YOu're going through all the hassle of replacing countertops, hood and tile splash, but don't want to paint your cabinets? IMO, that extremely heavy and dark oak won't look good w/the marble look quartz or your tile flooring.

And doing that white beveled subway tile w/the regular, thinner blue glass subway tile (in a diff size) will not look good. at all.

Honestly, what's there now looks best with your cabinets. bringing in new stuff is just going to make the cabinets look that much older.

That Cambria Torquay isn't cheap. why would you spend that much on countertops and leave the cabs as is? Save up until you can paint them or put on new door fronts. (I just had the doors and drawers refaced with mine and painted the bases. turned out great)

what I would do is save up or spend money on painting (if you're happy w/the layout). I'd build on top of what's there w/boxes in order to take them up to the ceiling:

Remove the rope trim.

get new door fronts if you can swing it. If not, just paint what's there.

If you plan on getting one of those modern type of SS hood vents, It's not going to match your style cabinets.

Do a hood something like this one if you ever plan on painting. Or look at the other ones in the pictures.

Before / After These are similar style cabs to yours.

These cabinets also closely resemble yours. They kept their granite but changed the splash. Notice the vent hood on this one. Look into something like the new one for yours.

The after one looks better.

Amazing that you have this beautiful kitchen.

I don't think it's horrible as-is; looks like someone's idea of a Tuscany kitchen. If it were me, I'd play with that and live in Italy for awhile and save the money for a more complete remodel. Also, I'd definitely want to live in the house awhile (like a year or two) to see if there are things I'd want to change with the layout. Congrats on your new home!

wrights1994

Also, I'd definitely want to live in the house awhile (like a year or two) to see if there are things I'd want to change with the layout. (from girl_wonder)

+1,000,000 ^^^This is huge. As long as you don't have safety hazards, bring your sense of humor and live there for a year to see what works and what doesn't (changing patterns of light through windows through the seasons, traffic flow, etc.)

Cosmetic issues (form) tend to catch the eye first, but after a couple million "excuse me"s and bruised hips and knocked over plates, it's the layout and flow (function) that really matter.

Keep collecting ideas in the interim! For instance, I love the look of beveled subways for a backsplash, but DH and I are, umm, enthusiastic cooks, doing a lot of stir-fry and so forth, and despite using vents religiously, grease does get deposited on the walls, to be immediately followed by dust. Cleaning beveled tile can get old really fast. Stuff like that.

I agree wit everyone else. What you’ll end up with is a pieced together kitchen that you won’t be happy with. If you’re not painting or replacing the cabinets, it’s not going to look updated, it’s going to look “sorta updated”. Once you open this can of worms there is no going back...

If you love the wood cabinets, then I agree with your plan to replace tops and splash - look at Viatera Quartz Soprano - it has some warm veining that will look better with the wood cabinets.

If you don't love the wood and want to replace the cabinets eventually, I would

1) address the hood, whether that means replacing or just painting the trim.

2) add some cabinet hardware

Then live with it for a while and see what works for you.

If you really want to brighten up your kitchen would recommend you paint or refinish the cabinetry with a much lighter stain. Wood cabinetry seems to be making a comeback and seems to be gaining in popularity over painted cabinets but, in my opinion, painted cabinetry is better. No one wants a dark kitchen and light colored painted cabinets do so much to lighten and enliven a kitchen. Whatever you decide, good luck!

That white backsplash and quartz with the same floors and cabinets will clash VERY badly.

I agree with everyone else that you should live with it for now. If you must do something right now, paint the walls and add cabinet pulls or knobs.

That's a huge chunk of change to spend now and then in a year you might realize the layout of the kitchen could be better functionally. Take that money and put it into a kitchen fund and add to it. Then decide once you've been in the house for a year.

Trust me most of us have lived with worse.

I guess I should wait. ugh. I HATE the range hood. That was where this all started. I am having the walls painted as well as the trim. I will start with that I guess. I did have a quote to paint the cabinets white but we are on Texas and that is so uncommon here I didn't want to take that plunge. I like the layout, so it never crossed my mind to change the cabinets

If the hood bothers you that much, then I agree to switch it out. Then live with the rest for a year.

the island top w a big beautiful piece of soapstone !... put pewter hardware on the cabs . The wood is fine .....it's the bland floor, counters , backsplash , and matching wall color . ....but you need a cohesive plan. Just go for a different island top now :easy and does not have to be a forever thing......, then ponder what do in a couple years

Knobs and pulls would add a little much needed bling. Change hood if it's really something that bothers you, but I wouldn’t change the countertops or floor at this point. Your cabinets are nice. Bar stools could be more colorful and less dark woody.

Wall color needs to change, but, I think there's another color issue there. The backsplash is travertine pinkish, and the granite seems to have more yellow tones. I have a similar backsplash and granite, but I used an enhancing sealer on my backsplash which changed the pink tone to more golden to blend with my granite. Perhaps your backsplash hasn’t been sealed yet and you can try an enhancing sealer to change the tone. Until the color difference between the backsplash and granite is resolved, you’ll run into a problem choosing a paint color for the walls. You could change the backsplash, but the white one you proposed is not the right one.

If you hate that hood, then get something that matches the oak. something like this. (I'm sure you could design something you like. this is from Etsy and it's free delivery in Texas!)

or, this type of SS hood looks ok. just don't get one of the modern looking ones.

I love your wood cabinets. Replacing them or painting them would be a huge mistake, IMO. They are tall and have a gorgeous grain and stain. They would be great with white counters. However your two backsplash tiles do not go together because of the styles.

Love your cabinets. I’m about to paint mine but they aren’t the darker rich shade that yours are. Have a local cabinet maker make you a new vent hood to match your existing cabinets and update the wall paint color , backsplash, and stone to your taste. I suggest getting samples and setting them in your kitchen for about a week to make sure you love them all together with your existing floor, cabinets , etc.

Don't spend a penny until you're ready for a complete overhaul. I agree that (1) slapping on new counters and backsplash will not coordinate with what is already there and (2) will just outdate your cabinets even more. Live with it, figure out what you like and what you don't and save, save, save.

@Beth H. : your kitchen is gorgeous! Love the changes you made!

I also commented on your other post about wall color. And just a side note I think you are getting good advice here. Everything starts with your floors....you have faux travertine floors - yes? I’d really take a long hard look at your whole house plan/budget and decide if those are something you can live with. Heck I wouldn’t even paint until you know what the floors are going to be. If the tile will stay forever and ever then you want a wall color that works with them (so refer to that post for my paint comments). Good luck - I know you are antsy to get some refreshing done but having a whole house plan / budget and patience is always best.