There is nothing wrong with those cabinets, sometimes i don’t understand why almost everyone wants to paint their cabinets white, im with sophie, you just need to change the backsplash (and maybe the countertops if its too stark) undercabinet light and thats it

Well on one hand they are correct especially since your kitchen is in good condition. But it does look dated so your instincts are spot on. Your cabinets would look great in white. Part of what you are visually reading in to is that the wood is not high-end so the visible grain says "we're cheap." We are talking increments here but it all adds up to the full picture. The stone floor looks even more dated. Laminate does not wear well enough for a kitchen, especially one like yours fully outfitted. Perhaps a Marmoleum by farbo.com which is old school linoleum but wears like iron and has a fresh new look in kitchens today. A price point above laminate but not costly stone. I like the ones with texture since they speak fresh not looking flat. I have installed Marmoleum in mansions (and a kitchen in fact) and it looks great! I am not suggesting you have to do a pattern but given how simple your kitchen looks, with white cabinets you could use a large pattern with soft colors like below. In fact if you did you could paint out the wood in the island the soft blue in the case of the bottom pattern. Kitchens are going away from matchy matchy towards cabinets on walls in one color and cabinets on the island another.

I like the cabinet. The dark backsplash and countertop not as much. As for the flooring, laminate doesn't do well in kitchens. It doesn't hold up well to moisture. Either use tile, real wood, or vinyl.

Why do you want to paint your cabinets white? Why are you thinking laminate for the flooring? Maybe you might be thinking vinyl instead (it's easy to confuse the two when talking in general about flooring).

Painting cabinets white has an iffy outcome - you have to hire a skilled painter who knows what s/he is doing, and even then, after a time some chips and bleed-through can happen. It'll be expensive too.

I'd leave the cabinets alone. Better more effective updates for your kitchen are to replace the shiny black counters, table top and backsplash for something current. Like a quiet quartz with a plain light subway tile. That will give you more bang for the buck by far than painting cabinets and re-doing flooring. If you really want to change flooring (also a big job and might have issues if the cabinets are or are not set on top of the existing flooring), the marmoleum suggested above would be pretty but you better be confident in your eye for color cause the marmoleum color choices are vast. If you go that route, I suggest you hire an interior designer, but just by the hour, to help you pick out the right Marmoleum color(s) and pattern if you decide you want pattern.

The track lighting needs to go. I haven't seen that on this forum for years.

Leave the cabinets alone and change the backsplash first and add better lighting (see Sophie's reply). I know white is the current fad, but it doesn't always work if it's not part of the design as a whole.

FYI...a professional paint job may cost as much as new cabinets.

Agreed i got the quotes starting 3000+ for painting cabinets. If i leave the cabinets and not go with laminate, can you suggest what tile should i go with ? There are so many options and it's totally confusing. Any suggestions for the backsplash? I was thinking to put pendant lighting on island. One in the middle. Any thoughts? Between here is the other end of the kitchen and the flooring to living room color. I really want ti change the kitchen family flooring that is one i hate the most.

Cabinets are great as it. Classic style and very nicely matched wood grain & color.

What's dating the kitchen are the black counters & backsplash. Change both.

Get under cabinet lighting and update the cabinet pulls.

Maybe swap out the clear glass in the cabinets doors for something obscuring and interesting.

I'm not crazy about the floor because, in the photo, the color looks very close to the color of the cabinets. May read very differently in real life? I would test using some runners to add color & contrast before committing to changing the floor.

Seeing more of your house, your kitchen cabinets make total sense as they are.

Is your kitchen and familyroom flooring the same?

Now that I see your familyroom photo it looks like travertine ( real?) and reviewing your kitchen photo it appears to be the same?

3K is a cheap hack that you should run from.

The kichen is fine. Other than the black. Fix what needs fixing. And leave the rest alone.

Yes its travertine in kitchen and family but the reason i don't like it , is impossible to clean. So i really really want to change that. So what can look good with the whole color theme of the house. Any ideas which type of counter top will look good instead of black? Lighting suggestions that you are proposing any particular ones that u think will look good? Attaching the closeup pic of travertine why i dislike it so much. And the living room of what should i change to so as to go well with the existing wooden flooring there.

