I would replace the countertops rather than the flooring unless the lino is wearing out. The floor is pretty innocuous looking, whereas green countertops are always going to be a dated attention-grabber. You might consider some more contemporary roman blinds too.

Kudos for trying to work with what you have, rather than ripping out what look like decent cabinets! I'm sure getting rid of that border when you paint will make a big difference on its own.

Congrats on your new house. The kitchen looks lovely! I love the corner sink with a view of the yard.
If you can squeeze it into the bugdet, change the countertop. Personally, I would paint the cabinets (but that's me). I think I would paint the cabinets for now, and save money for a granite countertop in the future. At least the green of the countertop goes with the green in the flooring.
Enjoy your new house!

It looks like you have solid surface countertops--Corian or Quartz. Those are both expensive/high end and extremely long-lasting. I would not replace them--I'd plan around them. I think that taking down the wallpaper and replacing the country-style floor would go a long way toward creating a new aesthetic look. You may want to paint the cupboards--and your budget would allow you to hire someone to do it--but it's possible that simply painting the walls, changing the floor, and adding some modern drawer pulls and drawer handles will give you enough of a change to keep the existing finish.

With the sage-colored counter-tops, I'd experiment with slate-colored floors and white paint--I like the Benjamin Moore Aura color "Steam". If you do paint the cabinets, white paint would allow the appliances to disappear, giving a sleeker look.

Frankly, I'm not even sure that the faucet would require immediate replacement--if it still works well and doesn't drip, I'd put it off until later.

I bet that when the wall paper comes down, you won't feel the need to make too many changes. It's a nice kitchen--simple changes will make a big difference.

If I were you, I'd:
- paint the cabinets a lighter color (white, or light grey)
- add new hardware knobs and drawer pulls
- new countertops (light grey granite or similar)

in addition to the other changes you mentioned

Love that window. I'd have pots of herbs in behind the sink. I agree with replacing the countertops. I'd also put in a stainless steel sink. My white sink gets marked up from pots and picks up stains from everything. If you like the look of a white sink I wish you a better sink than mine!

We are looking at homes right now and almost every home we've seen has this same kitchen. Same oak cabinets, flooring and laminate/outdated counter tops. I have been looking around online to see what other people have done to rejuvenate their kitchens on the cheap. Most people seem to paint them white, lay neutral tile or wood and spend the money to replace the counter top. That seems like the way to get the biggest transformation for your buck.

Here are some links I found:
http://littlebitsofbliss.blogspot.com/2010/02/thee-kitchen.html

http://www.younghouselove.com/2010/08/reader-redesign-one-amazing-1k-kitchen/

I'd paint the walls and the cabinetry if I were you. You've got a GREAT window there, too, and it would look even better if you changed out those verticals for a punch of color in a roman shade.

I agree with the other paint the walls&cabinet votes. The countertops look ok to me, I would probaly live with them for a while before changing them. Hardware and window treatments go a long way to making things look better. Personally I'd update the appliances, but I'm not a white appliance lover, so that may just be me.

Personally, I would replace the floor before replacing the countertops. Although the countertops are not exactly the color I would choose, (from the pics) they look higher end than the flooring. We had some really good luck with floating laminate flooring in the kitchen - easy to put down, not messy like tiles and you can just slap it on top of the vinyl if the floor can take being raised slightly.

http://www.homedepot.com/Flooring/DuPont/h_d1/N-5yc1vZ393Zaq7r/R-100529226/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

BTW, if you are handy you can so do over your whole kitchen for under 5k. We did it, and relied very heavily on our local habitat for humanity Restore for alot of the materials. Good luck!

Paint the cabinets all white, gray countertops (light or charcoal), replace boxed oak light with track or other lighting, NO ceiling fan in the kitchen!! It's a light or a fan, not both. Paint the kitchen walls a very light gray and replace the linoleum with hardwood or tile.
I don't see a need to replace the faucet (unless it's broken.) And I agree in changing out the blinds to some custom fitted roman shades.
Your entire kitchen is dated from the oak to the wallpaper to the linoleum to the mini blinds and green countertop. This may end up costing you more than your $5k budget. Do the painting yourself and also demo the countertops yourself. It'll save some $$.

