Kitchen renovation plans

Since we've finished the living room, next on our house-updating-plans is the kitchen. For awhile, we were considering doing a full reno, ripping out cabinets, replacing flooring, all that jazz. But after some arguing discussion, we decided our money is probably better spent on a "light" reno for now, since we won't be in this house forever and it's not in terrible shape overall.

In the next few weeks, David's going to be building me a new dining room table (eek!) and after that, it's kitchen time! (And by that I mean we'll spend another month planning and gathering supplies, and probably start actually doing stuff in May.)

For now, I'm gathering inspiration images and trying to nail down a list of what we need so I can try to shop smart. We're hoping to go to Kansas City (aka the closest IKEA) at the end of April to get whatever we need -- probably countertops, if not more than that -- and hit up Memorial Day sales for new appliances. Pray that our fridge and microwave hang around that long, because both of them are somewhat on the fritz and we'd like to use them as long as possible before replacing.

To kind of keep with our ongoing style, and not spend a bunch of money, I'm leaning towards a Scandinavian neutral theme for the kitchen...or as much as I can get it to look like that without spend a bajillion dollars.

Here's a picture of what the kitchen looks like right now.

And here are my plans, both in picture form and list form:

I am CRAZY good at Photoshop, guys.
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Jk jk.

Here's an almost-exhaustive list of what needs to happen. We haven't fully decided on a few things, but the bigger things we're pretty set on: paint the cabinets, replace some appliances, new countertop & sink & faucet. It looks like a lot more work all written out like this so hopefully I don't psych ourselves out of doing it by writing it all down.

Kitchen renovation plans:

--paint cabinets white
--install new butcher block countertops (IKEA?)
--replace hinges on cabinets to inside the doors
--replace hardware with black drawer pull handles (like these or these but cheaper)
--install stainless steel sink (apron front maybe?)
--new faucet
--paint fake brick white
--replace dishwasher, fridge, and microwave
--find a way to build in a spot for a microwave? maybe under the oven?
--paint door to garage -- pale sage green?
--paint trim/window frames throughout the kitchen - maybe all black for a fun accent? dark gray?
--expand L shape counter so it's not two levels
--clad underneath counter to match living room cladding
--add backsplash (maybe this hexagon tile?)
--build shelves in by window overlooking sink?
--cut angled cabinet to be flat?
--replace floor? maybe white pine DIY flooring? (we can't decide if it's worth the cost to do this or not, tbd)
--remove decorative molding above fridge and sink
--rip out wooden built-in to expose brick column?
--add recessed lighting throughout kitchen
--replace dining room fan with chandelier (maybe something like this?)
--replace outlets & switches
--replace bifold doors with sliding door
--spray paint heating vents or replace
--update crown molding or paint all to match
--remove hardwired clock above sink

I think most of this stuff will be easy/small-scale enough that we won't have to ever go without a kitchen while it's happening. Maybe a couple days while we replace appliances or the sink, but I think everything else can be worked around. Just in case, I think it's a good idea to wait until the summer nonetheless so we can grill and cook or eat outside when necessary.

I'm also not sure what order we'll do stuff in. We will probably paint the cabinets/walls/trim all in one weekend, whenever that is, and try to tackle the other stuff piece by piece after that. Or maybe we'll tackle all the lighting first, and then move on after that. Since we're not doing a full-scale reno, it's nice to have a somewhat fluid timeline and the ability to shift or change our priorities when we want to. Plus we're going to do it all ourselves, so we don't have to schedule anybody and can do it whenever our schedule allows.

What are you working on these days? Got any good cabinet hardware stores I should check out?
HG