Yes on everything fighting each other. I bet if you made the more minor changes to get it in sync you would find it much more pleasing to the eye. There is no perfect house for most of us, especially resale. I think once you get settled you come to accept the limitations because you value the positives that made you buy the property in the first place. Good location is priceless - that's something you can't change

First priorities are the cheapest in this case. The paint and the light fixtures need to go. Fixing those will brighten that kitchen a surprising amount. Getting rid of the grey floor is the next priority but put a long runner over it till you can get a decent deal on better flooring.

I agree. And those floors may have been put in by the last homeowners who were only there 9 months. The same flooring is in the master bath. Not so bad in there. ) We have wide plank pecan colored LVP in our current home. continuous throughout the house and it looks really good to me. It is easy to up-keep and is surprisingly resilient and waterproof. I love wood floors that are in the rest of the new house, but would have opted for the wide plank LVP and that way, an easy decision to go into the kitchen with. We already had the dishwasher have an issue and we had to remove some LVP, dry it out and put them right back again.

8-10K? I would get the popcorn ceiling removed first, fresh paint, wall tile removed, maybe replaced, light fixtures if you don't like them... and save the change for after you have lived there for a while. I'm not terribly keen on the counters, but those can be pricey to swap out just cuz when you might well do a fuller remodel later.

yep, baltic brown granite strikes again. ;)

I would remove the backsplash tile and paint the backsplash wall area in an eggshell finish paint. That alone would make a big difference. And you already have a backsplash in place with the granite riser, although you could remove that, too, if you wanted to, and just have the painted wall.

And I would bring in a sheet of vinyl or lineoleum... something that works better with the granite and cabinets.

If that is fluorescent lighting in the ceiling, I would change that out. It looks like you also have a semi-flush ceiling light fixture and I would consider changing that out to a fixture with more presence. Maybe also add some undercab lighting. All lighting dimmable of course.

Granite is a classic material. So I would not change the granite out because it is not the latest flavor of the week granite, etc.

ETA: and for sure if that is a grey paint on the walls, I would change that out to a warm white. If you have to have a grey, look at Benjamin Moore Edgcomb Grey.

My vote is just to remove the backsplash and the four inch counter kick. Replace backsplash with subway tile in Biscuit from Daltile and paint the walls a creamy color like Sherwin Williams Creamy. The most offending elements will be gone and the cost will be minimal. Then you can save your money for a real renovation in a few years.

^^

exactly as @AGKY shows above. Perfect.

Except, as I said, you could also just remove the tile and 4” riser and just paint the backsplash wall area with an eggshell finish paint, which makes it cleanable/wipeable. But if you want to bring in a backsplash tile, AGKY gave you a good suggestion for that, too.

Once you change the splash and change the wall paint, you can see whether you want to cover the floor.

With these simple, inexpensive changes, you will have a whole new look, and really may not feel any need to do an expensive overhaul.

Agree with @AGKY - Sherwin Williams Creamy is in my kitchen and it’s a great warm ivory. Great for your warm brown wood cabinets. No gray, please.

WOW. Thank you @AGKY for the CAD picture and freedomplace1, redryder and everyone for the fabulous advice. I love the pic of the kitchen. I think we have determined that the easiest offending area to change on the cheap is the backsplash and the lighting, paint and pulls. This is where I will focus my energy for now. Thanks again everyone. I have a great list of things to do now and others to consider later on. :)

Lovely home. Congratulations. I love the mockup done by lisdev above. I would remove the Tuscan backsplash and paint the walls white.

I honestly can not BEAR another one of these threads.

Rip the backsplash

Repair the wall

Paint all the walls.

Change the lights.

Put some rugs down to take your eye off the purely hideous floor.

Then STOP. There's just too much wrong.

Start saving money. There's nothing Good in the layout. The flooring needs to come out and be replaced.

Yes you will eat,. : )

Wow. Repair the wall? None of the photos on this thread show any wall in need of repair. As for layout, the OP has stated that the kitchen is totally functional, and her concern is visual. Also that she is ready to move forward on selected items.

If you can't BEAR the thread, don't respond.

i am thinking the repair the wall is after the backsplash tile removal that’s been suggested - a very low cost improvement

I did say......."rip the tile, repair the wall, paint........: )

Heh, sometimes there is a difference between using no punctuation, the return/enter key, periods, and commas. It can make communication less than clear. Especially in a forum with a wide flung variety of writing styles.

However, most of us seem to be making the similar suggestions of removing the tile on the wall. And options of leaving it plain and painted, or putting something else up once the tile has been removed.

