Here are the pictures!

Wow, yours is the house with the random shelves you don't need, right? And you've been living there almost a year. What changes to you hope to do? To start, I would paint the walls a bright, cheerful apple green or turquoise. Possibly remove the spindles and the curvy piece over the sink. Can you tell what the backsplash is made of? Whether it is possible to remove it or not? I wouldn't invest in backsplash or counters until you know what other changes you hope to make. Do a search on painting cabinets--much harder and more complicated than you might think. Good luck!

Thank you! Those are great ideas! we've done a lot with the outside of our home and recently got married, so instead of a honeymoon we want to work on home updating. The backsplash is this weird plastic panel that we would remove. And I love those bright color ideas for paint. Thank you again!

If you can get the plastic brick off, just paint the wall above the counter edgeing rather than investing in tile.

Wow, I didn't even think of just painting it. I'm a big fan of tile alternatives for backsplash. Thank you!

I agree. You already have a backsplash in the four-inch formica.

It's a nice kitchen. The three things I would change to update it would be the backsplash (I think removing and just painting the drywall is a fine option), removing the scalloped wooden valance above the sink, and painting the walls. I'm not bothered by the spindles, but they aren't something anyone puts in any more.