Congratulations on your new home. I agree the counters aren’t working. My sincere advice is don’t make any changes until you havenhad time in the house. Your house will evolve with you.

Congrats on the new home! I don’t have any decorating advice. However, I agree with auntthelma. You really need to live in your new space for at least 6 months or more. I bought a home 4 months ago (I’m not a first time home owner) and the things I wanted to change have evolved quite a bit. The quote I got from a contractor last week was an eye opener (not money-wise) when we went around the house detailing what I wanted. It gave me an idea of where I should spend my money. Perhaps put together a list of everything you think you want to change right now. Sit on it for a few months and then see if you feel the same. Maybe then get a contractor out for a quote. Good luck and enjoy your new space!

I wouldn't suggest peel and stick for the counters or the fireplace tile or the drywall above the fireplace. It don't last on counters, and to me looks cheesy fake on fireplaces. I get the appeal and excitement of do stuff right now... but hold off there. As suggested, settle in before sticking stuff up.

A pro resurfacing of a countertop isn't cheap. You might be able to swap out for inexpensive laminate for around the same or just a bit more than a good pro resurfacing. Or you could live with it for a while and save up for a countertop that you really like. Once you move in your cream and wood furniture, you might find the current counters work well with those colors and you want to keep them.

Yes, brainstorm now. Move in. Start paying for all all of the things that break in a house and for home maintenance that is no longer covered by monthly assessments. (Trees, basements, skylights, oh the list goes on.) Then reconsider your to-do list and what needs to happen now.

The story in my head is an older person lived here. (Vertical glass door blinds, chair with cup holder, floor lamp, bizarre 80s cube table.) Family staged it to sell faster to a younger crowd. Kitchen was super dated. They used a house painter to splash on two tone color and drill new holes for hardware. These cabinets could start chipping in a year or two of regular use. We did the same thing to my grandma's condo after she died. It did look great for photos and we got a young first time buyer.

Don't select furniture to match your blue cabinets. Get more neutral furniture as these cabinets WILL change color. Save up for a mini-kitchen facelift and do new cabinet color and counters all at the same time. Perhaps it is two years from now? This counter will be fine until then, especially after you fill the kitchen with your own accessories and countertop appliances.

As long as everything functions and there aren't any decor elements that drive you crazy, I'd hold off on making any expensive changes or furniture purchases until you've lived there for a while.

For the short term, I would suggest buying an inexpensive rug and patterned sofa pillows that have grey, blue, cream and brown in them. They will help the eye tie together all the different colors in the room until you decide to make more permanent changes.

I realize this isn't your furniture but I did want to give examples of how patterns can help make a room look more cohesive.

The only thing you should do before moving in is refinish or replace floors. Your floors look good, so you don't need to do that. Everything else can wait. Move your furniture in and see how it all looks. Check out Formica - it looks better than it used to. Putting expensive countertops on old cabinets never seems smart to me. It looks like the previous owners painted them. If they didn't do it right they will start peeling within a year and then you will have to make other decisions. There are tons of things to do even in a well-maintained house. You need to compile a list and prioritize it based on what you care about the most and your budget.

To me the gray walls and painted cabinets look like something a flipper would have done five years ago (or maybe last month?). That is a lot of gray - I can understand not wanting to pay to have a large open area with a cathedral ceiling painted, but you might end up deciding you just can't live with it. Bite the bullet on a new paint job when you change the fireplace.

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No faux (or real) stone above mantel-it's already got some presence since it's two sided. Place art above the mantel on the sheet rock and that'll be enough.

While the blue cabinets are a little too cobalt for me (a darker navy would've had less of a punch), I agree with the other comments to do nothing until you see how the layout functions. Usually an angled sink with dishwasher beside it is less than ideal-you're trapped in that small footspace at the sink while loading the dishwasher. I would wait on any countertop application or reno of the counters too to see how that paint job on the cabinets holds up over time. New counters on old cabinets may open a Pandora's box of reno tasks.

Thanks for all the advice.

@deegw -- I really appreciate the mock-ups. The visual helps. I like the idea of a cream rug with hints of (light) blue and gray.

First STOP and live there with only the stuff you bring for at least 3-6months before any major $$$$spent. That sink DW layout will make you crazy quickly and thta will lead into a new kitcehn where IMO the money is best spent after that 3-6 month wait .NO peel and stick anywhere in your home period never .

have you even gotten a quote to rid yourself of the gray walls? you could warm the place up..look at the floor as your guide...gold or champagne hardware on the blue cabs/ keep the counter and you could paint the upper cabs a warmer white for not that much trouble. its not even a light gray...medium gray walls...gotta change that . heed the other advice re wait at least 6 mo for any major changes.

replacing those countertops won't be that expensive. (plus that cream color that's there now is a horrible choice. someone must have gotten a deal on that)

you could have a simple white quartz done for 2K if you do w/a pre-fab. don't know where you live, but pre-fab quartz countertops in a simple quartz can be had for $500 for a 9'X24" piece. a fabricator comes on site and cuts it to fit

Go to a local stone yard (or google for one near you) and see what's avail. you could also look at remnants. should be able to get a good price on those too.

Pre-fabs, u could get a solid white, or one that resembles a marble veining

hundreds of them.

if you do go tht route, do NOT get the 4" piece up the back. use this small area for tile. learn how to DIY w/a simple subway tile. will look better

I'd prob DIY the walls and repaint w/a diff color. gray is someone over. depends on your color furniture though. won't know till we see it.

A nice area rug would help

All new homeowners have a long to-do list that isn’t the “fun-decorating” part. Give yourselves time to get to know your house - and fantasize about how you want to change everything you can’t afford. A year is a good barometer of what you think you want now, and what you’ll actually do in 7-9 months.

Start keeping wish lists and photos of things you think you want. Take “information only” trips to showrooms for anything you desire. Write down prices. Talk to neighbors and find out names of contractors, plumbers, carpenters, handymen, electricians, etc. Put them in your phone.

To spend $2,000 on a countertop you may rip out in a couple of years isn’t a good investment. Slow down. Learn your house AND your own taste. Learn what the house needs vs. what you may want. Just enjoy being a new homeowner for a while. Congratulations!

Thanks all. Appreciate the advice.

25 years ago I chose a dark green formica Wilsonart, for my kitchen new build and when listed for sale 20 years later it looked brand new and you did not notice or were even aware of the dark edge you might see in a light color formica. My parents had a white formica in their home for 50 years and it looked reaaly good when the home sold. Just have lots of cutting boards on hand😉

I too worry about the DW next to the sink. I also agree it’s best to move into a place and get a feel for it before making changes.

Learn what the house needs vs. what you may want.

@RedRyder Perhaps the best advice ever given on Houzz.