Need advice for Mom's kitchen

lshoes32

%20Mom1%20by%20lshoes2011,%20on%20Flickr" mce_src=" Mom1 by lshoes2011, on Flickr" align="bottom">She is unhappy with how the wood is aging, the panel insets are a different color. She loves how mine turned out, so she thinks she would like hers painted. The green Silestone counters are staying, and some of the appliance need replacing. She is willing to go stainless, but doesn't really need to replace all of them. The wallpaper that you can't see looks like a faux cork (its really nice) and there is a border way up there (high ceilings) of leopards and zebras. The back splash is large tiles (12"?) on the diagonal, also staying. Do y'all think a white would work? She would pay somebody to do it, so any good white will be a possibility. and does she bite the bullet and replace all the appliances with stainless?

 

If it changes your opinion, they are planning to sell and downsize in 2-4 years.  They just want to enjoy the changes before they put it on the market.

Ack, don't know why the picture is there twice! It seems to be a choice of two or none.

LexiMS

I think just adding cabinet hardware would do a lot, it made a huge difference in our kitchen. 

I don't know if I would do white cabinets with the floors and back splash being beige-ish, and unless she LOVES the wildlife wallpaper border, I think that needs to go before they put the house on the market.

As far as appliances, we are switching from black to stainless as the items need replacing.

Susie Derkins

I agree that with all that beige tile, you need something with more contrast than white.  White will make the kitchen look like you're living inside a vanilla milkshake.  Adding hardware may help. 

I'm honestly not sure I'd paint them.  I'm hard pressed to come up with a neutral color that would really flatter that counter top + tile combination, and I don't think you want to do anything that's NOT neutral with a sale in the foreseeable future.  If she really wanted to, you could consider a darker gray, but I really just don't think I'd do it.

TarHeels&Rebels

Here's the second photo.

Since they're moving, I wouldn't do anything.  The green countertops bother me most of all, but once you start doing that, where do you stop?  I'd leave everything as is and let the new owners do what they want with the space.  Ditto pp and be sure to remove the wallpaper before moving.

I also wouldn't paint the cabinets.  I'd accept the two-tone look as almost intentional.

I emphatically would not replace perfectly functional, modern, and clean appliances.  If they were almond, if they were crappy, sure, but they're not and I despise seeing perfectly good appliances thrown out because HGTV said SS is all the rage.

TheBridesMom

I would update the backsplash with something that complements the wood tones and the counter, remove the border, and leave everything else alone.

tbridetobe

I don't think the cabinets look that bad.  Like someone else mentioned, the green counters are the worst part IMO.  I feel like painting the cabinets white would draw even more attention to the counters, so I would leave the cabinets wood.  I think adding some hardware to the cabinets would make a huge difference.  And I also agree to remove the wallpaper border.  Regarding the appliances, I would probably leave them as-is too.  I would definitely replace those countertops before I replaced appliances.