Rachel, I used to have a kitchen almost just like that, in a house built in the same era...(by the way we are on our 4th home remodel in 5 years). haa! I painted all my kitchen cabinets a warm medium grey, very neutral. It matched almost any accent color. Then I purchased silver contemporary pulls, because I like a warm modern look. Ikea has some similar, and placed them vertical instead of horizontal like they are now, and replaced the hinges. Just this alone completely updated the look and I never got tired of the look! You might tire of the two tone look, think of longer term because it sounds like you have your hands full with your new-old house! :) Also, in the future, you can order just cabinet doors online and paint your whole kitchen white with more updated doors and drawer heads, like the prairie style doors in photos above. You probably can't add trim to the outside of your current flat panel doors because the doors are probably rounded and attaching wood trim won't look right.

Floors..well I've taken linoleum off old wood floors and there was a thick glue on the floor, we refinished and loved them because it flowed to the rest of the house which was all wood. But it can be a LOT of work. I would say, take a peek and see what is under there and if your energy is limited, just tile the kitchen. But please don't mix wood floors, like buy a wood or a wood looking tile - mixing woods never looks good - but it does look good to just change the flooring materials - tile! :)

I also would take the wavy thing above the sink away, and if you feel you need something there for flow, update it with a just a square piece of wood. The bulkheads are worth removing - we just removed about 15 in our current house. You will never regret it - it opens up the space giving height and elevation to the room so you don't feel like you are cooking in a a dark hole and it makes it a million times more modern. Sometimes there is nothing inside the bulkheads, so cut a hole in the end, shine a flashlight in and see what is in there before you go too crazy and get in over your head with the removal of them and having to re-route ductwork etc..unless you have a skilled husband/father.

Personally, it is overwhelming to start with the kitchen, but that is why you should do it first. Cooking for your family will be so frustrating down the road once you are burnt out with other projects. You will be doing dishes in the bathroom etc... It is best to get the kitchen done asap, so you can have some sanity (and food), and a clean place to hide during the rest of the remodel!! :)

..if you do refinish the kitchen floors, don't worry about nail holes and minor stained spots, it is part of the character of the age of the home. You don't want it to look like plastic fake wood pergo flooring. Imperfections are what adds warmth and character to these lovely old homes.

The lighting (recessed) in this room should be the first thing u do. Paint a very soft dove gray satin finish. With brush nickel long pulls. If buying appl in stages. Get refrig first. Some places offer pkg on stainless appl. With micro, refrig and dishwasher, stove. Shop for deals. Flooring ceramic tile big 14" square. Nothing says dated like 12" tile. Go a pale gray a shade darker than cabinets. For counters, a inexpensive look, is granite tiles 12", 12" ok for counters. Rent water saw to cut. If not handy get tile guy. It is work. Get in a cream with gray and black. Black splash, in same colors, Replace range hood with above range microwave. Stainless. Will really upgrade look. Walls, paint whole room. Revere Pewter by Benjamin Moore. Keep all cabs painted same, color. Room will feel larger.

Oh and a stainless sink. Your faucets look fine. Don't put pulls on cab at the bottom like you have they go on side run horizontally. 2" above bottom. As close to edge as you can. On drawers put in middle. Pant out all trim like on ceiling, ceiling is same color as walls.

On bottom cabinets pulls go on side but at top of cab and 2" down. Might wood putty holes then sand, before painting. Hardware on cabs can be painted or replaced with brush nickel like pulls. Lowes carry this. Sand doors lightly before painting.

On window a white bamboo shade in white. Home Depot has. Base boards paint white. Do floors and lights first. Then walls and counters then paint cabs. Love arch door way. At some point change out carpet for wood. In living rm.

Piece of wood going across by window remove to country.

Use pops of colors on counter accessories. Yellow or turquoise would be fun.

I know you didn't ask, but border and verticals in living room have to go. Very dated.

If you want easy, skip the stainless steel (it's going out of style anyway) and get white appliances. Stainless is a pain to keep clean with an all adult house, with little ones and sticky fingers white will be easier to wipe and go. Get the freezer on the bottom and you'll have an easier time seeing things/getting them out. I'd leave the soffit and maybe replace the florescent lights with an LED light strip to reduce energy costs while throwing light up onto the high ceiling. I have wood floors in my kitchen and I hate it. With two young ones, I'd get something easier to clean and save the hardwoods for sometime down the road.

