I think Chantilly lace will be too cool for the wood. And maybe a creamier backsplash-not pure white. I found some with color too, but that might be too much! Are you looking to paint the walls in the surrounding rooms too?

The colored backsplash is very cool but not my preference. I’m look to make it as neutral as possible to try and modernize this Tuscan inspired kitchen. I would definitely consider a cream or off white or even a gray and select a paint to compliment. As for the rest of the house the foyer, staircase, living room, and upstairs hallway are all painted that eggshell yellow which I don’t love but don’t hate so it will stay for now.

your selling time will approach quicker than you realize . I would not alter the backsplash or much of anything that is infrastructure. Paint in a cooler tone. VERY light gray or a cool toned off white will work with that pretty red dining room beyond and work with the green sunroom AND be neutral with your cabinets and backsplash. New owners will do their own thing.

@AsUpstate said that the dining room and sunroom have been painted with more neutral colors ( no more red and green). I think I would go with some sort of white for both walls and backsplash. Maybe a new light fixture or two and I think you will be well updated.

Correct - the dining room is now kendall charcoal and the sunroom is pale oak. if chantilly lace is too cool any other suggestions? maybe classic gray? and then a dark grey grout between the white subway tile?

kendall charcoal for dining room? full on gray it looks like....well , frostine is on the coordinating color card from ben moore for a lighter neutral. that's what Id do for the kitchen walls. Change the grout? not sure anything done to the backsplash is really worth it...do painting and hardware change.

Paint, and CLEAN, CLEAN, CLEAN. No matter how you try to update, you cannot guess what a buyer will like. Most buyers want to do their own style update. Everything in your house should be in top working order, energy efficient. Money spent on new roof, if needed, will get the best return for your investment. As posted earlier the selling timeline will come very soon. I recommend about 1-year out from putting on the market interview potential agents and see what they recommed for getting your house market ready.

I don’t mean to be contrary, but my realtor told me that most buyers DON’T want to do any work. I spent money on painting the inside, outside, cabinets, new backsplash and updated fixtures before listing my house. There are design-do-it-yourselves on this website, so be careful about leaving too much for anyone else. Houzzers don’t necessarily represent the rest of the population.
I’d redo the backsplash and paint and update fixtures. If you paint the barstools red, green or purple, it won’t matter because that is assumed to be removed when you leave. Cleanliness is also key, as is de-cluttering.

"MOST buyers don't want to do any work" . Come on now. The kitchen technically doesn't NEED any work. But most buyers want to, and will renovate spaces as they occupy a property. Are you kidding? Home renovation is multi millions of dollars. And that's what a new occupant will do here when they choose, to their desires. If you want things specified from the day of occupancy you purchase a new build and design it with the construction team.

herbflavor, I think your statement is a bit harsh, I think many buyers would prefer a turn-key purchase. I can't really speak for others, but here in Toronto, if you can afford to purchase a house, you likely don't have much money leftover to make changes to your new home.

There are still plenty of people who buy "fixer-uppers" but I assume that those buyers have excess budget and many of us don't. When buying many of us have to accept that we can't fix things right away and we need to make a priority list of things to be done when there is budget available to do so.

In my limited experience purchasing, I knew I could see beyond the paint colours but big budget items like a kitchen or bath, I knew I could not update immediately and asked myself if I could live with what was there. In some cases the answer is no. But the market is hot and quick here ( I know it isn't everywhere) with multiple offers and sales over asking price. He who hesitates is lost.

I personally would appreciate someone trying to modernize or do small upgrades prior to selling, even if they aren't to my exact taste.

I like these soft blue gray tones with your warm maple

With the warm tones of your cabinets and floor, I would do a cream colored subway tile with matching grout and would NOT bother with a range hood. Your money is better spent elsewhere. I'd paint the walls a neutral beige. It's hard for us to select specific colors when not in the space. Perhaps the pale oak would work in the kitchen as well. I would NOT go gray as it is way too cool for the warm wood in your kitchen. Instead of the range hood, I would spend that money on a new table and chairs as the current ones are the same color as the cabinets and floor and offer no contrast. Either that, or paint the chairs. The dining set is just to one note. Remove the blue curtains that are out of place in that space. A roman shade over the sink window would be a nice update.