Is the floor plastic or linoleum? If it's real linoleum and not plastic you can just sand it a bit and paint it. That might save a lot of time and energy. For the rest I'd just paint the cabinets white and the walls cream and add som handles from IKEA. It's the accessories that turn it modern or not. Perhaps black blinds or curtains as well as a long carpet down the middle for a graphic look?

If those counter-tops are solid surface, I'd stick with them. You can play around the color, maybe doing the kitchen in different shades of green or something of the like. Counter-tops are expensive to replace and yours look just fine. Congrats on your new home. Have fun with your project and please show us the results!

I don't know much about kitchen renovating, but I think you could improve things a lot with a different wall color above, new window treatments, and painting the cabinets plus adding some modern handles/pulls.

New lighting would be next on my list.

If you make these changes, I don't think you'll need to change the counters or floors anytime soon.

I'm really, really jealous of all your windows!!

those are definitely high end countertops. Make your other changes like painting, new hardware, new lighting, some paint, and then stand back and see how you feel!

If you replace the countertop you may be able to donate it to a REstore or something, because that stuff is expensive if it is corian or quartz.

So many of the suggestions here talk about your dated kitchen and make suggestions that will date it again! I wouldnt put in granite countertops or track lighting--I would paint cabinets and if I were to replace countertops, go for butcher block, but that is me. It seems a little less dated than the granite fad.

Please don't make the same mistake I made and make sure to use at least semi-gloss (if not super gloss) paint on the cabinets.

Replacing the light fixture will go a long way.

I agree about keeping the counters and playing with the color pallate. With so much light a variety of deep greens and greys could look great. Alternately, go for contrast with a shiny laquered orange cabinet (behr orange zest) and a plummy grey wall.

To move away from the country look, I would probably change out the cabinet doors that have the arches with plain doors. If you plan on keeping the green counter, I would paint the lower cabinets a dark grey and the upper cabinets a lighter grey. If you decide you want white paint, then you would probably have to replace the counters because the contrast would be too great.

I would also replace the fridge with a counter depth model, thus openning up the space. But this could cost $$ especially if you want to change all the appliances to match. You may be able to find a white counter depth model.

I would replace the faucet with one of those industrial looking ones. Also add sleek stainless hardware. (Although not sure how this works with white appliances).

If the countertops are as expesive as they look, keep them. Don't replace them unless you want to buy new cabinetry. And new cabinets can definitely be worth the investment if you own. But if you don't want to buy new cabinets, I would paint those guys white or grey in a heartbeat.

Since you have great windows and little wall space you can go with a bright color on the wall, keep the trim white. Get nice window treatments (not curtains, go with a roman shade or something sleeker). Those are cosmetic things.

If you cook, I would pay close attention to the lighting. Install under-cabinet lighting (there must be DIYs out there), replace your fixture with a pendent if you have the head room.

But here's my suggestion. Try to do as little as possible now if you want to completely gut it down the road. New flooring will just have to be fixed if you ever install modern cabinetry (which won't come on the angles). New countertops will probably have to be replaced to match. Try to keep the changes as small and impactful as possible and save a little more for a major redo in a few year.

I think getting rid of that wallpaper border would be a huge improvement; I would just paint the walls a solid color. I totally agree with replacing the faucet; it's fairly cheap and it can really improve the look of the kitchen. In fact I think your ideas are all fine, and I would do them, and live with the countertops for a while, and see if you really want to get rid of them after a month or so.

The first thing I notice is the dishwasher. It's too focal. To save money, instead of moving it you can have a cabinet face put on that matches the style of the rest, then paint it all the same color and add some nice pulls.

I can see why you want to change the countertops, but I'm totally envious that they look like they aren't formica. I think painting the cabinets black (maybe even a few as chalk-board), black appliances, an overhead light with a clean, modern shade, plain, chrome, square-shaped knobs and drawer pulls. Maybe a punchy, contrasting color on the wall and a painted floor. Of course, I don't know how well black cabinets would work with the current white sink.....It seems that it could be pretty safe to play with darker colors, since light doesn't seem to be an issue.

I would consider what the storage situation would be like if you took down the upper cabinets. It seems a shame to block the view and light from that amazing window. I'm currently using a few different type of racks for lids, pots, hooks for cups, a fancy wall-mounted dish dryer for my plates, etc in my kitchen in addition to open shelving. It makes things a little more usable and unique.

