are they made of wood or mdf if so. they can be painted

The tile floor will always be the elephant in the room so consider if it is realistic to change. If you must keep the tiles here are some other fixes that will improve the space. 1. Look through Houzz and make a scrapbook of what you like - You need to determine the style of the kitchen -if you are to keep the doors you could head towards a hamptons style. Consider how the adjoining spaces are decorated as any changes may need adjustments elsewhere. I would cost out each element of the job and decide if you can do it all - possibly over time, as when you do one thing it makes others look shabby and the decisions you make for one aspect would have been different with an overall plan. 1. Remove the pelmet in the kitchen. 2. Paint the cupboards - possible going to a darker colour on the bottom and a lighter on the top. A dark charcoal could work and a grey toned white for the top cupboards. There are some nice Caesarstone options that could pick up these tones with a marble look. 3. The handles need to be heavier as they are trying to be contemporary when the cupboard profile is more traditional 4. You need to replace the bench top- this is your biggest problem as it is totally dated. 5. Your pantry doors ? are different and need to have the same handles. 6. Could go with white glass subways with a soft grey toned grout. If you change the cupboard profile - a squared off shaker style would work- remember that many of the gloss white kitchen s being built these days will soon be dated - so depending on the age of the house - stay traditional. good luck.

Wait till you get the cabinets and benchtop in and reassess once you see how they bounce lights. You can always add more downlights. The pendants could be hung lower but won’t spread as much light then.

I would always choose tiles because I prefer the texture they give. Glass to me is sterile. On a maintenance point of view, glass is a smooth surface, so yes easier to clean. But be aware of streaks if not cleaned with a clean sponge. My home is now seven years old, and my tiles look as good as the day they were laid. I cook every night and use the cook top at least three times a week. It is not a chore to wipe over the grout and tiles when doing the dishes after the night meal. It doesn’t matter what surface you choose, every thing will still get dirty and need to be cleaned on a regular basis.