Pics of the rest of the house also, please.

Just posted a couple more showing some of the white aspects of our house… ignore the toys! lol

A floor without reddish tones would be great. If you have painted the ceilings in the rest of the cabin and like them, go ahead in the kitchen, too. I like your countertops and wouldn't change them. Paint the sheet rocked backsplash to match your chinking. New lighting would help add interest, too.

Your room is all "hard" surfaces. Try adding a large, patterned rug and roman blinds, put something in the wine holder (or change it out for a bookshelf), and a large arrangement to the island to bring some texture and color to the space...

And add some design elements to the backsplash for interest, too.

After, if it is still too dark, you can always go with the more expensive option of changing out the countertops.

Love these ideas so much! Thank you for taking the time to offer your feedback. I especially like the idea of turning the wine cabinet into a bookshelf because we aren't really wine drinkers, as well as waiting on the counters until after doing some of these other updates to decide whether it's worth it. I'm totally with you about the red in the floors, we are looking at a white oak that's rustic and a lighter neutral tone, hoping to complement the cabinetry but not be so yellow. We have an electrician and designer coming out next week to get creative with the lighting. Thank you again!

Gosh at first I thought his post would be helpful but your floors are so different and this I don’t think the results would be the same:

https://mariakillam.com/design-rustic-kitchen-makeoever-before-after/

I see your floors coordinate well with the bulk of the home - except the kitchen cabinets. Do you like the counters at all? If yes then I could see a khaki green cabinet color for your kitchen that could update the whole look and work with the existing counters.

I mean ‘this post’ not ‘his post’

Thank you! I do like the counters ok, I think our biggest issue is just how dark the kitchen feels. We have to replace our floors because there are actually three different types of flooring throughout the house (not sure what prior owners were doing there, ha), and some of it has been damaged anyway. So yes, you're right, the floors in the kitchen match the log walls in this part of the house, but not the rest of the house. It's very confusing, lol. A khaki green cabinet color would be very pretty. Something to consider for sure. Thanks for the feedback!

And that kitchen gives me a feel for what white counters would look like with our cabinetry!

It looks like the white you have elsewhere is a nice creamy white. I don't think WHITE white counters would go (and for some reason I still have feelings against "almond" colored counters), but what about keeping the counters and replacing the backsplash with a nice creamy white tile?

Yeah the pictures make the white look creamy! Or maybe it's the lighting? It changes over the course of the day as we have huge windows and lighting shifts. Also the red toned logs probably makes it look creamier too. It's Benjamin Moore Super White which I was told was a cool white, but I guess in here it gets drowned out, lol. A matching white backsplash would help I'm sure! I am with you about almond colored counters... I don't want that either, but I also don't think anything with gray in it would be right. Thank you for your help!

I think paint the ceiling the same color as the rest of the walls (but not the beams), and see how much that lightens up the kitchen.

I’m leaning toward that as a first step too! Thanks so much!!

Great idea, thanks!!

Just a little thing. Is that a pot rack over the cook top? It looks pretty inacessible and visually distracting, especially if you paint the ceiling white. I think pots would get dusty. Looks like you have plenty of storage. I’d delete it.

Photoshop :)

White ceilings

Khaki-ish island

Let me know if you want to see other colors...

@Jean Oh my word, this is AMAZING!!! I have zero skills like that, I so appreciate you taking the time to do this and send it my way!!! I have been trying to visualize the white ceilings in there (and the floors and the counters even) and just have such a hard time but this is absolutely perfect!! Thank you thank you!!

@flopsycat1 thank you for the feedback and I will try taking it down! We don't even use most of the pots up there anyway, haha

When I was planning my kitchen, I bought several pieces of black poster board at Walgreens (any office supply store) to see if my soapstone look would be too dark. Do the opposite-buy white poster board enough to cover a large section of your existing counter. Step out of the room several times to see if a new counter would give you the look you want. This won’t cost ten dollars and you can be confident in your decision.

Jean that looks great- I'd argue that khaki(ish) color would look great on all the cabinets. Paint is very much your friend on this one I think. And good lighting.

@remodeling1840 oh my goodness, BRILLIANT! Thank you for this idea. Going to do that today!!

oh, I'm so glad I could give you an idea!

This is such a gorgeous home!! What you’ve done with the spaces so far is awesome!
I think lighter countertops, some white paint and lighting will go a far way

Awe thank you so much. I really appreciate that!!!

I get what people are saying about keeping the counter change-up until last, but I do kinda think that white (not stark white and not almond) would look nicer. I'd also suggest while you've got all that white paper/poster board, that you cover the backsplash area including the green short backsplash and see if that helps lighten it up while still leaving the green counter. It might not be too hard to remove that short splash and either paint it all white or do light tile.

I think a light ceiling would go a long way to lighten things up. Not sure what the present floors are, but if they are saveable, have you thought about whitewashing them? Not paint, not gray but something like this?

I really like your present countertops. They seem to be more complementary to the nature of a log home than white would be. I have friends who used to build log homes. After living in their own for a while, they ended up sheetrocking a few walls to lighten things up. Would you consider that in your kitchen eating area (I think that's what it is; the area to the left of the window)? Looks like it might be a space that would be easy to convert to sheetrock and would really lighten up the space.

@daisychain Zn3b that's a great idea about the backsplash wall/covering that up with white as well to see how it would look! And yes I agree, I think removing that part of the backsplash would be easy and a lighter backsplash or wall might just do the trick. Thank you!!

