IMO having cabinets painted is big price and need to be done right not a regular house painter doing the work. I like your cabinets why not just clean them really well and get some much better lighting If for now just instead of the center light do a track LED 4000K bulbs. Then remove the top portion of the big brown wall unit and hang a piece of nice art instead of all the clutter on the shelves, Save all that money to speed up the redo . Get rid of all the counter and fridge clutter too A brighter kitchen will honestly make it feel better .

normally I would agree, but we got a really good price (from a recommended person) so the professional painting seems worth it, in this instance. We can't remove the top half of the wall unit bc we need that storage space. (The cabinets look ok from a distance, but up close are pretty bad). We want to have the overall feel be brighter / less dark.

We did that exact thing in our house painting our cabinets BM Revere Pewter which is a green hued greige and our walls Edgecomb gray before our complete remodel. I think those colors might look nice with your existing countertops and floor. I agree with Patricia about removing the top part of the wall unit, it feels a bit much.

I would try to save your money for the ‘big’ project coming as much as possible. Get two large rugs to minimize the amount of flooring you see and the difference between the two. Those can be repurposed elsewhere or sold once you overhaul the kitchen later. Changing floors is expensive so I would avoid that if at all possible.

I agree that cabinet painting is a bigger project if done correctly but you seem confident in your guy (or gal!)

Painting the walls will give you the biggest bang for your buck. Get the right tone of white and maybe also a color to tie in with the rugs.

Get new/matching light & outlet covers (inexpensive but looks like you need at least one).

Maybe mount some of the things like swifter & vacuum on that wooden cabinet to free up some floor space if that cabinet is going anyway. (Even if it’s not; easy to fill the holes when it is re-painted later.)

Do all the appliances work? (You’ve got dishes in the sink / drying rack but I always do too and my DW works just fine!) I think the different finishes (stainless, white and black) will still be a problem even if you were to paint and do the floors, new handles, etc. Most dishwashers and ranges are standard sizes. If the DW doesn’t work, could go ahead and swap it out for stainless now and plan to keep it after the bigger overhaul.

Is that a magnetic knife holder on the upper cabinet to the left of the sink? I think the window over your sink is lovely and you could reframe that as the focus of the room if you limit the sill to plants. Knives could move up to a magnetic vertical holder, put utensils on a rail to right of stove or in a drawer/cabinet. If left out, get another matching silver crock so the two are the same. Paper towel holder moves to inside of cabinet door under sink. If there’s an outlet on the wall to the left of the fridge, move toaster and mugs over there for a breakfast station. Basically I’m trying to remove visual clutter and free up the core kitchen counters so you can work there without seeing anything that makes you nuts!

And of course have fun daydreaming about your dream kitchen in a few years!

Would love to see what you end up doing with it.

My first thought is declutter, but you obviously have kids and you are probably laughing right now. So, buy yourself 6 new, cute dish towels and dry the dishes and put them away instead of leaving them on a rack on the countertop. Buy some 3 ring binders and a big pack of sheet protectors to store your kids art instead of hanging things on the refrigerator. You can also put paper flyers in there too, if those things are still handed out. Laminate countertops are not expensive and I would dash to a big box store and choose a few. I say a few because when I did my rec room, I went with a laminate and my first 2 choices ended up being discontinued, which we did not find out until a couple days after the sales associate placed the order. Thank goodness I had a hard time making up my mind and brought 3 samples home with me to look at them in the room where we were doing the update! It’s usually much much better to pick paint last since there are so many shades, but if you go with a neutral color, you’ll have an easier time finding counters that coordinate.

You do not need to add 4000 k bulbs. That is something this person without real knowledge of lighting continually hawks

You could go with a really fun color! Your beautiful cookware and bowls on the shelves would pop against a dark blue. It would play nicely with the linoleum, and you can cover as much of that as you like with rugs.

I am assuming counters are Formica. HD used to and may still carry a “Formica Polish. If can’t find maybe fiberglass cleaner would work.“ Yes, hard work especially the first time and need to repeat but cleaned up my counters, put a bit of polish to them, and repelled water. With a family may have to do several times a year. Used while waiting for my new kitchen, 24 years later.The fake butcher block at least looked clean. Do simple inexpensive stuff to brighten while waiting as suggested above. Decluttering and a place for everything would really help you like your space.

BM Newburyport Blue is the blue I was thinking. The current wallcolor may be fine with that, although you could certainly go warmer if you'd like (like BM Cotton Balls).

Another thought re paint color. I painted a bedroom FB Pigeon. It’s a pretty color but it’s (a) awfully expensive paint and (b) a lot harder to match/compliment than I thought it would be. It also does read pretty dark unless you have a lot of light in the room. I wouldn’t recommend it for your kitchen. I don’t think it would compliment and set off your pottery items in the display as much as a blue or white.

I'd just find a warm gray or a pale blue that will give a little contrast from your counters while transforming the cabinets and lightening the room.

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Do have them fill the holes from the pulls before they start painting so that you can get modern ones and put them where you please!!

If you ever want to try a colored kitchen, now is the time. Greens or blues look great in small kitchens. They’re happy, as @acm has proven!

Glad you found a good, reasonably priced painter. Make sure to get all your walls painted and refreshed with this person.

White is “safe” but if you need to do a white, stay on the warmer side.

Redryder do you have a fav warm white?

Yes, my whole house is SW Antique. It’s very, very easy to live with. I have a lot of walnut stained trim in my house, including a tray ceiling in part of my Great Room. Antique is clean but warm. Get a sample.

It’s definitely an ivory.

@Rabbit Design - You are right. What is also true is doing a small, not over-the-top renovation you end up living with for 10 years. She said she got a good price to paint the cabinets. Sounds like a good idea to make the space more updated for now.

Hire a professional cabinet cleaner. Much cheaper than painting and you will be amazed at the results. Paint the walls the white of the counters.

As for that huge faux built-in piece paint it a gray to work with the floors.

Save your money for the big reno.