Some tight clearances in that space!

I would want to move that fridge over a bit. Also get the shallowest fridge I could buy and add side/end panels to enclose it.

When you replace the counters on the peninsula, don't make them as long as what you currently have. It just makes the space look more cramped. Do a standard 1.5" overhang on the isle end.

Agree -- one color. Two (or more) colors look like you picked up bits and pieces at yard sales and cobbled them together. With the idea of resale in the fairly near future, choose one color. With fairly dark floors, I'd lean towards a pale color instead of white.

Thank you for that feedback; I'm taking the 2-color option off the table! We will shorten the counter when we replace it (thanks). I have one follow-up question if we were to paint the cabinets a color other than white: won't the transition at the crown from white (breakfast/family room) to cabinet color look off? (See picture below.) Thanks again!

You could take the opportunity to paint all the dark crown in the cabinet color

https://papermoonpainting.com/painting-crown-molding/

I realize this can be a "give a mouse a cookie" situation with those built ins, but why not...

Low to mid level granite that plays well with your floor and a lot of paint colors is Iriri or cashmere cream. You can find sueded/leathered in those. I’d avoid a dark granite in your situation. Now is the time to get large samples of wall/cabinet color combinations that you like and then take those to the slab places when looking at countertops.

Colors like Sherwin Williams Shoji white or Ivory Lace still read fresh but not TOO bright white which can look cheap with granite.

Oh and don’t even worry about backsplash until you’re settled on granite and all paint colors. Just put that on the back burner

One suggestion that may or may not be do-able for you but would make a big difference before you go any further would be to rearrange the stove area. Remove the tall wine/microwave area on the right and move the drawer base on the right over to the left to move the range out of the tight corner. If possible add back an upper cabinet with microwave area beside the pantry cabinets and then readjust the existing uppers that you have. It would look better, allow for more counter space around the stove and not be so tight with the fridge.

Your space looks especially small because of the countertop configuration. For the reasons others mentioned below to not use a dark base cabinet, I also recommend not using a dark counter. It has the visual effect of a dark line running through the space, almost like a kid's maze.

Take a cue from the white on white on white pic that @s m just posted above. It is really fresh and lovely. Even in that corner with one counter deadending in front of the other, it looks open and nice.

Crown that touches cabinet should be in the cabinet color. If the crown only touches the wall, then it should be in the trim color color used in the rest of the room/house.

Look on the left side, fridge cabinet changed color and crown connected to it matches.

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Room crown is white and cabinet crown is same as cabinet color.

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Thank you all so much for the advice! I especially appreciate the photos showing the crown changing color where the cabinet meets the wall. I will steer away from dark counters - never thought of my kitchen as a maze but I see what you mean. I'm narrowing the options to white cabinets with medium-tone counter and gray cabinets (repose gray perhaps?) with light counter, along the lines of this photo. Thanks again!

Just curious, has your stove always been right above the floor vent?

Yes - and your attention to detail is incredible! We replaced the stove recently and the new one extends just a bit further out than the old one. We were concerned that it would be a problem but seems to be ok.

Your plan for renovations looks like a good one. If you go with white cabinets don’t go stark white. A pale color would give some softness to the space and would complement the floors rather than contrasting with them. I would vote against a grey- I think that’s a trend that is waning. A different pale color would appeal to more buyers I would think. Here is an example:

Rebasheba has a great suggestion with SW Amazing Gray and Pearly White. I also agree with s m about moving the stove and rearranging the area with the stove and microwave/wine rack area.

Please don't do gray cabinets lean more towards the sage green. Gray is passe and in builder grade cookie cutter homes with no personality. IMHO

You’re safest with white or cream. They will never go out of style like gray or green.

The grey cabinets and white counter pic you last posted looks nice. Good direction to go in. Very little contrast between the two colors, yet still some differentiation.

Keep away from greys and blacks - they are finally going away from being trendy and never should have been a choice to begin with anywhere inside a house. Stay with as neutral as possible. Pops of color may be something SOME people love, and others hate. White subway is too much what everyone uses, but no one hates it - safe choice. Use countertops with as much light color as possible. Add color with dishtowels & decor.

The peninsula seems to chop off the kitchen. since you have already redone the floors, i a, guessing that changing the peninsula is not an option. i would remove the cabinets at the end of the wall over the peninsula. .That will make the area feel more open. i like white/offwhite cabinets and a solid surface countretop in a white or off white. I agree with other posters - no dark countertops, no stark white cabinets and no two tones for the cabinets. I would replace the sink with an undermount.

Acckk! I HATE white. It's your kitchen so do what you want, but there is nothing wrong with what you have. I would change the counter to something in the white w brown veining family and leave the cabinets alone.

You may want to scour the stone yards for a countertop before deciding your paint color. There are tons of whites and neutrals, but you will probably fall in love with one countertop and the paint color should complement that.

Backsplashes are last, always. Lots of tile options.

Hi Susan, from another Susan with a mid-1980's house and kitchen--whoa Girl, you've got your work cut out for you! If you are hoping to move in 5 years, DO NOT do anything major--you will not get your money back out of it! Painting the cabinets white is an excellent idea, it will most assuredly play off the darker wood floors.

