I love the look of a soft yellow with black countertops, and I think it would look really beautiful with your beautiful cabinetry and sink / faucet. Here are a couple of examples I found -

How about an incredibly soft light pale green or combine two different colors for a little interest and flexibility??

que tal un piso flotante para quitar el mosaico de negro y blanco?, quizá le da mas fuerza.

Hi greg. Yes i agree to combine two different colors. Actually i was also confused what collor. I will choose. For my kitchen .

Pale driftwood blue cabinets......soft gray walls

I LOVE Kim's suggestion! I had the idea of going bigger but refrained from saying so. I'd considered pursuing a turquoise/aqua kind of color but know that's too much for most people. Driftwood would be yummy! You might also consider just using a dark brown solid color stain and wipe it into grooves, remove some and repeat over the cabinets as they currently are but you had mentioned they NEED painting. Benjamin Moore has a delightfully different off-white color called "White Dove" that infuses a light creamy color with a dot of green that creates an incredibly dreamy "white" that is decidedly different once completed. If you do it in oil/alkyd, it ages somewhat quickly and looks even better in time. Stunning with black!

The bright yellow wall isn't doing the room any favors...need a softer color there.

I'm in agreement there.

I'm with msp1tzer on the black and white with soft yellow walls, so keep the cabinets white. This has perfect bones for a bright, clean bistro kitchen vibe, add a modern runner in front of the sink, install a built-in dishwasher in the hole by the sink to coordinate with your appliances, remove the wooden valance and a fabric roman blind (mount it high- www.younghouselove.com)if you need to cut the sunlight in the space, or a fabric valance for some colour if you don't as a less expensive option. Don't forget to carry the colour across the space to balance the weight on the other side of whatever spaces are visually connected. A pendant light to replace the pot light over the sink would be better for task lighting, and add more charm. It looks like you have two different hardware finishes-choose one or the other to unify the space. You have a great table and chairs as well as a beautiful faucet and wonderful tiled backsplash to pull this look off.
If you wanted to move in a more contemporary direction without incurring too much cost, paint out the lower cabinets in a deep grey or black, (keep the top ones white as the tile backsplash is white) add a graphic rug or two to add weight to the floors, still get rid of the wood valance/shelf and put up some woven blinds in a tone similar to your table and chairs, paint out the bright yellow with a mid-tone grey to cozy the space, or a bright white to keep it crisp. I think the investment pieces are strong and worthy of keeping. It seems lovely, best of luck on making it truly yours. http://s3.media.squarespace.com/production/433918/5142676/_e_MQyZR1E6U/Sk4Kv4cNZ4I/AAAAAAAAjOk/R_nHzdZ-5yY/s800/080512_LRB_1302.jpg

The only thing that jumps out at me other than wall color is e fact the cabinets are bright white while the floor is softer white. As Paint-it guy suggested White Dove may look nice. Since floor and counter are so dramatic I'm not sure glazing cabinets would work. I'd rather see a pure color.

Thank you everyone for some great ideas. As you could see, we are in the middle of changing the cabinet hardware. The gold balls are very 80's (like most of the house), so we are changing those to the dusty silver ones.

It never occurred to me to paint the walls a softer color, but I think you are all right. I love that photo of the long yellow kitchen on the right that msp1zer sent. But it has beautiful wood floors, which I think look much nicer than my mosaic black and white ones. Maybe I'll check out the "pisos flotantes" that calex63 suggested.

I also loved the idea of painting the bottom cabinets a deeper color than the upper cabinets. But unfortunately, I can't get rid of the wooden valance because they are hiding metal roll-up blinds for the exterior of the house. I live in Buenos Aires, and those are very common here. It's a way of closing up the house on hot days or when we're not here.

The last thing that no one mentioned was to take out the upper and lower cabinet that form the "L" in the space. Granted, that's much more expensive than just repainting, but I think it would open up the space totally! Don't you all?

Thanks again for your suggestions!

Maggie

I think the floors are quite classic and would look different if you painted the cabinets a darker color, and yes, change the neon yellow to a softer color. I would even consider going quite dark with an antiqued grey, brown, green or slate blue type color, maybe even black.

If you remove any cabinets it may be hard to match the floor. Redoing it all will be very expensive. You could remove some upper cabinets over the peninsula to open it up a bit, if you don't need the storage.

The online painting programs can be helpful to help you visualize the final result. You have a traditional dining set which would look great if you went French Provincial with rich colored cabinets and earthy accents. I don't like it when overdone, but a stripped down version can be nice.

Otherwise, I would look at the early "sanitary" kitchens and bathrooms of the 1910-1930s for ideas and mellow out the bright white for a more antique white and have more color in the backsplash and the accessories, perhaps some more wood tones as well.

I love the kitchen, especially the great floor. I really don't like the yellow wall. I'd change it to a neutral. I'd remove all the stuff on the shelf above the window. I might have fun with another accent color (besides the blue). Maybe lime green. Good job updating the cabinet hardware. I don't feel like the table and chairs are working. I think they need to be more fun, like painted black with new upholstery for the seats in white, blue and possibly lime green. Something like this ikat pillow fabric would be great for seats with a black painted table and chairs.
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I see nothing wrong with room except the ugly yellow walls. Try a dove gray on wall. Will be better with black counters which can be striking. Floor works with look. Kitchen is very cluttered. I would not have all that stuff above sink. Color of cabinets would depend on look your re going for. Right now has a country look with style of doors on cabinets. The arch on glass doors ect. So if staying in the look. A cream with a chocolate glaze would work. Or med gray with a silver glaze. Get samples and try on inside of doors.

If you want a more modern look get rid of knobs and get brush nickel pulls long.