Well Chuck, this is a very interesting kitchen. I'm most interested in the shell shaped kitchen sink under the window. Though it has nothing to do with your dilemma would love to see photos of it.

Except for the lighting issue are you happy with your kitchen?

Not really. Me and my wife are contemplating weather or not we should just redo the whole thing. But first we decided to see if we can try and get advise to make improvements before we go ahead and take on such an major project.

In this case, I think the money you would spend trying to make it "work" for you isn't going to be worth it and you still won't be happy with it. Start looking at kitchens on houzz and put the ones you like in your idea book if you aren't quite sure what you like. Hire a KITCHEN designer and rip it out and start over.

That's the thing. We have been looking on houzz and there hasn't been anything that really grabbed our attention. This is why we are stuck. We are new to this so we don't know if the stuff we have is "dated", "out of style" or whatever you want to call it.

I'm sorry to tell this, but this lay-out and style is very personal. Whoever ordered that, spent huge amount of money to make it its own, but that does not mean that others would love it too. I'm far away from liking it.. to much of everything... I would start over... It's 2017... massive shell for the sink? C'mon...

Can you post any pictures showing the style of the rest of the house? Wondering if and how the kitchen style fits in?

Do you have about 250K to rip this out and start over? This is a massive undertaking. It is a huge space and that number could be low! The only thing I see I would keep is the range. Possibly the hood since it would be very difficult to relocate. I'm afraid, you bought it, you got it, you better learn to love it. The only thing reasonably priced I can think of to do, is have the cabinetry professionally painted in white. Your countertops would look OK with white and this would remove the "heaviness" of things. But nothing is going to change the heavy carved detailing. I don't know what it would cost to repaint. Probably around $10-15K. What were you thinking when you bought this place? What else is in the house? Replace the bar stools, with something more simple. Maybe try to take it more modern? I have to think about this and see what else I can come up with. This takes "custom" to a whole different level for sure!

Flo, this kitchen makes this website look like a joke LOL.

Yes mary the kitchen fits/flows into the house quite well. We just don't like it. We like more intricate things, we just don't like how dark the kitchen can be at times. Here are some pictures from the stair case and the family room I took in the day.

The brick in the kitchen is the opposite site of this fireplace. The heat from the fireplace brick actually help warm the kitchen.

Well my friend, your just in the wrong place. I don't know where you would go but you need a serious professional or professionals to help you with this house if you don't like it. All your gonna do here is devalue the hell out of it.

What if you white washed the brick and then did all the periphery cabinets in a white with a brown glaze. Then painted every surface that same off white. Added several larger pendants with some glitz like the rest of the home. Something like these but nothing can match what you have. I have done many luxury homes, but I have never seen anything this ornate, except in foreign countries. Is this is U.S.?

You need to add some recessed lighting too, as well as under cabinet lighting. I would definitely recommend hiring some specialists. A great cabinet maker can help with the cabinetry, and great lighting specialist for the lighting and it looks like that flooring is terrazzo?? Which probably can't be changed out. Just trying to give you some direction to go. this is natural stone around this range, but I post it to show you two things. Perimeter cabinets in the washed ivory look, an example of how the white washed brick could look and it has a orangeish tile floor. A good kitchen cabinet company could help you decide what can be done, if some of the carved pieces could be replaced with simpler looks. Due to the adjoining spaces, you can't go too far away from the design because it will look out of place. Quite a challenge for sure!

You might want to post in the Kitchen design web site associated with Houzz. Maybe someone there can be of more help.

Flo, Yes we are in central Illinois. We don't really want to go with a white kitchen. We feel like it would stick out like a sore thumb. We do really love the pendants hanging in the first picture. Would you be able to give me any contacts to good cabinet makers in my area? As for the floor. I think its large granite tiles.

Mary, we'll look into it. thank you

I am not suggesting white, but rather a "glazed" finish which would have a cream look when finished and the carving would stand out with the glaze getting more pronounced in the carving. I have no contacts in Central Illinois, you need a very high end designer who has the contacts you need.

I think it may be worth your while to find someone whom specializes in interior lighting to evaluate your kitchen. The two hanging pendants and track lighting aren't near enough for this size of kitchen IMO. Your ushaped island could handle at least 3 larger pendants/fixtures per side as in photo I've attached. I know it's not your style but I think it's a good photo for the lighting and dark cabinets. I also see your counters are very dark so they are sucking up a lot of light, especially on the island. If you like the kitchen but just want to lighten it, these are the two things I would look into first.

Since you say that you like intricate ( you can't get more intricate than your kitchen) and that you like those lights Flo posted, I am starting to think that what it really comes down to is the lighting for you and not the kitchen itself. It appears that the wall color underneath the cabinets is a dark color? Perhaps painting the walls a lighter color will help. If you like the color of your cabinets before you start changing them, get a lighting specialist in to help you as Marlene suggest since new lighting is going to be a must anyhow. After you get new lighting installed you may be happy with everything else. And if not, then you can get a designer in to help you.

And one other thing with your lighting is that is too contemporary for the space which may be throwing you off, too.

Spend the big bucks for a lighting designer and electrician to come in and redo the lighting in the whole house. You need brighter, led bulbs in the existing fixtures, and more recessed lights. Maybe some indirect lighting bounced off of the ceiling.

