I don’t love either mock up. We are in the same boat of updating a kitchen without updating the cabinets what my research has indicated is a current style flooring option will just draw attention to the fact that the cupboards are a little older. The recommendation I’ve read is find a floor that looks like it could have been installed at the same time but with foresight into current trends. In your case I’d think maybe an all white or primarily white counter. I would probably choose a lighter floor but not as light as your mock ups and more traditional in feel but without the orange undertones in your current floors.

Looking at photos again I’d also recommend a new backsplash that reflects light (glass or shiny subway, etc.) and not having the new counters have the “kickplate” on the wall. Lastly- your lights appear cool toned replacing with a warm tone light (I think they call it soft white or daylight in stores) would probably make the place feel more light filled (this may be personally preference I can’t stand cool toned white lights they look clinical to me)

You need more lighting and better quality lighting. Fix that before spending money elsewhere.

Is that real hardwood? If so, why not have it refinished?

Can you refinish your existing floors? They look like wood. Why are you replacing them? Also, if you will still have golden oak trim, I don't think you can do anything too different or else it will look bad. Your counters don't look too dark. Can you post a better picture of them? I'm thinking chispa is right, you need to correct the lighting.

What do you suggest for lighting? We have under and over cabinet lights and the can lights.

Perhaps pendant lights.

We don't have the electrical to do that. We had an electrician come look at it as I did want pendant lights and it was determined it couldn't happen. There comments make my lighting sound awful...it's a dark kitchen...not sure what more I can do with the lights?? Different temp maybe?? Idk...

I think it’s the fluorescents under the cabinets that are putting off a blue glare. Not sure about the can lights but you could easily go buy a bulb that was a warm white and see if that improves.

I think your room looks dark because the ceiling is unlit.

The recessed can lights only send the light straight down. Is there a central can light that could be replaced with a pendant with a translucent shade that shines light up as well as down and sideways? It looks like there is a recessed can light shining straight down onto the sink. Could that be changed to a pendant like that?

The over cabinet lights just make a few very small lighter areas right above the cabinets. I see small pools of light on the ceiling, over the stove and in the corner. Could you change those over cabinet lights to a light that is more intense, and that directs light in a wash across the ceiling? Maybe some can lights sitting on the upper cabinets but aimed diagonally towards the center of the ceiling?

A trip to a good lighting store might be more helpful. In my experience electricians are experts at installation but aren't experts on what to use to light a room attractively.

I agree that electricians are not the ones to ask about lighting. They are just installers. Get advice on better lighting. Refinish the wood flooring in a hue that complements the cabinetry. Too much yellow in present floor stain. Updated lighting and refinished flooring will make a world of difference. Lose the pics over cabinets. Not the place to display pictures

Looking closer at your existing lighting, I see a cool tone in your under cabinet lights and also the over cabinet lights, except for the under cabinet bulbs to either side of your stove, which are 2 different warmer colours I don't think your ceiling is green. And your back splash isn't green, cream and white, 3 different colours.

What kind of lighting do you have? Fluorescent or LED? It seems to cast a greenish glow over everything. I would start with figuring that out and changing to LED. A lot of people here recommend LED 4000K but I personally much prefer 3000.

Is the current floor laminate or hardwood?

Keep the flooring if hardwood. The floor color is a nice warm tone as are the cabinets. Consider the lighting quality and replacing the countertop and backsplash.

You have a beautiful kitchen with so much lovely space to cook in, I agree with @chispa Once we see and you see your kitchen with better lighting we can all chime in how to make those counters and floors look even more divine.

I have a kitchen without windows. I do have one skylight but my kitchen would be super dark if I did not have lights on dimmers, and lights in the 5000 shockingly bright daylight effect. Yes, my kitchen is like an operating room but it can also be soft for a candle light dinner with my honey. If you changed the LED bulbs in those can lights to 4000 or even 5000 but put them on a dimmer switch that will allow you to change and create the mood you want. Bright light for frosting those tiny cupcakes or softly warm for those cozy soup dinners.

