Something white for the counter, I think. Or Taj Mahal.

I’m unclear what benefit you would get from tiling under the cabinets at this point. The appliances aren’t still stuck, are they?

Add more lighting. A dark room with light components is still a dark room. You need more recessed lights and under cabinet lighting. A LOT more light.

Is your house a one story? if so how about a sky light? White counters will help.

You make it sound like the arborvitae are a permanent feature. Can’t you cut them down?

As others have said, much better lighting will help a lot! Pot lights in ceiling, and under cabinet lighting are an absolute must these days. No one likes to cook in the dark!

Yes, stainless appliances and new pulls will make a big difference.

If you're keeping the cabinets and the floor, then I would suggest Glacier White Corian for your countertops. It will look lovely with the maple cabinets and brighten up your room a lot.

I would use either the same white Corian for your backsplash or white subway tile. Just keep everything fresh and simple and while it won't look like a brand new kitchen, it will be far more pleasant and look less dated.

I'm not quite sure why your lower cabinets will have to be moved just to install new appliances and a new sink. Removing them can be very risky. It's far easier to remove uppers than lowers.

I've given a kitchen multiple facelifts before replacing it entirely. It's very doable and makes a big difference when gutting just isn't an option.

The lower cabinets have to be moved so we can tile to the wall. Only stove, refrigerator and dishwasher have tile underneath. We had to drill holes in the tile under the stove so the top of it wouldn't be an inch higher than the granite.

We are in a development of big houses on not so big lots. So the arborvitae give us the privacy we need. We also have a pool in the back.

How about a more modern light fixture over the island?

Ok. So if you’ve solved the problem with the height of the stove, I’m not understanding why you would have to go through the trouble of installing tile that you’ll never see under cabinets?

As you change out to stainless appliances consider a hood rather than an over the range microwave. A hood will vent better, open up the area and have better lighting. I have warm wood cabinets and changed out to a light quartz counter, cream backsplash and short apron farm sink - but by far the most functional change I made was under cabinet lighting. I have more sun then you do, but I keep my under cabinet lighting on almost all the time - just makes the kitchen so much brighter and prettier.

This is my wood kitchens, idea book with both new and older, refreshed wood kitchens. It might give you some ideas:)

https://www.houzz.com/ideabooks/75202366/list/wood-kitchens

I am thinking of ordering a 3 globe seeded glass linear pendant lamp for over the island. I also ordered a 6 light chandelier for the kitchen table.

As for tiling where we won't see it, we don't want to do the same thing with a new stove and by evening out the floor we can also get a new countertop and fix a very bad sink installation-our granite installer didn't cut the opening properly for the sink-I don't think they leveled the counters very well because the seams at the sink have opened and they are slightly uneven. The granite overhangs the sink by almost an inch in the front.

At first I was interested in quartz-MSI Cashmere carrara-thought it would brighten things up, but I have no experience with how quartz wears. So now I am leaning towards granite again. I like Taj Majal, but it has a lot of yellow and that would clash with my floor. Want a soft, clean look. Many of the "white" granites are very busy. I want a light granite with a more regular pattern-similar in pattern to what I have, but much, much lighter. Saw Bianco Romano and Andromeda. Have to keep looking. One more question. If I do find a light granite should I stay with the full granite backsplash ?

You’ll want to make sure cabinets are level, a lot of movement in 23 years! I actually really like your current cabinet and counter combination. Understand if you want a new one, but it’s really pretty. I think the posts about getting adequate lighting may address some of the feelings you’re having about the darkness without the expense of having to replace everything

Like the countertop you have.

At least to begin with, have you considered just changing your island:

Following

Spend your money with an electrician as the very first project. Once you have better lighting, the kitchen will feel brighter and new to you without doing anything else. And if you still want to make changes after that, you will at least be able to really see what the samples look like in your room!

@suezbell - the link you provided is about impeachment, not kitchen island..

Gorgeous kitchen and love the cabinets -- I agree you shouldn't touch them. I also think that white granite can lighten up the space. I would look into Ivory Fantasy, River White, and Delicatus White. Carrara Marble tile on the backsplash would match well I believe, but you can also use any of these granite options on backsplash as well. If you're more into quartz, there are gorgeous marble looking quartz options you may like.

Thank you I will look into these colors. When I took the picture I didn't have all the light on. I have under counter lighting on a strip so no holes in the back splash, 4 high hats, lighting over the island and the kitchen table. I think you are right a light granite and backsplash will do the trick. Plan on updating light fixtures and getting 2 more high hats.

Maybe install a sun tunnel? Then you canl have more light during the day, without having to turn on the lights.

I think this is close to what you have with lighter backsplash

Remove everything that is blocking the light coming in from the window. Is that a window covering or a trim at the top of the window? Remove it if possible since it seems to be blocking the top 6" of the window. Remove the pots and the coffee maker. If your window grids are easily removable, remove them. You will be surprised how much light, cumulatively, this stuff is blocking. I recently removed my relatively small window valance and was surprised how much brighter my kitchen is.

Mea Culpa.

Meant to post a pic of a white island with a white countertop with different cabinets.

You are so right I need to remove the plants and everything else. Took out the screen-made a big difference, but your suggestions are great. Thanks!

The trim does not cover that much, but we will move it up.

Thanks LT Dub for the photo. The color of the cabinets is the same as mine and the white back splash looks great. Great idea.

Can you post a better photo of your flooring as maybe some of the suggestions work well with your cabinets but hard to tell with your flooring. Why are you going to tile under the cabinets?

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Here are other views which show more of the kitchen floor and opening into family room, The floor color varies depending on the light, but it definitely has gray, tan and a pink cast to it.

You have a nice kitchen. I think new lighting will make the most difference. And new hardware. Any chance you can switch the OTR MW for a hood? MW on counter next to fridge (since most MW would be for stuff out of fridge/freezer)? If not, then the all SS appliances will look nice. I think your countertops look nice and you may find them bright enough after lighting change. But, if not, the lighter white/off white ones would look great (all the way up backsplash or with a textured white/off white tile)

Know someone with a similar problem. Her kitchen is actually sandwiched in the center of her house with no natural light. She removed some uppers and used a glossy white subway tile up to the ceiling to create a faux light effect with reflections. That said, I love your full granite backsplash. So nice and clean.

I'd consider no pendants at island to keep height and opening for a brighter feeling. PS your kitchen layout is identical to mine!

You might experiment with different colored light bulbs and see if that impacts the appearance of the floor and wall color. Changing the wall paint color could do that as well.

Something else you might consider is adding a light directly over your sink -- indoors and/or outdoors -- that, with the right bulb and hidden fixture could give the appearance of more natural light.

You have great cabinets; glad you're not pain ting any of them..

Your picture doesn't show your ceiling. If it is not a true bright white, you might consider painting it a true white.

Your picture doesn't show if your cabinets go all the way to the ceiling. You might post a pic and see if some of the Houzz pros believe it would be possible to add lighting over the cabinets that could "fill" the room with indirect light.

You might make a trip to your local electrical supply / lighting store and see if there is a box for your ceiling that could provide light two ways -- one to light the ceiling and the other to enable you to have pendant lights over your island.

This is a nice example of herringbone design narrow subway backsplash that might add interest while brightening the entire room.....stainless steel appliances lighting pulls and glass cabinets with back lighting add more brightness too while being design elements....just a suggestion

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