Pimp my kitchen?

[Gabe C.]

I just closed on a place today (4/3/1), and we've shown it to a few prospective tenants, who are interested, but think the kitchen is dumpy and want either a rent reduction or a facelift for our asking price ($1500). The kitchen is fine and has nice granite countertops, but it doesn't seem up to snuff for my target demographic. The kitchen has a few interesting issues... and they seem to be the difference between attracting a B tenant vs. an A tenant from what we've seen so far.

1) the previous owner fancied himself a craftsman and "refinished" the cabinets. From a (great) distance, they look fine, but as you get closer you can see that the stain didn't take well in some spots and on the edges there's some wood putty staining where the stain did take. They look very DYI/unprofessional. 

2) The tenants we've shown were also not impressed with the appliances. They are 10 years old entry level models. The fridge feels like one you'd keep in the garage. They scream cheap. (sorry the pictures aren't the greatest. I wasn't thinking about posting when I took them).

3) The previous owner built his own island. This is functional, but is super homemade looking. He used plywood and screwed it to the floor. I could possibly do damage to the hardwood if I pull it up. Possibly screwed/glued to the floor.

This is my first rental that needs any kitchen work, so I'm wrestling with cost vs. appeal. I could get $100 more a month and maybe attract a better tenant if I can get the kitchen to sparkle a little more. That means some of:

• Replace appliances with mid-level stainless - Basically the cheapest model that passes Consumer Reports tests and doesn't have a bunch of rage-quits in their reviews. I was thinking maybe just do the fridge and dishwasher since they are the ugliest, and wait out the range since it's got some life left in it... even though it would be mismatched with the white. I could even put the current fridge in the garage as a bonus fridge for storing frozen meats/beers/extra food. Could be a selling point! The new stainless might be enough of a facelift on its own? Maybe it's worth the extra to replace the whole set to avoid the mismatch?
• Paint cabinets or replace cabinets - new cabinets seem crazy, but is painting just going to cost me hundreds and only get me a small % of the way there? The only nice painted cabinets I've seen have come from the factory that way.
• Leave the homemade island or kill it - maybe replace it with a semi-cheap table style island with matching granite top (or just remove it altogether and fix and floor damage creating more open space)

What is my biggest bang for buck? I could do nothing and hope to find someone that doesn't care about the look of the kitchen, or maybe just take the $100 hit on rent. I could do some of the above and let that extra $100 per month pay it off over a year or two. Or I could go whole hog and get everything taken care of and just eat the cost with the hope of attracting the best tenant and the highest rents for the next 10 years. What would you do?