Definitely dispose of those blinds. Hang a roman shade HIGH above the top of the window to make them taller so they can be "closed" a little without actually blocking the window.

Yes, change the lights. Maybe some recessed lights in addition to a new fan to get rid of that box thingy.
I looked up contemporary kitchens on yahoo and came up with some nice colors of cabinets. I especially liked the second photo here http://cabinetwoodcare.com/Kitchens.html under contemporary. Might be able to stain your cabinets a gray color so you keep the wood grain? I think that would look lovely paired with long handles.
Probably white on the walls.

What type of flooring are you considering?

You have good stuff to work with! The cabinets look well-planned for the space, the countertops were an expensive custom job given the angled layout, and the yard view is fantastic.

Don't even think about touching the countertops with a total budget of $5,000. Do a new floor, get rid of the border and paint a great color (aqua? salmon? even a neutral), paint the cabinets an off-white to match the appliances, do killer cabinet hardware and lighting and treat yourself to a more current faucet.

Later on, depending on how often you actually lower the blinds, look into a couple of custom roller shades.

New floors, paint cabinets, lose the boarder, new faucet, new lighting, do not hang a plant from the hook in the ceiling, keep the counters, I think they may end up growing on you. Oh and last but not least, wash those windows, that alone can give you a new lease on life!

A little oriental garden out the window and an asian inspired kitchen i think. Lots of soft white and celadon colors. Maybe a LIGHT cork floor or a light wood floor. Something organic to walk barefoot on. I would paint the cabinets a light color with some great new hardware. i would spend some money on the hardware and new faucet. Something you like to touch. Think about creating texture with different kinds of paint. I would not rush to change the counter tops.
Is the kitchen hot with sun through the windows? If so blinds would allow you to shade the sun and still see out. A definition of art is form follows function so if you need a fan a fan is good.

Oh my. Some things, no matter what the quality material they are made of were meant to last. I'd switch out the counter for IKEA butcher block, as it is a cheap option and as someone else mentioned you can save up for a higher quality countertop in the future. Then I would paint the cabinets and invest in some lighting. I saw a nice kitchen faucet on sale at Home Depot in San Rafael last week for $35, normally $150.

You might also want to check out bay area salvage companies. Here's a comprehensive list of salvage yard's in the area:

http://www.ohmegasalvage.com/Showroom%20Pages/salvage_list.htm

There's a Marina kitchen for sale for $5500, including a wolf range and other stainless appliances.

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/mat/2173023166.html

I say replace the countertops. The color is all wrong and too dated. If you want to stay in budget, go for the Ikea butcher block countertops. I'm actually thinking of replacing my granite with butcher block because I love the look so much. Paint the cabinets white, add some modern hardware, remove the wallpaper, go for a new faucet, new blinds, and declutter. Good luck!

Keep the countertop (it would be too expensive to switch anyway with that budget)- looks custom made. Would paint the counters a medium tone- white would make the countertop pop too much. I think a neutral brown or green (think restoration hardware type colors) would be nice. Also open up some of the wall cabinets and make them into display cabinets to help made the space look less crowded. Definitely change the lighting, window treatment and the wall color. I can't really see the backsplash, but if you are handy with the tile, you could tile the backsplash and floor with something nicer and still be under budget. I like the ideas on the following links, though I they're probably not modern enough??

http://www.rejuvenation.com/catalog/settings/settingdisplay.html?setting_id=171&category=kitchen

http://www.rejuvenation.com/catalog/settings/settingdisplay.html?setting_id=186&category=kitchen

http://www.rejuvenation.com/catalog/settings/settingdisplay.html?setting_id=202&category=kitchen

With a budget of $5k you would get the most out of it if you tiled the floor, take down the wallpaper and painted. Your whole budget would be blown if you replace the countertops with the same grade of materials. Since it appears that your countertops are solid surface material I would not trade them out for anything less than that. You can definitely work around that color until you have the budget to replace them later.

If you want modern..
Keep the counter tops.

Get the floor done in a light gray concrete or cork.

Use wood filler to fill in the panels on the cabinets, then paint the bottom ones a shade darker gray than the floor and paint the top ones a shade lighter gray than the floor, get new pulls and either get panels for the appliances and paint them the same as the cabinets or just paint the appliances. A chalkboard blackish green fridge looks amazing and is practical.

