I would have someone very carefully remove the upper cabinets and then reinstall them so the tops are flush with the ceiling. It will make the ceiling look taller, and just look better overall.

Replace the fridge with a tall, counter-depth model, and replace the microhood with a real hood. It looks like you have room elsewhere in the kitchen for the microwave.

Remove the tall counters from the two peninsulas, and then turn the peninsula on the left so that the cabinets are parallel to the upper cabinets.

Replace the flooring with something a little darker, and if you're doing anything tiled, position the tiles in diamonds, rather than squares, for more visual interest.

I think a counter that's closer in tone to the cabinets might look better than bright white counters. Or even a pretty medium green counter.

As for appliance color, stainless still seems to be all the rage. Stainless would look great in this kitchen with a pretty slate floor (one with some brown or green in it) and a warm countertop.

Add cabinet hardware that works with whichever new flooring and counters you choose.

Don't paint the cabinets! Painting them would completely hide the fact that they are new, high quality cabinets. Once the paint goes on them, they could be any old cabinets, in which case, your reason for "saving" them would be irrelevant and you could just go get new ones...

Instead of painting the cabinets, you should look into refinishing them. If you refinished them in a dark stain, they would look more modern and rich. A dark cabinet looks great with stainless appliances.

The flooring in the kitchen doesn't seem to be anything impressive, so maybe invest in a new floor that would match your new cabinet color. I love dark wood cabinets with dark hardwood floors.

Hey Jenny!

I just came across your post and if I were you, I'd check out the Dwelling Palettes, created by Color in Space Inc.

Emily Lauderback has created 8 different palettes designed as color roadmaps for you to use for every surface and finish throughout your entire interior and priced at not that much more than a bucket of paint. This tool gives you the hat of a designer, in which you are guaranteed that all the colors in your space not only look good, but FEEL amazing!
Stainless steel appliances always go over well, and when the time comes to selling your home, the appliances will sell themselves.
While you do have beautiful cabinets, painting or re-staining them would be your best options. Again, as a designer, I'd check out a Dwelling Palette from Color in Space and from there, you will be able to determine what colors would work best in your kitchen, leading you on to making decisions about the colors of other finishes for a cohesive, harmonious atmosphere.

Thank you for sharing your space with us Jenny!

www.colorinspace.com

I agree that you may want to think about a countertop that compliments the cabinets; white is also kind of tough to keep clean looking. If you are going with laminate again, you should look at the incredible range of patterns they now have, both in the Formica brand and in other lines. There are some amazingly good looking choices that could really compliment your kitchen for a very reasonable price.

I think the cabinets are actually quite nice and neutral, and once you modernize their surrounding context, everything will feel more updated. I'd actually put in dark countertops, rather than white, and then go with dark appliances - black or stainless. I'd be afraid of super white countertops staining, plus I think your medium wood would go better with darker colors. I'd also put in new flooring (again, I'd consider a dark grey.) You might not even need to paint the walls - I think that depends on the surrounding rooms more.

I think the all-white kitchens we've seen on AT are fabulous, and your cupboards would really perk up if they were white. Search the archives for white kitchens. Here's an excellent entry with lots of options:

http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/kitchen-tours/kitchen-gallery-white-bright-and-clean-074195

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/sf/before-and-after-a-1400-ikea-kitchen-makeover-023132

As an current-owner of stainless steel appliances, and a former-owner of white appliances, here are my thoughts:

I think white on white makes a kitchen feel spacious -- and white looks cleaner than any other color even when it is a little dirty, just like white cars. Any other color shows every little scratch and ding. And the best thing about white is that you can change out your accessories (towels, pot holders, bright serveware on display, etc) when you feel like a color change. Compared to overhauling your kitchen that's a virtually free way to update when ever you feel like it.

I really love my stainless appliances because they're newer and modern and look wonderful in my new kitchen, BUT they require a LOT more regular maintenance than my white appliances did. They show oil spatter, tiny scratches, finger prints, etc., immediately. There's not getting away with cooking during the week and cleaning the stove on the weekend. Even boiling pasta water with a little salt and oil leaves spatter marks that need to be wiped up after the meal (I can't stand my stove actually looking like I use it as much as I do).