Everything is too much the same tone, try adding a rug under the table and possibly painting the table and chairs. I would remove the curtains/valence leading to the sunroom too. Go with a creamy lighter wall color to brighten it. Right now it's a nice kitchen but a little "flat" with the tan walls being the tone color as the cabinets, floor, furniture, etc.

It would be helpful if you could post current photos of the colours in the adjacent rooms as they are now. I agree that white (of any description) is going to be too stark. Cream is more like it, but what's happening with the trim in the rest of the house? Is it still the same stark white as in the first photos above? Have you removed the ruffle valances and curtain panels on both sides of the dining room opening? If not. Do. That looks very dated.

@Elizabeth Minish Design this is the adjacent dining and living but it has no furniture. trim is as you thought stark white. all window trims and that ruffle valance/curtain panels are gone! with all of the feedback I’m moving away from the stark white and towards cream tones. If you have suggestions for the paint or backsplash I would be so appreciative.

@Cynthia I agree! The valences are gone but a rug is a great suggestion. I’m delaying choosing a style until paint is chosen. any suggestions?

@Design Girl thank you for the feedback! Cream tones it is! I am only familiar with pale oak and would be okay selecting this colour because I think it is beautiful. Any suggestions for a backsplash? I will leave the table as is and select a rug instead.

@mvcanada @RedRyder @Valinta thank you for your feedback. The space has been stripped of accessories and cleaned. The surfaces and shelves are bare, the windows have no fixtures until the decisions are made. I don’t have a departure date but my estimate is 5 years. Until then It is home and the changes I make will be ROI conscience but my foot isn’t out the door (yet!)

In a 5 year period, you can do a little bit every year and then have a gorgeous kitchen - and not want to move! But take the ideas here into consideration and do what you can. Keeping us in the loop will get you plenty of ideas (and opinions, of course).

I have just reread all the comments. I know I originally suggested cream tones but that was before I realized you had just changed your dining room to charcoal and what we've confirmed is a fairly bright white on the trim. And that trim colour seems be consistent throughout the house. I am getting confused as to where you are with things as your photos don't reflect the current state. What is the yellow that you're not interested in changing? What's happening with furniture? You seam to have some lovely Persian style area carpets. Are they staying or going? It is hard to help when the information is incomplete.

@Elizabeth Minish Design

Here are photos of the surrounding spaces. we upgraded the light fixture and as you can see in the second photo I added a rug that I’m not set on but does bring the colour themes together. My goal at this point is to find the best paint colour and remove the blue curtains. I was thinking BM Ballet White?

IMO the light fixture is not of the same era as the table, kitchen, etc. It's a very modern light with a very traditional kitchen/table. The rug looks too small to me. You should be able to pull the chairs out and have all 4 legs on the carpet when people are seated. Perhaps the next size up. A warm cream/beige on the walls. No one can really pick a paint when not in your space.

Don’t pick the wall color until you have decided on the backsplash. Since the dining room is a darkish gray, consider a backsplash with a bit of black or charcoal, some white, and maybe a third (or third and fourth) color chosen from the dining room rug....nothing in the yellow or orange world. There is actually nothing wrong with the current backsplash because what appears to be gray speaks to the dining room. If you decide on white walls in the kitchen, the orange of the cabinetry will be less jarring. Remove the blue drapes. Is there another location for the pet food? I also recommend a runner rug between the island and the sink cabinets.

I agree that the light fixture is a bit out of place at the moment and I agree with the rug size I was just trying to see how that Color Scheme would bring it all together. But my adjacent living room and dining room furniture and light figure are more modern so I’m trying to update the kitchen to be traditional/modern blend. Ultimately - the rug isn’t staying, the blue valances aren’t staying but I’m partial towards the light fixture as a way to blend traditional and modern around the rest of the house

@felizlady the dog food can go! I completely agree with the idea of the runner. the walls I’m deciding between Oxford white, white dove, and simply white. I might just leave the backsplash! put that money somewhere else in the house

following...

