To Toss or To Fix? That Is The Question (...16)

Many of the little challenges I confront in the kitchen beg the question, do I try to fix this, or toss it and start anew?  I'm talking about the old stuff in my kitchen, like shelves, trim, and a very very crooked ceiling.  Today I looked into the cost of buying new wood for my trim and for my old shelving. I'm still not sure if I should replace the pantry shelves and the party broken trim, or if I should tackled it, creating an extensive DIY carpentry project.

I wish I had a workshop outback, and my own carpenter, for these two projects:

The red and white and lines in this picture could make for some interesting art.  A little research at Home Depot today tells me that buying poplar to make these shelves will cost $4 a foot.  Pine is half as much and it comes pre-primed in white.  That's a selling point!  But I'm still unsure of what to do for the brackets.  I don't want to mimic what's on the walls already.  The makeshift brackets, made from trim, is not terribly attractive, but it's mostly in good shape.  Back and forth, back and forth...I can't make a decision...