SFGate

decoenthusiaste Check out a a couple of product lines. rustoleumtransformations.com has a cabinet refinishing product and "Instant Granite" is looking very realistic over formica. You can take glass doored lighted cabinets to the ceiling above what you currently have for a great new finished look.

J & D Interiors I like the hickory cabinets. Looking at the kitchen I'd say that lighting and your appliances need help. There are three kinds of lighting: 1. General lighting, 2. Task lighting,like under-cabinet lighting or a light over the kitchen sink, and 3. Accent lighting, like the pendants over an island cabinet.

I'm not sure what your general lighting is but I can see that your task lighting-i.e. under cabinet lighting is non-existent. Consider having that hard wired in using either LED or Xenon. That should be installed close to the front edge of the wall cabinets all the way around the kitchen-don't skimp.

And then changing all your appliances to SS/black will really improve what is already a welcoming warm space!

deharrison1 Would you lighten the paint? I'm changing appliances to black. Any thoughts on counter tops

careclare I think the simplest thing is put crown molding at the ceiling, either white or maple. I like the "stuff" on top of the cabs. It helps if the appliances match. Stainless seems to sort of blend with whatever you have. If you are refinishing or replacing countertops, it is easy enough to choose the appliances with that. I love love love my under cabinet lighting. Functional and attractive. Can highlight any backsplash improvements you make, too.

J & D Interiors yes, I'd lighten up the paint but my screen I think doesn't portray color very well. Are you planning on changing the counters? What color is your floor? what colors do you lean toward in the rest of your home?

Dove Construction LLC Here are a couple of ideas in addition to the ones already listed.
1. Replace the backsplash to go from countertop to bottom of the cabinets. The new undercounter lights would show it off. Consider putting a trim piece at the bottom edge of the cabinets that would for additional detail. I would paint this trim and the crown moulding the same color to contrast with Hickory cabinets. Consider modifing some of the cabinet doors so the rasied panel portion is some type of decorative glass instead of wood. Change or alter countertop color and review current floor There are a number of changes you could make it just depends how much time & resource you want to invest.

Susan Jablon Mosaics You can add a glass tile backsplash which will reflect light and help to brighten the space.

Madeline You could do a mirror backsplash. But I'm not sure this would work with under-cabinet lighting but a mirror would add more light onto the countertops. If it doesn't reflect the under-cabinet lighting it could look fabulous and really lighten things up. The construction or kitchen designers would know this. Since you've decided on black appliances you should lighten wall color. It looks like you should be able to take a tone from your countertops for this purpose.

Darzy I think soapstone counters would be great with your hickory cabinets.