If canned lights are not in budget. Have a box put in center of ceiling and get brush nickel trac lights. Ikea has them make it long and it can curve. Gives great light.

Don't agree stainless is going out. They have been saying that for 15 years. Still is what buyers want. With new spray stainless cleaners on market ( lowes sells one). Not that hard. White will show dirty hand prints, so what's the dif?

For flooring I would do a vintage-y real linoleum product. (Armstrong has a product called Marmolette which can be laid in a pattern) to introduce a little more color and carry the vintage feel of your house back to the kitchen. Under cabinet lighting. Is that a wood shelf above the top cabinets? If you don't remove it I'd recommend painting it in the same color as the top cabinets. sharpkl suggested adding wood trim to the cabinets before painting. This is a good idea and less expensive than you might think. Also in sharpkl's picture take a look at the new 'vintage' drawer pulls, which will be perfect in your kitchen. Depending on your other decor a black-white patterned floor would be great with the planned white marble countertop. Either track lighting on the ceiling or a couple stainless industrial style drop lights would be great in your ceiling for lighting. I too would leave the stainless appliances at the store- too hard to clean- and go with white.

new counter tops maybe granite or a good formicia, new door handled polished silver metal, paint the stove white or get a used white one. Taken a saw and make groves in cabinet doors and repaint white with a shellic. Nice stone tile backsplach with design. Get rid of trim over sink.

We had a similar problem to your fluorescent fixture and dropped ceiling. We opted for leaving it the way it was in our remodel, and adding many "cans" for lighting, except for a few decorative pendants and under-cabinet lighting. It worked really well. You have a nice space!

Whatever flooring you choose (a lot of people are recommending "Eco-Vinyl," be sure that it is relatively seamless; the worst flooring in a kitchen is something that has grooves and will trap every bit of dirt that even comes near the floor :-)

Linda- We had our house's original fir subfloors upstairs refinished too! One of the floors had a subfloor on it so it was refinished with a million nail holes. While it doesnt bother me too much, its definitely noticeable and would probably need a new floor over it eventually. Its a shame to because its a wide plank floor. I love the rustic feel to them though. Its definitely something we would think about if the kitchen floor looks okay.

AndiAndy- Your post hit the nail on the head. We actually talked about doing a med. gray color on the cabinets instead of the two tone. I am a little worried I may get tired of it. I dont mind painting cabinets though. Just finished painting the orange pantry cabinets white! I do want the sleek modern nickel pulls for the kitchen.

Alexandra- I love your remodel. I dont mind the drop in our ceiling except for the part that hangs over nothing. It sticks out like an eyesore. Like there should be cabinets there or something. Our linoleum now has grooves in it so I know exactly what you mean.

Thanks guys for all of your comments. I really appreciate all the great ideas. We'll sort through them and figure out a plan. I love this forum. I'll definitely be back with help for our other rooms.

Best wishes with your remodel! The direction you're taking it in sounds awesome, post photos when done!

You mentioned the house is brick, but I'd look into making the window over the sink bigger, even a greenhouse "bay". I agree with painting the cabinets and swapping hardware, Demo the soffit and square off the arch to the main room. I love wood floors in my kitchen!

Rachel, you really seem to have some good ideas on where you want to take this remodel. if you go for tile on your floor, use a 12x12or14x14. I know that sounds large, but it actually opens up a small space. I agree that introduciing new hardwood in an already "wooded area" could lead to a fight among the woods. Avoid any straight lines in your flooring ie stagger tiles for example or put them on a diamond configuration -it will greatly open your kitchen up. Invest in a counter depth fridge, adds more footprint to your room. The drop-down bulkhead - if it can't be removed, I would make it look like small lighted glass front cabinets. Marble can be hard to take care of, but is beautiful. There is granite available now that looks just like marble. Good luck!

Rachel, re the countertop - it is amazing how many really beautiful laminates are out there. They have come a long way. They are so easy to care for and if you get bored with it, it is relatively inexpensive to get a whole new look again. Personally I don't like any of the hard surface patterns. I like some of the granites but my hard water would be a pain for me to upkeep the granite around the sink. And the lighter the color granite the softer it is and I don't really care for the dark - the most popular being that green/black "u" something; I forget the name.

