Beautiful, classic kitchen. It will not become dated. And not all dinged up because it has been painted. Backsplash and countertop to bring it to life.

If you must, change the countertops and backsplash to something white, and appliances to stainless steel.

My only requirement is a high end product when completed.

That's why you don't paint the cabinets.

Maybe you should keep your kitchen and donate the $150k to Habitat for Humanity since you already have a perfectly functioning gorgeous high end kitchen. That's enough to provide a family with a new home.

Painted cabinets may as well be cheap MDF from Home Cheapo. Paint is paint, and if you have to tell me that they really are solid maple underneath then you have wasted your money.

Those cabinets aren't really my style (the wood is great, I'm not crazy about the raised panels or the pilasters on the sink base). But I'd be damned if I'd spend that kind of money on stuff to store my dishes and food in. My sense of worth is not tied to a showroom kitchen. I'd rather take the money and spend it on 5 or 10 really swell vacation trips.

I second or third the suggestion that if you’re going to do anything, trade out the counters and backsplash for something light. I’m also a fan of the wood against white look, so that’s probably what I’d personally go for, along with stainless appliances if I had money to burn. I would not gut this kitchen unless you just totally hated it.

Why are you twisting in the wind? Do you love the cabinet tone or style? Do you love a cook top or would you prefer a pro range and hood? What about the other appliances? Do you have the budget for a major overhaul? Are you staying for ten years? Yes to all? Then don't ASK. : ) Just do it and donate or sell off the existing, tops and all. You'll only get more guilt here, and it's your money, your life in the kitchen, and your home. I cant read that floor plan btw ( too dark and small ) so no answer as to what other possibilities may exist.

It's a decent kitchen, but it would hardly make my heart skip a beat. If it doesn't make yours do that? Don't start pecking at it, replacing tops and splashes, when what you REALLY want is something entirely different. You don't do a kitchen to get money back, although that certainly happens...............you do a kitchen because you want a new one if your stars are well aligned with resources. With no apologies.You don't make apologies for trading your auto for a new model, despite the color may be just fine, free of rust, and it still RUNS. Jeesh.

Ps to my just above. When you make the leap? Get a KD on board. Not a forum. Not a cabinet seller. I'd lose that open dust catching space above the cabs , and that is all I will say as I can't see that floor plan. Time for planning, thought....to a result you will love. That is true of any remodel endeavor. Piggy bank, wish list and a PRO : )

I am a white kitchen girl through and through, but I would not get rid of those cabinets unless you seriously have money to burn. You have a totally Functional layout and the cabinets are beautiful. If I were you I would get a light bright backsplash and counter, under cab lighting If you don’t alread have it, and new stainless appliances and call it a day. Here’s an example:

Obviously the kitchen is functional and adequate but that isn't the issue.

What amount of discretionary income do you have because remodeling the kitchen with high end finishes will be in excess of $100,000 if not more.

If you have the money and want to spend it on your kitchen go for it because it is no worse a use of discretionary income than anything else that gives you pleasure. I live in an area where wealthy people do remodel kitchens that are beautiful and functional by most people's standards because they want a good look and they can afford it. I have no idea why renovating a home seems to singled out as an ecologic travesty as there are far more egregious environmental crimes than a remodel - I would suspect one private cross country flight is worse :-).

When you decide that you actually want to spend $100,000 to $150,000 to remodel to get your dream kitchen come back and boldly state that you have the budget to do so and post a very clear layout to get the best input possible.

I do agree that at that level you want a really talented and experienced kitchen designer and not just some shlub who works in the nearest cabinet store.

I agree with Jan. It is not for us to say how you spend your money... I do as well strongly urge you to sell these cabinets tops appliances or donate them to Habitat for Humanity - they are too valuable to trash. I don't care for the fact that you have no windows in the kitchen since it is in the center of the house but it seems to get enough light from the breakfast nook area. There is a lot of counterspace which is nice. I don't like where the ref is.... it blocks that side. It would also be nice if your island was restructured for seating...

