More pictures:

Either paint all of them, or wait until baby isn't 'grabby'.

painting the uppers and not the lowers of those old oak cabs won't look very good.

However, if you want to start doing it now, and just prime the lowers, you could do that.

first thing I'd switch right now is your lighting. that track lighting is too directional.

Try switching it to something like this, with at least 3-100 watt bulbs. (daylight bulbs. don't get warm bulbs)

or get a track light w/multiple lights so you can get some light in there!

Choose a bright white paint for the cabs. personally I'd change out that yellow color on the walls. I'd also paint the ceiling the brightest white you can fine. do a satin finish so that you get a little reflection from the light.

If there is any chance you can do recessed lighting like in this pic, and under cabinet lighting, Do IT!

doing the recessed lights is the number one thing needed. and, you could do a darker lower cabinet

what I'd also suggest is finish off those end panels w/some trim molding so that it looks 'finished'.

Basically like shown here. they get primed and then painted to match the cabs. it's simple to do but makes a nice impact on the look

before (look at the end panels)

after.

No, I would redo the countertops

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnONl72We0g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvoYIrYajg0

add hardware, paint the walls white and replace that track light with l longer, satin nickles one with a lower profile. I would also think about where can you add some more storage in this house for kitchen items not in use.

If I was to spend money on one thing it would be to have an electrician cust in can lighting, this can be done fairly inexpensively, they will usually offer a package price

Beth and RL gave you great advice. Lighting would be #1 on my list.

here's a link on the complete how to for painting. follow exactly and they'll look good.

https://www.evolutionofstyleblog.com/tips-tricks-for-painting-oak-cabinets

if you want to redo the countertops, do you have the budget for pre-fab granite or quartz? you could spend $450 for one 9' piece, and have someone cut it to fit your space. maybe another 700 or so.

if not, you could try and find some remnants, or, look at floor and decor and do a butcher block

Upgrading the lighting, putting some LEDs under the upper cabs and painting walls a new color (maybe a soft sage green) would make a huge difference. If you have the budget for new hardware, that would be a plus. If you can't afford to put in all new can lights, consider upgrading the track lighting to one with more lights in a softer finish. Consider adding a runner rug down the center. Ruggable makes washable ones designed for kids and pets. Would be a nice surface to crawl on and you can throw it in the washer if it gets stained or drooled on.

Here's a photo that might give you a sense of how two-tone cabinets might look. But what makes this work is that the backsplash and uppers are same white. You really should repaint your kitchen walls a creamy white if you plan on doing the uppers and the adjoining open spaces. (Sorry, but your yellow adds to the gloom.) Then find countertops with a white creamy background with a bit of golden brown to link the uppers and lowers.

Start an Ideabook for galley kitchens and another for 2-Tone kitchen cabinets to see the possibilities. I'm not sure that's the solution. I'd paint all the walls creamy white first and get new countertops.

Bear with me since I'm about to make suggestions you didn't ask about:

--Find a place for your gigantic Instapot other than the top of your fridge. This adds to a feeling of heaviness and darkness. Clean off the fridge for a cleaner look. Get pale turquoise dishtowels to link with your mixer.

--The sofa blocking the doorway is also blocking light into the kitchen. Ditto the dark curtains in the living room. Straight hanging white curtains would let in more light all the way to your kitchen.

--Get a long, colorful indoor-outdoor washable runner for the kitchen to brighten the floor.

Majesty Transitional Cream High Quality Rug, 2'3"x7'6" · More Info

Honestly, I would only paint your walls. The yellow isn’t complementing your cabinets. I would change to a green.

Unless you can afford to have the cabinets professionally painted, they will just look like painted over old cabinets.

On second thought about the worn, old lowers, beth and eld6161, I wonder if the OP should just paint her walls in the kitchen and adjoining area white and wait on replacing cabinets. Ikea might be a budget friendly option in the future rather than tweaking things piecemeal now. She could do new lighting in the meantime and reorganize the kitchen.

If the sink counter run is less than 10’ you could use in stock countertop from Home Depot or Lowe’s. Home Depot actually has some solid surface products on line that looked pretty easy to work with. They also carry butcher block. Changing the lighting and adding under cabinet lighting would also help a lot. I agree with above commenters about the wall paint color. That yellow doesn’t work.

Thank you so for all your help, everyone. Beth, your detailed suggestions have been great. Given that the kitchen runs into the diningroom (where the pictures were taken from), and will need to be painted the same color as the kitchen, is white still a good choice for the walls?

Here's a Houzz article on wall paints that work well with wood. There are a couple creamy whites--Benjamin Moor Gentle Cream, for example, mentioned that would work for your kitchen and dining areas. https://www.houzz.com/magazine/11-terrific-paint-color-matches-for-wood-details-stsetivw-vs~9025200

If you crave color, do consider getting color in your dining area with a large art work instead of the small pieces you have.

"Still Light" Original Artwork By Gretchen Trees · More Info

And floor-to-ceiling straight drapes as well:

Linen Blend Medallion Printed Curtains, Pair, Gray, 84" · More Info

Triad Gold Printed Cotton Twill Curtain Single Panel, 50"x120" · More Info

based on taupe/gray tones of the flooring, I think any of these would also be a good choice. (if you plan on painting the cabs white, then do one of the softer gray tones on the wall and into the dining room.) you'll have to try some samples. Home Depot can usually match SW colors in their little sample pots. those are only $3. BM samples are triple that. however, trying to match a BM color at HD can give you mixed results. sometimes they're right on, mostly they're not, so keep that in mind if doing a color match.

I'd also think about updating the window blind. maybe a woven wood? lowes carries some nice choices, or look at blinds.com for some other choices

Lighting and storage first. If you really work on purging stuff you do not need there might be enough storage to remove all that stuff from the counter . If you no experience with painting cabinets then you either need a pro (expensive) or leave them alone IMO nothing looks worse than a poor painting job of cabinets. a counter depth fridge would make the space feel larger . If you post pics of the whole space and surrounding space you might get some ideas for extra storage. I see now the DR you have room in there for a buffet which could give you lots of needed storage and once those counters are empty the whole space will look better. I agree a better wall color and also just a new track light with 5 heads and LED bulbs in 4000K will brighten up that kitchen. Use a track that has GU10 bulbs and just exchange them after for the LEDs

OMGosh, Yes please add a buffet to your dining room or a hutch, it would be so helpful for you! You could pick something up a thrift store or online, and paint that! I do really think lighting and wall color are first! I say start with just painting it white and take a day to absorb that.

Thank you again everyone, I really appreciate it. Given what you can see, do you think BM Edgecomb Gray for the walls, White Dove for the upper cabinets and Cape May Cobblestone for lowers with new hardware could look nice? I'm going to start with just the walls and see how I feel. Also, thank you for the suggestions of a hutch/buffet... my diningroom doesn't have as much room as it looks like. It's already hard to get to the far side of the table....

Try turning the table to run with the window, might open it up a bit more.

We did our cabinets with Benjamin Moore's cabinet paint? I can't remember the exact name but it has great reviews and the guy there recommended it, we scrubbed them down hard before we moved and no fading or chipping, they were pretty bullet proof, just had to do some sanding bc it was that typical beech wood from the 90's and primed them with benjamin moore's primer.

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