Re appliances. I was recently window shopping appliances at a store. I'll be getting a new stove and dishwater soon. I have been debating between black and white - stainless too expensive for me. The salesman was honest with me and told me to go with white, that fingerprints are a pain with both stainless and black. He had another client recently who was waffling between black or white. She chose black and came back in to tell him she regretted the choice because of fingerprints. The salesman said he spends a lot of his day wiping fingerprints off the black and stainless appliances on the showroom floor. You might look at a new appliance color called "white ice." I haven't seen it in person yet but it may be an alternative to stainless for you.

my house is the same age as yours. We removed 4 layers of old linoleum and stick on tiles and found a perfectly good original wood floor. We didnt even need to do anything except a little sanding and add some polyurethane. If you are a little handy you might be able to do it yourself.

I re-did my kitchen on a low budget too. I recommend quartz counter-tops if you are at all concerned about keeping them pristine. Mine so far have zero issues; they seem indestructible and nothing stains them, they just wipe right up even if the stain sits a while and need no sealing. However, Soapstone would look really amazing with the color scheme you are mentioning, and would give a nod to the period of the house. I'd avoid granite personally, there are so many great alternatives. Don't count anything out because of your perception of price without shopping around, you may be surprised at finding a great sale as I did with the quartz. And whether you put in wood or tile, I recommend to make sure it blends well with whatever is in the next room. I can say I would not trade my seamless flow of wood from the dining and living rooms into the kitchen. Have fun!

We visited in Croatia a few years ago and the place we stayed had been modernized, yet they kept the old, old flooring (the house dated from the 1400s!). They sanded, then stained or washed the wood with a bluish color and filled/sealed it all with some kind of resin. All the holes and imperfections were wonderfully "new" and tasteful-looking, yet the floor was smooth and durable for all the vacationers who stayed there.

We visited in Croatia a few years ago and the place we stayed had been modernized, yet they kept the old, old flooring (the house dated from the 1400s!). They sanded, then stained or washed the wood with a bluish color and filled/sealed it all with some kind of resin. All the holes and imperfections were wonderfully "new" and tasteful-looking, yet the floor was smooth and durable for all the vacationers who stayed there.

My kitchen was old when I moved into my house too. I didn't want to spend a lot at one time. So, I redecorated my kitchen over a period of about a year. First, I sanded and painted the old white cabinets burnt orange, and put modern pulls on them. Sounds loud, but it's a very peaceful color. In the meantime, I picked up ceramic tile from Home Depot that was on clearance. I just stuck it in my storage room, not knowing when I was going to get it installed. Then I got new countertops (mid-range in material). When they were installing the counter tops, I purchased a new sink. Since they had removed the old one to install the countertop, there was no charge to put a different one in, as long as it was the same measurement. My son-in-law had put ceramic tile in his kitchen, and it looked really good. So, his second project ended up being my kitchen. I helped. He didn't want any money, but it was around Christmas, so, he accepted money to buy his two kids Christmas gifts. The final leg was getting stainless steel appliances. I've been known to work a sale, and boy did I! Sears has the best appliance sale every year. Not only are the appliances on sale, but for one appliance it was an additional 10% off, 20% for two, and 30% for three. I purchased a refrigerator, stove, and microwave, and I know I saved over $1,000. Just take your time, and assess each time you finish a phase. That way, you won't get too far and decide you don't like something.

Don't you just love Houzz? We did a low budget remodel on our kitchen using many ideas gleaned from Houzz articles and comment boards. We added a border to the upper cabinets (white) and left the bottom cabinets plain (Sienna). We installed a hardwood floor harvested from a nearby home being torn down and it matches the rest of the floors in our 1917 bungalow. We went with white appliances. The hardwood floor has nail holes in it (love it). Our only splurge was a granite countertop. (Took them three tries to get it installed properly). These are just some of the changes, but are the ones that relate to what you are doing. And almost all of it came from Houzz! We kept adding things as I browsed Houzz website so our 'two week' project ended up taking eight weeks. But we are happy with the results. I hope you will take your time and end up pleasantly surprised at how much you like your 'new' kitchen. :)

I can't tell by looking at the photo if you have a walk in pantry?? A glass pantry door is the perfect solution to spruce things up!

