Your cabinets are lovely and the kitchen overall seems to fit with the general style of the house. A new backsplash (all the way up to the ceiling behind the hood), some new cabinet pulls and maybe a fresh paint color - all relatively inexpensive and would really update the look.

Updated barstools. Change backsplash and eliminate accent tiles above range. Eliminate 4”backsplash. Unify wall paint color. Do not paint cabinets. Declutter countertop.

I would just change the barstools and pendants and paint the walls a neutral andchange your hardware ro squares

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A more neutral wall color would be a good start. To my eye, the current color is emphasizing the orange in the cabinets...unless that's what you prefer. Maybe edit some of the items on counters. The stools look a little "heavy" to me. Maybe a backsplash with less pattern.

Beautiful room with windows!

ETA - Agree with flopsy regarding the 4" backsplash. One backsplash is enough.

Like the green wall color, could go darker or more grey-green.

■ Declutter, declutter. ■ Change backsplash, including behind stove. ■ Change light over round table. ■ Remove plates above window. ■ Remove ? hanging light in window.

New backsplash (take away accent behind stove), and update barstools and dining fixture

I agree with comments above. Lighter bar stools, get rid of back splash. I also update the pain with a light, bright airy color. Maybe play around with trim in a different shade.

We purchased a home with stools I hated from day one. It took nearly 20 years to replace them. I was BLOWN AWAY by how much the room was changed when I did finally get "modern" stools. Yours are current in that I see them sold but if you are at all unhappy with them I can attest to the CHANGE they make.

If you decide on new stools, just like any other furniture you sit on, encourage try them out - sit on them - before you buy. Some look great, but are uncomfortable; these are surprisingly comfortable.

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I also suggest a moderiish bench for the windoe, or if you like to grow plant, a lot of them on step planters or in planters of varying heights

New Backsplash, knobs, stools and new pendant lighting. Beautiful home don’t do too much

Do four of you ever sit at the counter at once? If not, then get new stools but only as many as you ever use - two or three. It looks quite crowded. New lights, paint, declutter.

I would edit the accessories and maybe replace the rug, pillows and lights.

Paint the kitchen the same as your living room and dinette so it's all one big space. This alone will lighten the kitchen.

Change out the scrolly, old fashioned lighting fixture over the banquette area or find a round shaped pendant that works with the island pendants, or change those out too.

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Yes, change out to more modern barstools in wood that matches your wonderful floors and wood trim in the living room. This style has a light wood back.

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Take down your clock and small old fashioned shelf in the banquette area and change to some modern art.

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Banquettes with art and modern lighting:

I would just paint to match the living room, update the barstools and replace the chandelier over the table. I like your kitchen.

Wow thanks for taking the time to provide suggestions. I love them! I hate that chair in living room and a new one could really be a Game changer!! Also like
Colors for fabric

Thanks to everyone for the amazing comments and suggestions. My husband is a little upset to think I may take down his backsplash he worked so hard on but I agree it’s prob dated. I think I’ll start with paint/fabric/light fixtures and decluttering and then maybe do backsplash And new counter later

Make sure to post an update when all is done :-)

like it - def paint and can tie in new barstools also

Declutter. Paint walls a warm color like Sherwin Williams Emerald Paint -Beachcomber. Paint stools , banquette the and chairs . Recover bar stool and banquette cushions, add pillows. That will be a good step in beginning your refresh .

agree about painting the chairs and stools - you could get more bang from your buck if you just paint them a lighter color. (Would probably cost less.) If you're up to DIY, you could even reupholster them in a lighter color, as well as the banquette. Get rid of all those thousands of pillows! Put up a cushion all the way around the banquette as a back so you don't need them, upholstered in the same thing as the bottom cushion. The chairs and stools are too dark for the room. So either paint or replace them. (You could get another chair in the living room that compliments the chairs and stools, btw.) You could also just get a couch cover made in either the same or a complimenting color as the stools and chairs, so you don't have such heavy furniture in the living room. And then paint the kitchen area the same as the living room. That will all give you more continuity. I also agree about taking down the clock, plates, etc... and modernizing a bit. The living room looks a bit get-away-cabin-y but the kitchen looks kind of old-fashioned because of the decorations. I'd also switch out the light above the banquette for something that compliments or recalls the lights over the island (which I like.) Also agree with taking the double backsplash out and doing one light-colored unifying one all the way up to the ceiling. Good luck!!! Nice space!!!

I think you should consider getting rid of the banquette altogether. Although it is very trendy right now, the shape and location of your banquette are not optimal. Other than that, painting, decluttering and changing the bar stools (don’t paint them, they will still be too big) will have a major impact. Light fixture upgrades would also have a major impact.

Lots of good ideas here and I will add, get rid of everything with a scroll.

Paint the kitchen walls the same as the family room to make it one continuous space. Update the lighting and get a lighter looking set of bar stools. If you want to go further you can change out the backsplash as well. It will look great! Good luck!

Neutral, warm-toned lighter paint color, updated pendant lights with clear glass, new barstools and cream/neutral accessories and decor will quickly bring your kitchen into the present.

I would paint the kitchen walls the small color as the family room. Replace light fixture over the table, replace light fixture at the window, add some color with a new cushion on the banquette. Before replacing bar stools try painting and see what that looks like, also maybe use only two barstools- three looks cramped. See what backsplash looks like after changing the wall color . It may not be as noticeable. I would also either replace or recover the chair in the family room with a lighter color. You have a lovely space.

