Hi, Christina! If that's a wallpaper border, that should be the first thing to go. It's a fairly simple operation to do yourself. Then you might consider a new paint job on your cabinets, new hardware and formica countertops in a daring color. You can replace it later when you're ready for a full remodel. In the meantime, have some fun!

Hint: laundry stain remover (Shout? others) sprayed on wallpaper will loosen the glue. It breaks down the proteins in the glue, I'm told. I just know it works. It also runs down the wall/cabinets and is messy, but it will cut the job to half the time. WHen off, wipe wall with damp sponge to remove glue residue.

Cheap fix: paint walls -- unless you just like that color. Look at kitchens for a color scheme you like. (I like white kitchens, but I'm tired of no color, so I'm doing white with "dusty" aqua inside the cabs and backsplash with bronze fixtures. Haven't decided on the countertop either, but it will be a darker earth tone to anchor everything.)

If your floors are good, changing the countertop will be a visually-effective update. They don't have to be granite or marble. (Personally, I'm not fond of those mediums: you drop something breakable and kiss it goodbye.) There are other mediums (Silestone, which is a composite and heat-resistant, Formica, butcher block in bamboo). I like your cabinets, but new hardware would update although not inexpensive. Check out some HOUZZ kitchens w/white cabs. and its hardware.

Declutter. Those little shelves next to the window are dated and it's impossible not to want to put something on them! Updated kitchens are rather bare -- lots of countertop with nothing on it! Unrealistic for real life, but we can try.

Paint the inside of your cabinets in a color. Substitute glass-front doors on a couple of cabinets that show your dishes/crystal. It's amazing how much it "lightens" a kitchen.

Paint the window frames and put up roman shades instead of curtains. If you don't have neighbors who can see in, bamboo shades of some design.

Consider changing that light fixture. Unless it's your choice and you just put it up, of course. Consider putting light fixtures that hang over work areas, or under-cabinet lighting.

It's a clean slate! Have fun!

Like the above post. The wallpaper is a easy fix to get down. The cabinets look like their in good shape, but if you don't like the white, you could paint them. The counter tops would have to go. The surface you pick will depend on your budget. But formica is not what it use to be and comes in alot of different patterns and colors. Go with something neutral and then you can always change wall paint or accessories when you need a new color. Change the countertops, take wallpaper down, paint and you will feel you have a new kitchen. Do more when the budget allows.

There are countertop paint kits that are specifically made for your pink laminate situation. I'd select one - and get rid of that wallpaper border.

Wallpaper border is #1, without a doubt. Then I would change out the window treatments, maybe to a woven shade, those can be had really reasonably. Some modern hardware, a little paint, a new light fixture and, if it's in the budget, new countertops. The cabinets are great, looks like you only need cosmetic updates.

I actually like your white cabinets. I would start with the countertop. Replace the pink with a dark formica with a faux stone pattern. Some of the "high-def" options are inexpensive but look nice.

I'd also remove the wallpaper and paint with a dark tan or chocolate brown to warm it up. There isn't much wall space in a kitchen, so you can get away with a dark or bold color. Also loose the current window treatments and replace with faux wood blinds.

Finally, I'd replace the light fixture with a vintage-looking chrome light (think Restoration Hardware, but you can find something similar for cheaper).

If you do some shopping around, I think you can update it for less than $1,500.

Cement counters...goes right on existing counters... www.interiorstoinspire.com
and yes the boarder has to go

Get rid of the clutter first.

If you like the Pottery Barn neutral/black/white thing (I do too have been doing it in my home) I would do as suggested above, get rid of wallpaper and pink countertops. Either new countertops in plain white, or you could tile over them in subway or small mosiac type white tiles. I wouldn't paint them. I know there's the kits but over time they are not durable.
Then, I would paint the cabinets black, and distress them lightly, sand off paint around corners, etc, just a little, like the Pottery Barn stuff. Get some new hardware, or paint your old hardware, a silver color. Add Neutral white accessories, such as white pottery, etc and throw in some coffee sack accents somewhere. If you have kitchen chairs or barstools, maybe you could make seat cushions or upholstry the seats, in old coffee or grain sacks. Paint the walls a gray or beige color, see some of the Pottery Barn colors.
Or leave your cabinets white, paint the hardware black, and get black countertops. Accents could be in black and white.

