Ooh I didn’t think of that Meira. Thank you!
Would it be worth it to hire someone to paint? I’m not looking to do a DIY

Agree with cpartist.

I would also change out the fluorescent light for something updated.

Change the lighting it will make a huge difference and since this is a stop gap I would just get a funky LED track light with 3-5 heads with 4000K bulbs and leave it be , When time comes to redo then you can look at pot lights and of course you already know a better layout it looks nice and clean and uncluttered for now.

Would it be worth it to hire someone to paint? I’m not looking to do a DIY

I can't imagine it would be very expensive since it's such a small area. Go to your local paint store and ask them for recommendations if you don't know someone.

New rug, new light fixture, and take down/replace the curtains on the window. There are gel stains you could use on the cabinet wood that are fairly easy to use to darken the wood color. Oh, and find artwork that fits in that spot better, perhaps. This looks like it's been hung awkwardly high. I'm assuming that's because of the outlet on the wall, but it just makes it look off to me.

Agree with both the black stain and new lighting recommendation. I’d also change the drapes and the rug to something with a little color, switch the art to something more modern, and move the toaster oven to the back wall and put a nice (faux) plant or flowers there instead :)

Thank you all!
The truth is that the rig and picture etc are from a previous tenant. I have a totally blank canvas to wrk with. I’m really looking to give the kitchen a more modern and also fresh look. I’m worried that black stain is not enough. The cabinets look really bad. What is another option that is budget friendly (although I would spend a little money if it would make a huge difference)

Do you rent or do you own this property?

It depends on what "budget friendly" means to you. You could likely replace the cabinets with something from IKEA for a few thousands dollars and some work doing the assembly/install yourself. That's a lot to put in if you're planning to remodel in a few years, but would probably have the biggest impact now.

Good question, Denita.

"I want to keep the cost as low as possible because the kitchen is going to be remodeled in a couple years."

I painted my melamine laundry cabinets years ago and they look fine. Wear and tear is not the same as in a kitchen though. (I also painted the wood trim.) If all this will be redone in a couple of years, you could chance painting them. Cheaper and easier than paint is contact paper. They make it in all sorts of colours and patterns now. Really depends on how much you hate the cabinets, your budget and how long lasting your temporary fix needs to be. Personally, looking at this pic, I'd change the lighting before I'd fuss with the cabinets. But that's me. Painting the walls will influence the look of this space as well.

I think the superficial changes being recommended make the most sense if you are planning a full kitchen reno in just a few years, but for a temporary cabinet fix maybe look into kitchen cabinet contact paper. No personal experience, just a potential creative solution!

If you look through some European websites you'll see quite a lot of neutral non-wood cabinets, so yours are not really off-trend. And the addition of neutral-toned wood is also very popular.

One thing that is different is that these neutral bases are often spiced up with some really bright colors, often bright green which is a nice appetizing color for a kitchen. Imagine yours with wall art that's very bright green and eye-catching - maybe edible plants. Add a bright green rug and maybe even the same bright color on a wall. That will give it an updated look at little cost. Light fixture could be modern or retro - please no overhead lights. Can you add undercabinet lighting now that could be used in your new kitchen later?

I personally think your kitchen looks more
modern already compared to some of the current ones that have been updated in the manner of HGTV.

I really appreciate everyone’s advice!
Does anyone have experience with painting or refacing cabinets. (Ie: price, who to contact for job, how does it look, how does it hold up...)?
Thank you so much!!

I fail to understand the need to add hardware to doors with integrated handles, Century Hardware.

Here are a couple more pictures for reference. Since these pictures have been taken the counters were switched to black granite and the appliances are all black

I fail to understand the need to add hardware to doors with integrated handles, Century Hardware.

That's because he thought in a kitchen he could spam.

I would remove the upper cabinets over the peninsula too.

Does anyone have experience with painting or refacing cabinets. (Ie: price, who to contact for job, how does it look, how does it hold up...)?
Thank you so much!!

Painting those cabinets if you're not doing them yourself will set you back $5000 or more. Certainly not worth it for cabinets so old and not what you want.

Refacing costs almost as much as new cabinets. Again not worth it for those cabinets.

It looks like a new (old) house you're moving into. I would highly recommend just doing the few cosmetic things recommended and then I've in the space for 6 months to a year before deciding to do anything else. You need time to assess what works or doesn't work.

I was going to suggest just painting the wood white to match the cabinets, so went looking for some inspiration pics and found this. Not crazy about the hardware they used:

One more:

This looks pretty terrific, but would be a lot more $$

Thank you!
Those pictures are exactly what I would want to do!!
Does anyone have any advice on that front?
What type of person would I hire for the job?