Please post a scale drawing of the area that is going to be renovated. Show the windows and doors, and let us know what rooms they lead to. It would be good to have photos of the adjacent room too - is it the dining room? Will the flooring flow to that room too? From your comments, sounds like you have the budget for a complete gut?

A helpful thread. https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/5500754/new-to-kitchens-read-me-first

space looks pretty good. i would paint the cabinets to a lighter color (white family but not stark white... Benjamin Moore: Simply White, Moonlight White, ) replace the countertops to granite or quartz in a lighter color, redo the backsplash. If budget allows, remove the ceiling fixture and add recessed lights and do hardwood floors. I think once you paint the cabinets and get a lighter countertop, it will make the space make much brighter, cheerier, and cleaner looking. Good luck!

From merely a photo I like your cabinets. I like the way you placed a bench by lower counter, a bit different - does it work ok?

I like your cabinets, and unless you are doing a gut remodel, I would be leaving them alone. I dont like your green countertops, so I would look for new countertops to go with the cabinets, and a nice backsplash, to blend with the cabinets and the new countertops. What are the floors in the rest of your house like?

Recessed lighting will be key here. What shape are you cabinets in? If you keep them I would take off the moulding at the top & the bottom. The window valance & light needs to go. Take a cabinet door to a stone yard & see what looks good with your cabinets. Also take the window thing off the door...

That's a good start.

we are thinking of going with st. cecilia granite.

the rest of the house is hardwood that is about the same color as the cabinets. so how would I do incorporate a different color/style of hardwood?

Also, does anyone know how to reface cabinets or make them a lighter stain color?

why dont you try painting them white and i can give u face ideas?

What if budget is best with replacing just fronts of the uppers? [no more arches then] -- and in a 'good spot' for it, add open shelves for often-used dinnerware and cups and all...

The kitchen window area looks crowded - good spot for open shelves to let it breathe.

Called "soothing gray" and might be good for your flooring and almond/bisque frig, etc... low contrast ..

https://www.houzz.com/photos/modern-open-kitchen-contemporary-kitchen-los-angeles-phvw-vp~44772

I doubt you want hickory rustic like this, but wanting to post light cabinets and counter some darker -

Check Ikea - designer used the glossy, but others too -

https://www.houzz.com/photos/houzz-tour-a-canal-side-red-brick-abode-filled-with-texture-and-personality-contemporary-kitchen-dublin-phvw-vp~18212207