All said, If I were able to redo my kitchen, I'd go with clean, walnut stained cabinets (possibly with frosted glass panes) and either opaque tempered glass or marble counter tops and WHITE appliances. I adore this kitchen:
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/chicago/kitchen/shevons-kitchen-renovation-before-after-110398

My current counter tops are granite tile (brown, rust, beige, and black speckled polished rock). They are not "neutral" at all, and so the palette for our open kitchen/living area has to be influenced by those colors in much the same way your kitchen cabinets would influence your space if you leave them as-is.

P.S.

YES, paint the cabinets white. It's cheaper than replacing them, and your kitchen will open up and feel bigger. :-)

If you know the manufacturer of your cabinets, perhaps you can purchase new, modern door fronts from that manufacturer that will match the box frames.

As for appliances, I would go with stainless.

If budget is an issue, I think you can pretty successfully stick with white appliances, especially with new white countertops.

I'd consider new (darker) flooring before I did anything else drastic in there.

My next target would be the backsplash.

Paint colors are pretty contingent on your general taste and adjoining spaces.

Rather than change the cabinets - beyond adding handles - I'd replace those drab beige floors and paint the walls a rich color...
...and rather than white counters, why not choose dark counters instead?

Formica has an amazing new laminate - 180FX - that echoes the natural patterns, colorations and veining found in stone slabs: http://formica180fx.com/learn.php?usr=1
...and it's not much more expensive than plain white.

As for your appliances - What's wrong with them that some contrasting rich color on the walls, floors and counters won't fix?

I think Heather77's tips are genius, and I especially like the idea of stainless appliances slate floor. That said, I really find white appliances to be much more forgiving of everyday kitchen use, so maybe just go with slightly darker floors and countertops. I would skip on black appliances, I think those plus the potentially dated-looking cabinets are going to shove your kitchen straight back into the 90s.

I've got the exact same colors going on in my rental kitchen, and I find them very hard to work with without being able to change ANYTHING!

I agree with heather 77 that you really need to do something about the upper cabinets not reaching the ceiling and not leaving enough space to look purposeful. If you can't rehang them, then add molding to cover the space from the cabinet to the bottom of the soffit. The walk through (to the breakfast area?) also looks awkward - it is too narrow, so I also agree with the suggestion to modify that area.
I do, however, think the medium brown tone is dated, but it is difficult to suggest a stain or paint without knowing your style and what else you have going on. To lighten things up, insert some glass panels in the upper cabinet doors, especially the one in the corner, with a light inside to highlight some pretty things.

Unless you are handy with drywall, the "simple" suggestion of "just fill in that weird space above the cabinets" or "Just remove and rehang the cabinets" is really not so simple.

But when you are replacing your countertops, consider replacing those rounded-off wooden counter tops on the half walls. I think they are dating the space.

I agree that it would be worth hiring a professional to rehang the upper cabinets.

I agree with Heather77's idea of raising the wall cabinets to ceiling height. It will make the space seem much larger. I wouldn't recommend painting the cabinets, as they appear to be in good condition (why fix something that isn't broken?).

Things I'd recommend...

If you're going for a more contemporary/modern look, stainless appliances are the way to go. Changing this alone will make the cabinets more acceptable. And I find stainless easier to clean than white. Just a little olive oil drizzled on a dry cloth, wipe them down, and you're good to go. To save some money, instead of a micro-hood (which doesn't do much for aesthetics) go with a free standing microwave and a black hood. (Stainless appliances have black sides)

Invest in good pulls. Purchase a few you like and take them home to look at how well they go with your cabinetry. Even better: remove a door and bring it to the store. I've seen people do this at my work and it makes way too much sense.

My mother had white formica tops in her old kitchen and they yellowed over time. I wouldn't recommend them for that reason alone. As others have mentioned, there are a lot of great options available in the laminate world. You don't have to stick with a solid color.

Unless the floor is hard tile, replace it. I'd recommend doing a larger (15x15?) offset pattern in this space so you don't get the "game board" going on. If you can't afford it now, get a good rug that fills the space. It will make the whole space feel completely different.

