Get more lights, get bigger better lights. Like in that last photo there is one little can off to one side of the square. YOu can put in more cans or pull the can and put in a bigger bar or block sort of light. You can change out those pendants over the stove to something else too.

The cabinets are beautiful. The ceiling is OK. The floors are dreadful, although some people may like them. Get a couple of area rugs and/or runners to cover up as much of it as you can if you don't like them. More lighting is always a plus and you could paint the ceiling a lighter color, although you'll need to stay on the warm side of the spectrum.

Yikes! Dreadful is a strong statement. The floors are in great shape and are of a certain style but definitely not dreadful. More lighting is the key here. Invest in that. You may even want to have a lighting designer aid you so you can get the biggest bang for your buck. Hopefully all that wiring from the fluorescent lights is still in the ceiling someplace.

Agree with beesneeds: More, better lighting. Painting the ceiling white would help marginally, but there needs to be light for the ceiling to reflect. You might be able to do something with uplighting on top of the shorter/lower cabs.

Removing the pot rack over the cooktop would open up opportunities for better lighting, and better light distribution, in that area.

Are skylights or solatubes an option? Also, painting the ceiling and beams white will make a huge difference.

Install white countertops. They will bounce light up, especially the ones near windows (I did this in my dim office and it made a major difference). Lighten up the flooring as well.

LVP. Simple, light in color. Just float it.

Maybe also something light greenish for the wall paint?

Beautiful home! I would definitely paint the ceiling and beams a light color - not only will it brighten the space but make it look more cohesive - not too bright white, tho'. I would also remove the pot rack. Those dark hanging pots in your face don't help evoke light and bright. It looks like you have plenty of storage space to put them in a cabinet.

While the floors aren't what I'd choose today, they are original to the design and are actually quite wonderful. Cover with vinyl? Never! I think the counters work nicely with your cabinets and the floor - the problem really is the oppressive feeling from the ceiling and pot rack. You could also investigate removing the beams...that would raise the visual feel of space and light above you. Add more pot lights, as others have said. You might be able to find pendants that provide more light if they didn't have opaque shades, although I like the ones you have.

eta: We can't really see the island set up from another angle, but it looks like you have 3 pendant lights? Would it ruin the balance if you took out the middle one and added a pot light there (after the pot rack is gone)? It could provide way more light to a greater area than the pendant, but not sure if that leaves too much space between the 2 remaining pendants.

The whole kitchen is overkill. So many different patterns going in so many different directions. Plus pots and pans hanging off the ceiling looking like instruments of torture. Floor is dreadful. Ceiling is not far behind. It’s like you went into a home improvement center and asked for a little of everything.

It looks like a wonderful kitchen hidden in there. Is the window trim red? The backsplash yellow? Painting the beams, replacing the floor, and eliminating the clutter will be a huge improvement.

Thank you, tozmo...the suggestions of vinyl floor replacements made me shudder.

Something like this would have been more appropriate for a Scholz Home.

Beverly I am guessing they took the white out. White evokes a cool feel they craved warming up. Since the ceiling and beams were already painted it would be easy to give them all a white wash. That would brighten things up a ton. Rather wastes the expense of the beams but the POs did this with their brown paint so no loss. Your cabinetry is beautiful. I would celebrate it. I would agree you need to declutter the visual field, the random pots hanging on hooks needs to go.

Why on earth would the white "farmhouse" kitchen be more appropriate than the cherry cabinets? Neither really fit the modernist style of a Scholz.

I think decluttering, getting rid of hanging pans and all vast amounts of visual clutter would go a very long way - minimalism is a discipline and will let everything else shine. I agree with @arcy_gw on the ceiling

I think you have a hidden gem.. I don't mind the floors, but I get it. I really think you need to start with a good declutter - as others have said. I would paint the ceiling an off white ( white can be a little harsh ) and even carry that onto the walls. Get rid of those recessed with the partial eyeball cover to them and replace with regular recessed and add a bunch more. The room is terribly under lit.

I love the beams dark and the cabinets are beautiful. Start slow - don't do it all at once. Paint is easy; decluttering - easy; lighting - a little more involved, but worth it. Then step back and have a look.

Good luck!!

Man, the more I look at those pics.... Did they just pull the old lights and stick cans in the holes where the electrical work was? The spacing on them is really making me feel off, like they just plugged holes with lights.

I don't think I'd be so anxious to paint the beams if they looked like natural wood, but in the pics they look like they are painted brown (at least on my monitor). Your cabinet wood is so beautiful, I just don't think that brown painted look of the beams adds anything good to your room.

You have a beautiful kitchen. Add more white. New countertops and blacksplash in a white/marble look will help considerably with brightening the space. Declutter, remove pot rack, paint the ceiling a warm white. I’d leave the beams alone for now.

You may fall in love with your ktchen with just those changes. I know I would!

I suggest to remove the ceiling panels and paint a light color