It’s a gut if you change anything. Keeping the current layout and cabinets and layering on more frosting won’t help it.

Great view! Yes, you can take bar to counter height & it will open up kitchen + give you more counter work space. Do you want an eat at bar? Do you have room to have min 12” but better 15” overhang & have stools on dining side? Counter height bar is much easier on knees etc for sitting. You’d want steel supports for counter overhang. They are strongest & no corbels needed so no knee knockers. My 43” high island bar was cut down to counter height & it was a game changer for our use & enjoyment of kitchen. We already had a 17” bar high counter so the aerial space footprint was good. You’d need plug ins on the peninsula end & at the corner. If code requires more due to length of peninsula it’s possible to have one in the counter & pop up type. Use a button air switch for garbage disposal.

Are you looking at SS for appliances? Consider induction range - a vast improvement over radiant cooktop. When replacing upper cabs with matching style to lower, think about changing the pantry doors to match the new uppers. I agree that fan has to go - maybe a SS one & with a much nicer updated light. Speaking of lights - as long as replacing upper cabs, be sure to consider under cabinet lighting - another game changer if a person doesn’t have them! Someone mentioned adding pull outs to the lower cabinets if they aren’t there. Yes, yes! So much easier on the knees & easy to retrofit install nice ones. We had Genie brand installed in ours.

if you square out an island and put stools on 2 sides you can allow seated people on one side, at least, enjoyment of the view.... facing the fridge wall only is a downside of the longer island. Re-doing the floor gives the opportunity to lift and reposition the sink side for an island......start to itemize them with their sizes and see how that works for various island configurations.

IMO if you have enough storage just remove the uppers no need to replsce them at all. Get a new range and nice stainless hood on that wall nothing else. Yes lower the bar and remove the fan and light change all that other lighting to LED and a new counter new fridge and DW all can be done with very little mess and of course the new floors. There is no way to have or do you need an island in fact you do not need any more seating at that peninsula either . You might find it easier to just gut and start over but budget will drive that bus. I knd oof like that lighting it adda dimension to the space that is interesting. Can't tell how well it lights your space though I never put a fan in a kitchen or DR . When you get the new hood try to get it properly vented to the outside . All plain old stainless for appliances and if possible paint that pantry dootr to match the lower cabinets it is IMO just a big cabinet. If a full on reno can be done I would get rid of that angled end of th e peninsula it will make the space feel more open Make sure the new fridge is counter depth

Congrats on the new place - I think replacing the upper cabs, repainting all the cabs to match, plus new flooring, countertops and appliances will go a long way. As you know it’s not an inexpensive project -

Since you are doing the floors, you do have an opportunity to change the layout as @HALLETT & Co. suggested - but that is likely a budget question — and also a time/patience question as it would be a more involved project

do you have a good kitchen designer in the area to help? Some locations don’t have as many choices when it comes to pros, so just something to consider when thinking about project scope

(fwiw we are working on a 2nd home kitchen and it is SO hard to control project creep, I want a super simple kitchen and it is hard work to stay focused and not keep adding)

Odd that the upper cabinets don't match the lower. Hopefully you will be able to find the same style upper cabinets to match. If you can't I might suggest open shelving. The tray ceiling dates the kitchen but I don't find it terribly objectionable. Yes, to replacing flooring and lighting fixture. Would also suggest replacing the countertops. Black countertops are way past being popular.

If you are changing the uppers, then I would get rid of that weird ceiling soffit in the kitchen. That will make a huge difference. Definitely lower the pony wall and have a one level peninsula.

Ask the sellers where the new-ish lower cabinets came from (brand and store) so you can get new matching ones for the uppers. Many sellers are happy to talk about the changes they have made, especially if you make it clear you like the changes.

Chiming in on trying to maximize the view. The whole counter stool thing, facing “ the cook” and the fridge , seems all wrong. It’s old Insta— counter! Stools!
Comfortable chairs & table by the window is where I’d be, as owner & even a guest. Which of course works best if counter is just counter height, but hey, I could talk with my DH sitting by window that close by.