Instead of painting the room (which appears to be white currently), I'd recommend investing in a good backsplash. The backsplash can make or break a good kitchen. Most popular thing I've seen going through is mosaics of glass, stone, or the combination thereof. Travertine is also popular and would look great with your cabinets. Having a more modern backsplash in combination with the pulls will make the cabinets feel not quite as traditional.

As mentioned above, you always have the option to figure out what company made your cabinetry (look in a large drawer or under the kitchen sink door) and order new doors. Just be careful in your measuring as most of the time they will not be returnable if you make a mistake. They are also more costly than you'd think. I considered doing this in my kitchen and decided it wasn't worth the money (and I have Aristokraft cabinets...nothing special!).

Hope this helps!

Maybe slate floors dark grey color.

I would not paint the cabinets that is not updating them, in 7 years you will want to strip them to update them again.

I don't think white counters would work here.

Go more tonal closer to the cabinets or darker.
Look at Caesarstone- you can get a blend of brown and grey like this-
http://www.caesarstoneus.com/catalog/product.cfm?ProductID=114
or lighter and more tonal like this
http://www.caesarstoneus.com/catalog/product.cfm?ProductID=49

You can carry this up as the backsplash, this is give a modern clean look.

Both would look good with slate floors

Stainless steel appliances.

Honestly I am a huge proponent of reuse. Therefore, I would first like to ask if the floors are tile or plastic? If tile I would strongly discourage removal, as it’s simply unnecessary. Regardless of this the cabinets can be painted whatever color you might want and the space between the cabinets and the ceiling seems like a place for dust to me, but that’s my opinion, its not like there is enough space to display things up there...

In terms of your appliances, stainless or black might go with white countertops, but I strongly encourage the use of several different materials. Everything should not be plastic nor should everything be wood, but instead consider mixing materials and consider using quality materials. Employing these sorts of principals will make things much more attractive.

Honestly when I renovated my house I started out with a particular taste in mind and then realized that the idea in my head did not best serve the space or the house nor the existing materials so I quickly explored other avenues and realized I could by just as happy with “other peoples tastes” rather than what I had initially envisioned.

-Curator of Shit
www.curatorofshit.com

thanks for all the suggestions!

for a little more background, we were thinking of white corian countertops, not laminate. i've also already bought an induction cooktop w/downdraft hood in black. I was thinking about putting it in island area to the left, so the microwave/hood doesn't need to stay.

we were leaning towards white because we are inheriting an original saarinen tulip table and chairs, so i'd like to do something where bright white doesn't look out of place, although I recognize that making major kitchen decisions around a piece of furniture doesn't make a ton of sense.

budget is pretty low; i'd like to spend no more than another $4,000 total. We've found a couple of refrigerators we like at an overstock supplier for around $1,000 in both stainless and white, so either should fit within the budget.

"budget is pretty low; i'd like to spend no more than another $4,000 total."

If that's your budget, then you can scrap the idea of getting Corian or comparable solid-surface countertops.
I'm guessing your counter on the right is @ 12' long with a 1' return next to the stove, a 1' wide counter between the stove and the fridge and a 4' counter on the peninsula - all w/ a 4" backsplash - and I haven't even included the top/ledges of the pony-walls or a new sink - you're looking at @ $3000 tax.

http://www2.dupont.com/Surfaces/en_US/products/corian/price_estimator.html

For your budget, you're better off w/ Laminate - which is nothing to be ashamed of.

What are you going to put into the space where the range is now?

It doesn't look like there's room for an island large enough to hold a cooktop with any space around it.

I need to back away from this. I feel too invested, and I'm not understanding your choices! ;-)

Have fun. It's a nice-sized kitchen.

if the cooktop doesn't fit well on the island, we'll put it where the range is now, with a built in oven. Our access to the kitchen is spotty because we haven't actually taken occupancy yet, so although i've measured and I think it fits, I can't be positive.

The other reason we were thinking white corian is that i was able to find 12' sheets for $250 a piece. Although i don't know how much it will cost to have them installed, the price on the raw materials seems right.

My first thought was white subway tile on the backsplash and get rid of that microwave and replace it with a classy range hood. And some nice cabinet pulls to add some interest to the nice-but-otherwise-unremarkable cabinetry.

