Our kitchen has really weird lighting: fluorescent tube fixtures mounted onto the ceiling with a grid of clear plastic panels covering them. As the years have gone by the fixtures have failed one by one. Or mostly failed.
They're wired weird too... I can easily describe it... but there must be some four conductor wire in there so every other light is controlled by a different switch.
At last, tired of darkness and dead lights, me and my housemate wrestled one of the fixtures out - well, I did most of the wrestling up on the ladder while they handed me tools and used the flashlight - and replaced one dead fixture with an LED light. It took a few hours as the mounting holes were different and I had to cobble together a different mounting system. There were new fancy wire connectors that I've never seen before and it took me a while to figure out how they worked.
It throws *a lot* more light.
If I had the budget I'd have some professionals come in and tear the kitchen down to the original plaster and lathe. I'd leave the old plaster alone - just put up new plaster board, fix the lighting, replace the cabinets, rearrange the fridge and stove, and put in a proper vent. I swear, every time something goes wrong I have to fix the mess the former owners made when they remodeled.
I'll leave the hardwood floor alone. It's dinged and scarred but it's oak and it has character. They originally covered it with linoleum.... and then a shag rug. That was awful to take up but well worth the effort.
-m