Congrats on the new home. I choose the hardware last. I think of it like jewelry for the outfit you're wearing. I pick it out when everything else is put together. If the appliances all work and match I'd live with those. If you are planning on ripping out the granite 'backsplash' piece you may need to take care of that first since there will probably be wall damage to repair prior to painting and installing tile. Then I'd pick the backsplash tile. You'd want the paint to coordinate with the tile. The part of your kitchen that would bug me is the island. It looks like picture molding on top of chipboard. An inexpensive fix might be to get rid of the molding, install bead board and paint it a complimenting color to the walls.

I think those pulls look great.

Definitely remove the 4-inch backsplash before adding another. My own choice would be to have all appliances either stainless or black, not mixed. Stainless is more neutral and can brighten things up more than black. Black also pulls a lot of focus for me, but it's all personal preference. If you went with stainless appliances, brushed nickel hardware would be a good fit with them and your sink/faucet.

I agree that the 4 inch backsplash should go and that the biggest problem is the island. Definitely remove the molding and paint it. Currently it doesn’t match anything. I like your new pulls; however will anything else be gold? If you go with stainless appliances, perhaps black and brushed nickel might work better.

I agree with the others. Your cabinets are pretty in my opinion. But your island is not. I would definitely paint the island. And i think stainless appliances would help. And a simpler pendant maybe also stainless. And remove the valence (?) on the sink window.

the island must have been added later. It even looks like a different granite? Does the floor run under it? I wonder if it might be possible to replace the island Maybe with a simple rectangle. If you can’t match the granite maybe butcher block or a contrasting material.

I love your Gold and black pulls

The wood on the back of the peninsula looks different from the rest of the cabinets. You might consider having this painted or refaced if it looks as bad as the photo.

That angled island is atrocious and is what happens when you decide to cheap out on an “improvement” by cobbling something together using bad plywood and stick-on molding (as opposed to either buying matching cabinetry from the manufacturer of your existing cabinets or having cabinets custom-built to match the existing). Obviously I think that situation needs to be addressed first and foremost. 😬

Unless your appliances are failing, there’s no reason (that makes financial sense, anyway) to replace them.

Do I see two islands? Weird. Can you remove the angled one without damaging the floor? If so, I'd do that - the wood doesn't match your other cabinets and it looks like it's probably not terribly useful anyway given its location. If you like/use the seating there, replace with a table of some kind.

As for the rest of the cabs/kitchen, it's not to my taste but not horrible - I would be inclined to change the backsplash but otherwise leave it alone until/unless you do a full gut.

I would recommend waiting on the hardware selection. The island & your light fixtures are bigger issues in the kitchen. Once you start totalling up all the small details that need to be addressed, you might find it's simply better to wait and tackle the kitchen in total at a later date.

Is the total house oak trim? If so painting out the trim might be a project to consider.

If painting the cabinets, you could consider black base cabinets to freshen up the appearance of the room.

there are actually 2 islands in the kitchen. both are original and the same cabinetry as the outer cabinets. the outside of the outer island is actually a high quality oak, not cheap plywood. it has a lot of grain to it from the cut. these were all originally installed when the house was built. from what i have read, the oak will not paint well as the grain will continue to show through which is why I have decided not to paint them but rather work with it until we are ready to fully redo the kitchen. i also dislike the picture frame mouldings. once stool are in the grain should be less noticable. the layout with the twi islands actually works well.