First off congrats on your home I like jazz idea and what Amanda Smith said I agree with two and if that is not the pantry next to the refrigerator I would get a door that you don't cover up like a glass door foreign exterior I would have it a window and it or like a French door but not a French door a single door I have the single door in my kitchen that's full View it's a window pane it looks like a French door but it's a single like I said otherwise somebody is going to plow into your refrigerator when you have it open

Yes. There are 3 entries into this kitchen. One from the LVRM at the back, and one from the LV Rm at the front, right into the Fridge, and the other through into the dining room, which is right in front of the oven. This is a double galley style kitchen I believe. There is a small built-in pantry to the left of the fridge, and the cabinetry that you do not really see, to the right of the dishwasher, appears to be two built-in pantries. I considered moving the fridge to where the pantries are and moving the pantry to where the fridge is now, but somehow think that would not solve anything. It is a difficult space to make flow to be sure. We close on the house in a little over 2 weeks, and so once I am on site, I can take some measurements etc. Also, for those that think the layout is bad, it gets worse when you see the breakfast nook that never was....haha. Now it makes sense why the sellers put a plant there. Anyway, I am going to add some built in cabinets to the formal dining room and try and turn it into a dining/library space. Multi-use...since that will be our only real dining space. I will put a bistro table where the plant is, I guess. ALSO: I just went on REDFIN and had their AI redesign this space, and this is what they came up with....haha (Pic)

Here is the breakfast "nook" also as an FYI.

That isn't a breakfast nook it's an angled wall with a door.

Well, in my mind, it is where the breakfast nook should have been. I would love to see the Redfin description say "well-equipped galley-style kitchen with angled wall for your plants".

LOL

Will a bistro table and chairs fit there?

Here are some options for new cabinet colors

I agree the angled area is not a breakfast nook. But you CAN put two shelves with a custom cut on that wall if you need to. Or have narrow custom cabinets built .

Mostly, I would leave it alone. Even the plant looks lonely and awkward there.

As for the cabinets, I would live with them a while and figure out how to AI several different colors. Then pick the one that consistently makes you happy after a week or two. Not that you asked, but two tone cabinets seem very trendy to me and kitchens are a “staple” that need to look good for a long time. Ditto gray (which is already looking outdated).

Creamy ivory cabinets (or real white) will be in style forever. But if you love a particular color, go for it. I saw a baby blue kitchen in a magazine (probably AD) and it struck me as the most unique, inviting kitchen ever. It spoke to the owner’s individuality. If my home wasn’t open concept, my cabinets would have been green.

All good ideas. I am torn between leaving the cabinets alone or using some kind of white washing technique. AI seems to think that my cabinets are likely Home Depot's LifeArt Cabinets, Cambridge line in Chestnut? I also have seen some people degloss and put a white wash on them and furniture wax as a top coat to take the orange and red out of the cabinets. However, I have a feeling this could go horribly wrong. I am not talented like that. Not sure what I will do with the awkward open area by the back door...I will need to measure and see if a small bistro table and chair or chairs will even fit there, or not. Anyway, I mainly just want to walk into the kitchen and feel that it is somewhat updated and does not make me sad to be in there. Maybe I will come back in a few weeks and let you know if I have done anything or everything. I hope that painting the downstairs a warm, cream-colored shade and removing the baby blue paint (which reads gray) will help somewhat and serve as a good start.

The only addition I would make to the angled wall area is to get pretty window treatments. Roman shades or a box-pleated valance would warm up the area and keep it from looking bare and lonely.

Simple solutions imo, the lighting is dated.. replace the white ceiling fan and the other two fixtures with updated look. Add a runner or rug to the flooring with some color tones ie ruggable or similar look to tie in the floor and counters. swap out the cabinet handles . Remove the fan shade above the window and update the hood and ovens in stainless. then add some simple accessories on the counter. a small counter height table and 2 backless stools in the nook. find a paint that can be used on the backsplash to get rid of the gold tones.

If you are not an experienced DIYer, please do not put any kind of finish on the cabinets - it will NOT turn out well. Incorporate the simple fixes such as paint, lighting, etc.

And get rid of the plastic grey floor and install real wood!!!

A simple solution for the mismatched in color appliances-they make contact paper/panels that you could stick on to turn them all to black. I would not go through the expense of changing the cabinets. If you can afford it, it seems like you would love to change the flooring as you've mentioned it a few times. Stick a bistro table in that corner and see how all that works for awhile.

The Tuscan travertine backsplash is what is dating the kitchen. Generally, not a big expense to remove or replace it.

And get rid of the countertops - so 1980's (UGH!) - and difficult to see spills like tea or coffee. Note that the grey floors clash with the brown - the whole room clashes - just a strange mish-mash or pieces that do not match. Paint the cabinets white, get a new light colored counter top, white appliances, and real wood floor, or even VCT tile - anything is better than plastic fake wood!

