being modestly sized I think it looks good w the white cabinets. I dont know why cabinets have to be the focus........what comes to mind is a new backsplash and new pendants .

even cool toned metals can have a patina of subtle warmth

Earthshine Steel Small Pendant · More Info

Innovations 383-1S-SN-M383-12-SN 1-Light Mini Pendant, Brushed Satin Nickel · More Info

custom hood maybe / some textured look to a backsplash maybe??

River Front Home · More Info

Agree with ^^ . I’m not a fan of the bare bulb look in lighting. Pendants at counter with color in them would be good. I leave the silver / SS light poles because of the SS hood & door hardware. The dining light should tie in with pendants over the counter. I’d also add some color. Look how little doggie red coat just pops! Put some color with accessories on counter & add a runner on floor with same colors. Those small changes would add warmth & color & take a lot less $$$ than ripping out a nice kitchen.

Does the kitchen need functional improvement or is this more of just a facelift? You could reface cabinets in a light natural wood. Or leave the white cabs and get a new countertop surface -- it just depends on your taste and on what you dislike the most about the current state.

I agree on the pendants and would also suggest getting an appropriately sized vent hood

The first thing I noticed when I looked at your kitchen - was the odd crown moulding on the vent hood wall. It just suddenly stops - I would have preferred to not have any crown on the wall if it wasn't going to "die" into a larger vent hood.

To make your kitchen look more custom, I would take my cabinets up to the ceiling, Depending upon how many inches you have, there are different ways to do it. I don't like when too large of an extra board is added and then some crown to the ceiling. However, if you don't have room for stacked cabinets, you'd have to determine how to make the ratio of crown to the added board (I'm sure there is a technical name for it) to make sure that it looks nice.

There are many tutorials that you can find on how to extend your cabinets to the ceiling (which will make the cabinets look more custom.

Here are some photos showing how someone made their cabinets look much nicer by having them extended to the ceiling:

Changing your backsplash would make a big difference. It's difficult to suggest a new backsplash when I don't know what colors you like. If your backsplash had some color - or at least shades of white - or a different shape, it would have more impact.

Below is a marble and glass backsplash - many people have used it with white cabinets + faux marble quartz countertops. You wouldn't have to commit to a color if you don't want to - but it looks like an upgrade to the plain white subway tile.

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You also can find many examples of people who didn't like their stainless steel vent hood - and wanted a more custom looking vent hood. Instead of ripping out the stainless steel one, they built a DIY cover for it.

This one is pretty rustic - but the same idea could be done using different wood (and not using planks) or having it painted:

here is one that was installed oddly - there was a joist that blocked the vent from traveling correctly up and out - so, the builder added this little soffit above it.

The homeowners didn't like how it looked (obviously), so they did a DIY cover for it:

They used wood and venetian plaster on it. the color of the plaster was tinted to match the wall paint (not my favorite - I would have done a more venetian plaster look with a mix of shades - or just a white to match the cabinets)

The hood cover below was a plain (modern) rectangle - but I wanted to add it to show you how people make these covers in order to still be able to access the controls on the front of the stainless vent hood:

Here is another cover someone made to hide the more builder grade looking stainless vent hood:

They added boxes to take the cabinets up closer to the ceiling + had a wood hood installed.

Another DIY vent hood cover:

In this photo, by changing the backsplash to marble + covering the stainless vent hood (and trimming it with wood) + adding wood on the island, the kitchen looks more custom and warmer:

There are many things you could do - it just depends on how much you want to spend. Obviously, refacing the island with wood would cost some $$. I don't know how much it would cost to rip out your current backsplash + have a new one installed - but people do that quite a bit on here. Making a DIY vent cover is inexpensive and so is extending your cabinets up to the ceiling.

The first thing I noticed when I looked at your kitchen - was the odd crown moulding on the vent hood wall. It just suddenly stops - I would have preferred to not have any crown on the wall if it wasn't going to "die" into a larger vent hood.

To make your kitchen look more custom, I would take the cabinets up to the ceiling:

Depending upon how many inches you have, there are different ways to do it. I don't like when too large of an extra board is added and then some crown to the ceiling. However, if you don't have room for stacked cabinets, you'd have to determine how to make the ratio of crown to the added board (I'm sure there is a technical name for it) to make sure that it looks nice.

There are many tutorials that you can find on how to extend your cabinets to the ceiling (which will make the cabinets look more custom.

Here are some photos showing how someone made their cabinets look much nicer by having them extended to the ceiling:

Changing your backsplash would make a big difference. It's difficult to suggest a new backsplash when I don't know what colors you like. If your backsplash had some color - or at least shades of white - or a different shape, it would have more impact.

Below is a marble and glass backsplash - many people have used it with white cabinets + faux marble quartz countertops. You wouldn't have to commit to a color if you don't want to - but it looks like an upgrade to the plain white subway tile.

You also can find many examples of people who didn't like their stainless steel vent hood - and wanted a more custom looking vent hood. Instead of ripping out the stainless steel one, they built a DIY cover for it.

This one is pretty rustic - but the same idea could be done using different wood (and not using planks) or having it painted:

here is one that was installed oddly - there was a joist that blocked the vent from traveling correctly up and out - so, the builder added this little soffit above it.

The homeowners didn't like how it looked (obviously), so they did a DIY cover for it:

They used wood and venetian plaster on it. the color of the plaster was tinted to match the wall paint (not my favorite - I would have done a more venetian plaster look with a mix of shades - or just a white to match the cabinets):

The hood cover below was a plain (modern) rectangle - but I wanted to add it to show you how people make these covers in order to still be able to access the controls on the front of the stainless vent hood:

Here is another cover someone made to hide the more builder grade looking stainless vent hood:

Below they added boxes to take the cabinets up closer to the ceiling + had a painted wood hood cover installed.

By covering the vent hood (and trimming it with wood) + adding wood on the island + using a marble chevron backsplash - the kitchen in this photo looks more custom and warmer:

There are many things you could do - it just depends on how much you want to spend. Obviously, refacing the island with wood would cost some $$. I don't know how much it would cost to rip out your current backsplash + have a new one installed - but people do that quite a bit on here. Making a DIY vent cover is inexpensive and so is extending your cabinets up to the ceiling.

I would replace the 2 island pendants with ones that give more of a visual impact. Perhaps a plant on the countertop for colour and a black bowl of fruits on the island...

I just need to comment, that when I read your sentence about builder kitchen, I was expecting a lot more basic. While it might not be what you'd love, that is a really nice kitchen and I think with some minor tweaking ( you're being given such good ideas here) you will love it.

I wold agree that lighting will be easy and have a big bang for the buck.

I would change the backsplash and lighting…paint cabinets a warm neutral..add gold accents…wood island countertop..you could changeout perimeter countertops to soapstone or a warmer quartz.