So I would not try to reno or even upgrade the kitchen until I noodled out the living/ dining room plus the area between kitchen counter & windows, roughly anyway, as to what area is dining, could it be by kitchen for 2 and use a fold-away table for occasional guests, or maybe LR had a nice “ puzzle table” that can be extra dining. Design very much for your daily life. Including what you actually need to store in kitchen proper—paring down, plus may have some ability to store useful but not daily items in a spare closet

It might mean living there awhile to see light patterns ( sunrise or sunset?) , cozy places, and how you want kitchen to relate to that. Ideal might be the simplest galley style with small straight peninsula counter. Unless the angle may be crucial to fitting in the DW. So there will be practical limitations despite lots of ideas on what looks good.

It does make a difference if you’re planning on- site hardwood floors, as easier to do all that before moving in.

Stools at the counter aren’t always for eating, sometimes they are just a place to perch while waiting for the water to boil or have three more sips of coffee whle finishing the crossword before heading out the door.

When my inlaws redid their mom’s condo kitchen, they did a recessed ceiling with indirect lighting over the central area, and it sure was nice. The light bounced off the ceiling to be well-distributed, and there were two brightnesses so it could be low light in the evening.

I love a water view, but with the mismatched cabinets and all that tile, I can’t help but wonder if there was a flood ever?

bpath, I get that but was looking at where would the next closest seating be and whether it would be “right there” but better. In a small home, often one is trying to reduce duplication and/or trying to identify what one is likely to gravitate toward most.

But in keeping with “ perching”, if that is identified as a need, it might also mean a counter overhang could be done differently for that than for those who plan to use their counter for full meals. Same for stools.

GG, yes, the totally different cabinet door styles/materials/colors is the thing that has been bothering me the most, and they're really not in good condition anyway, so changing those out is a top priority.

marylut, now that you mention it, the ceiling does look like popcorn in the photo, but it's but it's actually an odd plaster pattern. The walls on the other hand have a very popcorn ceiling-like texture that is going to take some time to adjust to.

The lower cabinets do have pull-outs in the larger cupboards and there is a pullout next to the sink with bins for trash and recycling. I'd love to move the microwave if we can find a place to fit it in. We couldn't find any markings on the lower cabinets, but I stumbled across a door sample at Home Depot that is a dead ringer (Thomasville Everly in Fieldstone). Not sure how much consistency there is if we were to order the same color again, but perhaps we could go with white but in a *matching* door style?

As for the floor, not only is it slippery but the mosaic border is lower than the black tiles and I've nearly tripped over that edge several times while backing up from the sink. Really the tile in the entire place is extremely uneven which is why we will be replacing it everywhere. We're thinking of a light/medium wood look flooring. I like the idea of eliminating the angled section, and we're really not using anything except the drawer at the moment.

KW PNW Z8, I would love an eat-at bar, and we have plenty of room (or maybe it just seems like that because we don't have any furniture yet?). I'm short and finding it really difficult to sit at the current bar whereas I used the counter-height seating in our last home on a daily basis. Good point on the outlets. We'll have to see what the contractor says on that.

As for appliances, we are thinking stainless steel. The ceiling fan will probably be replaced with a semi-flush mount fixture because I dislike the idea of a ceiling fan blowing dust over where I'm cooking. LOVE the idea of adding under cabinet lighting. I always regretted not adding that in our last home.

Patricia Colwell Consulting, I'd completely forgotten about the pantry, but my husband agrees with you and would like to redo it to match the cabinetry. The door needs to be replaced in any case, as it does not close right anymore.

Love the idea of squaring off the peninsula and I would definitely like a counter depth fridge. Will the wall next to the fridge opening cause any issues with the doors opening?

Norwood Architects, yes the mismatched cabinets are definitely odd. I think I may have stumbled onto the source of the lower cabinets, so maybe we can try to match. If not, the contractor we spoke to says he can get us custom Amish-made cabinets from Indiana at a reasonable price. I'd also like to go lighter on the countertops and brighten things up a little.

marmiegard_z7b, we do have a great spot with a view designated for a future dining table and chairs, once the new floors are installed. They will go right under the light fixture shown in the photo below (or more accurately, whatever light fixture we replace that one with).