Whatever you decide - good luck!!

Cabinets are beautiful.what about removing just a few to get more open feel.

One persons high end is another's moderate and vice versa. There's a big difference between Monogram and Sub Zero etc. Both can make a luxurious feel in a kitchen . Same is true of cabinetry. The OP is in Birmingham Alabama.... ( or her client is, and I know realtors lol )

The point is it is personal to tastes, to budget to labor costs in the area, to how much surrounding area you effect and a ton of other things varying between custom cabs, semi custom , lighting and more.

Which is why if you can do it, want to do it, you do it and you don't need the permission of anyone but the darn bank, and hopefully not even the bank.The same reason you don't even ask here when you get the car ?!

As to what could "get a family a new house" ? A kitchen needs a plumber, an electrician, a cabinet maker. It needs a truck or delivery. someone to cut and install tops for those cabinets. Another to tile.......a trucker to ship all the components to complete, and someone to DRIVE that truck ! How in hell do you think those folks earn a living? Kitchens for the tent or trailer? Spare us the judgements please, unless the op asked for that, which she unfortunately and unwittingly DID .

I agree with Jan. And I also agree that it’s offensive to tell the OP to donate the money to a charity. Is that what you tell someone to do when you see them drive past you in a BMW or a Porsche? You’re entitled to spend your money how you want. (and who’s to say what any random stranger does/doesn’t donate to charities? We have no idea)

your house,your kitchen, how long have you been using it for?

I think a striking white marble or quartzite top to that island would be stunning. I could see a statement surface there. Maybe a simpler white surface on the perimeter

I might consider white white or ivory appliances also if it were me.

There's only 2 real questions here. What's your end goal? And what's your budget to get there? What you have is gorgeous, and the majority of people would love to have it and maybe just do 10-50K worth of tweaks with possibly new counters, lighting, paint, and/or appliances. If you absolutely hate it, and have the discretionary funds to change it completely, then please do donate or sell what is there so that it doesn't end up in the landfill, and someone else gets the opportunity to enjoy it.

if you want white, that means paint (or a pre-cat lacquer which is what I'm doing to my custom wood cabs). If you like the style, hire the best cabinet painter in your area. do your research. I will tell you that you're looking at 7-12K to get those painted (not with a roll on latex paint either).

if you don't like the style, then get them refaced w/a shaker style done in white. they'll replace the end panels too.

New appliances, countertop, and splash.

If you're waffling on choices, hire a kitchen designer.

and for everyone else poo-pooing her for wanted to change, seriously? Tatts, I really wish you'd go take your 10 vacations and stop w/your needless comments on these posts.

as for donating the cabs, well yes, if she decides on all new ones, she could. But the granite will have to be broken up. you can't save it. I like your layout. Do you? if so, no sense in ripping off the skeleton base, just have them refaced. Find a local cabinet maker, not Home Depot.

@tatts. Why do you spend time on a forum where most of the threads are devoted to sending money on remodeling that didn’t have to be spent. Even if one has a kitchen that is objectively dysfunctional, ugly and is ready to retire after 50 plus years of service which is what mine was, I still spent a large amount of my purely discretionary income to achieve a kitchen that was aesthetically and functionally as good as possible. I could have easily saved a huge sum of money and done the bare minimum necessary to heat and cool food and store items.

I echo the “keep cabs, change countertops, backsplash, appliances” sentiments. I felt the same about my kitchen when I moved in. Wanted it all different. But instead I just removed wallpaper and painted. Made a HUGE difference and now I absolutely love the kitchen. With yours, though, I would change what I stated above to lighten the look.

If this is YOUR home and you want to lighten things, then change to new appliances, light countertop and backsplash. It would make a world of difference. .

If you are selling this home..... Know that you can never please all. The granite one might love for its depth of layers is loathed by another, due to the busy pattern camouflaging specs of food and spills from meal prep. If this were mine, I'd do above and stage with patterned runner rugs and display coordinating cookbooks, limes & lemons, green apples, or oranges - whatever works with home's color story (&fresh flowers)

I went back and reread also: So we are thinking of gutting but everyone keeps saying how "nice" the cabinets are so now I feel guilty.