Forgot to mention, either get new light fixtures, or using some of the Pottery Barn ones as inspiration, revamp and repaint your old ones.

Replacing the countertop and removing the wallpaper will make a big difference, then you can update window treatments and lighting fixtures. Cabinets look good, but you can replace the door knobs for something more modern.

I did my kitchen in small steps and its now exactly what I want for this house and I didn't spend too much money. I would say black counter would be nice, nothing glossy though. (maybe a soapstone) Get rid of the border, get rid of those window treatments and that light fixture. Go on craigslist for a light fixture. I have bought them there before and I am selling one now on craigslist (that is very nice) for WAY less than they were originally, if you're interested in saving money.

Also, if you're going to stay there for a long time paint the cabinets whatever color you like. But if you plan on selling, white is nice.

The cabinets look like they are in great shape! I personally love the white allows you to do so many other things with color. The little bit of the floor looks good hardwood or laminate? I agree with the above post get rid of that border. Most borders are peelable. A little squirt bottle and scraper. I would paint which is cheap if you do it yourself. If you like the cabinets and plan on keeping them change the counter you will get the most impact there. I personally like granite very inexpensive and then change the hardware on the cabinets (brushed nickel) Home Depot or local hardware store. I see that you have verticals in your kitchen (PINK). Again go to a local hardwarte store Home Depot or Lowes and get some mini blinds. The punch of color should go on the walls cheap and easy to change. Black counter top would be nice with the white and has that vintage look. I have black granite love it. I suggest go to a local granite dealer or mfr. take you kitchen cabinet with you and hold it up to the granite slabs. Anything goes with white! If you are looking fo a warmer kitchen maybe something in the taupe family. Keep it neutral on the counters do not go with color on the counters....

Also, adding fun, vintage look signage, baskets and other vintage accessories will give you that "PB" look.

I also agree with getting rid of the wallpaper. There are two options, you could either get new counters or you could keep your existing ones and introduce some fun colours. Brighten up the walls and even the cupboards and make it retro and funky. Maybe change the cupboard knobs to tie in. I think the pink counters would actually work perfectly if you changed the colour scheme

Oh my goodness you have a project ahead of you. But it is not unattainable to have a great kitchen with what you have in place with a few changes.

I agree with the posters above and I think you do too that the wallpaper border should go. I have peeled lots and lots and lots of wallpaper and the best way to remove a border is to simply pull it off. If they prepared the wall behind it, it should come off easily (at least the top layer). If they haven't...the very best fix is to get really hot water on it and a scraper with a little elbow grease.

Anyway...moving on...I think the window treatments have to go too. Cafe curtians would be cute on both windows...from either pottery barn or something sheer from Country Curtains in white. I like clip rings.

I would paint the area that is wallpapered above the cabinets the same white as the cabinets. This would give a cabinet to ceiling "look". I would also add another layer to the crown moulding all around the kitchen.

The little shelves don't bother me by the window but I would keep what you have on them sparse and larger in size than a lot of little things. Try to keep everything uncluttered...that is hard with all the kids at my house but it helps my sanity when I walk into the kitchen. Maybe some little square baskets on the shelves with a number tag on them would be cute? Then you could store things in them as well.

I think black countertops would be a great choice although they do show streaks and crumbs. I think they are beautiful...especially with white cabinets.

The benjamin moore colors on the Pottery Barn site are wonderful. If you like silvery blue-gray, we chose Samovar Silver for our kitchen from Sherwin Williams and love it. It goes really well with the white trim throughout our home. We also used Kilim Beige in our home and it is a nice neutral....also by Sherwin Williams.

Regarding the drawer pulls and knobs. You can get new drawer pulls to replace the knobs on the d

Just a suggestion, next time you take a picture of your room for suggestions put the box on the floor, it’s hard to see exactly what you are working with. I agree with the other posts, get rid of the border, paint, new hardware, new light fixture, update and de pink your counter tops and declutter.

border down- tile the back splash and faux under that wallpaper once it's up. you like black? use large stamps and get your vintage fix. do backsplash andtile in blacks and navy/ contrast gently and stay even with soft shades rather than bold undiluted color. Cabinets are pricey, do what you can-

Great suggestions so far. I think if you have any money to go into it, you should get new countertops. And I also agree to avoid granite or marble or anything high end like that. Simple Corian in a nice neutral color is always nice.

