Kitchen Makeover Needed!!

Ok.. i can't believe i am posting my outdated, decorating disaster of a kitchen here for everyone to see! AND it's not even clean! Seesh. Please no one go running and tattling to the Nester, or anyone else for that matter, that have gorgemoso houses and perfect decorating skills! I know they would run screaming!! LOL

So here is my delimma! I LIKE the colors of my walls! Although they don't translate well in these photos - it is a terra cotta color, and one small red wall. That is the ONE thing i do like about my kitchen! lol And i want to redo the cupboards (paint, not replace) and i have no idea what color to pain tthem???
It's pretty small... old 70's paneling type cupboards, mismatched colored appliances (black dishwasher and fridge, white stove and microwave, white sink and faucet). And on the other side of this one counter is our kitchen table. It's a LONG table, 6 in our family and 8 eating here regularly (makes it a bit tight but is doable).
I tried to take a few shots all the way around the room, so you can see... and help me!

Dummy me didn't pull the shades down to take this pic!

This is just to the left of the window, so you can see the small red area, next to the terra cotta.

OK.........

now... don't shoot me!

LOL

remember i'ma mom of 4 kids - bunch of different age groups

my house is a KID house. NOT a grown up house! LOL

(and i am more of a kid than a grown up anyway! )

I like to try new things, and thought this would be a way kewl idea

and it kinda was....

except it looks out of place because the rest of the cabinets look like crap! And nothing matches

at all!

I painted the pantry door and two cupboard doors with blackboard paint - so we could have chalk boards in the kitchen. Pantry is for a running list of "need to buy" items...

And other doors (i couldn't decide if i was going to frame them like the other door, since i didn't know what i was going to to with the rest of the cabinets. ugh) is for a weekly scripture verse, and phone numbers, etc. Leaving the kids a note if i have to go out... well you get the point.

And yes.. they are smudged pretty regularly... but not normally this bad! LOL I actually used the red eye adjuster on my photo adjuster to blot out all the phone numbers, so i am not spamming them across the internet! LOL! So.. alot of those blotches were ME! :P

And i'm not even (EVER) going to show you the counter that's below these! LOL Until I get this all figured out and cleaned up! That is THE catch all counter in the family. Bills, magazines, bread and bread box, bowls, miscellaneous polly pockets... no need to show the picture now that you have your own visual!

So.. if you're observant, you noticed all the junk on TOP of the cabinets.

(Sssshhhhhh.... this is what i am hoping to tackle this coming week! Don't tell my husband that most of it's going in the trash, k?)

I am 5'5. Danny is 6'2.

He thinks it's just hilarious that he can put stuff up there, and i will NEVER be able to get it down! So guess where his favorite place to put anything and everything is???!! Bingo! Wow you're smart!!!

Seriously. He really does put tons of stuff up there! I can't stand it!! It drives me absolutely BONKERS. And of course that just cracks him up! (this is me rolling my eyes)

So i'm on a mission this week to clean out cabinets, and the TOPS of the cabinets, and get rid of a bunch of stuff we have accumulated but never use, and don't really have room for!

I would love to have crown molding on the top of the cabinets.. maybe some plants up there.. or ooohhh how bout NOTHING up there?!?!? Now there's an idea! LOL

So here is my plea... this is actually me BEGGING... for help!

What can i do to change the look of this kitchen and make it all come together?

What color would you paint the cupboards?

Two things to maybe keep in mind... We're hoping one day to put hardwood floors in on the main floor of the house. (light oak)... AND right next to the dining room table it is an open tri level floor plan - and we have a wooden banister (yes.. also 70's yuck look) that keeps the kids from falling into the family room. That same wood is also the handrails going upstairs and downstairs. (both staircases right off the kitchen and obvious) so.. i was thinking that whatever i paint the cupboards, i would also paint these rails. Then again.. if you give me a better idea, i WILL LISTEN! Because as you can see i am just not good at this! I start to take all those things into consideration and then am immobilized because i get overwhelmed and can't put all the pieces together!

ok.. quit laughing! That's not nice! :P

We have lived here 3 years now. (granted 2 of those years i wasn't able to do anything about it) but now i can! And i'm ready and motivated!

Gayle left a comment for me yesterday that got my mind whirling in some really kewl different directions!! Thank you soo much Gayle!!

This person literally TRANSFORMED her cabinets! Don't they look awesome?

And i LOVE LOVE LOVE the way the beadboard looks! I am actually thinking since i don't have many "sides" of the cabinets, it might be doable on the base of that main counter also? So you would see it on the table side?

Geez it would take 30 years at least off the look of the kitchen... don't you think?

Ok.. so ideas!

Thoughts?

PLEEEAASSEEE???

PRETTY PLEASE?!?

Bring any and all! :D

blessings, bren

ok.. i'm having a realllllllllllyyyyyy hard time hitting publish on this post!! Yikes!!