Here is a great blog by Thrifty Decor Chic that talks about lighting down to the very basics. This might help you understand what others are suggesting. Take a look at this image below describing how to change the brightness.

Here is another great article that talks about lighting...

Farm Food and Family Blog

Now to some ideas for your space.

Floors, if you have wood floors refinish if you can . Light and less yellow might be beautiful. What does the rest of your home look like? Would these floors be the entire first floor? Or just the kitchen?

What color are the baseboards in the DR?

What kind of countertop? You said you have samples? What are the names of these ? Brands? Type of material?

Here is a beautiful quartz with dark cabs and a bright backsplash warm golden wood floors.

Strato Quartz Countertop · More Info

Nice light counter I believe formica

Transitional Craftsman Kitchen · More Info

Minneapolis, MN · More Info

2019 Kitchens by Jagoe Homes · More Info

Looking forward to seeing your space turn into a dream.

Not a pro! It appears lighting could be better & go a long way to address your concerns. The lighting above the cabinets appears to be over the refrigerator & corner only. Remove the photos & install a continuous run of lights along the top of all cabinets. The under cabinet lights look “splochy”. Replace with a continuous run of lights under the cabinets. Pendant lights over the peninsula may help. I see the electrician said that was not “possible”. Did the electrician or you concerned installing a very low soffit above the peninsula to accommodate the wiring for the pendants? That may work & provides lighting over the peninsula.

You need much better lighting that is how you brighten a space. Take all the stuff off the top of the cabinets it all sucks light . If the floors are the same as the rooms next to the kitchen keep the floors. Change all thr bulbs in all the fixtures to LED 4000K then see if you need to change anything else . I have no idea why you could not do pendants over the peninsula.. I do not find the bottom pics make the space one bit brighter . I do not think redoing the flooring makes sense but i do need to know if the flooring is all over the house. The undercabinet lighting needs to aslo be LED not flourescent . You might try lighting on top of the cabinets but with those staggered cabinets the look might not be all that great. It seems odd that this space has been designed to have no windows at all. So you need to make the llighting your top priority . I think lighting above the cabinets will high light every imperfection in the ceiling so that would be my last choice. You could however run a lot more pot lights off the same circuit you have now to honestly have double the lighting .

We had an electrician come look at it as I did want pendant lights and it was determined it couldn't happen.

Why? What explanation did he give as to why this could not happen?

Can you stand back and take pics of the entire kitchen?

Your ceiling was painted semi-gloss and the surface is acting like a mirror and reflecting the color of the floor & the coutertops. That is the first item that should be addressed. Once you repaint the ceiling, the room will be much brighter.

Next, are your downlights can lights or wafer lights? If they are can lights, the bulbs should be changed to the correct size LED PAR bulbs. The difference in the quality of light from a plain "A" type bulb to a PAR bulb is night and day. A wafer light provides no 'sparkle' in a room when compared to a PAR light.

Both issues should be addressed before you consider changing the flooring. By the way, the greenish light from your undercabinet lights also needs to be addressed.

So what temp should all the under cabinet bulbs be? Cool white seem to be the most popular choice at the stores. I was looking at trying to do daylight in all of them to get those all the same as my first step. Some are burned out on top so that's the spotty issue happening up there. Step 2 is going to be to get the right PAR bulbs for the can lights as suggested and I was going to go with daylight for those too unless there's other ideas?

So I got all daylight bulbs for over and undrercabinets and par 30 daylights for can lights and it looks so much brighter and more clean! Thank you so much! Now I can see the flooring better and the current floor doesn't look orange. We need to change the floor though. It is laminate and not real wood and about 15 years old. It's taken a beating with little kids.

What is the flooring in the adjoining rooms? It is always better if you can have one flooring flow consistently through your spaces.

Here's some views of the lower level. I'm hoping to replace the carpeting with whatever floor I choose for the kitchen and dining area. There's a strip of tile that is gray and that will stay. There's an entry door on each side. All the doors go to the wrap around porch. Also is a photo of the kitchen with the daylights...im liking the undercabiney daylight but im almost feeling the daylight par lights are too cool at night. Do I put daylight bulbs in the dining room too? At night its definitely looking blue cold like. I like it in the kitchen but not the dining really. They are attached and open concept so kind of hard to have all different temp lights..all over? The dining area has taken on a lot of forms and is a lounge area now pretty much.