I've also seen some great results from those countertop painting kits sold at Home Depot. A couple of bloggers have used them and reported good results, and they look pretty realistic. An option if you only want to spend about $80-$100 vs. the price of new countertops right now.

One other suggestion after you remove the border is to paint that bulkhead the same color as the cabinets so it almost seems as an extension of the cabinets, rather than wall above them. Otherwise, lots of the other changes can be made slowly over time, or quickly updated with the many spraypaint options out there (could always use Oil Rubbed Bronze spraypaint on the lighting to update it a bit before you buy a new one.) New cabinet hardware can be gotten cheap from Target or Walmart. A nice nickel or stainless finish would look nice and crisp against the white cabinets.

Also, as for roman shades, there are some great tutorials out there (just Google it) about how to make fabric roman shades from really cheap mini blinds. Allows you to spend your money on some nice, graphic fabric.

I'd get rid of the border, blinds, and light fixture. I could even live with that countertop if you did a tile backsplash that integrated the color with another color used on the walls.

Get rid of the wallpaper, take down the vertical blinds. Paint the walls a deep color, the cabinets will pop and make the kitchen seem larger. Replace the counter tops. To anastoff: you cannot make Roman Shades from mini blinds :)

Paint the trim, remove the border, and get new countertops. Ikea has beautiful butcher block countertops that are pretty reasonable.

Also, replace the light.

Corain scratches and it is not that much cheaper that granite! I reccomend granite all the way especially if black it does not stain either :) I would invest in the counters. I realize that the housing market is not stable. But the kitchen is 50 % or you resale value!

To suebquinn: You can make roman shades out of mini blinds. Try googling "making roman shades from mini blinds" and you'll find a number of sites that show you how.

Keep your white cabinets! You can texture drywall right over the wallpaper border (peel what you can..leave the rest) and then paint white to extend look of cabinets. Take down verticals. Home Depot has mini blinds for $5 seriously they are cheap...but will get you buy while you make the Roman Blinds :-) For backsplash use Simplemat tile setting tool, white tile with strip of black,white, maybe one other color combo for accent of glass tile.
You can get 3-6 lineal feet from one glass tile depending how thick you cut the rows. Ready to grout
immediately! Rustoleum counter top transformations for dark black granite
look. New light fixture!

If your counter tops are in good shape, you could just use a product like Rust-Oleum Countertop Transformations Kit. They have one in onyx, which would be nice with the white cabinets, and is only about $200. Your cabinets look to be in good shape. You could replace some doors with glass to go a bit more modern. Or, if you don't want to do that, maybe just remove the doors above the stove top, add some lighting, and make that a little display area for a few "vintage eclectic" items since you have a soffit above your cabinets and cannot display things up there. If you want to really set it off, you can add bead board to the back of the display cabinet and/or paint the inside of the cabinet an accent color. You could use antique tins in your kitchen, which will do double duty as storage with out going over the top on the vintage vibe. I would definitely get rid of the border and change out the lighting and window treatments. Craigs List, Freecycle, Ebay, and Habitat for Humanity Re-Stores are all good places to look for new lighting. I'm not sure what color your living room is painted, but you might consider either painting the kitchen the same color, or a lighter shade of the living room color since you said it is an open floorplan. Good luck, and we would love to see pics when you're done!!! :-)

To add to the numerous other posts- I see that you have vertical blinds in a really unattractive mauve color. If you wanted to change the color of the vertical blinds go buy fabric or wallpaper and glue them to the existing vanes. Then slide the vanes back into the plastic holders. Or you can purchase generic beige PVC vanes at Home Depot if the holes to connect it to the existing mechanism are the same. The valence has the same plastic holders so I'd do the same thing to that too.

Everyone else has such great comments I'm not going to add much more. But I will say try and keep the cabinetry neutral. Think about painting the wall a fun color. And I'd get a new chandelier or make a drum shade for the existing chandelier so the old chandelier's parts just show a bit. That'd be very updated. I definitely recommend getting new hardware and painting the entire window mullions a neutral color. They look two-toned right now which makes them look older. And for small spaces light colors often help to open it up. Good luck!