Get rid of both light fixtures, replace them with matching steel ones like these...
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00128188
and swap out that facet for something steel and cool looking like
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90060551.

As for the walls, for a little pop of colour go for a silvery mint colour, maybe sage like? Or for neutral use a barely-there light light light gray.

As for the windows, if you don't need the privacy, leave them bare, otherwise simple pull-blinds.

I'd get rid of the wallpaper boarder, the blinds, the floursescent lightfixture and the vinyl floor - the counter can be kept as all those angles are going to be impossible to recreate inexpensively, much less w/ off the shelf rectangular counters from IKEA.

Paint the walls and the cabinets - I'd select a cool grey for the cabinets and some chrome pulls. Then replace the blinds with some solar roller-blinds
http://bluesage.biz/interior.aspx?pid=13

Finally, bring that countertop color into the room with sheet Marmoleum for the floors, some new tiles on the backsplash or even paint the insides of your cabinets a similar color.

I don't know what the countertop is exactly. It sure is shiny. I don't think I would get rid of it. It's in perfect shape. If you like the color, I'd keep it, and paint the walls in the gray family. The same with the flooring. It's in good shape. I'd keep it until it's damaged. Why don't you just paint the walls, get rid of the border and the blinds. Draperies would made a huge different her. I'd keep everything else the same. It doesn't NEED changing.

As to painting the cabinets, you can't go back. Once they are painted, you've got them for life. And if you paint them white, they. will. show. every. speck. of. dirt.

So, I'd leave the kitchen alone, and redo the walls and window coverings, and see how that looks.

PS I can't see the hardware you want to replace. Again, I like cabinets with no knobs, as the cabinets can't get dirty around the handles.

First of all, I LOVE your windows! Second, may I recommend that you remove the wallpaper border and paint the walls, but leave everything else until you have lived with it for a year or so? It sounds like you are really on a budget, and while I think you can do a lot with that kitchen for $5000, you may find that things you think you can't live with will grow on you, while things you think are fine now will really bother you.

Also, if you take your time, that allows you to look for something really fabulous to inspire you. Paint can make a huge difference, and is easy to change. You don't want to put a lot of effort into it now, if after a year or two you find that you really hate the kitchen and wanted a full reno.

Also, have you noticed clothing trends lately? Hunter green is making a comeback. You could be ahead of the game and still have a few years before they become dated again.

Go dark -- you have plenty of light in this room. Keep the countertops - they are good and you can work with them. Paint the cabinets a charcoal (or maybe even chocolate or deeper mocha color) - to balance the dark countertop color. Add real slate flooring. Ditch the blinds unless you need them for functional reasons and add a nice patterned valance with some pops of turkey red or deep orange, mixed with the green. Spray paint the dishwasher and other appliances with a gunmetal spray.

good advice to only remove the border and paint then live with it for a while...replacing the blinds with curtains or fabric shades is also pretty inexpensive.

This kitchen has great bones. Well done!

I would change the floor, wall color, faucet, lighting fixtures, and window treatments. That should make a profound change in the feel of the kitchen.

While from a design perspective, I agree completely with the suggestion to paint the cabinets… I really caution you to really think before you do it. They look like top quality wood. I know oak doesn’t scream “modern,” but painted cabinets can be a real pain. A painted surface won’t be as durable as high-quality wood. It can be sticky, crack, chip, and doesn’t clean up as nicely. And once it’s done, it’s done. Plus, painting cabinets is a really obnoxious task. I personally wouldn’t bother with adding pulls. I’m not sure what you would gain, and they really add up.

As much as I would want to rip out the countertop on account of the color, it would eat your entire budget. It seems a shame to toss out such a nice counter, too. I’d start looking for modern, jade green inspiration photos for color palettes. I think it’s a completely workable color.

Just voting to keep the countertops. Prioritize the floors; consider replacing cabinet doors with something slicker (have been led to believe this is not too expensive) and possibly paint the cabinets as well.

best advice given here: move in, live with it for a while, and then make your changes as you learn what works and what drives you crazy. Learn how the appliances function, the floor plan flows, and how much sunshine enters the room. No sense charging full speed ahead only to do it over--been there!