Partim actually helped me years ago make it this far when my son was a newborn. He's almost 7 now! I'm blessed that we have a lot of families in and out of this house on constant...probably also why I'm ready to nix the carpeting.

How about if your counter and backsplash are the same material? Visually calmer.

So much better with the new lights!

Small things you can do right now to improve the kitchen:

- remove all the pictures and other things from the top of the cabinets (they suck up the light and create visual clutter)

- repaint the ceiling in white non-reflective ceiling paint

Floor: what is the floor in the adjoining rooms? Is it the just the kitchen floor you are replacing? It's hard to tell from the pictures, but it looks like a mix of laminate, tile and carpet? Have you considered replacing it all with vinyl planks. It would unify the space and make it look larger. It's also a practical choice with kids.

Countertops: what kind of countertop is in your budget? You have laminate right now? Replacing it with solid surface would be a good choice. I think you could also upgrade your sink and faucet. And if replacing the counter, definitely replace the backsplash so that you can get rid of the small counter backsplash.

So on the immediate docket is replacing the flooring and counter tops...out of necessity more than anything so I need to choose those. The backsplash isn't very old so we won't be replacing that piece. I do like it. I'm not a fan of the shiny subway situation although I do understand it reflects light. I've attached the samples I am looking at and also some insp. Any samples with more orange/brown tones it just starts feeling like what we currently have and with the oak trim in the house...it's a lot and we want a change. My huband picked a cold gray but I tend to think it needs some warmth to tie in the oak.

What are you replacing the flooring with? Luxury vinyl?

A few picture ledges in another area with your family photos would be nice.

Something like this could work in your kitchen:

Chapel Hill Residence · More Info

Yes, we are doing vinyl. Open to vinyl or laminate. Maybe hardwood, but looking at vinyl right now. Maybe the floor needs to be warmer like these?

Kitchen · More Info

Maybe the warm floor would be nice? With white counter tops like this kitchen? And it has oak trim throughout too...

Burlingame Restoration and Kitchen Remodel · More Info

Or this? These cabinets feel closer to ours...so dark. I just can't decide how light the floor can go and still look ok? It starts looking so modern the lighter the floor gets.

Modern Brown Kitchen · More Info

It sounds like the LVP option would work for a house that has kids and company. LL Flooring has an excellent visualizer that allows you to place the flooring options into your photo. You’re looking for something not too light, not too dark, not stripe-y, and not gray. So it makes it somewhat easier to choose. Everyone I know who has this flooring and kids/pets/etc. is in love with it. Laminate can be slippery, so with children in the family, I would stick to vinyl. I like the first option you posted above.

One of the options on LL might work. You’re the best judge of which shade will look right. Just a warning - BEFORE YOU BUY an entire floor, buy one box and lay it out. A few planks together look a whole lot different than a sample.

For the backsplash and countertop, Formica is much nicer than its old reputation. Worth looking at. Last item will be the backsplash.

You did a great job on improving your lighting!

The Formica website has all the colors listed. You won’t have problem finding something to complement your new floors and dark cabinets.
Here are two. There are dozens!

i really like the countertop youve chosen ( wilsonart white cascade). great job with the lighting. if you are replacing floors, I wouldn’t venture far off the tone you already have,( as you said- with better lighting the floor doesnt look orange). Maybe a shade or two lighter. definitely stay away from gray or any really light flooring as gray doesnt go with the warm tone of your cabinets. i agree with red ryder to get samples, lay next to cabinets and look at for a few days before deciding. some businesses selling flooring have design specialists who offer free in home consultations which you might like to take advantage of.

and take everything off the top of the cabinetry

Most flooring installers will warn you off laminate in a kitchen in the event of water. If it gets under the laminate it will swell and the floor is ruined. LVT at least comes waterproof unlike laminate.