You need a comprehensive lighting plan to treat the whole home as a work of art, to be highlighted by strategic LED spotlights, as well as an overall ambient light source. The mass of detail is getting lost in the darkness.

Or, completely gut and rebuild the whole house, inside and out, to a completely different aesthetic. Which would probably mean moving was cheaper. This is an all or none house. You either embrace it, or you raze it and start over. I personally couldn't live with the amount of dusting that all of that detail would demand. But, I wouldn't have bought it for that reason. I can appreciate it for what it is though.

If you have the amount of money you must to have that kitchen and that home, then you need to hire a professional designer. The amateurish advice you're going to get on this site is not going to be of any value to you. That kitchen has been highly customized at quite an expense, and if you don't really know what you like or what you want to do, then you need a professional to help you ... that's way too much for the pedestrian advice that someone is going to tell you here.

agree with cpaul1. however, if you're exhausted financially at the moment, then (1) lighter wall paint, (2) lighter counters, (3) paint the cabinets. That last one might be so complex that it would be easier to start over...

A magnificent kitchen, yes. What about having the upper cabinets on the two walls with windows removed and replaced with more windows? You seem to have more than enough storage throughout the rest of the kitchen that you could do without the uppers. This way, you keep the decor to go along with the rest of the house, get rid of some of the dark wood and allow much more light to flood in and have a lighter feel to the entire space. It is a more updated, contemporary look, and may be more cost effective than a whole new kitchen or painting cabinetry.

It appears the kitchen is in keeping with the style of the home. To brighten up I would suggest some less expensive changes than ripping out and spending $250+ on a new kitchen.
1st, look into replacing the dark counter tops with a lighter granite or marble. This will reflect the wonderful light coming through the skylights and reflect the lighting to make it brighter. You may also consider refinishing the upper cabinets ... there appears to be a lighter tone wood in the decorative pieces connecting the bottom cabinets... look at matching those with paint or stain to pull them all together. Different colors on base and upper cabinets could give the kitchen an updated look.
If these changes make you happy its a win. Let the next owner worry about a whole new kitchen :)

@sophie, Change the lighting in the whole house??? If those chandeliers are real crystal (they probably are) They are most likely $100,000+ each. You say change it? Why cause they are "dated"? That is some serious lame advise. Those lights are in a whole different category and will never be "dated".

Removing the upper cabinets and replacing with windows will take away the boxed in, overly heavy saturated with wood look. When you no longer have to stare at so much ornate carving at eye level, a bit of visual overload now, it will be easier to live with it at hip level and lower. Swapping out the granite for a much lighter one and replacing the ornately carved stools for something with much cleaner lines as other have suggested might bring you around to actually liking the space. Of course, definitely get a professional opinion or several, on the changes you want to make.

What is the history of this amazing kitchen? Are you the first owners or did you buy the house recently?

Holy wow... is this real? I've never seen anything like that, it's beautiful. Definitely NOT my style and I can't imagine the cost. I think you're getting some great advice, and have to reiterate the pro-lighting person for the kitchen for sure.

Good luck!!

I didn't say to change the fixtures. Just the lighting. There's a difference. Additional lighting is also needed. Thus, the need for a comprehensive lighting plan that includes more lighting than what currently exists.

Wow, wish my kitchen was so big)
Just add more light colours)

I found the listing. Are you the seller or the buyer?

Wow! Just wow!

Looks like the most expensive house to actually sell in the immediate neighborhood was 1/4 the price of the 2.75M that is being asked for this, so I'd bet that this is the seller, attempting to neutralize some very personal and expensive decorating decisions that are now coming back to bite very hard. The 04 purchase price was only 700K, after all. No one wants to hear that they are overpriced by 2M.

Ya'll are getting trolled..

^^^^ Totally what I was thinking!!

2M worth of awful taste specific remodeling doesn't make a 700K house "worth" 2.7M. At this point, the land value is the only value here as the house is so "over improved" beyond its neighbors that you might as well be trying to sell Trump Tower in Appalachia, KY.

If you want to recoup the expense lavished on it, have an estate sale and sell off some of those furnishings that are mobile enough. Then drop the price so that someone can realistically gut the place and start over.

Chuck, if you are the seller I'd focus on getting a Professional Stager in there instead of trying to figure out how to lighten up the kitchen. If you are a prospective Buyer, then get a kitchen designer & lighting specialist in there to address your kitchen concerns.

2M worth of import carved stone and wood is no more "classy" than a gold piano in a gilt rotunda is "classy". That word is usually a nouveau riche term to describe an overt ostentatious display related solely to wealth. Not taste.

You could redo that kitchen for WAY less than $250,000, especially if you reuse the appliances. The layout could be reworked to make it more functional. Cabinets that are a lighter wood stain (more of a medium tone) or a putty color would look nice with marble or quartzite counters.

Wow! That's a lot of detail! Perhaps eliminating some of the carved elements would help such as the columns. The baptismal font sink could be changed out for something more " conventional". I'm sure better lighting would help as the track thing doesn't seem to fit this space. A good designer could rework this without having to gut it.