get some bright accessories - canisters for tea, coffee, sugar. a colorful fruit bowl. Bright kitchen towels. a runner/rug.

If you think yo can pull off hooks on the bottom of the cabinets you can hang colorful coffee and tea cups.

I think 3M hooks would work on tile. You can even get special strips for hanging pictures.

If you have access to the 3M utility hooks, that's what we used in my college apartment to hang coffee cups. You could also use them for hanging small artwork, pot holders, etc.

I agree with going for the bright accessories.

It doesn't look too bad to me - I suspect once you get some of your own things in there it will look much better. A green plant and nice lighting could add a lot. Also mirrors are great for reflecting a little light and giving a sense of more space.

If you really can't deal with the tile, you might look into Ikea Fastbo wall panels. I looked it up and there is indeed Ikea in UAE (should I be surprised?!)

Mirrors. Get a collection with different frames and hang them on one wall.
Add lighting.
Add plants.
A friend of mine has an office that gets low light from interior sky lights. It saves on electricity. She significantly brightened her space by framing a large square piece if fabric that she bought in Mexico and hanging it on one wall. The colors of your kitchen are less than inspiring but if you found a bright patterned fabric and hung it on the wall, you could pull some accent colors from it and sprinkle them around the kitchen.

Lamps. Floor lamps if necessary. Get a lot of light in there.

Another thought is to starch fabric to either the walls or just the doors (or even the panels on the doors) of the cabinets. However, accessories are probably the best method of making it look like your kitchen.

Get a bright, beautiful picture or poster to hang over the sink; so you'll have something cheery to look at while washing dishes. Hang it from a picture rail at the top of the backsplash, or (if it's not too heavy) just use poster tape.
Bright white curtains on the window to reflect what light there is. Oh, and scrub the heck out of everything, and lightly oil/polish all the wood surfaces - it's amazing how much shinier and brighter things that are "clean-enough" can still get.
Install undercabinet lighting. (Plan it out to use as few screwholes as possible, measure (more than) twice and drill once, patch holes when you leave if you think anyone will ever notice.) You can usually also sneak in small rails installed at the very back of the underside of the cabinets, and hang things from those.

I would look for a large and colorful piece of art that could be propped behind the sink. Maybe a reproduction sign, painted on tin, for ease of cleaning. I can't see if you have soffets, but if not, IKEA makes a counter-balanced light for bookcases that does not require any drilling - you could add some focused light that would bring out the color of the wood. Also, I would look for a large plant, or a big vase full of foliage in the empty corner.

As a renter for 10 years in several apartments, I can say with confidence that any kitchen feels far more colorful and personal once all your usual bits and pieces are in place.

I stuck temporary LED lights underneath my cabinets in my rental apartment because my kitchen was so dark. They helped a lot! But I have no idea if those sorts of light kits are readily available in Abu Dhabi.

hey! so I took a sec a put together some pretty affordable items that will easily bring out the best in those red(ish) cabinets! Hope this helps!

<img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6075/6125282343_a428064e38.jpg" width="500" height="426" alt="kitchen solution">

rug is from urban outfitters
canisters are from etsy
and I think you could very easily get some thrifted chairs and paint them like the ones in the pic

makes me wish I had red cabinets to work with!

Wow - my peoples love the tile a little TOO much!

Can you put screw-in cup hooks into the ceiling? If so, I'd use them, with fine wire, to hang something large, long and colorful next to that window and over the sink. A Marimenko print would be ideal but you could find something at Ikea or the souk. Either put thin rowels at either end or stretch onto stretcher strips. You'll need those screw in round eyes for the top of what you're hanging. Or can you get wall decals that are removable and would work against the tile?

Kaete's got it. Put under-cabinet lighting wherever you have plugs to do that. I was a non-believer until we did this in our kitchen, which has just one small, shaded window. It made a huge difference. Other than that, like others have said, it'll look great once you get your stuff in.

Yes, lights! You might use those tiny lights in a plastic tube both under the cabinets shining down toward the counter and even concealed above the cabinets. If the window really has no light, plant a mirror over it. I think the place will soften up easily.

Another approach: Don't fight it, go with it. Our galley kitchen has a dark window- the walls were painted a dark but warm blue with one bright accent wall in red. Art on the walls and a table lamp on the counter give it a coziness uncommon in kitchens. People always comment on it.
That said, you can still brighten up.
-Undercabinet lights would help with tasks(depending on your outlets, either strips/ rope lighting or battery/ LED would work).
-3M hooks and removeable mounting tape will transform your tile, you can hang almost anything that's not too heavy.
-Low light house plants and your stainless items will give the room some energy. Then pops of color in accessories.

Oh, and replace the bulbs in whatever light fixtures are already there with full-spectrum bulbs. Nothing makes a kitchen look sunny like sunlight (in this case artificial sunlight, but so what?).

Ahhh, the tiled rooms of overseas apartments. I had one of those in Kuala Lumpur. I think looking for bright objects will help a lot. Look for brightly coloured tea-towels, oven mitts, canisters for the counter, tea pot etc. It can really brighten up your room! And yes, some rugs and tapestries to soften it up? And most importantly... house plants! :)

What a beautiful space! Forget accesories, you need good lighting and lots of it.

Wall sconces could be a nice option if you can place over an outlet and hide the cord, or just plain wire them in. Is there a space between the ceiling and the top of your cabinets? If so do rope or LED bar lighting sitting on top, pointing at the ceiling. That would give you a nice soft glow to replace lack of sunlight.
Or just do bright under-cabinet lighting.

that's dark?