Re: the vinyl flooring: we have that in our entire basement (about 700st), and it looks great. At a quick glance, it looks close enough to wood to fool the eye (and it cleans easily, and won't wreck if there's a water spill or something). It's also the flooring that's at the medical clinic I work at, and if they haven't managed to wreck it in 5 years, yours will still look pretty great. :)
For the kitchen cupboards: if you really hate them, a trend these days is open shelving in kitchens. I'm personally not a huge fan (less storage, and it has to be kept tidy), but if it works for your lifestyle, it might be a decent option for you. A few years ago, the bloggers on Young House Love basically refinished a kitchen themselves (that looked kinda like yours to start with), and did the painting/tiling/etc, in long posts with detailed instructions. Finding those might be helpful for you if that's the road you're going down. :)