This isn't so much a design dilemma as a psychological dilemma. I would not feel guilty about gutting this kitchen (though I would definitely sell or donate just from an environmental standpoint). But...big BUT here...I would not do anything till I was absolutely committed to what I wanted in my new kitchen. To that end, Vickie, you don't seem to have any ideabooks, specifically a kitchen ideabook. The first thing I would do is look at a thousand kitchens till I found one I loved so much that it made it worth tearing your current kitchen out.

So much great potential here with just a refresh. Everything is currently a tone of brown . paint the walls ,Change the backsplash, the counters ,maybe even consider changing the island a bit to allow seating on one end,a cool metal vent over the stove, modern lighting over the island and if you so desire strip the wood floor and refinish it.

Vickie, I see you are a realtor. What would you tell a client about a home they were looking to purchase if they had the same long term goal for their home as you do (how long they plan to live there, your region, amount of dislike for the kitchen)? Listen carefully to your own professional voice. Would you tell them to go for it because they can afford it and it fits their long term plan or would you try to nudge them in the direction of small upgrades to make this home their dream? Only you can really say if the amount of dislike you have for the space is larger than the time, money, and inconvenience of renovating. I am a homebody and my home is a reflection of things I love. Remodeling is my hobby and relaxation, so I like to keep things fresh even though what I have is usually perfectly livable. To me making things look the way I want is worth the cost.

My God..... Lol

The world will be a better place without an every 20 second gut check for permission slip from those who are total strangers and irrelevant to amy aspect of ones' life or future happiness,

None of this should be confused with how do I fix this, "omg it's hideous and I have ino money" type queries! That's is different.

Don't open yourself to judgement on financially / purely aesthetic preference. As you can see, it's an invitation to .... Judgement!!

This kitchen is in your idea book and I think you could transition to something similar fairly easily. Keep the floors, professionally paint the cabinets, change the backsplash and counters, change appliances, pendant over island, add some glass doors.

Do you plan to cook much in this kitchen? If not, leave it alone.

If this will be a busy kitchen, I would want to shrink the island, length & width. Because the present kitchen is a maze of isles which bug me. And the island is blocking the path from the fridge to the microwave. (30-40% of the 'meals' at my house consist of nuked leftovers.)

Cabinets not my style but easy to live with. No big drawers, but I assume there are roll-outs at least behind the doors?

Counters are uninspired; backsplash, ditto. Plus looking hard to clean & doesn't appear to be a good pairing with the counters.

Your money; your call. But I sure would not sink much $ into it if it's main function is to serve as a spot to reheat take-out.

I loathe sinks that are stuck in a corner/nook and facing a wall, plus have cabinets overhead, for me, that would be the issue I’d want to tackle. I don’t mind the wood so much, but is is a very characterless space, very overwhelmingly brown. On first impression, it doesn’t seem like an enjoyable cooking space. Also, appliances are black and I personally find them oppressive visually. Perhaps the open side we can’t see helps balance things out. A lighter counter could really help. I can understand why you are feeling ambiguous about this kitchen, it SHOULD be nice but something is off...

http://victoriaelizabethbarnes.com/kitchen-designs-with-no-window-over-sink/

I am not at all a fan of the finishes. But I could absolutely live with them, if that was my only concern.

My bigger problem is that the kitchen doesn't seem as functional as I would like it. The giant island in the middle is in the way. The placement of fridge, sink, and stove is awkward; not even mentioning the ovens' location. Too many bulky overhead cabinets, where a couple of well-designed lower drawers could do the job better and at the same time make the space feel more spacious.

Come to think of it, the island also doesn't really seem to fill a real need other than taking up space in a kitchen that otherwise would feel too large from side to side.