I pretty much agree with everyone about the border and the paint color, here's an idea...have you thought about putting some frosted glass in your upper cabinet cupboard doors. Then change the handles to nickle or stainless steel. If it were me I would spend the majority of your cash flow on new countertops, maybe even ones that fit over the exsisting. A woven wood blind , which are very inexpensive would also look nice. Best of Luck and from the picture I see that you have a good space to start with,

I agree with everyone.
Number one is that wallpaper border. It will make such a difference to be rid of it.
Since money is a concern, get a laminate countertop from Lowe's or Home Depot. They have some attractive ones and you'll only spend a few hundred dollars.
Definitely change that fixture out. Check yardsales and thrift shops for a cheap lighting fixture. Don't overlook shiny gold as long as it's simple and modern, you can spray paint it with an antique bronze, white or black for an updated look.
Those window treatments need to go. You can get very affordable woven shades that will update the look quickly and inexpensively.
Your cabinets are fine. Once you make a few updates I think they will look great.
Good luck!

Here's a link to a nice black and white kitchen on Houzz:

I agree that the border has to go and the window treatments. Formica has a high def line of countertops called FX and the soapstone seqouia would look fantastic without breaking the bank. Here is the link the product is 180FX
http://www.formica.com.
I'd also get rid of all the little shelves beside the window, leave the bottom one and put something tall and bold there so it doesn't get littered with little chachka's
I think the earlier suggestion to put a drum shade over the existing chandelier is brilliant.
I wouldn't change your cabinets unless they are chipping etc. If you do paint then consider sending the doors out to get sprayed . well worth the cost and then you could perhaps go light on the uppers and do something like Revere Pewter by Benjamin Moore on the bottom.

Thank you everyone--to clarify this was move in day thus the clutter and stuff everwhere...I just didn't have another photo of this specific area handy!! BY NO means what it looks like on a normal day. Embarassed. GREAT ideas. I agree the wallpaper border is 1st to go!

As everyone else said, get rid of the paper. Knowing what your budget is would help...But for counters your options are to paint them (very iffy, but some have tried and been successful with it) or replace them, which shouldn't be too much since it is a small space, but without knowing your budget that might not be an option. Cabinet knobs should be replaced as well, that's super quick and very easy but knobs can get pricey. Find something you like and then search for it on Ebay, I have purchased knobs for 3 of my homes on Ebay and saved a ton over retail. Find a great (cheap) rug, Williams Sonoma has some cute ones on clearance right now that might fit the bill. If you leave the countertops, I'd go with white or pale grey on the walls and then accessorize with finds from Hobby Lobby (which has many Pottery Barn inspired things for a fraction of the price) or Marshalls/TJ Maxx, which might actually have something from PB :) Good luck!!!

@christina_kuberski - such great potential in your kitchen! we can't wait to see what you end up doing - please keep us up to date along the way :)

Check out what people had to say on the Houzz.com Facebook Fanpage:
( http://www.facebook.com/pages/houzzcom/129309818805#!/pages/houzzcom/129309818805)

Thanks again for all the wonderful tips........I've suffered the hideous mauve blinds and border long enough...time to not be afraid to DO something because ANYTHING would be better than this! :)

Stay tuned! Kitchen designer and Houzz Contributor Rebekah Zaveloff is cooking up some quick fixes for you, Christina. We'll all be able to see her suggestions, including some paint, pendant lighting and wall color ideas, on Tuesday!

So excited! Can't wait to see what great ideas she comes up with! (p.s. I started removing the border a few days ago....what a great feeling!)

Hi, Christina! You can see Rebekah's kitchen fix-up suggestions here: https://www.houzz.com/magazine/design-dilemma-my-kitchen-needs-help-stsetivw-vs~764602

Great ideas in the thread. We just completed something similar (although we did have a little money to spend) and people who've been in our kitchen many times assume we had the whole thing gutted and redone. 1) Ditch the wallpaper; paint walls a warm taupe 2) Have new countertops installed in a dark colour that reads as black but is mottled pattern (better to live with) -- I'm a big fan of arborite done well -- not too pricey; practical for a kitchen and a professionally done edge strip of something like Corian brings it way up a notch 3) change the cabinet hardware to something simple in black or brushed nickel or something interesting with contrast 4) white subway tile backsplash -- I think these are about 33 cents/each 5) if the floor needs replacing use something dark (same idea as the counters) for contrast -- we used a very dark redish brown cork with extra underpadding and love it. Good luck -- love to hear of your progress!