The eco-friendly thing to do whenever this situation arises is to keep anything that isn't broken (unless you can recycle it at a salvage center) and update what you can.

I agree with everyone who says the counters look (in the photos) like expensive solid surface keepers, even though the color is a bit strong. (If, however, they are scarred or otherwise in bad shape, and it just doesn't show in the photos, that's another story.)

I happen to like green. (I have a mainly green granite in my kitchen.) I would try to find a flooring that either matches the tone of your wood cabinets (if you want hardwood, cork, or laminate in your kitchen) or else a somewhat darker green if you choose vinyl. (We chose dark green and brown 18 inch vinyl tiles that looks like slate, for ours, and it would probably look good in your room too. We chose vinyl because it's more comfortable to stand on, less damaging to dropped dishes, and easier to maintain than other flooring we considered.)

You could keep the cabinets as they are, paint them, refinish them, or keep the boxes but get new doors. White would make the appliances blend in and disappear. Shades of gray would be contemprary and sophisticated, but not very warm. If you got the kind of vinyl I mentioned, the brown tones of wood would look nice with it. (Our cabinets are light maple -- too light for yours to become.)

You can add hardware, but I will mention one arguement against it. Over time, you can get a buildup of grime from skin oil and cooking byproducts under the hardware, which you don't get with knobless cabinets. (If you are a good housekeeper, this might not matter, but just an observation FWIW.)

Definitely get rid of the wallpaper. If that counter is as blue-green as it seems, that area above the windows might be a good location for a pop of bright color, and a rich red-orange (the complement of blue-green) is what comes to my mind. (It's not a big wall, so a bright could work.)

Another spot you could do something interesting, maybe, would be the backspash area to the right. I can't tell what's there, but these days glass tiles seem to be a trend that might look nice in your space.

I'd suggest removing both the fan and the box light (both are so dated) and getting track lighting. If a fan is essential where you are, I think I have seen some funky smaller fans that fit into the tracks, in lighting showrooms.

After that, it's just accessories!

I love your counters, I wouldn't touch them. (I seriously envy both your counters and your windows). I think you're on the right track. Paint the space, replace the floor, change out the lighting. Then maybe paint the cabinets, but I'm on the fence with that one. I don't like natural wood cabinets so much myself, but once you paint them you're pretty much stuck with painted cabinets forever.

Good luck!

Change the countertops and replace the curtains. Also, add lighting fixture above the sink.
I wouldn't replace the cabinetry, since they look in a good shape, you can just have them cleaned and repainted with lacquer and add knobs. Overall you have a great kitchen, I love the windows with all this light.

The green counter tops look great with the greenery seen through yr windows.

Change the taps, the flooring and get rid of the wallpaper and border and paint the walls. Get rid of the blinds and put some nice flush spotlighting put in. Then with the plants removed and the surfaces completely cleared, stand back and consider before spending any more money or doing anything to the cabinets.

Paint the cabs. Get hardware from Ikea. Check out their floors too, as they can go right over the linoleum. Check the as-is section, you may find a counter top or lighting. Check Omega Salvage in Berkeley, Urban Ore (awesome!) in Berkeley, Habitat for Humanity in Oakland, and Builders Resource in San Francisco for cheap materials. Obviously hit up Craigslist too. Sometimes they have granite counter tops, never know. Granite Expo in Emeryville has great prices for new stuff. Sears Outlet in Hayward has appliances. If you are handy, pour your own concrete counter tops for super cheap. Good luck!

Don't paint the cabinets. Painted cabinets don't wear well. I have some now that were painted before I moved in - and these were clearly done as a professional spray job, not a home brush or roll job - and there is paint chipping off all over. Heat, sunlight, and steam have taken their toll. Wish they'd never been painted. If I bought this place, I wouldn't repaint them - I'd get new cabinets I like. As yours isn't some rental unit, and you don't have old cabinets in disrepair, I think you'd only lower the value of your home if you painted them.

Painting this style of cabinet will not make them look modern. To get that look, at the very least, you'd have to replace the doors with flat or shaker doors.

Also, if you are keeping the countertop, know that this green looks a lot better with wood than it will with white or other painted cabinet. The wood tone balances the green - it will look much greener once you paint the cabinets.

