I have a kitchen w/ a double window facing North over the sink at one end and at the other end 2 large doorways on either side leading to other rooms. It doesn't get direct light, so it's fairly dark. The first thing that helped was I painted the cabinets an off white, dover white, satin from sherwinn williams. Then I installed a polish black granite (yes, black) and white subway tiles-both reflective surfaces. I also got stainless steel appliances, also reflective. I then installed recessed lighting throughout. Because the kitchen is in between two rooms, when selecting a color I had to consider the colors in the other rooms. What I decided to do was match the kitchen with the slate blue couch I have in the LR-I absolutely love it. It's not a light and bright color, but it brings life to the kitchen. So I would select a color that compliments the tan/taupe color or pull a color from that room, say from a striped throw pillow or an area rug.