Hi - I don't have suggestions for a new floor, but I agree with the others that the cabinets are nice (they even go to the ceiling!) and I would install a light colored backsplash instead. I really like that track light, so maybe some pendants over the island and install extra cans if you need them in the middle once the track is removed. If you don't need the clock, I would also consider removing that and installing a shade that is mounted just below the ceiling.

What if i just change the backsplash, change the lighting, remove the shelving around the tv and redo something in the fireplace. If that will make it look good, what are the best possible options i can go for backsplash and how do i update the fireplace ?

How is this for pendant light. 3 of them? Thank u all for making me get out of the white cabinet thing my husband was trying to make me understand why you want to change but i wasn't convinced by him. Please provide me suggestions for the backsplash and flooring. Look at the closer view of flooring i am not able to stand the dirtiness.

No. No reverse forest from the ceiling. Under cabinet. A single larger pendant over the island.

I think it would be a shame to paint those lovely wood cabinets and cover natural stone floors with plastic. Have you tried having the floors professionally steam cleaned? Once the floors are truly clean, you can seal the stone to help keep them from staining. Your layout looks really functional and honestly I think it's a very pretty kitchen. Your cabinets are really nice and the flooring is beautiful.

You didn't ask about this so feel free to disregard these suggestions. If it were my kitchen I would clear off the countertops. Can the microwave fit in the pantry cabinet? Change out the track light fixture. I'm not a fan of those wavy shaped track lights or the colorful shades. It would be nice if you could do only recessed lighting or maybe some simple pendants over the island. I rather like the black countertops and backsplash. I would try to change the outlets and covers to black so they blend more.

Is that real travertine? There are professional companies that clean tile. And it will be cheaper to have it professional cleaned (even having it done once a yr) rather than having to have it taken out and replaced. And once it is cleaned professionally, you can ask them what is the best way to take care of it.

If you rather replace it, have you shopped at all for flooring? If not, go to a flooring store- not a big box. Let them educate you on the different types of flooring so you can narrow at least the type down that you want. Take a cabinet door with you so you can see how the cabinets will look with the flooring. Bring home samples and then if you need help figuring it out, you can post them here.

Figure out the flooring before you work on anything else.

Is that a picture of your travertine floor? What is the stuff that is coming up from between the "tiles" ?

My sister has travertine in most of her house in New Orleans. It was there when they bought the house. After the floods that filled the house almost to the ceiling, they had to strip the house back to it's basics and that travertine is still as good as the day it was installed, even after sitting under dirty water for an extended time. It is very hard and shiny and very cool to walk on in the hot summer.

Your kitchen looks to be just absolutely fine. You have the luxury of just making small cosmetic changes, or not.

Sophie thanks i will look for singles large cabinet. Do u have anything particular that u can recommend?

wednesday: I think the tiles are chipped.

Tedbixby, Wednesday morning. I did get my travertine professionally cleaned 2 years back but didn't change the look much. I think probably the way its installed the grout is causing the gaps or what i am. It sure. Is there anything that can be done to make it clean refill the grout. Thats the reason i was thinking to change i can go with another travertine/ vinyl or anything. Up f9r any cosmetic changes too whatever makes it look nicer.

Also, if i go for lighter backsplash what color and patterns can go with this wood and black counter top? Any ideas

" didn't change the look much" I'm just trying to understand if you are fine with the color of the travertine but the grout is the issue? Any other issues you have with it?

Did the grout look clean when they cleaned it? If not so much, is there an area where it doesn't get much foot traffic and the grout looks more white/cream than grey? Just trying to figure out if perhaps a greyish grout was used.

Area with no traffic near fireplace looks like this. I just didn't understand this floor since the day i bought this house.

Is this pendant good? If yes which color will.look better

Have it stripped. It can be stained darker, including the grout. And then a new grout coat over it to refill the holes. That will be cheaper than removing it and replacing it.

I could see your backsplash and counters in a grey something like this:

or maybe desaturated aqua:

Sophie, really i didn't know that. Travertine can be stripped?

Jennifer K, Can i not keep the black counter and make the look better by changing just the backsplash? What do u think and any suggestions if we just go for backsplash

If you like your black counters, then by all means keep them. It will make choosing backsplash tile a little more difficult, but that's not a big deal.

