lol. who says the paint won't look good? I mean, if you just slap on some latex paint w/o prepping, yeah, it won't look good. If you get an actual professional who will sand, prime, sand again and then spray w/a proper pre-cat lacquer type of paint, it will look great.

you say you don't have the funds? to properly get those painted will be in the 5-7K range.

To get all new countertops, 4K, give or take.

new backsplash, 1-2 K. (if you demo what you have yourself, and look for a tile yourself, you'll save quite a bit)

Here's cabinets before they were painted. These were custom built, solid birch (2004)

Before

it's going on 4 years now and it's holding up beautifully.

Here's a closer shot. does this look bad to you?

I've had a few issues w/the paint around the center panel (but that was the painters fault and he back out and redid it), but no other chips or peeling.

My cabs were solid wood. The company I had paint them offered to reface for 2K$ more. if you notice my drawers in the before, the top ones were all slab. I wanted the shaker on everything. It was easier to reface. the new doors were all solid maple w/MDF center panel. Painting MDF looks better and holds up better than a wood.

Looks like yours are solid wood panels, so just be aware. You'll want to interview painters and find out all their steps and all their materials used.

what about the tile floor? are you keeping that as is? if so, have you thought about a thorough cleaning and then lightening the grout?

need some info from you if you want ideas on what to do.

also, post some other pics that shows the adjoinging areas. lets see what's next to that kitchen.

You could keep the black countertop but remove that 4" piece up that back.

Then, remove that backsplash and do another tile.

The island could have a diff countertop, just depends what you like.

Another option for the island is to paint it, but leave the wood perimeter cabs as is.

Get new hardware

New pendant lights

I'd remove the microwave to another part of the cabinets. Did you see how I did miine? It's under my wall oven.

Hi Beth- thank you for your response. wow you’re kitchen looks amaaaaaziiiing. Love everything about it. You are giving me hope lol.

Our budget for the kitchen is $10k.

I mainly don’t like the dark counter tops and the backsplash looks very outdated. I still want to keep the warmth the kitchen offers because the other part of the house has brown tones. My initial plan was to color the cabinets white and get the Taj Mahal quartz as the counter tops. After I saw a friend’s painted cabinets and her bad experience I thought maybe it’s a good idea to stick to what I have ( ?)

I would like to change my floors to LVP- a nice brown color.

Here is a picture of the entire kitchen. I don’t think I have space to change the microwave.

Pic of full kitchen

You can demo the backsplash yourself. it's easy. just go easy removing the tile.

it will save you money. with only 10K to spend, you need to scrimp for every dime.

The 4" piece you also want to carefully pry off

lots of DIY videos on how to do this.

TAj would be lovely w/your wood cabs. no need to paint. However, Taj is prob going to run you 4-6 K.

both of these are Taj

Have you ever heard of Pre-Fab countertops? They come in pre cut lengths that are then cut on site to fit your countertops. They come in all types of materials. I did see a pre-fab in Taj that cost 1800 bucks for a 9' piece.

Most pre-fabs cost about 500-700 for a 9' piece. taj is an exotic so it's always going to run more

These are some of the quartz pre-fabs that my place sell.

some other less expensive solutions:

You could just have the island painted a creamy white, or whatever you like. (see more ideas in my next comment)

The flooring is going to be expensive. I would match whatever wood you have in the other rooms, and carry it into the kitchen. Demo alone for that tile floor would be about 2K. If you did yourselves, you'd have more money leftover for the flooring.

You can always get the cabs painted at a later date. right now, from what I see, they look ok.

You have that giant white window though. It looks out of place w/all the black/wood.

If you do the Taj, what about the black appliances?

Taj again w/white cabs and a warmer gray tile floor.

I think your cabinets are lovely. I'd go clean and simple with warm white countertop and backsplash. What is your total budget? That may dictate the specific material selection. I'm loving my new corian countertops and think you can't beat white subway tile with thin grout lines.

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just to give you some other paint ideas for your walls, (I think the current color is the wrong shade. maybe it's the photo?)

These are a tad warmer. If you brought in the oak flooring like the rest of your house, you'd have this look:

Granted, these are oak cabs, but this person changed out her countertop and backsplash, added some new hardware and lights. But the oak floor looks great w/the wood cabs.

also oak, but you get the idea of what a change would do. New quartz countertops and a soft blue/gray subway tile. This is what I meant about just painting your island.