Don't spend time doing stuff to things you don't like. Do things you won't have to redo, and plan for future changes.

Take down border. Paint walls. Replace light. Get rid of ceiling fan altogether - is a grease-catcher in the kitchen. Add pulls you like to the cabinet doors.

Replace the faucet if you must, but I wouldn't do it until I replaced the sink, which I wouldn't do til I replaced the counter, which I wouldn't do until I replaced the cabinets, if I was going to replace them. So if you do replace the faucet now, do something cheap.

Start planning for what you want when you can afford it. It doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg. For example, Ikea butcher block counter is one of my favorite counters, and it is cheap. (Though I wouldn't like it with your wood cabinets - better with white or a light colored cabinet.)

Decide first if you want to keep the cabinets. (If you want white, then replace them, don't paint - you can sell or donate these...they will be worthless once you paint them.) Once you decide on the cabinets, choose counter (if you want to replace the green - I would, eventually, as I don't like it, but you might come to like it - Ive come to deal OK with stuff I hated at first - like the brown walls I have in two rooms - I was sure I'd paint them, but I've found they work by adding bold color to room. You may like the counters once you make specific changes around them.)

I second stainless steel sinks. Then pick new faucet, and maybe a backsplash. (If you are for keeping the wood cabinets indefinitely, and are keeping the counter, then by all means add a stainless steel sink and a new faucet and a nice backsplash. That would add a lot to making your kitchen nice now. You might even do the sink and faucet even if you think you will one day do cabinets and counter over - you can reuse the sink and faucet in the new reno, if maybe not the backsplash. I'd do a fairly cheap and easily removable (like not tile affixed to walls) if you think you will redo your counters eventually.)

Depending on whether you will want to do new cabinets, if you were going to do so in the future, I'd wait on the floor and replace the floor then. For now, I'd cover it up mostly. There are lots of options. Flat-weave rag rugs, cotton rag rugs (go in washer nicely), bamboo rug or runner (have one in my kitchen now - love it - over 100 year-old wood I like but want to protect from dings.) Vinyl rugs like ones from chilewich. Flor rug tiles (can cut to fit and do whole floor, but not cheaply.) Use your imagination.

I've seen floor tiles painted looking nice - with a Jackson Pollack like mess of colors - but I wouldn't take the time and energy to do it if I was going to replace floor eventually. You might have the energy to do it.

If you aren't going to replace cabinets later, then you can maybe cover floor with another covering to your liking now up to cabinet line, moving only shoe baseboard. Use cork tile or linoleum (the real stuff). Those are great underfoot. Tile and concrete are hard on your back and leg joints. Wood is also nice (real wood, not laminate - it doesn't hold up), but I wouldn't do real wood until I was replacing cabinets - or at least moving the cabinets to place wood underneath them as well.

Add a fabric valance to the top of your windows. As there seems to be a lot of sunlight, and it looks like it could be in your eyes at the sink, you need something that is good at filtering out as much light as you don't want. If the blinds are in good working order and are cleanable, I'd keep them for now, as they are likely a custom size, and expensive to replace. If they are worn, broken, or filthy beyond cleaning, then replace, even if custom.

Blinds are a good choice here because they let you filter as much light out as you want, and are cleanable. For this location, I'd go with the plastic ones that look like wood - they are made to not warp in a location involving steam, as this one above your sink does, have a warmer look then metal, and I think are easier to clean. Or use real wood. You can go either wood tone, or white or off white.

Roman shades are not practical for kitchens, as you need something you can clean (at least I do). And they don't allow you to filter some light out - it is all open, or all closed, where the shade is. You need something to let you filter it. If you hate blinds, honeycomb shades can filter, but can't be cleaned. And if they filter, then they can't be closed for total privacy. That's why slat blinds work well here - they have the broadest light filtering range - from partly open, to open, to angling up, to fully closed for privacy. I'd skip using curtains - while they can be washed, and can also do a whole range of light filtering if you use two layers, one being sheer, they are fussy looking, and don't have a modern look.

Good luck!

Saw this kitchen, and thought of yours...

http://www.artisaninteriorsnj.com/archives/000159.html

It is likely more money than you are thinking of, but the contemporary kitchen that you would like is probably not far out of reach. Perhaps something similar can be done with your kitchen...

