SFGate

MAlps Leave the countertops, just remove the mosaic and replace for the same white tiles. How about painting the cabinets black and maybe in a corner do one or two drawers red!! Give it that ol' time look by changing the floor to black an white checked ! It will have lots of personality and u wont have to beeak the bank in the least!

MAlps http://www.furniturenyc.net/product/cleveland-5-pcs-dining-set-table-and-4-side-chairs-coaster-co/ consider this adorable dinette set.
These are cute for stools by the island Spin Barstools | Crate&Barrel or Delta Barstool.
All in all your kitchen will have a sleek but old 30's look.

Nour Hakim hello ! i think that u can exchange the existing white back splash with a "turqoise" colour tiles that would will look great with the maple cabinets. google some turqoise tiles and try to imagine the new look u will get ..

designideas4me My counter top was the same as yours and I hated it. I had it demolished. I also have black appliances. At least you have maple cabinets. They are not bad. I have oak which I dont like. I had my cabinets stained espresso and felt it looked too dark with the blk appliances. Are you not concerned about that and what color do you want to do for the counter if you replace it?

designideas4me Do you want to add red or blue to that room as suggested? Do you like neutrals more as i do? what does the rest of the house look like?

Deborah Butler, Brickwood Builders Look at Typhoon Bordeaux granite and off white (cream) subway tile or light tumbled marble for the backsplash.

adrizel @designideasforme
I like the idea of bold colors like red but not brave enough to do so. I tend to stick to neutrals,clean lines warm tones dark woods with pops of color and patterns. The appliances came with the house we have a stainless steel French door refrigerator so the cooktop and oven will eventually be changed to match our fridge. Thanks!
The rest of the house was pretty bad to me anyway the previous owners liked really bold colors and stripes and wallpaper so we've been taking that down..
photo of master bdrm wall

adrizel @ designideas4me
I would like maybe a darker counter to contrast the wood but not sure what... I added a picture of what the master bedroom looked like before i started taking the WP down

Interiors International, Inc. You can stain over stain as long as you are going darker. You just need the right product. check out this site
www.minwax.com › Expert Tips

daytimedesign Congrats on your first place!

I'm not sure about your budget, but here are my 2 cents:

1. Cabinetry Hardware - Pick out a mixture of cabinet handles and knobs to try them out. You can return the styles you don't like. Using both knobs and handles is appealing for variety. Once you change the hardware, you will instantly modernize your kitchen. You can purchase a bag of the chrome/silver knobs for cheap and then splurge a little bit on a few chrome/silver handles.

2. Cabinetry Placement and Appliances - When your oven dies, I would highly recommend that you install a microwave & oven combination built-in where your oven currently resides. Then you can remove the microwave above your stove and switch the cabinets above (the cabinet currently above the stove would go above a newly installed kitchen fan - and the cabinet currently above the microwave would go over the new built-in oven/microwave). Install a new fan above the stove. The rest of your cabinets are fine.

3. Countertops - Don't remove the white tile countertops unless you have the budget to replace it with something better than laminate. Tile is better than laminate in terms of durability.

4. Backsplash - I would completely remove the tiled backsplash though. It's messy, but you can do it. Repair the drywall and paint.

5. Wall color - For the wall color, see what you think about a medium warm gray or your favorite shades of green. I'd stay away from orange and blue.

Keep us posted on your likes/dislikes/choices.

kafehausdiva The tiled backsplash and countertop looks ok to me. Leave it. My problem is the design on the maple doors. I'd swap out the arched doors for aluminum framed frosted glass doors. Then change the hardware to those long aluminum bars.

carolannr First of all, live with what you have for a while. If you aren't a DIY person naturally, plan on acquiring bids on the things you would like to change and start planning for it. I'm sorry but if you decide to start something you can't finish, it could be a long time before you may be able to get someone to finish the job. Don't touch the countertops unless you are prepared to replace them. The ones you will want to upgrade from the tile will cost a bunch and the taking out of the tile will be quite a job too. The cabinets could be overstained with darker stain but it is a long, dirty job that is not really for the novice. They could be painted with similar if not as wear resistant a surface. This is your kitchen you're talking about and anything you want to do to will take it out of commission for the length of time it takes to do it. Painting the walls could take a couple of hours or days depending on your skill level. Same goes for your backspash. Its really easy to get all excited about what you would like to do. Always do the best prep and investigation before you start anything.

