Be cautions with being set on white everything. If you are keeping the floors and wall colour you will need to incorporate some creams or off whites somewhere or everything will look out of place.

If you are wanting to change the cabinets in the near future I would not do just the counters and backsplash because if you go to change the cabinets later there is a chance of damaging the counters, especially if you choose stone.

Also be careful going white - you will need to match your appliances.

for right now, don't worry about backsplash. If you're keeping the floor tile, then pick a countertop on the warmer side. if you do all white cabs, counter and a white subway tile, it's going to look goofy. you don't have the right space/tile to carry off an all white look.

look at a warmer toned granite or quartz option and choose a white shaker door. you can find budget end cabinets that are made decently enough. even Ikea has some nice options.

your floors are what's limiting your choices. (if you want an all white look) So, I would either hold off on the backsplash and instead do the flooring. Or, save up enough to cover your flooring before doing everything else.

if you do your own demo of that kitchen, you can save thousands, especially by demoing the floor tiles.

look for close outs on left over dye lots of tile. look for remnant granite slabs. look on craigslist for cabinets. I just saw an ad on there yesterday for custom built solid mahogany cabinets. they were stunning. people remodel all the time and just want to get rid of things.

if you're on a budget, you have to know where to shop.

if you want to do the work, you can make-over what you have. you can add wood trim to your doors to make them shaker, or keep them slab front

the before on this one was builder grade oak cabs. paint, counters/flooring. all white

All great suggestions. What I notice is that none of the afters have the tile floor; all have the wood. I have a similar tile floor which I would love to keep . I would love to see some updated kitchens with the tile floors.

lulu,,,the problem is finding before and after pictures that keep current tile. not all of them do. so, if keeping your tile, then you'll have to match the color tones in it w/your cabs and countertop selections.

doesn't always make sense to completely upgrade your kitchen, but hang on to tile that you have to work around. it limits your choices. if you really like the tile, fine, but to keep only because you have to, doesn't make sense. save up until you can do flooring that your going to like w/the new kitchen

I am going to recommend a different direction until you can do a complete remodel. I think you need more contrast. Currently the floor, counter tops, cabinets and back splash are all the same color scheme. I would paint the cabinets a dark color (almost black) and add new hardware. A dark color would set off the tile, counter top and floor (as well as the appliances).

What is your budget? That is going to determine the realistic scope of your project.

As posted, if you are getting new cabinets, counter and backsplash, you are essentially doing a complete remodel - except for the appliances everything else will be changed - your sink, fixtures.

I am not sure you are ever going to achieve the look you want while keeping those beige 12 x 12 tiles as they are a significant design factor. If you love those tiles, that's great but all your other choices are going to be driven by the flooring.

Again, it comes down to budget as the scope of your project is already almost a complete remodel of the kitchen - why stop at the floors?

I would change the backsplash to a white or light solid color, update the pulls and save for the complete remodel.

shivece, why would you have her spend money on redoing the backsplash when it's over that laminate countertop? if she gets a new top, the backsplash will have to go (you don't do tile splash on top of the 4" countertop backsplash piece). Doesn't make sense. at the very minimum she could pull off the mosaic, fix the wall, and just paint.

For a quick change, I would remove the back splash and change the sink and appliances to SS. The white is glaring against the the darker cabinets and counter.

OP, are you planning a complete kitchen redo in the future? If so, I’d just do new countertops for now and bank the rest for the redo. Do just enough to make it prettier, but not so good that you lose your motivation to save for what you really want.

Reading everyone's feedback and they're all helpful and overwhelming! My husband and I are first-time home buyers and are new to this. Honestly, first reaction upon seeing this kitchen was it looked too "busy" with the brown, if that makes any sense. I was not a fan of the back splash tiles and the counter top. It seems as if I can't play the white/cool color look for our budget which is pretty low (3 - 5K) unless I wanted to break the bank and do a major overhaul it seems. >_<

So, now I'm open to any ideas that can make this kitchen look...better? and whatever better means to you as a home designer/homeowner. Better as in less going on, modern and simpler? I'm learning as I go - bear with me!

BTW, I'm hoping to ride out these white appliances until they give up. From what I'm told they're fairly new.

Should I do something with the floors? I'm not crazy about the tile floors, but some have said the tile floors provide me with limited options here.

Rina, keep saving. 3 K is what you'll need for countertops. learn how to demo and save money. take a tiling class at home depot or lowes and learn how to do your own backsplash. since it's your first home, you guys will have to learn how to do things yourselves if you want updates (or win the lottery). Kitchens and baths are the most expensive redo options.

I gave you suggestions in my earlier comment. decide what it is your want and go from there.

As a new homeowner with a small budget, I would probably do nothing as there is nothing wrong with your kitchen. Save the money for the inevitable expenses that arise with homeownership

The kitchen may not be your taste but the reality is that most people don’t live in a HGTV world. I would allocate any home improvement money into other items like good furniture Or whatever else really would improve the quality of your life.

with only a bit of pocket money I would have the tile backsplash removed. Paint the area a good semi gloss same as far wall color . I would put some dark hardware on the cabinets that goes with faucet . don't do anything else as you will encounter "remodel creep" and a whole new remodel which will cost you more, is down the road. This kitchen has had some things replaced but it lacks real updating......you will want to see how it works within the scheme of your first floor. The peninsula looks small and not that comfortable, there are no windows, it does not appear to be open to other areas of the home, the lighting needs major work...etc.

Wow, Beth H, some awesome ideas there. You really take so much time to thoroughly research and reply to people's questions. I wish I lived closer so I could hire you.

To OP I agree with people's suggestions to live with it for a while. Can't be sure from the photos but the wood of the cabinets looks good. the appliances are new. I do love Beth's black and white suggestions. Yuu can also find (horror of horrors) vinyl stick on mosaic backsplash in your colors. New hardware also goes a long way.

Once you live in the space, you will probably find that you want to do something completely different from what you think you might need now and you will be sorry that you spent your money on something that won't be what you want or fit your needs down the line.

Pick an accent color (from the rest of your house) or a rustic theme and group some attractive accessories from Homegoods (maybe glass ornaments) on top of the dust collectors, I mean cabinets, to brighten up the space. Keep the theme of it cohesive throughout and place in groupings not just random ornaments Throw in a few white pieces so that the white appliances are incorporated. Put down a non slip runner. Maybe, even go bold with color in warm tones.

h