My not so extreme home makeover: the kitchen { before }

let the games begin. if your just passing by and want to get it on my not so extreme home makeover refer to this post. so i thought i would start the makeover with my kitchen/ eat in dining area. we painted most of the house before we moved in so the kitchen has received a coat of paint. it is a very neutral green almost tan in some lighting. we also had laminate flooring laid through out the dining area and kitchen. it was nasty, nasty blue carpet. i don't know who would put carpet in their kitchen, i spill so much i would have had to have them steamed cleaned on a weekly basis. back to the before tour of my kitchen:

this is the hutch that my mother gave me. i plan to paint it black with either white or the green wall color for the background. similar to this hutch.

across from the hutch is our dining table and window. i used to have a shelf hanging on this wall, but i am going to put up a framed chalkboard.

this other wall i would like to hang three plates. i want to paint the legs and backs of my chairs and table black. i couldn't get a good picture of my window. i took down the vertical blinds and replaced them with bamboo roman shades. i want to find some curtains to hang for more privacy.

i know you are all so jealous of our plywood cupboards! i wish we could replace them and go to town with new cupboads but it's not in the budget so the plan is to paint them most likely white with oil rubbed bronze hardware. i also would love to replace the coutertops with a black laminate and get a white sink with a nickel brushed faucet. i also put roman shades on the kitchen window.

if we get to replace the countertops i would like to put white beaded board or white subway tile for the backsplash. i also need a solution for the icky trashcan hole. probably will end up with fabric to conceal it. there used to be a trash compactor there that we took out. i would love to hear any ideas you have for that trashcan hole.

wow i guess i need to make some banana bread with those very ripe bananas. i would like to hand a couple of white shelves above the microwave to hold glass jars of sugar, oats, noodles, etc.

and there you have it, our lovely kitchen with plywood cabinets. my next post will be on "inspiration photos" of kitchens, following "the plan" post. so i would love to hear any ideas you have for my kitchen, i really need some advice so please tell me what you think.