole house you will need to change it and replace it with another style , the cabinets could either be painted or replaced this all depends on your budget .

SW's website has paint "strips" and deeper than your paint is Chateau Brown... could be a guide for wood choices, go with same hue.

https://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/color/find-and-explore-colors/paint-colors-by-family/SW6073-perfect-greige#/7510/?s=coordinatingColors&p=PS0

Idk if this helps at all - BMoore's groupings - except for their Penthouse palette, not a lot of greys.

http://colorinspace.com/bungalow-dwelling-palette/

Another as you probably know, is your selection on website, with 'similar colors' and I see why Java -- similar to P.G. is Deep Brown, and lighter too course

https://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/color/find-and-explore-colors/paint-colors-by-family/SW6073-perfect-greige#/9175/?s=similarColors&p=PS0

Is this metal / cable railing?

Galveston St. House · More Info

you've got to replace those spindles. cheapest option. if it were mine, I'd get all new railings.

yours screams 90's colonial. but you can downplay it if you trade out the spindles.

Thank you all for ideas and suggestions! I have decided to reface all of the kitchen cabinets doors. I'm also going to update the railing going upstairs (squarer newel (painted black) with thinner spindles). Now the kitchen banister is STILL a problem - I want to just remove it all together (I do have a 10 year old but I wish he would try and do something unsafe if we remove it ; )) I think by removing it will open it the kitchen area more and it will allow me to have more space to open up my refrigerator drawers. Any other suggestions?

You'll have to replace the railing to meet building code and to make it so that oldsters (and kids) won't fall off and hurt themselves. ;)

I have no idea what this would cost, but it might be worth at least investigating glass. I also like the nifty use of drawers, great storage idea!

Custom Toronto Renovation · More Info

You're stuck with the railing. Can you imagine falling off backwards because you took one step too many while accessing the fridge? I can, yikes!

Beth's pics are great inspiration to modernize the design.

Yes, you'll have to put something there. Imagine if a friend of your son came over and took a nosedive off of it? You better have a very large home owners policy.

I like the glass that Molly posted. It allows you the visual but still maintains code compliance. Or one w/a cable system.

or, put in a pony wall w/cubbies or shelving of some sort

or completely redo it w/natural oak and iron railing. this is beautiful.

Thanks again everyone....although glass looks great I think it’s too modern for my house. I don’t know why I‘m having such anxiety over this. The more I look at it the more like a cage it looks like to me . What do you think if I just did a horizontal railing - get rid of the vertical rail and hand rail if that makes sense? Here’s some better pics of the space. If I removed everything wouldn’t be more like a step down sunken room - I know I’m really trying to justify getting rid of the rail.