Thanks for your reply MLB Design Group. Here is my situation: I'm 22 years old and this is my first home. Being a home owner at 22, I will not have the funds necessary to tear out and repair. Being the age I am, I don't expect to be here more the 5 years at the longest. This is why I was considering something to just cover right now.

What color/style/material will your peel and stick be? Personally I wouldn't want to break up an already tight kitchen. Keeping with the same material or color all through out will make it seem more expansive.

Darling kitchen. Know you don't want to paint tiles again, but since you are on a budget, I still recommend doing that to the yellow tiles. I advise against any peel and stick anything. You may be in this house longer than you think and want to upgrade later. Make it easy to do that for you and possible prospective buyer.

I can see your cabinets in a light blue and keep the counter if it is in good shape. Check out http://retrorenovation.com/ for inspiration for your era kitchen.

Are they removing any of the cabinets or are you just painting them? That tile is probably on the wall w/lath and scratch coat of cement. It's messy but easy enough to remove. take it down to the studs and put up CBU if you plan on retiling or regular drywall if painting. (i'm talking about the backsplash area. the tile over by the window will require more work)

. backsplash is one of the easiest and cheapest to do. educate yourself and look on craigslist for everything. a lot of times people overbuy w/their tiles and sell it for a great price. or just get the plain old subways for .25 each.

now, if you still don't want to do that, just get some beadboard for your splash. cut it to fit after the countertops are in, and paint. prob cost you 50 bucks and will look great.

check out the blog in the pic above (thefrugalhomeaker.com) and also this one:

http://www.decoratingyoursmallspace.com/10-creative-diy-beadboard-projects/

I think you can also get these types of panels (paintable I think) on overstock. Maybe these could go over the yellow tiles.

Fasade Rings, Matte white

Do not add peel and stick tile please. Paint the walls a color you like- even though it means painting the tile again.. I agree the yellow has to go.

Budget and newness to home ownership (age does not define our abilities) indicates a paint job is a decent option here. You don't want to paint and you don't want to rip out but you want to "cover it" with something else. Hmmmm.

It is far more TECHNICAL to put something else OVER it than it is to paint it. As you can see, the paint thing works pretty well. But getting new stuff to stick to paint (and hold itself up while attached to paint) is going to get tricky. Very, very, very tricky. So tricky it will probably fall/rip itself off the wall before you sell. Which means an unwanted repair at exactly the WRONG time.

We know paint works. Go for it. If you can't rip it out and will have a hard time going over it with new material, then paint is the final option (other than living with retina-etching yellow).

I say paint it and use your budget to get an updated kitchen. These are the compromises we make as new homeowners - and congratulations on being a home owner so early! That is BIG achievement! Good for you!

I love your storage ideas! I have a small kitchen as well and am loving these ideas.

Congratulations on being a homeowner! Since you're not moved in yet, I'd suggest waiting until you've lived in the space some to determine how it functions BEFORE doing any major renovations. Paint is cheap and easy so go ahead and get rid of the yellow...or any other colors you can't live with. The white in the kitchen, though it's not the ultimate design you want, is totally acceptable for now. Expensive mistakes are made when you rush into upgrading things. Take your time and save up for the good stuff! You don't want to waste time and money on temporary stick-ons...that's renter stuff. And do keep in mind that while ownership is wonderful, you are now on the hook for repairs and maintenance....be sure to keep those in mind as you budget.

I agree with the paint idea. Once you start demo-ing things circa 1934, you will very likely encounter expensive things that are beyond DIY. Nice coat of paint that you can do yourself is the way to go.