So, if I actually planned on regularly heavily using the kitchen, I would do a remodel that pretty much started from a blank slate. And I would pull in an experienced professional kitchen designer. But then, I love to cook and bake a lot more than most average home owners. So, for me, the kitchen is one of the most important parts of the house and I am willing to sink a disproportionate amount of money into making it functional. This is absolutely not the correct answer for everybody.

And to be fair, after we bought our house, I lived almost 15 years with a very haphazardly designed kitchen. It was never anywhere close to being functional. And I still made do. Only when appliances started failing did I pull the trigger to replace those appliances and use the opportunity to remodel the entire space.

In hindsight, this was a very good call. It took me a couple of years to really learn what I want and what I don't actually want in a kitchen; and to learn how my house works in day to day situations.

If you do remove the kitchen cabinets, reach out to a group like habitat for humanity or renovation angel. https://renovationangel.com/donate/

Save yourself some demo money and keep good stuff out of the landfill.

"Maybe you should keep your kitchen and donate the $150k to Habitat for Humanity since you already have a perfectly functioning gorgeous high end kitchen. That's enough to provide a family with a new home."

I see nothing offensive about this comment. To me, it's refreshing, because it values humanity more than vanity.

@Skil367

You wrote that you saw nothing offensive about suggesting the OP donate what she would have spent on a kitchen.

I have no idea why this is a suggestion specific to someone wanting a new kitchen. Do people walk around telling people driving expensive cars or wearing designer clothing that they should have donated what they spent?

There are threads upon threads of people asking advice on how to spend money on what are objectively not necessities. They have toilets that flush and water comes out of the shower head - the stove works and the refrigerator cools. Why aren't they told to donate what they would have spent. Is it because the posted kitchen reflects what would seem to be the kitchen of an relatively affluent person and stirs up some kind of resentment?

Why is it that people are so offended by OP's desire to have her environment reflect her aesthetic and functional needs. As I posted earlier, I spent way more money on my remodel than was necessary but whenever I see my kitchen, I get happy - it gives me pleasure. I donate but I also spend my money for things that bring personal satisfaction.

For folks who find frivolous spending on home interiors an example of valuing vanity over humanity, I will mention there are many people who are employed serving these vanities. Perhaps you would prefer they forfeit their living and hope for the charity of those more enlightened souls who criticize how other people spend their money.

And of course, I am surprised to find such high minded people wasting their precious time here among the shallow throngs.

I agree it’s beautiful as is- but if you have money to burn want a new look - counter tops, backsplash, pulls & knobs. Heck, maybe lighting too (but it’s not needed, only if you WANT to replace.)

OP seems to have left the room.

Kitchens with nice cabinets can be successfully updated.

I doubt there will be much more happening here... the OP seems to have left.. and I can't blame them... I hope she gets the kitchen she desires...

My remark went a bit too far and I apologize. That said, after a lifetime of working for wealthy clients, sometimes it's difficult to keep my gut reactions in check.

I appreciate all the helpful input (not the judgements). Teddytoo was also helpful. I do tell clients all the time how to save or spend to maximize the current market and I have AlWAYS had a hard time taking my own advise. When all is said and done I will post new pics. As of now I am currently in a design stage. Thanks again.

Thank you all for great suggestions. I just wanted to share the pics of the final project since some have requested how it turned out. Everything old was salvaged for some other families too. It was a win for everyone. 🥰

It turned out wonderful! Enjoy it !

You couldn’t ask for a better result….looks FANTASTIC!

What did you do to your floors???

well that was worth the cost! looks so much better.

SMASHING! Good for you : ) I wish you guilt free enjoyment , btw!

Wow, what an incredibly beautiful kitchen! Thanks for posting the photos, and enjoy your new space!

Stunning! Enjoy every moment you spend in your beautiful new kitchen!

The floors were refinished. Alcohol (drys faster than water and opens the pores in the wood). Then Duraseal Aged Barrel, and I can’t remember the poly top coat, sorry.

Vickie, what a beautiful renovation. Thank you for sharing the after pictures!