Diana Bier Interiors get rid of duplicates, build a double door pantry where the desk is, and put the stuff there. No top cabinets look so much better.

They are looking for $15,000 worth of updates yet many of the suggestions are so far beyond that. I doubt that those ideas are at all helpful.

I think that the flooring is most jarring at this time. So, I would begin there. If you already have hardwood in the adjoining rooms perhaps you can extend it into the kitchen. If not, then a plain vinyl might be your best option ( no grout).

Hopefully you would have enough money left over to replace the fridge and the chairs/bar stools. Eventually update your cabinet hardware and lighting. Next would be countertops. I really think that new flooring will work wonders.

BTW, we have " outdated, dreaded, orange oak cabinets" that we love. :)

Removing upper cabinets IMO is another trend that should go away...just not a practical solution to kitchen storage.

Open shelving in my kitchen - just picturing the work after baking at christmas when the flour and powdered sugar has gotten airborn and the entire kitchen needs a wipe down, or worse - after deep frying 10 lbs of chicken wings and finding that film of grease on all the plates and things on display. Or seeing all the pretty plates that I own with their little chips on the side that no one notices when the table is set, but are quite obvious when the plates are stacked.

Might work for someone who doesn't do a lot of cooking or baking, but my kitchen is a workhorse. I need upper cabinets. I am, however, in the planning stages of adding a "Fry Zone" between my kitchen and pantry. A 30" wide counter area with vent that has solid surface walls on the back and both side walls between the main kitchen and the shelving in the pantry. this area will be the home of my deep fryer, griddle (for bacon and other splashy greasy foods) and my mixer and will help keep the grease and airborn dust out of the main kitchen area.

I'd never remove cabinet uppers and replace them with open shelving. First, there's the issue of protecting the contents from dust and grime - an important reason for storing anything in enclosed cabinetry and secondly I need the storage. By that, I mean my uppers don't just have a single bowl or plate on the shelf. Items are stacked neatly but I still wouldn't want to look at stacks of items everyday.

Reading these posts has been very instructive in helping me evaluate my own kitchen which also has light honey oak cabinets with the arched tops. I looked around and noticed that I have arched openings and every interior door has an arched molding. Wow, it works together.

These cabinets don’t bother me because they are light colored. What really bothered me was the kitchen island that was way too tall for me to use. It cost $5000 to replace it and I used a dark stained maple to contrast with the existing light oak cabinets.

I will eventually replace the old tile counters, but if I never do at least I have a well functioning kitchen that works for me.

Good luck with your project.

Areyano, it’s a shame that you had to pay $5000 for the builder’s mistake. There are construction standards that should be followed.

Amanda Smith, some people like 38” high counters but I’m too short :). It’s all good, I got a slightly larger more usable island without seating. This allowed me to get drawers and now I have lots of storage!

Hi All,

\We've decided to start with the floors, and since there's been so many helpful comments, I thought we may get some input on the floors we're considering. We would love to do hardwood, but there is an abutting parquet floor and the transition would be difficult because of different thicknesses in the wood. Here are tile choices we're considering. (We are keeping the cabinets, and will enhance with new hardware.)

We are leaning towards the first one because it coordinates better with the rest of our house, especially the stone in our fireplace. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

My vote would also be for the first one. I think it has just enough warmth to work beautifully with the cabinets.

Personally, I like the second one best--it's quieter/less busy. But those dark tiles are very nice with the oak cabinets--they provide a beautiful contrast.

I love the first one especially if it blends with the rest of your home.

I like the coloring in the first one but I vote for second one also because the first one might get a bit busy when on a large surface.

Yes, the first is too busy.

I am going to cast a vote for getting the cabinets professionally spray lacquered in an off white color. My oak kitchen was transformed for under 15,000.

Cari, your new white kitchen is beautiful. But you also got new stainless appliances, new countertops, backsplash, floors, etc. If you had kept the oak cabinets unpainted, I think you would have still had a beautiful kitchen.....just saying.

The second one is the most visually calming with all your finishes and will allow the most flexibility in the future when you redo the counters. The first and last options have more pattern and will limit your future counter selections. If they offer the second one in a larger format consider that in a brick pattern.

We have a slate-look tile floor like this with nooks and crannies. It is very time consuming to keep clean. There have been threads on here about that style. When washing it, the dirty wash water gets in the cracks and dries to a dirty crust that is impossible to remove. Every time you wet the tile, you need to do a lot of scrubbing and rinsing to clean the cracks, then dry the floor very carefully, being sure to dry the inside of every crack and ridge. It is a big pain and I'd never get a non-smooth tile again.

I am not a big fan of very dark floors in the kitchen in general, nor of busy ones. So I wonder if you can find a quiet pattern (like the lower tile in pic #2) but lighter in tone (a bit lighter than pic #1).

Strongly recommend that you choose your new counter, backsplash and floor at the same time., even if you don't purchase all now. Choosing one in isolation often leads to a struggle to find a good pairing when you look for the other elements..

You should select the color / style for walls, floor, counter , backslash and cabinets (including hardware) at the same time. They have to work together as a unit.

At the very minimum, if you lightly sand, prime and paint your cabinets a very common white like BM White dove, replace the hardware, get a marble or granite look quartz counter (it will hold up a lot better and the color is more specific) and ceramic subway tile for the backslash (that matches the paint color) your kitchen will look significantly updated.

You can do the floor last and many floors will match. Very few floors will look good with the honey oak.