Depending on what color you decide to go with, painting just the island wouldn't cost as much, but it would give you a nice change

Another one w/wood perimeter cabs and a soft blue/gray island, white quartz

wood floors, a nice runner.

This would be a beautiful color for the island. BM Cheating Heart (and tie in your dark appliances) You could also paint the fridge surround and or the pantry-w/the island color

For my island I did a similar color; Wrought Iron, BM:

I have black appliances, and a black/white tile on my coffee bar area. Plus a black tile inlay in my wood floors. This way the black (or the Wrought Iron color) isn't disconnected.

You'd want to do the same thing w/your kitchen if keeping the black. Bring it in elsewhere so they all meld together. don't forget the wood floors will look great w/the black.

(or, you could do a black tile floor. like a large hex)

Revere Pewter is a nice color. It would work w/your cabs (and TAj if you decide on that)

Might also work for your walls. Look at the colorful runner. You need something like this to bring in a little life to the room.

another natural wood cabinet (these are cherry). This is a granite top w/a soft white tile splash and a cafe au lait wall color

those colors would look good w/your cabs as is, w/the taj.

This one has a zellige tile backsplash. beautiful!

Or, look at Perla Venata. It's similar to taj but creamier/lighter

These are wood w/Perla Venata countertops

it's very similar to taj. sometimes taj can have a lot of gray. the Perla has some warmer tones that would look great w/your wood cabs.

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5988339/perla-venata-quartzite-vs-taj-mahal-quartzite-same-or-different

https://academy-marble.com/products/quartzite-others/perla-venata-quartzite/

It seems like a big job and expense to paint the cabinets and it looks like you really need to change the counters and backsplash so why not leave the lovely wood cabinets and just choose some light counters and plain backsplash?

Your wood cabinets are very nice. To maximize your budget I would make the decision to keep them and use your money towards flooring, countertops, backsplash and new wall paint. Doing demo will save you thousands and your money will go far. Painting your own walls (and the island if you like that idea) is another freebie.

If you haven’t deep cleaned those cabinets, that’s the first thing I would recommend. Kitchens are messy places and rarely do owner “deep clean” wood cabinets. Get some lemon oil, 0000 steel wool and rags. Put a small amount of the oil on the steel wool and, going with the grain, work the oil into the wood. Then wipe. You will be shocked at how much nicer your whole kitchen will look. That whole activity is a minimal cost and the rest of your budget can be used for the other items.

Please don’t put wood-looking LVP next to real wood floors. It will look terrible. Wait till you can afford to add the real wood or choose something else.

You have a large and nice kitchen. It may take a while to get to your dream kitchen but you’re starting with a really nice one.

If your priority is to get rid of the wood cabinet look, your professional paint job will take most of your budget.

If I had a 10k budget I would look at new counters and backsplash, I would use the bulk to replace the counters and backsplash.

I would keep the cabinets - they look nice and will last longer than painted cabinets without any additional maintenance.

I would leave the tile floor and recolor the grout. The color of the tile floor works with the cabinets. You have wood in the main area, so I wouldn't want to bring in another wood or wood look next to the wood in the adjoining rooms. I have nothing against LVP - have LVT in my own home, but I would not replace tile with LVP. I replaced carpet and sheet vinyl. Tile is a more expensive and more durable flooring choice than LVP. Laying LVP over the tile will create a height difference. That difference may create a trip hazard and may cause issues with pulling the DW out. Removing tile and replacing with LVP is expensive.

Continuing your current flooring into the kitchen is risky. Will the two woods look great together or will they be too similar in depth and/or off in color?

I just pulled a piece of the flooring from the background of your photo and placed it in your kitchen next to the cabinets. I like the color of the tile better, but I don't know how the flooring looks in real life. I am seeing greener tones in the flooring and yellow/orange tones in the cabinets and I think it makes your cabinets look way more orange.

I would not replace the DW until it breaks, then I would buy the next one with a Stainless Steel finish.

After I replaced the counter and backsplash I would look for a new table and chairs, new barstools, new window treatment and paint.

I would love to see pictures of your living room and dining room if you have a formal dining room. No room is an island - it should go with the rest of the house. The current table is heavy and more rustic (farmhouse) and the barstools minimal and modern. The black color ties to the current countertop, but may feel harsh and disconnected once the counters are changed.

