How about something like this? It is from Home Depot (obviously). I have a friend with something similar and she raves about the fact that it is scratch-resistant, waterproof and stainproof. Your pictures kind of creeped me out. You all looked like ninjas :)

Lol! Figured hubby and realtor wouldn’t want to be featured so I blacked them out!
Is that tile? Vinyl? I do really like that look

It does look sort of like a garage floor (with ninjas). If you don't get around to replacing the floor before you move in, you can always invest in some fun rugs.

That is porcelain tile.

Ha! I was wondering why everyone was hiding in hoodies. Everyone was so gangsta.

I also have a north-facing kitchen. A better lighting plan has made a huge difference! I also enlarged the slider from 6' to 8', but the LED cans are the clear winner in brightening the room.

Remove the valance from the window, as it's cutting out half of the, already meager, natural light.

Look at off-whites with little chroma and high LRV. Lori's site has a wealth of information. She posts off and on here about color and how it works. Makes my brain hurt but I was able to pick one that I really love. It's not on her list, though. I wanted some yellow.

Ok so new paint and window coverings were definitely already on the list but I couldn’t get past the floor. Maybe I should paint and do lighting first and see how that goes...
The bulbs look pretty warm too.
Too bad I don’t have any more photos without the ninjas in them ;) lol

And thank you for the link to the colour info - it takes me A LONG TIME to decide on paint!

I also love the floor, backsplash, and counters. I agree with previous poster who mentioned brightening it up with fun rugs! Congratulations on your new home!

I spent months dithering, because I never chose a white/off-white. The good thing is, you can take your time. You might not want to, but isn't a real emergency :)

It doesn't look bad as is. As other posters stated, add more lighting, paint your walls a white that goes with your cabinets, and remove the window valence. You might also consider getting a white table or one with a white table top. It's risky to invest a lot of money in a new floor before you even move in. You might have different ideas after living in the house for a while. if you decide to change some cabinets or make other major changes later, your new floor might need to be redone.

Agreed, it’s definitely not an emergency and it all works well together. Just wanted to lighten it up, and the floor’s not quite my style. Figured it would be easier to deal with before moving in. Thanks for the comments and advice!

You could also a lighter or colorful rug under the dining table and something coordinating next to the sink. I agree with others that you should leave the floor as is right now. I think it looks nice, but can see that is dark. In addition to maybe adding some can lights in the kitchen area, I'd add under counter lights too. I have black granite counters and it really lightens the room up.

We see scope creep or regrets a lot on here. You think that you're just freshening up an element but, since the flooring is changing, why not move this or that? Or, you redo something and then realize another element really bothers you. But, now you've gone to the expense of a new thing and can't change the other without ripping out the new, and they don't sell it anymore!

Since the new kitchen is functional and looks nice, we always advise living in the home for about a year to get a good idea of what works and what doesn't. Then, you would have saved for a year to make changes and not have regrets about rushing into things. The bonus of waiting is taking the time to have a whole plan. Your needs and wants have been thought out well and budgeted. The combination of elements flow together. And, it works well with the rest of the house. Easy stuff like painting the walls can be done at any point.

if you don’t have under cabinet lighting it can make work spaces very very dark, and I thought at first they looked like 2 spectres (as in death) lol, if anything is making the room dark it’s the dark counters

Don't use gray wood-grain vinyl plank flooring. It will soon be out of date.

I agree with Beth, get the lighting revamped before you do anything else. What's on the back of the island, stone?

The counters will be easier to replace than the floors. I would replace the counters (which IMHO are the bigger culprits of light suckage). Black counters are also a bigger maintenance thing - they show fingerprints and crumbs easily. Remove the window treatments, add undercabinet lights, and paint the walls a lighter color. Then decide if you still need to rip out the floors.

When you are re-painting the walls, also re-paint the ceiling. From the photo it looks a dull color. Try Benjamin Moore Cloud White in flat finish for the ceilings.

Oh, and the black dining table. Not helping. Replace that too.

There seems to be consensus around the counters - any recommendations as to what to replace them with? Colours, materials?

I’m no expert, I’m guessing a light grey like the backsplash, or a light tan like the stone, or white like the cabinets.

The back of the island is the same stone as the backsplash. It’s the grey tone, although does look a little tanner in the light of the photo.
Table is current homeowner not ours. Although ours is darker too (dark stained wood, not black). I’ll use a rug for now while we decide

Scope creep ;)

DH, you can replace them w/whatever you like. white cabs and a neutral floor, leaves you w/tons of options. go to an actual stone yard and walk around to view the slabs.

Hi all, we’ve changed light bulbs to daylight, and removed window valences. Both have helped a bit. Floors are staying for now.

Can anyone suggest a paint colour direction? Warm neutral? Cool neutral? Colour?
Tried to bring SW Gossamer Veil from hallway into kitchen and it’s too warm/beige with the window direction in there.
Attached pics of floor, counter, backsplash.
If you’re still reading this far, thanks :) I’m at a complete loss in this room and can’t live with the gold!

Benjamin Moore Pale Oak or Dove Wing might work.

@Kitty You know what, I was originally going to do Pale Oak! Had the paint already, but had to quickly get a bedroom painted before furniture arrived so threw the Pale Oak up in there and then doubted it for the kitchen. I’ll revisit it though :)