Honey Oak cabinets is like trying to update a living room that has wall to wall cream carpet. The cream carpet always brings it down a notch.

Always nice to chose elements at the same time but not practical for me from a payment perspective. My Reno took 7 years to complete. First hardware and lighting, taps and counters next. Then appliances and back splash. Then painting cabinets. Then flooring.
It did all look fine with the oak. But my ultimate goal was to refresh the whole house from doors to trim to casing also. Thankfully that wall to wall white carpeting went too!

With regard to the floor - if you like the encaustic/cement tile look, Cutring Edge Stencils is now selling stencils that are intended for painting over existing tile floors. The designs are aligned with your grout lines. The pictures of stenciled floors on their website look amazing. It would be a lot of work, and isn’t a long term solution, but it could buy you some time. https://www.cuttingedgestencils.com/jewel-tile-stencil-cement-tiles-stencils.html

Granite cost has come down to an extent.

Here's my updated G.O. kitchen. Impero Carrara Quartz counters, SW Pure White Uppers, SW Peppercorn base color. LVP floors.

Thanks for coming back to show us! You did a great job - WOW what a difference that pretty floor makes, along with the lovely granite (very similar to mine LOL!), beautiful new light, and the backsplash. The cabinets themselves look so much prettier now!

Great transformation!

I didn’t see this the first time around. It looks great! I like that you kept the stained cabinets and like the counter and floor choices.

Dp you have to seal the soapstone floor? Perhaps that’s a stupid question.....

Gorgeous and simple. Money well spent.

Very nice.

Your kitchen turned out great!

We just redid our kitchen which had 30 year old oak cabinets. Here’s my before and after.

Very nice Barbara! I love the floors.

Barbara Whitehouse, congratulations, that turned out _really_ well. Brilliant picks for the color of the floor and counters. The golden oak now looks fine. It’s like a magician’s trick. :). Love how the backsplash updates the room and yet looks completely appropriate. All very cool.

I’m impressed you synthesized all the commenter opinions including the many that said do the opposite thing, and came up with a very refreshed “new” kitchen. The flooring and new counters really pull it together nicely. Well done.

Re. the question on sealing the floors, they are not real soapstone, so no sealing required. Soapstone green is the name of the porcelain tile we used.

Very well done. I agree money well spent.

Really great suggestions. I would think hard about how you use your kitchen and work from there.

It looks like you really use your desk. I would put open shelving above the desk and really style the shelving. The open shelves should update the look of your kitchen.

Your chairs seem wrong for this space. Replacing them will also update your look.

A counter depth refrigerator would also be an improvement.

I agree with replacing the current countertops with formica. There are some beautiful new options.

I don't have a problem with the 2-tiered stove counter. Chair height seating is more comfortable, especially if you plan on "aging in place."

Would replace the flooring. If this proves too costly, try a large outdoor carpet to cover most of it and paint the tile grout.

Clear your countertops, top of refrigerator, etc., and style them out with plants, cutting boards, etc. Appliances that need to remain on the counter should be part of a styled vignette. Maybe try a row of uniform, square baskets on top of your upper cabinets to bridge the gap between the ceiling and cabinet tops.

Frankly, your kitchen has LOTS of pluses. You have lots of seating, tons of cabinet space, tons of counter space, a nice office area, and beautiful views. This is a lovely family kitchen. It's big enough for multiple cooks and great for chatting with guests while you cook.

Good luck!!

This looks really great but those top cabinets look so dated and detract from how great everything else looks.

Remove the desk thing, put in a free standing cabinet for dishes and the microwave and take out all the top cabinets.

I like your transformation. glad you didn’t paint the cabinets. ‘Dated comes and goes’. wood to my mind is timeless and takes the bumps and scrapes way better than paint. A couple of glass door fronts could lighten up the space - but as you went over budget that could certainly wait until you ever decide to tweak your design. Besides saving money on not changing cabinets you also saved a lot of ‘trash’ going into the landfill!

@cm66 I wanted to point out that painted wood furniture and painted wood pieces go back to at least the 1790s in the United States . It is as timeless as timeless comes . There is “ timeless “ design where a room is done that looks as great today as it did hundreds years ago . But that is not 1980s honey oak cathedral cabinets from Home Depot’s Kraftmaid selection .

Looks great. You did a fantastic job.

gwc973, when someone has completed their project, has already exceeded their budget and is kind enough to show it to us, they do not need to be told that they need to do more work because you don't like the cabinets.

The arched cabinets work well with French country decor...have you considered integrating some French decor into your design? The stools seem a bit too modern to me....

I think embracing the country elements would be better than trying to ignore the cabinetry...

@Amanda Smith I do not intend on being a jerk but that picture labeled "french country kitchen" is not a French Country kitchen. That is poor design that cabinet makers push on McMansions by packaging it as "French Country"..

These are French Country:

Gwc1973, your comments are not helpful. The cabinets are staying. Criticizing them is not necessary.

@Amanda Smith I’m not criticizing the cabinets in my last comment . I’m pointing out that they are neither French nor country nor French Country. That is just not the correct.

Barbara, I like how the darker counter and floors balance out the warmth of your cabinets. Nice choices.

Barbara, your new kitchen is fabulous -- so full of warmth & character. Makes me wish I had honey oak, cathedral arch cabinets !

Your kitchen is beautiful, warm and inviting! I disagree with the posters who are always bashing “the dated look”. These are classic choices in my opinion and a kitchen I would feel comfortable both cooking and sharing time with others in! It’s beautiful!!