I don’t mean to be defensive but I disagree that my project is ”piecemeal” resulting in a ”style clash“. Nonetheless, I’d say many of the people following discussion boards on Houzz are on budgets that sometimes do require what might be considered haphazard . I have a very clear perspective of what I want to accomplish and maybe I haven‘t done a great job of describing that. My style IS traditional with a modern twist. The eclectic vibe of mixing old and new is something I enjoy in a space. I purchased a house built in 1999 and I’m not expecting it to look like a new build house. I appreciate the feedback of getting someone in to look at the space so I might better be able to explain my goals. The project for this specific post was meant to really be “recommendations for paint colour and back splash for a kitchen with maple cabinets and black granite countertops”. I think the excellent responses here have ultimately expressed that paint can’t be picked unless someone sees the space physically and maybe the back splash isn’t all too bad.

Maple is the one warm wood that I have seen successfully made to work with cooler grays. This kitchen, though perhaps not your style uses some of your colors:

The drawback is that I think the dark charcoal paint would not be the style of some buyers. However, it is just wall paint and could be changed in both the dining room and kitchen to more neutral cream or lighter gray if it becomes an issue. The above kitchen works because of the amount of white that is also used - note the white wainscot and island. I don't think you could do the charcoal without adding white in too and that would take some thought. You could do a wainscot like the dining room - but possibly not the style you want or perhaps not in the budget.

For some other possible ideas, here is my wood kitchens idea book with both new and older, refreshed kitchens.

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

Although most of these kitchen have warm toned cabinets, not all are similar to yours, so keep that in mind. In general cream tile works well with warm toned cabinets, but not great with cool gray walls. A green gray as in hemina's first pic can work for walls with cream backsplash - but might not go with the dining room. A gray backsplash can work in some cases, but when selling, it may not have as wide appeal as the cream as the newer trends are towards creams and whites.

We just recently ( a few days ago, I don’t have a good daylight picture yet) had the kitchen and adjacent sunroom/ casual eating area painted SW Neutral Ground. Going to update the rest of the living areas with this color. Getting tired of Ivoire and Svelte Sage. As always, your lighting, environment, etc, determines the color best for you. Our kitchen is similar to yours. A few years ago we took out the under cabinet microwave and added the hood. We used a contractor, and it required considerable planning for selecting the proper size, venting to the outside, removing the upper cabinet, building out the access to the attic. Also updated other appliances, off white subway backsplash, and new knobs. It was enough of a change to make us content versus a total gut of the kitchen.

What about charcoal....same as the dining room? There isn't a lot of wall space with all of the cabinetry and I think the contrast will give it a modern twist. I am only suggesting this because I have already done it....same age kitchen with original white backsplash and black counters and everybody comments on how contemporary and sophisticated it feels. I also have white trim which again gives contrast and crispness. Hope this helps.

If you want a nice neutral I have this in my kitchen with my cherry cabinets. It’s a grey that seems to go with everything. Lighter than what you have in your dining room(which is gorgeous by the way) skyline steel by Sherwin Williams. https://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/color/find-and-explore-colors/paint-colors-by-family/SW1015-skyline-steel

Thank you for all the suggestions!! We painted yesterday and ended up with White Dove and I am very happy. So much so that I don’t think I’ll even bother with the backsplash now! Still working on getting a Roman shade for the window, a runner between the island and sink, and a better rug for under the table. Changing the hardware and will probably leave it at that for now.

@Mary Nigro I LOVE your light fixture and hardware - definitely inspired! And that colour is fabulous and exactly what I was looking for for my master bathroom actually (which has the same color vanities) - thank you!

Thank you so much :), good luck with the rest of your project. It’s all looking great!

Consider calling a local handyman for spraying the cabinets to a cool grey, dark or light. I think for investing in paint, you may be happier in the long run with a fresher look on the cabinets vs. just paining the little bit of wall space you have to look at in the kitchen.

Would love to see a picture of your kitchen with the changed wall color.