yvesun I would remove the countertops and replace them with recycled glass countertops. Check out: http://www.vetrazzo.com/eng. Check the yellow pages in your area for cabinet refinishers. If you can't afford to redo the whole kitchen consider having the upper one's refinished?

daytimedesign Okay, I thought about it some more. If you don't have any DIY experience and your entire house needs help, do the minimum for now. For me, the minimum would be: changing the hardware and painting. If you buy a oven/microwave combo, that may be the best time to change out the backsplash and countertops. When I bought my house, it had white and blue tile with coral walls! See before and after below. I started over from scratch but did not live in the house during that time. It was still tremendously stressful.

claudiann It looks like your kitchen opens up into another room. Is this you eating/dining area? I would try to " marry" the two spaces. How about espresso colored countertops and a black splash that brings the color or accent color from the other room. You could hang some dishes, trays or other artwork over the mosaics and just let the white show for the time being. If you went with dark brown countertops the mosaics might go well with them.

adrizel @ claudiann
No it opens up to a long narrow family room with A LOT of windows:/ another room I have no idea how to break up and furnish!! Will post soon
The dining area for the kitchen is directly in front of the island where I was standing when I took the picture

designideas4me I can post a few pics if its ok with you to show the progression of my kitchen which is similar. Maybe we can help each other with ideas since we have alot of the same products. Are you happy with and keeping the cabinets? I obviously didnt like mine but yours at least dont have the open oak grain mine do and yours are full overlay and mine are not. Her is a pic of my kitchen before and here is one with the dark espresso stain.You can see how dark it looks . If you made all the appliances stainless than it may look good. In my case I already invested in the black so wont be changing for a while. In the next pic with the doors off (temporary while sanding them to re stain or paint) you can see how much brighter the kitchen becomes. I really think glass on the doors or a lighter color is best with the dark appliances. I too am trying to combine the den and kitchen into one space. I have been through the demo and can tell you a little of what to expect. I wish I could show you a finished project but it really depends on your budget. I would love new cabinets but they are very expensive. let me know if I can help and I would appreciate your ideas on what I might try as well. The first pic is a nice combination. Its from the Jenn air website. The next pic is what my kitchen used to look like. And a pic with the dark stain and of course no counter top. Mine obviously does not look good yet so I would like to see what you decide and how you make it work. I have seen some people keep the cabinets and just do a neutral granite and back splash. It looks good but very ordinary. I have also seen the cabinet transformation used in a chocolate color and it was kinda nice. Do you have an external vent? or plan to make one?

kafehausdiva hey designideas4me, you did a fabulous job staining your cabinets! It's looks great! Bravo!

designideas4me I hate it and am working on changing it. But thanks...lol. I feel its way to dark. maybe if I had stainless it would look good. Plus I have a dark brown couch in the connection room and to me its all to dark. I was thinking of doing one of these 2 colors when I re-paint it unless I get a good deal on new cabinets. What color goes best with black? Her kitchen doesnt look bad with the light maple. Its the oak grain I dislike and you see it even thru the stain. I hired a painter to do this with a special sprayer. The first one is silver and the second is more of a cream color. The metalic paint makes it shine but not sure if its practical for kitchen. may need to cover it with a polyethylene. The sanding was the big job. Its still not done but prepare for lots of dust if you do this. To really get the primer or stain to adhere properly you must sand. Although the cabinet transformation kit just uses a gloss remover as the first step instead of sanding and then the bond coat but its a paint not a stain. However you will still see the grain very noticeably if you dont sand it. Staining is best done with a sprayer.

Any thoughts on new cabinet color?
How are you guys suggesting to tie in her opposite room? I have the same issue.

carolannr The doors on your cabinets are what seems to be dating your kitchen the most. I think with black appliances you have to go with something in a lighter value in color than the dark expresso stain. I have seen cherry cabinets with black applcs and that did look classy but that's about as dark as I would go. Unless you have a bank full of windows on the opposite wall, its gonna feel like a cave. Designideas, have you thought about just redoing the uppers with a lighter color? I do like that creamy color you have picked out and if they were painted out, you may notice that oak grain less. It will be another job for the professionals tho because covering the dark stain will be quite a job. Adding glass doors is always an option for both of you but remember you will also have to design the storage inside the cabinets too unless you can choose a textured glass keeping in mind the decorating tone of the rest of the larger area.

