Ideas to update kitchen/dining area

last month

Hello, in planning stages and looking for some inspo from houz experts! We have high quality solid wood box maple cabinets that are about 15 yrs old, so dated style and starting to look a little busted up (burn and grease marks near oven, hinges starting to fail), poor lighting and terracotta tiles floor that always seem to look dirty despite being frequently cleaned! We are looking to update but this is not our forever home so don't want to do a full reno. Other than getting some better ceiling lighting, what would be your recommendations to update this space? I need to get rid of the tiled countertop and backsplash and was thinking quartz in white/beige. Not sure if I should repaint or reface the cabinets or just update the hardware... The floor I think needs to be stripped/ deep cleaned and then refinished. We will replace the oven and microwave, sink and faucets. I was going to just get some recessed lighting for the whole room, make it dimmable near the dining table and update the light fixture over the table but if you have better ideas let me know. Welcome any ideas on how to make this space feel lighter, less claustrophobic and contemporary.

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Comments (3)

Louise P
Original Author
last month
Adding some photos of the colors/style that I like
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dani_m08
last month
last modified: last month
I like all three of your inspiration photos showing the kitchens that you like.

The countertop in the top photo is Taj Mahal quartzite = a natural stone. Quartz is man made.

Taj Mahal is very pretty + extremely durable - and is very popular right now (has been for the last few years). There are different looks for Taj Mahal slabs - some have more stripes to it and others are more creamy.

Your cabinets look like they are still in good shape - but I don't live there. You can reface the kitchen if the layout is functional (it is not as expensive as people think - doors are not 3/4 of the price of new cabinets). Are the boxes in good shape? Does the layout function well?

You need to answer those two questions in order to decide what to do re: cabinets.

One functional issue with your kitchen is that your DW is between your sink and your range. It can be a trip hazard if left open. However, my DW is between the route between my sink and cooktop - I just have never left the DW open - I never knew that was a "no-no" until I started reading posts on Houzz a few years ago. However, I also have more room between my sink and cooktop.
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K Laurence
last month
Your cabinets look fine, they probably could benefit from a ”cabinet detail”, we have companies in my area that specialize in that,they clean, touch up, replace any hinges, etc etc.) but you could do that yourself. if it were mine I would do a plain creamy white (quartz or Corian ) countertop / backsplash, add recessed lighting & paint all walls in a color that would look better with your soon to be refreshed floors creamy white, greens & some blues look good with Satillo tile ). New window treatment & a larger area rug.