Nice space. If it were mine I would lose the signs, paint the walls a soft white and paint the island a solid color. Maybe a earthy green or iron ore. Also i would try and find alternative storage for spices. Oh and definitely replace the light!

This is a home we are buying and I am wanting to do simple updates , thank you

There is no island currently, this is an older pic that was on the listing

I'd replace the incredibly slow responding, hard to clean range with an induction. Bosch industrial or Frigidaire. Slide-in.

sometimes I like a bit of open shelving but NOT for packages of food storage. If the suspicion I feel is correct ...... storage is actually lacking, I think you should wait and you can replace the perimeter with better storage and fix what is going on in the corner to left of fridge. If you can move a fridge to the left you can perhaps get a pantry cabinet between fridge and wall.....maybe a peninsula coming from spot where red spice cabinet sits would give you 2 or stools . All these things take a bit of time to figure out ...as well.....? budget ? in order to execute. I wouldnt do anything right now.

I would remove the scalloped valance over the window, change out the "boob" light, get rid of the words, and see if there's any way to close off those shelves (it looks very cluttered and "busy").

Do they have "old" uppers in the garage or elsewhere that could be moved back to the Kitchen? (Sometimes, people remove cabinets to get open shelving b/c they think it's the "cool" thing to do. They sometimes move them elsewhere in the house for additional storage -- like a garage or laundry room. If so, you could put them back.)

As long as they're working, I think the appliances are fine for now.

What's going on in the corner to the left of the refrigerator?

What's simple - Changing the cabinet hardware, lighting and that's it?

That's a freezer in that corner @Buehl.

Now I think I see it -- it's a chest freezer. Thanks @shirlpp!

What is your budget for this simple update?

You have beautiful floors. Everything else presents challenges.

Dishwasher. It looks like there is something awry with the installation. Check it out, make sure it was installed properly. If it was not it could cause some major damage.

Cabinets. Several of your cabinets have no doors, some of them have no sides. The uppers around the range should be replaced with actual cabinets - they don’t have to match in style, but they should match in wood tone. The rest of the cabinets need a deep cleaning and maintenance - the door hinges and drawer glides may need replacing. In the corner with the chest freezer, consider removing that to the garage and completing that corner with a few more lower cabinets and more counter material.

Backsplash. Your backsplash needs to be completed around the range, then probably painted. You can mount the tin tiles yourself and paint them.

Ceiling. I would want to know why the kitchen ceiling is so low, but if you are unable to fix it, maybe don’t look.

Lighting. What you have there is just not enough. You need a light fixture that covers more area and throws more light, has more bulbs.

You could replace that missing island with a baking table or a cart.

Rome wasn’t built in a day. This doesn’t have to be fixed in a day either. I’d make a list, start at the top, and work my way down. Once everything is actually functioning properly, take a breather and enjoy it for a bit.

Good luck. Congrats on the new home.

If that's a light over the sink (the round item), I would also replace that with something that complements whatever light you do in the rest of the Kitchen. Ideally, I would do recessed lights and then pendants over the sink and under-cabinet lights for task lighting, but that may be too much.

I would at least consider getting under-cabinet lights. They can be strip or other lights installed under the current upper cabinets.

If you need more storage...is the freezer staying? If it is, is there another place to put it? If so, I would consider getting shallow cabinets the same depth as those uppers and put it under the uppers. For the far corner, you might not e able to open the doors unless you can get narrow doors as well.

As far as the uppers and the shallow cabinets I mentioned above -- I'm not sure you'll find cabinets to match color or style, but I would look around. Also check Craigslist or Freecycle or similar sites. Maybe someone is getting rid of similar cabinets that you can use.

Before you do that, though, I would deep clean the cabinets to see if the photos show the true colors.

Thank you all!!! Lots of great ides ! Hopefully we will get to move in by December!