There are two issues that hit me with your kitchen -- the awkward angling around the windows due to the sink being on an angle, as represented in the overly intricate counter -- and that the space is really too narrow for a standard-depth fridge.

It would really make your kitchen seem more modern and more harmonious if the cabinetry around the windows were neatly squared off instead of angled. There may be a way to accomplish that with your current cabinetry.

A fridge like this would really make your space more navigable:

http://www.haieramerica.com/en/product/HB21FC45NS

Simple globe lights would look fantastic in your kitchen -- either cheap ones from the hardware store, or these beautiful ones:

http://www.ylighting.com/m2805c.html

I've tried playing with colour combinations in my head that might work with the countertop, but frankly, I agree with you: corian or not, that is a god-awful shade of green. Matching it with white (or off-white) or another shade of green... just wouldn't work. My suggestion to cut costs would be to check at an architectural salvage place (or a kitchen place like the one in the link above) for salvaged countertops.

If you keep the the cabinets as they are, an interesting option would be to either stain them (charcoal perhaps) or have them pickled (whitish).

As for floors... I am a huge fan of rubber. Dalsouple UNI flooring would look best.

It's a French product that so far, seems only to be beginning to be known in commercial applications, but interest from homeowners would encourage its broader roll-out. It is very popular in Europe.

http://www.dalsouple.com/Dalsouple-DalColour.php

http://www.dalsouple.com/tech/pdf/Dalsouple-main-brochure.pdf

Good luck!

Wow! Thanks everyone for the great suggestions and comments! So kind!

The floor is vinyl sheeting, and the teal/emerald-green counter is custom-made Corian. The counter is in perfect condition, just not to our taste. The picture doesn't show it, but the faucet is peeling.

Since we haven't moved in, we're a little hesitant to do major changes. The counter bothers my husband more than it does me - I was thinking a tile backsplash would draw attention away from it. Not sure what goes with shiny-ish teal/emerald (hint: slate does not - the rough natural look makes the Corian look like plastic). Maybe just live with it for a while.

I love the idea of painting dark gray cabinets too, but want to hold off on Rubicon-type decisions for now. I like the idea of swapping out the cabinet doors for smooth, contiguous ones like the link from mschatelaine, but that would cost more than we have now, but it's a good idea!

For sure I'll paint the walls and get rid of the borders - probably a neutral off-white for now. Change the lighting fixture. I like the roman shade idea too.

There's some water damage under the floor so we have to change it. I was thinking a basic cream-colored tile like this:
http://www.flooranddecoroutlets.com/s12500096.html#

Any comments on this type of tile? I realize we may have to change it again if we redo the counters & cabinet fronts down the road. I'm trying to pick something neutral and inexpensive. I like the smooth floors in commercial spaces where you can't really see the grout. Not sure how to get that look...

Thanks everyone! I'm guessing the first round of changes is going to be kind of anticlimactic.

Congrats on your new house!
I would suggest you following ideas:

1. paint the walls in pale green ...
http://kitchenrugs.24flooring.com/kitchen-rugs/images/kitchen%20rugs_98.jpg

http://img4.myhomeideas.com/i/2009/07/50789-green-kitchen-r-x.jpg

2. put colorful venetian curtains with green figures on the windows ...
http://www.windowblindstips.com/wp-content/uploads/kitchen-curtains-green.jpg

3. place a mat on the kitchen floor
http://www.songbirdgarden.com/store/ProdImages/ACLEAVESRUN.jpg

4. use some colorful decoration , such as jars , vases , chandelier etc. in different colors ..

and you'll have a bright and colorful kitchen ... something like this..

http://www.elledecor.com/files/web/images/Kitchen/home_0308_green_yochum_kitchen.jpg

You may need to save the budget on this water damage under the floor, as you may never know how complicated it may become.

If your budget allows you, you may change the style of the cupboard doors by sticking folio on it ...
http://www.kitchenbuilding.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/091855vaj.jpg

http://images.meredith.com/bhg/images/02/p_SIP903240.jpg

Good luck!

Julia

Your post is two years old, but describes a problem that I am dealing with right now.... Hunter green Corian countertops and honey oak cabinets, and not a lot of $$ to spend. I see the suggestions and am wondering how you changed what you had. I would love to see a photo.