My vote - Leave the cabinets alone!! They are pretty & classic style. The wood stain doesn’t chip - even good paint jobs chip or wear after awhile & a good paint job is $$$$. Yes to changing hardware. Also yes to adding some color & personality with accessories, like a runner, some pretty pottery on counter—- what’s the rest of the kitchen look like? You could also change the switch plates to a color that blends with BS & doesn’t pop out like the white does. There are stone look switchplates that would be a pretty good match right in your nearest big box store.

The best and probably least expensive thing is - change the backslash.
Next choice - update flooring.
The cabinet wood is beautiful, and best feature, would not paint it.

The cabinets are beautiful. (I don't think they are oak.) A good, quality paint job on the cabinets could cost as much as new counters and backsplash. If you don't want to sink much money into this, I'd paint your current backsplash and leave everything else as is. Your current hardware is very non-offensive and does not call attention to itself. I'd leave it.

I agree with others that your cabinets are pretty! If it were my kitchen, I'd change out the backsplash and add a rug or runner.

Yes to new backsplash and pulls.🙂

I think I was getting swayed by everyone painting over wood cabinets, lol. I love all the suggestions and will look at adding some personality with a runner and change out the hardware, maybe bronze or antique? For the backsplash what would be good option, I’m not a fan of subway tiles.

Those are not oak.

The general consensus seems to be they’re not oak. I agree the sink does not look great, I wouldn’t say it’s tiny, though it does look like that in the picture with the dark countertop. I much prefer stainless steel. What would be a better placement? I wasn’t planning on getting the countertop changed, but I’ll have to probably re-evaluate.

Sink? I didn’t see that & had to search! Is that a prep sink? But, it’s next to DW so not a prep? Is there a story there? Can we see a better pic of it if it’s bigger IRL? For better placement options it would help to see the entire kitchen - I can see there’s lots more counter in left & bottom of pic. From what is shown, maybe to right of DW would be better. The sink should be next to DW.

ETA: keep thinking about sink placement. Do you have issues when standing at sink & loading DW? It ’feels’ like a trip or fall backwards hazard to be standing at sink with the DW door open & extending behind the person at sink.

Can you show a picture of the other two walls of your kitchen? It will help us recommend other backsplashes that might look good in the room with your floors, counters, and cabinets.

Can you show a close up of the counters? Are they solid black, do they have flecks in them?

If your sink works for you, don't change it because someone online doesn't like it. Changing the location of the sink is not only about the base cabinets but you may have to change plumbing location too and suddenly strangers online are pulling your whole kitchen apart! :)

I like your appliances.

I think that your cabinets look very nice! To my eyes the first thing that should change is the floor. That is a large expanse and hard to overlook..

They may not be oak, but this is my favorite inspiration image for honey colored cabinets. Here the uppers are painted a creamy white, walls are pale orange, and the accents are green. You don’t have to use subway tile if you don’t like it. You don’t have to use any of it, but I recommend before changing anything, that you find inspiration images of your own.

IMO, the floors are fine. It’s the lack of spark through color that I would want to change. The kitchen doesn’t look like anyone lives there. And, this picture isn’t the normal look for this kitchen? For all we know you are just moving in!

If you are reacting to a sense of it being darker with the dark bench top and the wood, try thinking about lighting. Does your overhead lighting do the job, does it need to be brighter? Or maybe some under cabinet lighting to help the splash back feel connected to the floor. Agree with the comments to leave the wood alone and bring improvements to the other elements.

I would focus on lighting first, then floor, then backsplash. Can you post more pics of the rest of the space?

get a different backsplash..just a creamy white subway..it would do wonders. if you lack under cabinet lighting go ahead and do that. I'd find some sort of patterned floor runner or a couple mats..you dont want to change the floor but its a big expanse and you could use something.....there are tons of interesting textiles to soften and add a tweak. Its a straightforward space ..the nice wood cabinets speak for themselves so Id clean up the look at the backsplash. Your cabinets are stained hickory I believe....and I like them.

