Hers what I suggest. Go get some brown paint samples and match the brown in the tile as best you can - possibly going a shade darker and put that color on the cabinets. Next paint your countertop. I really like GianiGranite. You don’t have to do the granite look if you don’t want to. You could just do the base color as you can buy what you need individually.
A Kit is only $80. They also have stainless steel appliance kit that I have used. It’s pretty amazing.
I “painted” your cabinet so you could get a feel for what it would look like.
https://gianigranite.com/

i love computers...we definitely have runners to hide the floor a bit! Since we are re-doing everything, we are trying to pick the least offensive color that will help hide this tile and then put rugs down again :) I like how you think!

Thank you, Nancy! I will do this - I haven't heard of this kit...going

to look into it, for sure. I will update as we figure out more.

I would look in to grout colorant to tone down those black grout lines, but if everything is staying I would just save your money till you can do a complete remodel.

aqua or another greenish blue could lookb nice. why do we have to choose brown paint just because tiles and counters are brown? we bought a house with a mostly brown kitchen and i abhor the thought of being restricted to painting the walls brown. they are pinkish beige right now and I'm going to repaint olive green!

something darker with a light counter to balance it off. Think colors from nature, greens, blues browns. You could even go black. here is a green kitchen with a similar floor tile.

You may not like that “more brown” is the answer, but that really is the solution. If you are trying to de-emphasize the brown then you need to choose a color close to them or choose a neutral. The rule to remember, is if you want a color to pop or appear brighter then use something opposite on the color wheel; if you want to tone down a color choose a color that is either very close to it on the color wheel or choose a neutral.

You could paint your floor...

White appliances: white cabinets. Paint the walls the gray of the grout. It will work well until you are ready to remodel.

Make sure the ceiling is newly painted white…same as the cabinets in flat finish.

We recently remodeled an investment rental property with similar tile and opted to paint the walls SW Canvas Tan and the cabinets and trim SW Alabaster.

I second the idea to paint the grout. Chose a grout paint close to the tile color to deemphasize the squares and calm down the floor. I used a grout paint by TEC in my bathroom and I am very happy with it. This pic is from the internet:

thank you, everyone, for those responses! I took a break from thinking about the floor for a day or so and we did a test sample on the kitchen island of a dark charcoal gray. we're going to leave the island in Benjamin Moore Kendall charcoal, instead of yellow. we are still deciding on the cabinet color. I would like to keep it charcoal but the only thing stopping me is the white appliances.

I didn’t mean to paint the grout. Paint the walls gray of the grout.

@judyG - I knew what you meant :) I appreciate the insight. I can't paint the walls gray for a few reasons - the first being that we are trying to have one unifying color in the kitchen (above) and the back room (north-facing, darker room). Grays absolutely will not work in there. We have decided on Gray cabinets though. I wish we could. we did a beautiful sample on the kitchenwalls - Mindful Gray. It looked great but just not right for the rest of the kitchen/back room. I love the photos you posted...I'm going to do that color combo in our bathroom. I've been inspired by the light cabs and gray walls!

I think we get confused sometimes by the term "tone down" when what is really meant is finding something that looks nice with an element that isn't really liked on its own. The answer to "tone down" an individual element is to make another element even more so. But that kind of defeats the purpose... if you don't like the brown floor making the cabinets even more brown won't necessarily give you a room you like although it does "tone down" the floor.

I agree wholeheartedly, Drb477. I think that's why my advice here isn't so well received. I maybe use a more literal interpretation than what a poster means. If you want a tree to not be noticed, then just put it in a forest, kwim? At least that's the approach that I use in my responses here...

If you don't like an aspect of your house but can't change it, perhaps you want to decorate in a way that you will not notice it, OR perhaps you're looking for permission to ignore it.

Either way, interesting observation and I appreciate the food for thought.

Thanks for the insight, DrB! I agree, what I mean by tone it down is... how the heck do I live with matching countertops and floor that I don't really like? maybe I should have said it that way... I think I'm still figuring this all out and what I mean to say as I go along. This is our first home and first attempt to make things work inis mismatched house. we can't get the kitchen or rip up the tile / floor just yet. So, what I need to know is how do I live with it. For now, I think we found a solution. We are painting the cabinets, which desperately needed to be redone anyway. We are not doing a brown. We are doing a charcoal gray witch actually makes the floor look much better!

No worries for me, nuhouse...I was glad of the insight and opportunity to think in a different way!

Gray and brown CAN live harmoniously together (just a glance through a Restoration Hardware catalog will tell you that)...the trick is to use a gray that's warm and not cool. Blue toned grays run cool and green toned run warmer. SO not technical, but that's how I "look" at grays.

Colors are insanely difficult to read or recommend online, but what you have looks good to me...you're the only one who can say for sure, though.

Just for clarification, is the island granite? And the perimeter counters tile?

We have an old farmhouse that we are trying to bring back to like after the previous owners decorated it on the 1980s. So, unfortunate, yes. The counter and floor matching tile. The island is a weird red granite that doesn't match anything. We started this journey with yellow caninets and green walls and an adjoining room with even brighter yellow walls and a black and white floor. A kaleidoscope of color, for sure! Nothing more can be ripped out as we are fixing up other things - like getting heat in the bedroom!
We had decided (after seeing the sample island color) on Kendall.Charcoal cabinets w Skipping Stone walls and white trim. unfortunately, the Kendall is too blue (I have another thread on that), so we are looking for a darker and less blue gray for the cabinets but still keep the farmhouse charm :) It's definitely an adventure!

The gray does tone down the tile, in fact it looks the same color as grout. I suggest you do other cabinets a lighter color with a gray glaze on them. The glazing really toned down my counter tops.