You can't do anything to improve the layout without ripping out the kitchen--I'm sure your new floors don't run underneath the cabinets, right? So, to make it appealing to YOU for the next few years, and attractive to buyers when you are ready to sell, just paint the cabinets white, and have the painters do an epoxy treatment to your countertops. An Italian marble style would look great against the wood floors, and it's going to cost a lot less than mid-grade granite that a potential new buyer might just rip out anyway--or worse, reject the house because they don't like your choice of granite. The painters can put the veining in and follow the peninsula to make it look like it was cut from one huge slab of marble.

What do you have as a backsplash now? Do you have the standard 4" "backsplash" on top of your formica countertops? If so, I'd remove it carefully, as it may be glued down to the countertop in addition to being glued to the wall. This way, you can bring your backsplash all the way down to the countertop. The backsplash is totally your choice--you'll be looking at it every day for the next few years, at least--might as well make it appealing to YOU. Tile is great, but go for something fancier than the old 4'x4' ceramic. Take the hint from the FIRST photo you posted with white cabinets. Since you posted it first, I think that means that's the one you like the best--so go with it! You don't have to splurge on marble tile backsplash (unless you want to) you can get the same "look" with white subway tile--just lay it in a herringbone pattern, and use a medium gray grout.

On the sink wall, consider taking the tile all the way to the ceiling... stopping it halfway up the wall makes it look like you just ran out of tile. DO NOT tile the wall to the right of the laundry room door--if you do, and you stop even with the bottom of the upper cabinets, it looks like you ran out of tile. If you take it up to the ceiling, you'll have to go around the door on both side, and that would just look terrible.

Finish up with black door and drawer pulls---that would really play off the white painted fireplace and black firescreen. Maybe spray paint your light fixtures a flat black and check out some new, updated shades to replace the plain frosted glass ones. Perhaps a hanging light over the sink in black metal. They make an adapter that screws into the socket of the recessed light that allows you to turn it into a hanging light. It's about $10 or so at the HD or Lowe's.

If you are going to replace your stainless steel sink, consider a single-bowl white glazed cast iron sink, and a black iron faucet. You'll want to have that already before the painters come in--you can remove the stainless sink and make it much easier for them to do the countertop treatment. Then you drop in the cast iron sink on top of the newly painted countertop. You can get a handyman to do that since it's just a replacement--no new plumbing lines will be run.

Good luck and let us know what you have decided. :-)

Edit to add: when you are ready to paint the fireplace, please consider covering it with white stucco, softening the sharp corners. then install a 4'x4' or 6'x6' wood mantle that you have "distressed" and stained to match your floors or the molding before you paint it white. Maybe you can find a piece of reclaimed wood that size, and you don't have to make it look old.

A cream colour with your floors would coordinate nicely and be a more cheerful colour than gray. A white wash on your bricks would also work nicely.

In,Ike the creamy color from @lisedv much better than whites!

*I like the creamy color…..

Thank you again for all of the great suggestions!! We’re still entertaining two possibilities: greige cabinets with white countertops or white cabinets with light-colored countertops. (Thank you, lisedv for the photoshopped picture!) I feel that white cabinets would give us more options for wall colors in the adjacent breakfast/family rooms, but I’m interested in hearing others’ thoughts on that. Below is a picture of our floor with several of the greige colors that have been mentioned here. The white is BM Chantilly lace which we’ve used for trim throughout the rest of the house.

I'd pick a creamy white before any greige. your floors are very rich.....a color would be better than greige. if you dont want color , stick w creamy white.

heres yellow and then a pale blusih green...then on to creamy white. all good on traditional cabs w the beautiful floor you have..

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SW Creamy and Antique are great ivories. One is the color of the cabinets in my kitchen, the other is my wall color. Pure white can be “dazzling” (not in a good way) and ivory gives you more options. It goes with many countertop colors and lots of furniture/wood/fabric colors.

I love a good griege but for me it is a complex color and I would be nervous using it on a high dollar cab paint job - love the ivory suggestions from @herbflavor and @RedRyder

I am in the do nothing camp this kitchen is dated and no paint will change that not to mention th cost is close to new cabinets for no improvement . Get better lighting that will be what makes the space brighter all LED 4000K bulbs is my choice . Maybe new counters all the same and lose that silly overhang on the peninsula but really for a few years you will get no ROI for a kitchen that will probably be rip out for any buyer. and maybe change the knobs to stainless for a bit of a chang e and be done

I don’t agree with Patricia. You don’t have a “going to sell” date and need to enjoy your home. Just make sure you get a pro painter who knows how to properly prep and paint your kitchen. I would start scouring countertop places. There are millions of paint colors but you may fall in love with a specific countertop (especially if you’re looking at stone).

My SW creamy cabinets are next to painted kitchen walls that are a pale green that complements my granite,which is a hard-to-find grey-green. Not a lot of wall space in my kitchen and the color is so subtle no one notices.

Also, my house has A LOT of dark wood trim (close to walnut stain) and light ivory walls were my best option when I bought the house. Never had white or ivory walls before and I love them. Those are all Antique White.