You said you dislike subway tile - is it the lack of color, the shape? Tell us more about what you want or don’t want in a splash so we can help provide some suggestions. Have you seen anything at all that you are contemplating?

You can "test run" different tiles by uploading a picture to a site with a visualizer, like Tilebar.com. I tried uploading your picture above, but it kept saying it couldn't find the wall (?) So you might try another picture with your under cabinet lights on (if you don't have under cabinet lights, that's something to consider adding) or another angle to get your backsplash more head-on.

If you don't like subway tiles, consider a rectangle in a soft/pale green or blue (if you like those colors), a creamy colored Zellige in a square shape, or a square encaustic tile with a pretty pattern that includes a creamy tan / yellow color from your floor. So many options! Folks here can help narrow down. (Order samples to check in your space.)

Look for inspiration photos with stained cabinets and black counters. One of my favorites here is @darbuka's kitchen (some pics in this thread) with a soft green backsplash.

Here's my own kind of messy mockup for the tile below from Tilebar.

We just bought the house and moving in soon, hence the lack of any personal items.
The overhead lighting is warmer than I’d like, there is under cabinet lighting though, I should have taken a picture with it on. My husband feels the subway tiles are a bit basic. This is the countertop, seems to have specks of brown, maybe green though it’s not very obvious in this picture.

I like the idea of square zellige, I also like the look of chevron and hexagon. I’m on tile bar.com and I may have found a couple of designs that can work.

You haven't even moved in yet? Wait six months before getting new backsplash. There may be other things about the kitchen that don't work for you and you'll want to take this into consideration all at once instead of piecemealing it together.

If you really cannot stand the backsplash for 6 months, then just paint it for now or put up peel and stick splash until you have finalized an overall kitchen look.

OP thank you for the close up of the counter. I thought it was more a solid color and I would no longer recommend the tile I showed above. I agree to wait a bit after you move in. While you wait, you can order some samples to view in place.

Also congrats on your new home!

Change the tile! Change the paint! Paint the cabinets! Change the flooring!

Changing finishes will definitely change the look of the space, but doing so before you have decided what overall design you want is like changing trains before youve chosen a destination.

My parting advice is that you stop looking at tile and google images of kitchens with cherry cabinets that you like first. Then move toward that aesthetic with each change you make.

Good luck with the move.

Looks like Uba Tuba granite. Pull one of the colors for a new backsplash. Good luck. Cabinets are the best part of the kitchen.

The countertops are Ubatuba, same as mine. Looks black, but very close up has flecks of copper, silver and a hint of green.

It should look great with the cabinets, not so much your current backsplash. My backsplash is a soft aqua, called Arctic Ice from Home Depot, and I have a copper sink. Cabinets are white with ORB knobs and pulls.

I went to the tile store last week and metallic is definitely a thing in tile right now. I am going to replace my glass tile backsplash with a shiny ceramic that has a hint of metallic gold around the edges.

I agree with others advice about living in your house for a while (6 mos to 1 year or more) before making major changes. This will give you time to learn what ends up irritating you about the functional aspects of the kitchen and the way you use it.

But, I understand that right now what's jumping out at you are the aesthetics. I'd go with matte black for the hardware, which will relate to the granite and dark glass in the appliances. Like others mentioned, painting the tile or even peel-and-stick tile over the top of the existing back splash would allow you to experiment with a different look. I'd go with a color that pulls from your wall color and the flooring, which looks like a warm off-white or very pale neutral beige.

Personally, I wouldn't rush into painting the cabinets right away. I have wood cabinets that are oak and they never look dirty and are solid. I've also painted cabinets white. Warm wood is back, I'm seeing it in photos all the time. Try it out.

Work toward finding a designer that has experience with kitchen layout that you like. Once you've lived there for a while, you will know what really doesn't work for you.

I'm considering an off white or very pale beige subway tile to replace the back splash in my kitchen - which happens to be similar to yours.

Gorgeous cabinets - as others have said that's not oak and DO NOT PAINT

yes. but new doors and paint the cabinets. put the wax over the painted areas in the front each year to protect them.