Are you in love with your pendant lights? Depending on what I see in the other rooms I may suggest changing these out as well.

Thank you ladies for all the great advice. It’s much appreciated. My husband also wants to keep the wood cabinets without painting them. He says “they’re timeless.” I’m now leaning towards that also to keep the warm look of the rest of the house.

The previous owners of the house changed the wood flooring in the family room and the stairs and all upstairs. I think they’re some kind of Brazilian cherry wood and may even be different tones from family room (darker) to stairs (lighter). However they kept the flooring on the main floor (foyer, hallway, sitting room and dining room) with the original one. In the note they left us when we moved in, they mentioned their flooring installer told them those are white oak and some of the hardest wood and that it would be a shame to replace those with a softer wood. So we have a sort of Frankenstein floor. My husband wants to do the whole main floor with one LVP to match the stairs so it can be continuous throughout the main floor, rather than the choppy one we have right now. The only problem is figuring out the right color to sort of tie it all in. This isn’t part of the kitchen budget btw.

I’m leaning towards the style in the last few pictures Beth provided with the beige-ish granite countertops and white subway backsplash and changing the hardware while keeping the wood cabinets. That looks appealing and warm.

Pendant lights will def be replaced.

I think we’re going to keep the dishwasher too since it’s in perfect working condition. If it ever breaks then we’ll replace it with a SS one as Jennifer suggested.

The breakfast table, chairs and stools will all be replaced later to match the new look after everything else is done. (That’ll be my next post lol)

I snapped a few more pictures all from different angles now that the sun is out. Excuse the mess, we had a giant sleepover on Xmas eve.

Edited for words

A few more pics…

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/6307368/formica-river-gold-artsy-and-cool-or-too-weird-to-use#28222989

take a look at what she did to her cabinets rather than paint them.

Such great advice above! FWIW if it were me, i would

- remove the 4” piece and demo the backsplash tile - replace with a warm white tile

- paint the island and replace the countertop - something light and simple that goes with the perimter tops

- lighten the floor grout and bring in neutral sisal-look a like rugs (Porte & Hall)

- replace the pendants - i love the simple bone china pendants from Original BTC

- replace the island seating with something less harsh and more warm/light - maybe rattan?

- ruthlessly declutter and remove any countertop appliances not used daily

its a great kitchen - SO much potential! I would embrace your lovely warm cabs and go light, warm and simple for everything else

I will reiterate that I don't have an issue with LVP and have it in my own home, but I cannot imagine taking out hardwood and tile to replace with LVP. Both are considerable upgrades to LVP.

The idea that flooring must be the same throughout the house is relatively recent. For most of my life we expected tile in the kitchen and bath and often saw different color carpets in each bedroom.

I don't disagree that having a single flooring throughout a home can help you achieve a feeling of harmony, but I look at some homes today with one wall neutral wall color, one flooring and monotone design and I think I would love living there as much as I would love working an assembly line job in a factory or listening to row row row your boat over and over all day and night.

I want harmony, not monotony, and there are many ways to achieve harmony without making every floor in your home the same. I had a home that had 2 different carpet colors, 3 different color tile and one room with sheet vinyl. It still worked. A very talented artist suggested to me that I use the ceiling instead of the floor to tie all the rooms together and create a feeling of harmony. I used one ceiling color (taupe / not white) throughout the home. I already had mostly teak/MCM furnishings with muted, neutral upholstered furnishings and simple white linen window treatments throughout my home. She also convinced me to use a dark red paint in my kitchen and one wall in my family room to tie the dark red brick fireplace to the rest of the house. When you walked into my home you would see the fireplace on your right and the red wall to the left.

I am not feeling harmony when looking at the photos of your home, but I think you could keep the flooring and achieve harmony by deciding on a style of furniture and choosing a single style and color for the window treatments and developing a whole home color palette.

I think that the Miller Paint blog has some good examples in the color tours of homes that have a lot of variety and achieve harmony.

https://www.millerpaint.com/blog/

I love this example from their blog.

https://www.millerpaint.com/color-tour-a-saul-zaik-designed-home-in-portlands-southwest-hills/

Different woods upstairs and down is fine. Changing from oak to LVP is a definite downgrade and I wouldn't do it.

Perhaps you can refinish and stain your wood floors on the main floor to have them all math. I wouldn't remove oak floors and replace them with LVP, that's a downgrade.