And yes, the floors will be done before we move in full time. Tearing out all that tile is going to be a messy process that we really don't want to be there for!

bpath, I loved the counter height seating in my old kitchen, and "perched" there frequently throughout the day! As for flooding, our place is on the second level, so that has never been an issue.

I'm not usually a fan of two toned cabinets and would normally say this could be a great chance to get all the same color. However, you really want to lighten the space up and I think those dark cabinets as dark uppers, in a boxed in area of your kitchen is not going to feel light and airy. Here's what I'd do instead:

1. Your lowers will look better with a creamy warm white rather than the harsh white that is there now. I'd paint your entire space a creamier warm white, including the kitchen, get upper cabinets in that same color, and find a countertop in that same color too. Then your entire kitchen will read light and creamy, anchored with the darker base cabinets.

2. Get stainless appliances.

3. Any contractor can get you the cabinets that they like to sell and they make a buck off of. Some Amish cabinets are good quality, some are crap. I'd warn against purchasing any cabinet that you cannot feel and see in person first.

4. Not in love with the ceiling and the kitchen lighting. Remove the whole soffit tray ceiling thing. Get under cabinet lights, get some recessed lights for above where your new eat-in counter is going to be. I don't love the idea of pendent lights in this area. I think it will make your kitchen feel hemmed in and smaller.

All of this work is going to cost a pretty penny. But it sounds like you are going to love your new space when you are done. Congrats on your new home!

Replace the upper cabinet doors with glass. Replace the pantry doors with glass. Buy new stainless appliances. Tear up the tile floor; you can replace with wood.

How to do the pantry doors....see if you can match the color of the lowers, or paint them any color which will work with your interior fabric colors.

https://www.tiktok.com/@livingwithley/video/7234638616117382442

Fan...gone. Simple chandelier, with dimmer will be great. Size it to the recess in the ceiling and do half size.

Glass uppers sounds nice. Counter height peninsula and please get rid of the angle and square it off, although then you would need flooring. Why do people do those weird angles???

I might consider doing a larder pantry style where the current pantry is, and incorporating that into a refrigerator cabinet with the uppers pulled up to the front of the fridge for a more built-in look. Can you change walls? If so, you have some flexibility. If you can match the current cabinets, perfect. I would eliminate uppers if you don't think you have a use for them.

I think a pantry like this might work well in your space:

Refined Midcentury · More Info

I would not ever do glass doors on a pantry. Not even frosted glass. Whose pantry looks good enough to be on display?

I would also eliminate the angle on the peninsula if you can. You probably can't go the full length straight but maybe at least get one cabinet to the left of the DW.

I would definitely cut down the peninsula to counter height.

Unfortunately given the location of your kitchen I doubt you have a vent outside, but you can still get a nicer looking ductless range hood.

Good luck!

Beautiful view! Good luck with this project, and keep us posted on your progress using this conversation thread. .

@elcieg I'm not sure my post deserved that sarcasm.

I didn't say that glass doors on pantries have never been used and I didn't say I'm sure about everything. What I did say is that it's not something I would ever do, which is the absolute truth.

You think it's an upgrade. I think it's a good way to show off boxes of cereal and half eaten bags of chips. The photos you posted are what I would call built in hutches, not pantries. In a small kitchen, where storage is at a premium (and where this space is pretty obviously for food storage) I don't think glass door on the pantry is a good idea.

Again, my opinion, which I think is what we're all providing.

My single pantry door has reeded glass in it. Definitely nothing inside pantry is on display since you can’t see anything inside even if the light is on. It’s a small corner walkin pantry & having the full glass inset is a pretty detail. You might be able to modify your pantry doors with a full length cut out & glass insert but depends on whether they could support weight of glass. But, I agree with @elcieg that glass doors would add a nice upgrade.

I love the idea of squaring off that corner and replacing the uppers. I wouldn’t do glass either.

Have you considered a refacing job? It allows you to keep the good cabinets, replace the ones that have bad interiors and choose whatever doors you want. The sides of the cabinets will get painted a matching color. I redid my current kitchen that way because the cabinets are solidly made and the layout worked for me.