Yes!!!! I wish I knew what color blind person did this. i wonder if there was a sale on travertine and the worst possible granite and someone thought, what a great deal!!! anyway, I soooo want to fix the whole kitchen including the lay out, but my husband is worried that I will over do it on cost… and he said we were moving to Florida in exactly 6 years. Well, I know that every home we have ever had, we thought we would not be there for very long and we have always been wrong. I’m entering old age, and I can’t live (or possibly die) in a home with those kitchen cabinets paired with all the wrong everything. AND, the fridge is also in the wrong spot. Anyway, I’m leaning toward a cabinet paint job and new counters and backsplash and recessed lighting. and maybe moving the fridge to the other side. i want to add a peninsula, but I think the space is too narrow. Anyway, I will keep you posted and take a picture of the space after we close on the house in two weeks. I am ADHD obsessed with fixing it. AND, I cannot even consider open concept to solve the lay out, because there is a gas fireplace on the other side of the kitchen wall. My husband said if I try to open up a wall, that ”this isn't the right house for us then,” he's soooo afraid I’m going to spend 40k to fix it. lol. I did find a brand new cabinet company that sounds really interesting. They sell a proprietary leveling system that they send with their cabinets and a proprietary snap and lock rail system to hang your wall cabinets on. If they are as good as they say, they could put Ikea out of business. Im going to check them out.

Honestly, I don’t think this kitchen needs a total re-do, especially if you might be moving again. The cabinets and granite are classic. The wall color doesn’t work….get rid of the baby blue paint, get a new backsplash, then see if you are happier with the whole thing.

I don't see Cherry in your cabinets I only see Oak you could paint the walls off-white if you like or you could go with the soft shade or a medium shade of green

I think you need to resign yourself that this will never be your dream kitchen, but I think you already know that. By the way, what is your budget for an update?

a couple similar things...cabinets /counters... 1. try a different wall color [green or neutral- not blue] 2. removal of backsplash.....

Medium Cherry Transitional Kitchen with Peninsula · More Info

I like this update:

The cabinets in the original post are most definitely NOT oak, which has a much more pronounced grain than cherry.

They look pretty darned much like cherry in the pics

Yeah, they look like cherry to me as well.

If your cost needs to be minimal, just remove the travertine tiles, leave the granite 4” piece and repair and paint that wall. Then paint the kitchen any of the great suggestions here. Your timeline of possibly 6 years would reduce the return on investment so keep it simple.

Agree with RedRyder… do the tile and paint….and don’t touch those cabinets! They are lovely and wood is coming back in. Looking at the space the floor would be next on my wish list and you could do runners.

Are those cabinet doors solid wood or are they thermafoil? Hard to tell from the pictures.

I think they may be LifeArt cabinetry-Cambridge in Chestnut? That is what Google Lens thinks it is, anyway. Once I get in there, I will pull out a drawer and see if there is a mfctr on the back. If these are a HD brand, then I would think its Therma foil...but will know in a couple of weeks.

I put the kitchen layout into IKEA planner with the changes I want to make. I extrapolated the dimensions based on real estate pics, floor tile size, and realtor information. It will not be 100% accurate. I tried moving the fridge to the other side of the kitchen, swapping out the pantries, and moving them to the other side, but I do not think it will fit there...But, I need to see the kitchen again to get an idea. I also removed the wall oven to gain more counterspace and tried to add a peninsula, but likely won't have the 36-42" walkway to do a proper peninsula on the end. Someone asked about my budget. Well, I could spend 15k, but my husband would rather I not invest that much in a transition home. So, I will try to keep it at 10k??? Might try using very handy handymen to help with a lot of it without going to a GC.

If your budget is $10, 000 why are you spending time looking at a change of layout?

Thermafoil is a plastic laminate. Your cabinets appear to be solid wood?

Because I like playing with layout. Also, I think I can do alot for that price. I have a way of finding things on sale. For instance, on our last home, I got my granite for 1260.00 and paid an installer around 2400 to install. it was 1-2k less than going through a GC. Im going to try and use the same granite wholesaler as before to save on countertops. Anyway, I will do everything in order of importance and some things just wont get done.

well what year was the ''before" ? just have plan A and Plan B ..... Plan C also

We redid our kitchen 2 years ago. Didnt know we were going to move so quickly. So, I want to have a somewhat nice kitchen in our new place…but it will be a challenge to keep me from taking the whole kitchen down to the studs.

When you don’t know what you are doing, it is going to cost you money. When you are trying to keep up with the Joneses who also don’t have a clue as to what they are doing, it is going to cost you money.

Wrong.