Yes I do have a walk in pantry/ laundry room. It already has glass doors one of which I need to paint. :)

I think a wood countertop (diy's the way to go) and change the handels to modern long stainless stells ones- If you want to paint the cabinets- do a grey or white. If you don't want to sell the home later on- paint it in a bright color of your choice

I would open the kitchen up by taking the arched wall down. White cabinets will enlarge the kitchen, but I wouldn't do too much of the blue grey. I did blue grey in my kitchen center cabinets and fake hood only (the exhaust is hidden behind the burners). Think about using granite or quartz for your countertop. Marble stains much easier. As for the floor, natural wood colors look great with white cabinets and also warms up the space.

Hi, About the kitchen up date on the top of page. You could keep your cabinets, Change the hardware to brushed nickle, put in new countertops, remove the scalloped drop over the window, new stainless appliances and a new floor. It will update it without spending a fortune. Check out my kitchen makeover on facebook. I am a decorator, and facelifted this kitchen. Caroline's Interior Decorating

What about a floor like this? It's classic and would look wonderful with white cabinets on top and very dark charcoal on the bottom. I actually have the same cabinets and painted them and changed the hardware, it made a huge difference. Also remove the trim above the sink.

Sorry it's sideways. Hopefully you can still envision it.

Is that slate, Nikawareham? I considered doing slate if we do do tile. And for all the recommendations on taking the arch doorway down, no way will I ever do that. If I wanted a new house without character I would have bought one. My house actually has a beautiful arch over the tub in the bathroom. The arches stay. :) I will definitely update. It's going to take us awhile...

I love arched doorways.

No I believe it is porcelain made to look like slate, more uniform in thickness and color. 6x12 laid in a herringbone pattern. They sell a wood look really dark porcelain at lowes for around $3 a sq ft and it would probably work also.

My house is a 1950's bungalow super small but has all the original cabinets and arches and I personally love .them. I got lucky and have the art deco trim around my window instead of the wavy like most.

Just wanted to do a small update. We're still mainly working on our livingroom, but went ahead and tore the end of the soffit out that hung in the middle of the kitchen. We decided to leave the rest of the soffit. As with all old houses, there were some surprises (soffit not built correctly & hanging by a thread and some old water damage), so a bit more work to do. We're almost finished though. The picture makes the lights look unevenly spaced, but they're not really. Still have another light to add at the end near the fridge.

Progress! It will start shaping up as you move forward. I like the canned lights.

Personally, I don't think marble is the best use of your money. And do you really want expensive counters on top of old, dated cabinets? Try to keep an open mind and check out some of the new laminates with updated profiles. I LOVE mine and get tons of compliments on them. This one is called "rock of ages".

And this one is "pearl soapstone".

Here is a calcutta laminate counter
http://houzz.com/photos/101159

I have the white ice appliances mentioned above-I love them!
We have a stainless steel frigidaire fridge that is smudge-proof. It's very good, I have a 2 and 3 year old.

A few ideas since in the past I have owned older homes and my new one has the character of an old one. Your arch is wonderful but they failed to do great millwork or any millwork. I would have 3.5 to 4 inch moulding for the arch. A style that you would see in a shingle home in boston or the hamptons. Also I woul have plywood on either side of your refrigerator pull the cabinet above it out even with the frig. Separate the cabinet above frig witj 4 inch wood and start the cabinet. Put crown moulding above the cabinet. Where the plywood sides are use fluted moulding on the sides of frig all the eay up to the crown.it will look built in I did this on my old kitchen and had hidden jinges done on my old cabinets and new knbs and painted them white with granite light colored counyers and the kitchen sold the place in 4 months also had 2 columns put in . Marble is not easy to care for but if you really want it try danby marble it is less porus and is very strong. Calcutta is weak I have it in my bathroom but would never have it in a kitchen. If you saw my new kitchen you would love it with danby and I had a cabinet maker do it with my design. You can do it just think things out . Over the sink do a plain arch and you could apply a design or leave plain.good luck
!

An update: Still not done with my kitchen, but only a few things left to do (mainly the floor). This was on a budget while working on other rooms. We've come a long way while working FT with 2 young kids!