I also ch aged the floor from tile to matching the wood floors that are in the rest of the house.
My “before” had a high bar countertop as well.

My “after” we made the countertop all one level. And I added more glass doors.

Have you thought about taking out the angled section to make the entry a bit wider if you are aging in place ? Also maybe take down the raised counter to be more Walker or wheel chair friendly just in case

@RedRyder, your after kitchen is beautiful! What did you choose for your counter material? The contractor we spoke with doesn't do refacing, but I think I want to look into that as an option. I could live with the lower cabinets the color they are, but having both uppers and lowers white would be my preference.

deb s, I hadn't even considered squaring off that counter angle before, but a couple people have suggested it and I really like the idea.

@jpaints - I’d really be on the fence about taking out the angle. That’s a lot of nice counter work space & cabinet storage in there. Maybe there’s a compromise of straightening & shortening - in other words, keeping at least some of the length. I do like the color of lower cabs & think they look good with white uppers. It’s the unmatched door styles that’s the issue IMO. That & white appliances - not my fave.

I would blow the whole thing up, if I could and either do the island as was recommended, or turn it into a wide galley and lose that pantry completely.

But for a minor redo, I would just remove the uppers until I could live with it for a while.

I hope you get assistance because you have a great house and I'm sure you will find suitable materials for your kitchen. But I have to ask if you ever looked at this and saw a cartoon Betty Boop with her mouth open and eyes closed.

Ok, now that I've got that out of the way... You said you want to replace the uppers and pantry with cabinets that match the lowers. I think the lowers look nice. I like that wood. It sounds like you've chosen a wood-look floor. You said you would repaint. What color? Some white or off-white? Is the only thing left still the countertop and backsplash? Do you know what material you want? Do you want the de rigueure faux marble look light cream and/or beige counters with a subway tile backsplash that blends with your walls? Or do you want something more personalized? Do you have favorite colors, or do you like all neutral surroundings?

Home Depot did my refacing job (and I interviewed several contractors before making that final decision). My countertops are a grey-green granite. They were called Typhoon, but granite can be different names in different cities.

The paint that matches my ivory doors is SW Creamy. The sides of the boxes were painted with it.

@RedRyder, I love SW Creamy. I used it to paint over the stained trim in our old house.

Thanks again to everyone for the great suggestions. We've been away while they installed the new flooring, but are back now and I wanted to provide an update.

Moving walls and/or redoing that low ceiling are not options (ceilings are common property). I'd love to get a counter depth fridge, but have been told that's not a good idea next to the wall. I can't see any good place to move the microwave in this small layout, especially since we're not touching the lower cabinets, so I'm guessing we're stuck with that above the range.

I had hoped we might be able to straighten out the peninsula by swinging that 36" end cabinet 45 degrees, but when I taped it out on the floor it made the entry to the dining/living area too narrow. I think removing that cabinet altogether makes the peninsula too short visually and removes valuable storage space. So our plan is to keep the existing layout and lower cabinets and do the lipstick on a pig thing, including:

1. replace all upper cabinets with white wood cabinets (SW Pure White) in a modified shaker style that matches the lowers.
2. lower counters to all one height, with new (white quartz?) countertops which will have a deeper overhang on the seating side (currently it's only about 6 inches!)
3. add a white tile backsplash.
4. replace stove, microwave, and refrigerator. (I'd like a counter depth fridge, but don't think that will work with the existing wall?)
5. replace the pantry doors.
6. add undercabinet lighting.

I know it's not the full redo we'd all like to see, but it's what timing and budget will allow and I think it will meet our needs. I would still welcome any suggestions for countertop, backsplash, and ceiling fixture. In the inspiration photos I've been able to find with white uppers and grayish lowers, I thought those with white counters and backsplash looked best (less choppy?), so that's what I'm leaning towards.

I promise to keep this post updated as we move through this project!