@Olychick I wish the floors were saveable but there are actually 5 different floors going on throughout the first floor, it's kind of nuts! Otherwise I love that idea! Interestingly, the prior owners also sheetrocked several walls throughout our house as well. I could see that wall you're referring to being one that could be sheetrocked over to lighten up also! Thanks for the feedback!!

Love your log cabin! Would you consider pickling the cabinets instead of painting? Pickling should lighten them but should allow wood grain to still show thru. Good luck!

Honestly, you need proper lighting before anything else. Believe this or not, but almost all of your light fixtures are of the wrong type, in the wrong places and you just don't have enough of them. Most of you lights are illuminating the front of the upper cabinets as opposed to work surfaces. Spot lights just don't work to illuminate the front edge of the counters or the sink or the range top where you want to be able to see better.

@bmorepanic yes that is our first step, we have a designer and electrician coming next week to see if we can change the lighting up and add more/get creative! A bit of a wiring challenge in a log home! Thanks for the feedback!

@Norwood Architects thank you so much! Yes some people suggested painting the cabinets but actually we really like them and think they fit the house. Getting new flooring that complements them+the reddish logs is going to be the challenge I think. Just so much wood tones, ha!I haven't heard of pickling but I will look that up! Sounds interesting!

I'd definitely upgrade the lighting and that will help a lot. Paint the ceiling between the beams white, leave the beams as they are.

Paint the wood trim around the kitchen window white and the kitchen walls too. The other big window in the kitchen, I'd paint that white too.

If you like the current counters and aren't sure about replacing them, then how about removing the short backsplash and finding a light coloured tile to do the entire backsplash. If you don't have it already, add some lighting under your upper cabinets as well.

I definitely like the idea above of painting the island. The creamy white you've used in other areas looks really good. I think I'd carry it into the kitchen area and keep painting until you feel you've brightened it up significantly.

You could also consider new hardware for the cupboards. It looks black in the pictures - you could choose a finish to match your faucet.

Lighter floors would help and I love wide plank flooring and I think it would be appropriate in a log house to have wider planks.

I hope you'll share after photos when you're done.

Great house, can’t wait to hear what the designer recommends. I like the cabinets and would definitely leave them alone. BTW, you sound like a lovely person, one who appreciates and thanks every commentor.

@M V Thank you for the great detailed feedback, I love these ideas, it's so fun to hear confirmations of my gut and also get fresh eyes with fresh ideas on my space too! I will definitely be upgrading the lighting as a main priority, and YES I agree to wide planked floors in here... going for a lighter more neutral color versus the direct red or yellow tones in the floors adn cabinetry. Hoping to find something that will tie both in together and complement well. And good idea about lightening up the hardware. I wish I could jump on the white window idea, but we have all solid wood trim and windows throughout the house, I should probably add some pics of the adjacent dining room area once I clean the toys out, ha. Thank you!! I will come back to this post and share progress/after photos as we make changes!

@flopsycat1 wow thank you for such a nice compliment!! I am just so appreciative of anyone who takes the time to offer their opinion and thoughts here, to someone they don't even know! I have always browsed houzz.com but never engaged, I think I might be addicted now, lol. Thanks for your feedback and I will add pic updates as we make changes! :)

Oh, and one other thing I don't know if anyone has mentioned: replace/paint outlet covers matching white!

@Elizabeth 100% in agreement with your order of priorities, that's the exact order I will be going in! And I love the wood trim of the windows too, also the whole house is wood trimmed windows so that would be a bit of a commitment. The floor color is definitely tricky... I think we've narrowed it down to one we really love but aren't sure if it's too similar in tone to the cabinetry. I will post pics in a bit. Thanks for your help!! and yes for sure about the outlets needing to go white too! :)

You'll want warm tones for your flooring. Consider varieted wood slats of warm light and dark slats for the kitchen and perhaps slightly less dark for the rest of the house.This can be very beautiful.

Another possibility not mentioned to lighten the kitchen is to remove some of the upper cabinets on the window side if you have enough storage elsewhere and maybe add a larger window down the road. Check out my Log and Panelled Ideabook for other ideas. This one below also has light floors.

white counter visuals

I like your current countertop better than white, but like the painted ceiling and island idea mentioned.

I don’t believe you mentioned backsplash and highly suggest adding. The right choice will help soften the potential starkness of the white counter by pulling in the warmth of the wood and create a more finished, unified look.

@Melissa R ok, this is incredible!!!! This helps a person like me who needs real examples so much!! I don't know how so many of you on here are so talented and don't mind spending time helping a stranger, but i sure appreciate it!! Thank you, and my husband says THANK YOU too!!

@Maureen I am obsessed with those photos you attached. Those are my dream looks. And I absolutely LOVE that tile. I actually pictured something just like that in my head. I am now wondering if we don't go with replacing the counters what color backsplash would look right up against the contrast of our darker counters. Do you have any advice on that? Thank you so much for your help!!

@housegal200 yes warm tones for the floor for sure is my choice. A designer I had out suggested white oak without any yellow in it, but I'm not sure that's the right choice given everything is very warm in our house.... but I also am concerned about floors blending in too much with the cabinetry, or being a strange contrasting color which is what I feel about the current cherry hardwoods. Your ideas are good ones and I will look into that and check out your board! Thank you so much!

I think your flooring will have a big influence on whether you decide to keep your counters. The counter choice in turn will help narrow down tile options, so I’d hold off (but I do love the square tiles). Keep the look in the back of your mind and just find the right color when the time comes. Big decisions...good luck.

I would put down some pretty rugs in that area.

Have you made any progress with the kitchen changes? Can you share updates and photos?