First off-- Congratulations on the new home! You have a great space! Might I suggest you start with appliances and you might find that your cabinets don't look so bad after all. A updated backsplash would really look nice. Do you have any other pictures that you can post of the rest of the kitchen?

Thank you! YES we are adding new stainless steal appliance right away but I don't know if that reddish wood stain will look good with stainless steal? and I want a black splash but do I have to do new counter tops to do a backslash since they are white tile?? Any tips or ideas are much appreciated!!

Can you show more photos? Where is the sink? Also, maybe you can add an island.

I think the cabinets would look nice with the stainless steel. clean them up a bit-- put on some nice knobs and you should be good-- If you are wanting to do a black backsplash, I would most def change out the counters. Not knowing what your budget is, makes it harder to advise on that but a nice updated laminate would work in here as well as a very expensive piece of granite. I like the look of this tile-- it would go well with your cabinets and either a light colored (white marble) or a dark colored (granite) countertop. What are you planning on doing with the flooring?

Here is a similar color cabinet with stainless....

Congratulations! We are in the process of renovating our kitchen. We are going for the white cabinets and white subway tile to brightened the space. Good luck! Post after pict please.

Here is a better picture of the house! I do like the dark with the stainless, would like to keep counter tops for a bit to put money other places... ? any ideas with these counter tops?

Hi Abbey Schingler. Steel is a material that is easy to pair so you'd have no problems matching them with what you already have right now. Here's some pictures of what your kitchen could look like with steel appliances. (The one with the black backsplash is also an idea for what to do with yours.)

Do not paint. Cabs look good. Just add long brush nickel pulls 5" lowes carries. Stainless appl. I like Carrera marble look.don't go the real thing. Pearl white backsplash Mosaic . 16" dark gray tile floors. Paint one of the great grays. Not too dark.

New gas stove. Stainless hood.

Instead of hood go stainless over the range micro wave.

Get counter depth refrig. Add a small round table to corner with windows. Replace blinds with a lighter roman shade in the gray print maybe yellow. Then use that as accent color in accessories on counter just 1 or 2.

Of course paint whole area one color. Add a light over table.

You could always reface the cabinets with new doors drawer fronts and add a crown moulding on the top then it would look like an entirely new set of cabinets for a lot less money!

If you really want to upgrade. Go French doors instead of dated slider. In white all trim white. Remove dark valance around top top of window.

Yes to all. Add a great island bar as well, with hanging lighting. Maybe move your sink or stove to the island.

The best thing you can do with money is use it to update kitchen. You get 110 % back. Plus just the great look you will get with new counters. The tile you have very dated. Looks 1980s. Is that when house was built? Bring it into the 21 st century. You won't be sorry.

Recess lights. is that only light in kitchen ceiling? Invest in lights. Could run track lights stainless from Ikea. If on tight budget.

Cabinets are nice, I would keep them. To spruce them up, just add crown molding, light valance molding to the bottoms or the uppers and cabinet hardware/ knobs or pulls.

Lighting - Add under cabinet LED lighting with a light valance molding to go along the bottom of the uppers. This would not only help hide the under cabinet lighting but would give a nice finished look and complement the crown molding. Also think about adding up lighting (LED) on top of the upper cabinets to spread light across the ceiling. It will bounce back down into the room and help tremendously. Put in on a dimmer switch and it can change into mood/ ambience lighting when company comes. The globe light is dated. Consider changing it to a monorail system that is shaped into a coil add drop pendants and spots from it. Carefull to not hanging them too low. (See photo 1) Or change out into a more updated single fixture. Many styles could work.

I agree with others stainless steel appliances would give it a more updated look. I would recommend purchasing a range without the high back panel. There are many with no back panel with controls on either top or in front. This allows room to do a nice tile layout behind the stove. ( See photo 2).

Have you thought about wood flooring? That could warm the space up. The kitchen seems to be on the sterile side with all the white. If you like the white tile and want to keep it, then consider a medium to darker countertop with a nice tile backsplash. The hood fan seems extremely high and typically should be at 30" high above stove top. I would lower that which means you would have space between the fan and the upper cabinet above the fan. Add a matching wooden panel with a decorative onlay (Example Photo 3), maybe with a twisted rope detail top and bottom of panel. Repeat the twisted rope detail on crown molding (See photo 4). It looks like is a wooden shelf above the stove, along the bottom of the uppers. I would remove that.

I agree with travisinteriors, recessed can lights would help. Since you have vaulted ceilings and the age of the home, there might not be room to add recess lighting. Check with an electrician, he might be able to install remodeling recess can light (shallow in height than normal cans) it may work. I have ran across a couple of projects where it was impossible to add them.

Think about replacing the white tile flooring. I agree with above remark about stainless appliances making the cabinets look good and the same applies to the flooring. Are those floor tiles throughout your whole house? Looks like you also have white tile counters?

If so, I'd bite the bullet and have the counters done now if you can swing it at all. You'll regret waiting and why tear up your kitchen twice? It's really the most important room to get right. So go with new counters and save up your money to do improvements/furniture in your other rooms when you can afford them. Don't do half the kitchen and half of something else.

While the white floor tiles look dated this is a timeless look for the floors.

While I agree that the counters might need to be replaced, I think the larger issue is the flooring. If you have it in your budget to replace them now I would say do it! It will be less of a headache to wait on the counters and update the flooring now. This can be done before your new appliances are moved in and after the old ones moved out. Counters will be easier to replace at another time as long as the layout of the kitchen is not being changed. I think that if you plan on doing a backsplash and painting the walls now you will see a big change just doing that.