Great to hear your update. Sounds like the changes you’re making are the best ones that work in the space. I can tell you for certain that lowering the bar height counter to counter height + increasing the overhang so it’s deep enough to really use for seating will be a total game changer for your kitchen in both form & function. Do make sure that steel supports are used for the qiuartz overhang - they are under the counter & sunk flush into base cabinets so the heavy counter is properly supported & there are no corbels etc under the overhang to impede knees or placement of counter stools. The lower counter will visually open up your kitchen, letting more light in - really - & also give you much increased counter workspace. We did it with an island that had bar height like yours - such a huge improvement. As for fridge I don’t understand what the wall has to do with anything. I have a counter depth & one side is against a short wall. The deal is that it doesn’t stick out so far past the counter & for us, gives us more width between fridge & end of island. Undercabinet lighting - yes!!! Be sure to have them on a dimmer switch. So nice to have just dim light in mornings or late evenings. The improvements you are doing will dramatically improve your kitchen function & looks. Love the new flooring.

@KW PNW Z8 the contractor did say they would be doing steel supports. As for the fridge, I was told the wall could interfere with fully opening the door on that side. I later found a thread here on houzz where users described issues such as not being able to remove their shelves for cleaning or in some cases they weren't even able to open vegetable drawers all the way.

Thanks for the suggestion for a dimmer. The electrician is coming through this week to take a first look, so I'll definitely mention that to him!

The fridge - maybe it depends on how deep the wall next to it is - if the fridge is set back because it’s not as deep as a standard size then the door might also be too far back from the front edge of the wall. Hope that makes sense. But, for that to be an issue I would think it would depend more on the width of the fridge & width of space for it - if the space is wide enough & the fridge isn’t too wide then there can be space (more) between the wall & the fridge. The benefit of a counter depth is the big box of fridge not protruding past counter - except for the door - it should be the only part sticking out past counter. I have a Kitchenaid counter depth french door fridge - freezer on bottom.

Congratulations on your new home. 🏡

@jpaints thanks for the updates. The new floor color and the base cabinet color don't seem to be in the same color family. They really clash with only the creamy white surrounding them. It looks like you prefer woods in the yellow-orange tones. You may want to sacrifice the current base cabinets in spite of them being new. Either that or have them refinished. If you had a magic wand, what color base cabinets would you have? A caramel darker than your floor? Or a creamy white along with your uppers?

dont insert any more white anything. the floor and lower cabinets are not clashing but the white is a 3rd element and you want a more unified palette w floor and lower cabs. search out counters..there will be an abundance of materials with all kinds of neutrals [creams browns/ etc] ....look at granite. definitely get your stainless appliances. then when you have great new counters and appliances pick the upper cabinet tone.....you can get a putty or a greige but not white. this will all come together well.

see the chairs and floor and walls...more MID tones with the dark stone on the feature wall. the only white is the ceiling...thats fine. bring midtones to mix w your dark lower cabinets....start w great stone counters .

Sudbury · More Info

Thanks for the update. Floors look great. Pure White will be too harsh of a contrast for uppers. Concur with putty or greige once you select countertop.

Thinking about this light for the ceiling?

• Width: 14.5"
• Height: 10"

My gosh - what a huge positive change the lower counters make! It just opens the kitchen up! Beautiful job with all the finishes - new flooring looks great with everything else installed since it went in. I do like the light you’re showing us. Is it at least as wide as the current light you have up? I have several semi flush ceiling lights in my home & we really like them. Thanks for coming back to show us the finished kitchen.

ETA - meant to say - love the open display shelving in that corner. Great idea for use of a corner upper cabinet that might be hard to reach unless you’re extremely tall!

I like the fixture you posted as a possible for the ceiling.

The kitchen looks fabulous. Yes, it may be “small” by some standards, but it’s mighty. As a person who cooks a lot, walking around in a large kitchen from one appliance to another wouldn’t make me happier. This is a nice size.

@KW PNW Z8 thank you! The bookcase cabinet was my idea, because I am short and that cabinet was useless to me before. I still need to find the right mix of items for those shelves, but we'll get there.

The current ceiling fixture is probably around 12" diameter, so a little smaller than the one I'm thinking of replacing it with.