Once you remove the 3” backsplash you will notice the countertops a lot less

Lighting would be a priority for me.
You need a brighter, bluer light.
And maybe new pendants.

Once your redoing the floors I might extend the island.
Or remove and get one of those moveable ones.

Bottom line - put the flooring under the island area, it’ll cost very little and is very practical to have there.

I would not paint the cabinets. They’re perfect. Save the cash $$

What about a new pantry door? Something more wow...

Have fun with the hardware. Such an easy change that adds so much.

Backsplash should come at the very end.
We will discuss that then :)

Hi Mee Mee-

I like your kitchen.

For me, function in a kitchen is the most important thing.

Your kitchen lacks a hood vent over the cooktop that vents to the outside.

I would spend my money on that first.

You can decide if you want to switch to gas cook top or induction and keep the stove in that location.

You can move the microwave elsewhere, maybe next to the refrigerator.

As far as changing the stone and painting, first change all your lightbulbs to cool spectrum LEDs.

That will totally change how you perceive the color of everything, what you have and what you will purchase.

I myself do prefer cool colors rather than warm ones, so I understand your preferences. I

There are your cool colors in your granite, and if you paint your cabinets the color of your walls, you may be much happier and you may not need to change out your granite.

I would change the old fashioned light fixture to be more contemporary, it doesn't go with the pendants over the island, unless you don't like those either, and get all new ones.

I do not understand the obsession with back splash people have.

What are you protecting? You have like 4 inches over your stove and the same over your sink.

If you are determined to throw money at your kitchen, get a certified kitchen designer and remodel the whole thing.

I would put get a proper hood vent, the stove and range top of your dreams of whatever energy source you want, and the oven and range top do not necessarily need to be connected.

Move that gigantor, obtrusive refrigerator to the basement and get a counter depth refrigerator.

Retool the island. Make a proper space for the garbage. It is really unaesthetically pleasing as is.

If your dining area is right next to the kitchen, maybe you don't need counter seating at the island and you are better off using the island for storage, or even an in-drawer microwave, if you don't want to put it in an upper cabinet.

If you can afford it, take the cabinets up to the ceiling. That blank space you have there now is dark and dust catching. You can use it for serving pieces and cookware you don't use often, and if you have some nice things and not a lot, you can have some with glass fronts for things like a large tureen, pitcher, trophies you use as a vase, tea set, etc.

I am not crazy about the pendants over the island, truth be told. They are too glitzy for me, however, I don't care for transparent glass either, too much glare. I like glass that is frosted or translucent, and I don't want to see the bulb (unless it is a fancy dancy chandelier or sconce in another room with very small candle type bulbs.)

Loobab, thanks so much for your feedback. My contractor also pointed out the lack of a hood vent, so duly noted. I do plan to get rid of the other lighting fixture and replace it with recessed lighting. They had a dining room set there and I don't plan to put one in the kitchen. I have always had backsplash so it feels weird not to have it but I do agree there isn't a lot of space.

I am a total slob when cooking, behind my stove there is always sauce and all sorts of things, but not behind the other counters.

If you get a hood vent, and you like a modern look, you can get a sheet of stainless steel for a backsplash, I love that look.

How much do you splash the wall above the sink?

HU-187528210, hi! Thanks for your comments. I never thought about getting rid of the granite backsplash! That would probably help. I hate the cabinets so those are definitely getting painted.

Visuals

What color are the cabinets really? The creamy? Or the white?
Cuz I was imagining white. :)

The cabinets are an ugly cream color.

I don't like your contractor's reasoning here. Who cares if they are expensive? You don't like them. Living with something you don't like isn't going to add value to it. I wouldn't even consider resale value; afterall, you bought this house and didn't like the kitchen. Someone else might not like the counters you pick that are less costly than granite, but it probably won't keep them from buying the house.

If you are really attached to keeping the counters that you don't like, could you at least replace the island countertop as it is such a focal point? You could stash away the granite island top somewhere if it pains you to get rid of it.

I moved into a co-op unit recently with very expensive, year old, quartzite countertops. They are not my style AT ALL. I gave them to one of the contractors who is going to reuse them in his house. (Who knows, maybe he is really reselling them online, and more power to him if he does.) All I care about is that they don't end up in a landfill.

Now, if it is way beyond your budget to get replacement counters, then that is a different story. But don't keep them just because they are granite.

I'm not a fan of busy granites, but I think yours is pretty nice. It's a little hard to tell with your lighting, but I think a major problem is that you've got warm tones in the floor, cabinet paint, and countertop, but a very cool gray wall color. It creates a lot of tension in the room. The quickest fix would be a warmer paint color that would play nice with all of the other elements. But if you really hate the cabinet color, find a new color that works with the granite, and paint the cabinets and the walls.

And whatever you do, fix your lightbulbs so that your perimeter lights and your island pendants give the same temperature. In your picture, the perimeter countertops are a cool tones that look great with the uppers and the wall color but clashes with the lowers. The island countertop is creamy and warm and looks great with the lowers, clashes with the uppers. New finishes will have the same problem unless you get consistent lighting across the whole room.

It looks like your flooring continues into other rooms. If you're changing it, choose the floors first, as it will have a big impact on the kitchen. Don't make any kitchen changes until your new floors are installed. The kitchen looks fine as it is in the photos - it just doesn't work well with your cool gray wall color, which is likely making the cabinets look more yellow than they are. Changing a wall color is a lot less expensive than painting cabinets.

The first thing I noticed was the garbage can. Maybe there's a better spot for it like in the cabinet under the sink.

Biggest ugly slapping me in the face on first sight is the floor followed by the cream cabinets but the countertops look so so. To much creamy browny stuff.

A few comments:

• Those floors end in the kitchen; they do not extend throughout the house.
• My house has an open floor concept so I am hesitant to change the kitchen wall colors--plus I actually like the walls because I prefer a cooler palate.
• These photos must have magical qualities bc these cabinets are ugly AF in person, regardless of the countertop.
• I have given serious thought to changing the countertops anyway because I just feel as if it's too hard for me to try to remodel around them. I may have to just total out my ideal kitchen and see what's possible.
• I will work on the lighting issue.

Gratitude to all.

Fingers crossed for you that a new cabinet paint color will help it all come together.

We might recommend removing that 4" backsplash before you do much else. We also suggest updating the lighting to brighter LEDs and updating the hardware. Please notice the hood vent and pendant lights in our designs included here.

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Unfortunately countertops are a huge part (visually) of a kitchen….if you don’t like them, nothing is going to hide it, it’s all you’ll see. If you don’t like them and can afford to change them, do it….you won’t regret it! Remove them carefully and donate them to Habitat.

It's lovely! Totally different room. Great job!

I agree! Totally different room and great job....but I’d still think about replacing that pantry door. 😉

You did a very nice job on your kitchen. Looks beautiful! Does your microwave have a fan that exhausts outside?

Meant to ask what is your floor material colour etc.I would love this in our kitchen TIA

I suggest changing your window blind to a fabric blind. Try blinds.com. You can get a fabric one custom made for about $150.

The kitchen looks great! Love the new floors and cabinet color.

Great job! Wonderful!

To respond to some queries:

• Flooring is RockLock Plus' Cumberland.
• This OTR microwave does have an exhaust installed in the cabinets above it.
• I've since gotten a roman shade for the window.
• I'm intrigued by the comments about the door as that hasn't been on my radar. I'll have to see what people are doing with doors now as I wasn't aware that these were considered outdated by some.

Thanks everyone.