Two for Tuesday

I have a kitchen that sits in arrested development. Last year we decided we were going to give it a nice little face lift. My kitchen is circa 1954 and does not look or function in the way that I'd like it to. It's a galley style area. Last year we managed to upgrade to recessed lighting, and added a cabinet and microwave over the stove, which freed up that ever precious counter/work space. We also added a cabinet to the right of the stove that was just dead space before. That's where the work stopped. Budget and time crunched us. Now we're starting to begin again and I'm excited about it. Here are TWO of my inspirational kitchens. Now I can't do a complete gut out of my kitchen but there are elements here that I'd like to incorporate into my existing kitchen. Notice the open shelving in the first picture and the crisp look to the cabinets. I want to keep my existing cabinetry. It's over 54 years old but it's sturdy and the cabinets are big. They measure 48 inches in height and 13 inches in depth. I really like the glass paned cabinets in the 2nd shot as well as the dark counters but for my small space it may appear to heavy .