This kitchen looks lovely. The clear finish shows off the quality of the maple cabinets.

Have you moved in yet? You can quickly update the look by changing the pendant lighting.

What a nice kitchen -- all that storage! The cabinets are beautiful -- leave them alone. Yes to changing island to one height and switching out countertops and pendants. Although, if it weren't for the need (desire) to change the island to one height, I'd leave the counters alone, too -- they look good with the cabinets.

First address the lighting cahnge all the bulbs to LED 4000K then see if you need to brighten the space . I agree the 2 tiered counter needs to go but it looks like you have granite for counters and IMO a change to quartz would be a downgrade so if granite you should be able to match it to the new lower counter on the island and whaile you are at it get steel supports for the over hang and get rid of those corbels .You have nice kitchen great storgae the only other thing I would change is a good hod fan to replace the MW and that exterior wall pretty easy to do. Some nice new pendants would be agood idea too. I do not think painting those cabinets would be an improvement

I personally think the cabinets look good.

changing the countertop to something light would brighten the space so sure.

I would remove the island and start over. decide on the correct size, rectangle and figure out the sink (add a dishwasher and/or microwave) and seating to suit.

I'd replace the existing wall mounted microwave with a good vent hood.

Definitely do not paint the cabinets. They're very neutral in terms of style and color - modern enough. Change the pendant lights to something more modern and the idea of starting over with an entirely different island is a great one. If you don't dislike the counters leave them and perhaps use something different on the new island that goes with the existing counters. If you don't like the counters then change all when you change the island.

Ad under cabinet lighting if not already installed. Keep cabinets as is.

One level Island and white tops would be all I would do. Maybe undercabinet lighting but that's about all.

I agree with most here - please don’t ruin those pretty cabs with paint! I like the black counters and my bet is you can match that granite when you cut the bar height island to counter height. Absolutely do that! We did it for our large & also angled island much like yours. What a game changer for work space & opening up our kitchen! Our sink & DW are also in the island. It was an easy change to have outlets put on both sides of island for light switch for pendants & plug ins at both ends.As @Patricia Colwell Consulting said, use the steel supports for the overhang & get rid of the corbels. We kept the same sized footprint for our island. That is, the new top measured the same distance front to back from the top view as the old top did. Our overhang is 14” on the new island. We did switch to quartz - Patricia doesn’t like quartz since it’s a manmade material - but, our wood cabs are darker wood than yours & we needed a lighter look. I also did not want a seam in our island which is 10’4” from outer end to end. That angle in the middle where sink is means a wider slab as well as a longer slab is needed to be able to have a seamless island. Cambria quartz is who makes a jumbo slab that was just barely long & wide enough to accomplish that. Maybe you can find a granite slab large enough for a seamless island? Or, a seam isn’t the end of the world it just depends on your wants & the design of top you pick. I’m just pointing out things to think about when changing out the island. Cutting it down & using current shape is the only way to not add replacing flooring to your project! My island has a wood bead board back too but the remodel process will be the same for yours.

Don’t paint the cabinets. They are beautiful. It is not the cabinets that are dating the kitchen. I think changing the lighting and taking the island down to one level will go a long way. If you could change the island to a rectangle that would look much better.

I have natural maple cabinets and I do not think they look dated. No they are not the white cabinets that everyone is putting in but they are not dated.

Thank you everyone for all your wonderful ideas and suggestions! Very helpful! You all have changed my mind about painting the cabinets white which is the look everyone is going for these days but yeah like you all said I also felt I would be ruining the cabinets by doing that, not to mention the cost. So I really needed some advice. Thanks everyone! We will be putting a range hood and placing the microwave hopefully in the island if possible. We did find a similar granite which is maybe what we will go with if the granite top cannot be glued or shows seams. Would love to put in a lighter granite but that would be costly. Will change light fixtures and under cabinet lighting and back splash as well. Any suggestions of where to buy reasonable light fixtures ?What backsplash would look good with the tan brown granite ? I don’t quite want to go with the traditional subway tile. What other choices are popular? Also what paint color do you suggest for the walls?Thank you again !!

For me the flooring and the cabinetry clash. So, will suggest that perhaps you change out the flooring instead.

@Hina ahmed you need inspiration images to help you narrow in on the look you want, so take a day, Google Maple kitchens, and find a look you love that keeps the elements you are going to keep. I probably would end up painting those cabinets, but not until I exhausted my image search. Also, straightening out that island and making it all one height is the best thing you can do for the space, as @millworkman and others have pointed out. You should be able to re-use the cabinets, but you don’t have to re-use the top - you could choose something complimentary but lighter and brighter.

• Any suggestions of where to buy reasonable light fixtures? Find the right fixtures - it doesn’t matter where you buy them from. Inspiration images can help here too.
• What backsplash would look good with the tan brown granite? I don’t quite want to go with the traditional subway tile. What other choices are popular? Remove the 4” granite backsplash, then look for a backsplash option, anything from a shaped tile to handpainted tiles if you choose a southwestern look. Choose your inspiration images first.
• Also what paint color do you suggest for the walls? Inspiration images will help here too. You need to settle on a look first, but you will likely be choosing a warm neutral color lighter than the one you have now.

Good luck!