All are very good suggestions, if I could add mine. Consider adding under cabinet LED lighting to the kitchen this would add functional and accent lighting day or night. The beams in the living room are another option, assuming you have power. You could add up lighting to the beams and really have a nice lighting effect fill the room. Good luck and have fun with your new project.

Paint the kitchen the same color as family room.

Four stools, even newer ones may still make that counter space look jammed up. We rarely use all four of our counter stools so I keep one in the front closet. It's close enough to quickly pull out when we need it but it means that most of the time, the three stools look much better in our space.

Many good suggestions. I agree with updating light fixtures, painting kitchen to match living area, replacing the backsplash and definitely replacing the bar stools to something less heavy looking. I think the banquette overwhelms the kitchen table. If you removed it it would open up more space for a larger table with 4-6 chairs. If it is something that you feel compelled to keep, maybe shrink it down in size so at least it ends where the table does so it looks more proportional.

If you were to paint the kitchen the same color as the family room and then replace the backsplash with something that ties into the fireplace stone color, that would help tie the two rooms together. You obviously wouldn't want a heavy stacked stone, but maybe a mosaic that included some slate like this one, which gives some of the warm colors from the fireplace without getting too heavy. https://www.tileclub.com/products/waterfall-slate-linear-glass-and-slate-mosaic-tile?variant=8131396501597&msclkid=cb92a766d0ea19fb7421c75911bcdbd9&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Shopping&utm_term=4588055865123403&utm_content=Ad%20group%20%231#gallery2

Rather than changing out the pendants over the countertop, you could probably find some nice replacement glass shades. I agree that an update for the fixture over the banquet would modernize things, and maybe a switch from the many pillows to a full back cushion with just a couple of pillows for extra color and texture.

I'm not sure why backsplash, which your husband installed, has to go. Paint the kitchen to match living room, and make some of the other changes, and the backsplash will be fine. I like the banquette, but as suggested, it needs to be streamlined with straight cushions, not random pillows, and a modern, round lamp.

Sounds like almost the only option is paint. I would paint the walls the same white as you have in the adjoining family room. I would replace the pendants for black metal that seems to fit your other lighting fixtures and decor, and would replace the stools with a model that will give the room some punch. I would also suggest decluttering the counters.

If you plan on replacing the backsplash, I would go for a simple glazed white subway tile that will make the cabinets stand out.

Dining corner: reupholster bench cushion, find bright colour decorative pillows; replace pendant; reupholster the 2 black chairs. You can also install, if you want, light colour drapes (to match other fabrics) on a black rod.

Agree with matching paint to family room.

I would paint family room to match kitchen. The green is a great color with your wood trim.

We moved to a lake house where everything was oak. The kitchen cabinets were really nice though so instead of painting we changed granite to black coffee, changed stainless sink to black granite composite, added off-white glazed subway tile, added new fan and pendant lights, bought new barstools, new runner rug, and changed nickel hardware to antique bronze hardware. It wasn’t that expensive and I really like it so much better. Who knows, maybe oak wood will come back in style someday.

Black....I'm always mindful of budget, so if this was me. #1. Paint barstools black & recover. #2 black hardware #3 black pendent lighting #4 black stove hood #5 backsplash update #6 paint all the walls, maybe agreeable gray , goes well with wood trim! #7 you could even add some black strapping to your beams. Most important, have fun decorating!

Agree with most comments. Paint one neutral light color. Change cabinet hardware to something that blends better. Get new barstools that aren't so big and heavy. Get pendants that blend with your chandelier (scrolled black). Your styles are confused and not coherent and that breaks up your line of sight. Beautiful space though!

Lots of folks have commented that you consider changing your light fixtures. That's a style choice. But what you really need to do is investigate changing your light bulbs. I was unhappy with the lighting in my kitchen/ dining room. After lots of time on line and in my Loew's Home Improvement Store, I changed my ceiling lights to GE Reveal LED lights , at 700 lumens and dimmable. Chandelier bulbs to GE Reveal at 350 lumems. and dimmable Both rooms look bright and cheerful at all times of day and night.

I think new black iron bar stools would be smaller visually. New modern hardware for the cabinets and paint. Any or all of those will have an impact, up to you and hubby to decide. Maybe start with one thing and continue until YOU are satisfied.
I think you are chasing your tail with a new backsplash. It is fine until you change cabinets. That all changes when whats trending gets a new trender. Lol! Im so sick of white everywhere and the latest tile trend, that may be outdated in less than a couple of years.
There may be light pendant replacements that may work with your existing lights instead of all new lights. Mine were only about $10-$15 each and my GF paid a ton of money for a similar fixture. She was not happy.
Good luck! It looks great, but I know I’m always wanting to update a little here and there all the time. Just don’t let the peer pressure get to you. 😊

@Amy J I love the paint mock up you did. I agree with a few others on thread get brighter light bulbs and slowly with some of your changes you are going to create a great space.

Enjoy

Thanks so much all! Great suggestions and I cant tell you how much I appreciate those of you that took the time to mock up pictures and show me suggestions for light fixtures, barstools and banquette area! I love them all! Also feel the need to say the house was a mess and counters are usually not that cluttered but I do agree that we need to de clutter none the less!

I have not seen many comments about the dead space over by your fridge. I would recommend 1 or 2 shallow depth occasional arm chairs, and perhaps an ottoman. It would create a cozy window spot to relax and read or enjoy a cup of coffee.