I don't like like but i don't dislike them as much as i dislike the flooring. I thought it will be cheaper to just change the backsplash and keep the counter top.

Yes, it would be cheaper. But will you be happy or will you wish you'd just bit the bullet? I think you can probably save on your floors by having them regrouted and resealed as described above. So decide on your budget and then see what you want to spend on.

What are the options for countertop ?

Just regarding the travertine floors. My home came with them too, not in the kitchen, but in the entry foyer and ground-floor hallway. My tiles are smaller than the OP's, not sure if that makes a difference. Well, my home came with these travertine floors; I would never have chosen them myself. I will say that my travertine's colors and patterns are very pretty. The problem is the pits and etching that travertine gets. That is its nature; nothing you can do about it. New travertine tile has the natural pits filled in, but the filling comes out over time in high-traffic areas.

My travertine's issues were worsened by the previous owner's applications of wax on the travertine. Stones like travertine and marble must never be waxed. I hired a stone cleaning specialist who removed the wax with some kind of stripping chemical, cleaned the grout, and buffed the floors with machines. I believe that is what Sophie is talking about in her post above (though I didn’t do the staining she mentioned, and wouldn’t want to). It was a big improvement, but know that: (A) this was quite expensive, and (B) this company's specialty was marble and travertine restoration and they really knew what they were doing, Not just any floor cleaning company.

For the OP's tile - that there is called "spalling". Travertine is notorious for its propensity to spall. Spalling is small pits or pieces of stone that are flaking off or popping off the surface. This condition is most common on stone exposed to water that has been waxed or coated with a polish. The moisture gets trapped under the surface trying to evaporate out. This creates hydrostatic pressure under the surface that causes the stone to break to release the moisture pressure. The inability for evaporation is usually caused from topical coatings or waxes that do not allow the stone to “breath”, or to let out moisture vapor from the surface.

The pits and holes can be filled in, and it will look much better, though it will never be restored to how it looked when new.

Thanks friedajune. I exactly feel.like this. The worst thing in this whole space for me is the travertine, because of how it is. Based on your experience would u recommend me to go with a new Stone/vinyl tile ?

I didn't replace it because the cost to do that would have been so high. The restoration of my travertine floors was costly, but still much less than replacement, and much less disruptive and stressful than replacement. It would be a huge production to break up and remove your large travertine tiles. Vinyl tile will not look good I don't think.

My place is not so big it's just small kitchen and family area so i am believing cost to replace or restoration should be around same? Can you share your before and after pictures?

I don’t have before and after pictures, sorry. I still think the cost of a good cleaning/restoration will be much less money than replacement, and much less stress and mess too. I would not replace if I were you.

If I were you, I’d focus my attention on replacing the counters, backsplash, and lighting, which are in more pressing need of attention than your floors, IMHO.

Cool i will take some quotes for restoration. Can u share current picture of your travertine if possible?

How d9es this backsplash looks? Any other suggestions?

FYI. We replaced 400 sqft of ceramic tile with new porcelain tile, about $6500, and that was the middle price, we had. quotes of over 10k.

Are your plans to keep the flooring now? Otherwise if you aren't or are not sure, there is no reason to be looking for a back splash until the flooring is decided upon as the 2 need to compliment each other. And without knowing what the flooring is going to be, it's difficult to say this or that should be the back splash or for that matter, any other finishes. Putting the cart before the horse... and then you'll be posting another Post- Help! How can I make this back splash work with the flooring...

And out of curiosity why would you pick out a travertine or stone back splash knowing how difficult they are to keep clean?

And here is why Labor is going to cost more than the product if you remove the travertine. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeKSbb1kMzU

Also, take into account that travertine is thicker than other materials so replacement could affect doors, baseboards, etc.

What will my travertine look like if i stain repolish regrout? What should I expect? Anything specific anyone can suggest what stain ?

You really need to find and talk to a Tile Restoration Professional that can analyze the floors in person and can answer your questions. We can tell you what to expect but that doesn't mean that the "expert" you hire will do what we told you. Here is a site of such a professional so you can get a sense of what the restoration steps are and what they can achieve.

http://setinstonerestoration.com/portfolio-view/epoxy-grout-staining/