Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I am amazed at the response! I think we will go ahead and change the benchtops, replace the cooktop with stainless steel, a new rangehood, splashbacks and new door and drawer handles and possibly a new sink and taps. We will consider painting the beam and post and add a modern blind to the window. Then if we are still not happy, maybe we can rethink the painting of the cupboards? Actually, I like the timber, so if these changes work I will be more than happy to leave them as they are. Our floor tiles are relatively new and are throughout the entire downstairs area. Also, the wall paint we know is not the right tone (for the floor tiles) but is in good nick and will be remaining until we are ready to repaint. Rome wasn't built in a day but I will add photos when we start the process and you can follow our progress. Thanks again

We recently renovated my son's kitchen/ family room in a weekend. His oven needed replacing so it was a good opportunity to 'fix' it all. We rang around and got quotes on having the cupboard doors professionally painted but it was way too expensive so we took the pine laminate cupboard doors off and painted with a white laminate paint and replaced all the timber handles with chrome ones. We retiled with 600x 300 white marble look tiles (leftovers from our bathroom) (cut the old tiles out and re-sheeted the walls so we had a good surface to tile on) and repainted ceilings and walls. Replaced a dark timber venetian blind with a see through 'sun-out' blind and painted all the architraves white (previously mission brown). A new mixer tap replaced very ancient 'double' taps. We were totally shattered at the end of the weekend, but the kitchen looks a million dollars and the room looks twice the size now the pine and mission brown have gone. We are pretty chuffed with the result achieved by us unprofessionals!

I actually loved most of the before. Not into the heavy wallpaper and the cast iron lights at all! So heavy! To sacrifice that amazing chandalier in the hall is a travesty!

Because we are obsessed with all things interiors, we thought we’d share with you some of our favourite ways to update your kitchen. While you may want to renovate your entire kitchen, there are a few things that you can change that will instantly transform it. If you’ve got a spare weekend, we can show you how to get the most out of a few simple changes! Paint or Replace Cabinetry If you want huge results fast, then our first tip is to update the kitchen cabinetry. We find that one of the easiest things to do is to paint the cabinetry! There are some amazing new paints on the market now that are specifically designed for the kitchen area. And if applied following the manufacturer’s instructions, your friends and family will never guess that it’s paint – they are seriously that good! But if you have more room in the budget and your kitchen structure is in good condition, you can have a cabinetmaker replace the doors and surrounds. Once they have measured and you have chosen a finish, the cabinetmaker will build the new doors offsite and return to install them. So there is basically only a few hours of downtime. Winner!! Create a New Benchtop So if you are going to the trouble of replacing or painting your cabinetry, it makes sense to replace the kitchen benchtop as well. Again, updating this will have a huge impact on the overall look, and can be done at the same time as the cabinetry update. With similar options to the cabinetry, you can now buy specific kitchen benchtop paint. Giving you the option to completely update your kitchen in a weekend. Or again, if you have a more generous budget, replacing it with a new one will give you an entirely new kitchen. Design Tip – Think about things like maintenance, longevity and style when choosing your benchtop. If you’re a busy family, something like a high-maintenance marble may not be optimal. Maybe try engineered stone instead. Or if you love a more organic or rustic vibe, go for a solid timber benchtop to add interest. Just make sure your style doesn’t override day-to-day practicality.