My advice for the kitchen is to NOT paint the cabinets. Upgrade the cabinet hardware (Handles etc) but I would not paint them, Once you paint them you can never get the wood back and may hurt the resell of the home later down the road. I would simply add a nice backsplash with some color. You already added stainless steel appliances so you are already half way there. With the living room, all you really have to do is accessorize. You do not want to paint the brick, same with cabinets once you paint over you can not get them back to the lovely brick color. Simply add a shelf to create a hearth and personalize it. Upgrade the light fixture and add some personal touches. When you are ready to do some upgrades add in some hardwood floors :) Congrats on the new home and good luck

Unique Surfaces, Do you have any ideas for the backsplash in the kitchen? I seriously have no idea what to do with the color of these cabinets.

Hi! Don't worry! You can make any house your home with a few touches :) For the living room, I think I would go with cherry wood as well because it will look very nice with the fireplace. As far as the living area in general, I would choose curtains first so that you have a color scheme to go off of. (MUCH easier to choose paint when you have accessories you like). Here are a few ideas for you in terms of curtains:
(I have attached a few different styles for you)

http://deciture.com/shop/decor/world-market/campione-floral-curtain/

http://deciture.com/shop/decor/world-market/gold-and-teal-aberdeen-curtain/

http://deciture.com/shop/decor/world-market/suzani-print-curtain/

Hope this helps!

I would stain the cabinets a nice espresso color which would let the grain show through and won't chip like paint does. I think painted fireplaces look great as long as they are a neutral- white, off white, cream, etc. Making those changes, adding the new flooring and appliances will make your new house feel "new" and look current. I agree with putting up some draperies, but would go with a nice simple linen fabric. It will look great- the rooms are very nice and I really like the kitchen ceiling.

Replacing a couple of cabinet doors with glass would "lighten" the overall effect in the short term. I strongly recommend that you don't make any major changes to the kitchen until you've lived with it a good while. THe traffic flow will affect the design. In the long run, given the cost of kitchen renos and any meaningful changes (countertops, even backsplashes), I recommend moving slowly. Idea: consider painting that ceiling a contrasting or different shade of some color. After you've been in there a while, you may have the feeling the kitchen is like a well. It's so high, you have the unique and rare opportunity for something really interesting by painting it.

These are two entirely different looks for a ceiling.

Living room: That fireplace is an eyesore. Sorry. You might as well plan on a major reno there. If you think you're going to tear out all that brick (recommended) and replace with (almost anything) stone or wood, go ahead and paint it. In the short term, it will at least blend or be less "clunky." In the long term, it gives you a way of gauging what you want to do with it (dark? light? Formal? Rustic?) Trust yourself. You know more than you think. If it takes years to get it just the way you want it -- so what? Enjoy!

New hardwood will be beautiful. Keep in mind that true cherry will darken with light. I hated that after a year I was kinda of stuck with rug and furniture placement. You might consider a different wood with cherry finish. Lovely size room.

Stainless steel cabinets would be great in your kitchen. The price is affordable and we have a variety of finishes for the cabinet doors (stainless or acrylic). Check out our website (www.kitchencabinetscorp.com) for pictures and email us for a free quote. Mention code ELK for a special discount!

Sure wish my outdated house looked as nice as yours!

HI -- This is not out dated looking at all . Before you do the floors , the first major thing I would do is to move the fireplace to the left in the middle of that wall . Much better position for room arrangements . Then the fireplace would not interfere with the drapes on that window . I don't mind the wood kitchen cabinets . Maybe some Quartz counters and backsplash and new chrome/stainless handles on the doors . You could do pulls on the bottom and handles or knobs on the uppers . But you should make a plan and save ideas of how you want things to look . This way you will have a guide of what you what to remodel first .

I would like to see the hardwood floor flow right into the kitchen. The kitchen floor tile is keeping the kitchen style in the 80's. If the wood floors were a darker, contrasting color to the cabinets, it would look alright to leave the cabinet finish as is and just change the hardware as lefty47 suggested. Removing the floor tile is not as labor intensive as you might think and the impact would be worth the cost and effort.

Also, a tiled kitchen back splash would add a lot of style to this kitchen and redirect the eye so that the cabinets are not the focal point of the room. The right back splash tile can completely change the look and feel of the kitchen for a relatively low cost.

I apologize for the delay in response but https://www.glasstile.com/avani-tile-mosaic-blends.aspx go with a glass tile backsplash.

Wow- that looks like a fantastic space. While overwhelming, one step at a time- it will get there! :)

For updating the fireplace, you should look at stone veneer which looks and feels just like real stone, but is much lighter, easier to install and can be custom colored. You could easily update the fireplace and breathe new life into the room with that. We'd suggest picking a tone to complement the new cherry wood floor color. Congratulations on the new home!

Skilled Hands Remodeling, do you have any pictures on how the contrast would look in the kitchen, with the lighter cabinets and darker floors? Also, do you have any ideas on backsplashes to go with the current finish of the cabinets?

North Star Stone, I've been seeing a lot of people lately updating their fireplace, but I'm not sure how to do it. I know that would not want the fireplace going up to the ceiling and I would want a mantle. How would I go about this?

leakysma I saw your note to Skilled Hands Remodeling and I've gone ahead and attached some pictures of some kitchens Contemporary Remodeling has done as well. Just to give you as many ideas as possible.

You can either stain the cabinets which will be messy and smelly or you can use chalk paint. Chalk paint is easy and no odor, and will adhere over any surface. It comes in a wide variety of colors and one quart will go a long way. One of the brands I suggest is Annie Sloan.

I personally like glass mosaic tile, but it adds a more modern look. Glass would update the kitchen and could liven things up a bit. If you are more traditional, maybe you would like the look of a natural stone mosaic or travertine subway tile. If you cant decide between stone or glass, there are plenty of mosaic tiles that mix travertine with glass. If you are not very good at visualizing what a particular tile would like, just buy a few tiles as samples and hold them up to the wall in your space. It should be easy to tell if it looks good or not. I try to avoid larger format tiles for backsplash areas. It just doesn't look good, in my opinion. I don't have any photos of darker floors with lighter cabinets, but you can undoubtedly find plenty right here on Houzz.com.

I also like the idea of updating the look of the fireplace using a stone veneer. It would give you a lot of bang for your buck. I think that a nice built-in bookshelf unit maybe with some cabinets across the bottom and a nice quartz countertop would add so much interest to the large, open room. Run the full length from the fireplace to the doorway. Also, the ceiling fan should probably be the first thing to go. Maybe replace it with a beautiful light fixture or a grouping of pendant lights.

Wall paint is your new best friend! It will look much different once you do that inexpensive personal stamp. Color treatment of that great kitchen ceiling could make a huge difference. If you are doing living room floors here shortly, one sort of major piece I would do prior is to eliminate the odd "dog leg" on the left of the fireplace hearth. If you can, make the left mirror the right hearth dimensions and angle. Then, if you decide to reface the fireplace later, or just repaint the brick, you won't have to deal that that piece, and the flooring up to the hearth will already be right.

Definitely stain the cabinets darker and change knobs....what's your style for the living space?

I personally think if you did not want to remove the dog leg on the left side of the fireplace you could build some shelving going up that area of the wall. It appears to have an outlet there as well. You could add some lighting in that area or even hang a very unique mirror over that dog leg. You have a great home and lots of space. You can always white wash the fireplace brick if you are not happy with the color.

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