lulamarie @designideas4me - if you really plan to repaint all your cabinetry, i think you should paint it all white. keep it simple with your foundational look. black and white is classic. then get creative with your paint color and accessories.

designideas4me The house was only built in 2004 . But it seems it wasnt til 2006 that the builders used a more modern door, at least around my area. I know its a big job. I already spent another $500 having a handi-man sand the stain off. This is how it looks with the raw oak now. I also priced putting glass in and its about 100 plus per door.

adrizel... what is your budget? I suspect you got a good deal on the house since you had to make some trade offs as I did and you say you dont like several other aspects of the house as well.

I see a lot of people just paint the kitchen wall red and leave the rest. Sow just do a speckled light granite and paint a wall red and do a backsplash. It looks ok I guess but for me anyway its these cabinets that will always be less than what I desire. If I knew your budget I could help more. I have spent a lot of time on this.

kafehausdiva NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! Check out this link: http://www.tollbrothers.com/CT/Rivington_by_Toll_Brothers_-_The_Hills_Collection/Averill#gallery
These are brand new condos in Connecticut and Toll Brothers is one of the most upscale developers out there. Your espresso cabinets are right on the mark!

kafehausdiva Here it is! You're on your way to a smashing kitchen!

carolannr Note the stainless applcs.

adrizel @designideas4me- first off I wanted to say what a shame that your appliances are black because the color on the cabinets really does look beautiful,so now your gonna re sand and go a bit lighter? I hope it turns out well and again they look gorgeous! The adjacent room you see in the picture was a giant family room that was added to the house about 7 years ago the shutter looking doors you can kind of see is an in closet laundry I haven't measured the room but it's def got that bowling alley look with 6 windows lol, I don't mind the light maple color but the ideal situation would be an espresso color with lighter slab style countertop I really don't like the tile :/
As far as my budget it's more of a long time contractor friend of my FIL is being nice enough to help us out with our first home..of I could do the cabinets and have to live with the tile for a whole that would be fine or vice versa if I could get any really beautiful ideas for a dark slab style counter and backsplash idea that would be great also.
:)

adrizel @carolannr
That's really beautiful,thank you!

carbary Home Depot glass tile I think would tie in the counter top and the cabinets for not a lot of money and bits of expresso color

carbary Some granite for thought

designideas4me Yeah I guess I made a mistake to get the black refrigerator. I have had several people say I should sell it and get stainless but with 3k for the frig and 800 for the microwave, I just think I will be throwing out that money since I wont get anything close if I sell it. I have seen many models around here and I know the dark cabinets are a popular look as are white cabinets. I wish I have another 10k for new appliances. I just dont want to end up broke.

I see the beautiful kraftmaid at the store and the quality versus what I have and its hard to be happy with these no matter what color they are. Well I guess I will decide eventually. Its not fun living without a counter top...lol

cramersk Check out a simple, clean, more modern look with quartz countertops and a clean sleek backsplash. Get rid of the tiles...these photos are all from Caesarstone.

designideas4me cramersk...............are you a designer? What combination of floor cabinets and counter would you do with blk appliances using the ceasarstone?

adrizel Here's another photo of the kitchen! Thanks everyone. Please excuse the mess all my cleaning supplies are everywhere! You wouldn't believe the way the previous owners lived lol

designideas4me My sink is in my island too. It least you have a nice faucet. Why havent you put your frig in yet? What park of the country do you live in? So did you decide to stain the cabinets or just do the counter and back splash?

adrizel @designideas4me it came with the house lol
Well spoke to the husband and our contractor friend is coming to see them tomorrow to see what we can do so well see...we haven't moved on yet trying to get everything clean and painted before we move in(prob this weekend) if you saw my master bdrm you'd understand why lol
I live in southern california in the San Fernando Valley
Bedroom below

lulamarie @designideas4me - your appliances are fine! unless you are wealthy, don't worry about spending thousands of dollars on stainless appliances. perhaps if you start a new post with your current kitchen, we can help you come up with an affordable plan of action.

adrizel @designideas4me
Maybe if you did a very dramatic countertop on the lighter side it would balance out the darkness regardless of the black appliances, :)

designideas4me I somehow thought you lived in this area since our house is so similar.

Your son wants the stripes so he can measure himself as he grows.