With the knowledge that you have a good source for Corian, I'd recommend a stainless undermount sink. They're much easier to clean than a drop in and look pretty slick. It would tie in well with stainless appliances as well. The black induction top would go with either black or stainless (as long as the oven matches your choice).

White countertops makes sense now that you explained your dining table setup. Perhaps you could do a frosted glass tile backsplash with color accents? That would look slick with a plain white top. Oceanside tile makes some great stuff (all hand made too!).

"The other reason we were thinking white corian is that i was able to find 12' sheets for $250 a piece."

Yeah, I found that on posting on CL too:
http://baltimore.craigslist.org/mat/1684231070.html

You might note that while these are a bit more than half off retail for the raw material - it doesn't include the cost of fabrication, installation and other necessities for installation such as MDF/plywood underlayment, Corian epoxies, etc.

"**Fabrication services are available for these and other Corian products -- not included in price of material. Contact for details.** "

Corian is NOT a DIY product, you might not like these guys quote for the work...
...and no fabricator worth a darn is going to take your CL find to make and install countertops.

Good luck with that!

We just had Glacier White Corian installed to replace the 42 yr old formica original to our house about a month ago, we went through Home Depot & got a free undermount stainless sink and upgraded edge treatment and it was $1600 all in, all done. White or Bone Corian is the cheapest way to go, $37 a square foot installed.
I looked into ordering from solidsurface.com and using a local fabricator, but found HD to be a better deal and I have the comfort of a warranty behind the product.

We are at the tail end of a 2 yr kitchen "evolution"- just trying to pick out the lighting now, and have spent under 8k replacing everything BUT the cabinets (no paint and I just scrubbed the original hardware.) We replaced a cracking ceramic tile floor w/ slate, all appliances w/ S/S, the above mentioned counters, sink, installed a garbage disposal and a glass tile backsplash from modwalls that still needs to be caulked.

My advice is to live w/ what you can for as long as possible and avoid impulse buys- our dishwasher was 40 yrs & our stove was 30, those were the first things to go and we hunted good deals @ the Sears outlet. The fridge was only 5 yrs old but a hideous white whirlpool that stuck out far even though it was small- we just got a counterdepth fisher & paykel which fits in our "fridge cabinet nook" perfectly- I am glad I did the research to find the right fridge.

Also regarding budget- let everyone in your life know that for birthdays, etc. home depot gift cards are on your wish list.

Re: countertops and backsplash- we knew were going to do the tile backsplash so we opted for no Corian backsplash at all and that gave us substantial savings on the counter cost- if we had gone w/ the standard 4" backsplash it would have cost more than what we paid for 21 sq ft of mosaic tile, the saw and all of the other tiling supplies.

That cabinet over the island/bar....I'd take it down and install some open shelves, then replace the rounded top of that bar with one that's deep enough that people can actually sit at and enjoy your company while you're finishing dinner :-)

Stainless doesn't do it for me at all, unless it's in a super modern industrial space.

Raising the cabinets might make them TOO high and look more awkward.

I have a dark "granite" laminate counter and I HATE IT because it's impossible to tell if it's clean, plus it just sucks the light out of the kitchen. I need to have the lights on even during the day to see what I'm doing.

I'd install nice woodwork around your kitchen doorway.

I put bright white corian in my kitchen and, with grey and white glass tile backsplash and the original '60s metal cabinets, I'm really happy with the result. I put in a smooth cooktop also in white and got the integrated corian sink with a routed drain board and really like the uniform sweep of the counters. (I might reconsider the sink, had I to do it all over again...it's the only spot where there's some staining that seems hard to get out. Everything else cleans up with a sponge and kitchen cleaner.) I went with white appliances largely because the fridge and d/w were new when I bought the place and I can't bring myself to get rid of stuff that works fine just because of color. I've found, though, that I rather like the look of counters and appliances being a uniform color in contrast the dark red of the cabinets and grey floor and backsplash. And, yeah, I think you could do this for a reasonable budget if you can do some of the work yourself. I'd reconsider doing the separate cooktop and wall oven thing, though - they're obnoxiously more expensive to buy separately than as one slide in range.