SFGate

LM Designers This is your kitchen so if you want to paint the cabinets then do so. That edging has to go, sorry it is just so odd going in that direction. A good contractor shoule be able to trim it straight. That will give you a start then you can continue from there.

gymbugmj2k i agree. the edging shouldn't be too hard to trim straight. are you keeping the floor and countertops?

Painting the walls a sage green might help bring out the wood tones and show them off better....which may make the cabinets and hardware feel like they fit in with the style, rather than look old.

This seems fairly close to what you seem to be going for and what i'm trying to explain: http://www.sawdustandembryos.com/2011/05/mary-js-backsplash.html
I would suggest going with a more neutral backsplash than this though...maybe pull some of the lighter creams from your floor tile? unless of course you want the backsplash to be a feature in the room. =)

MG Mack I think they make hinges that go on the inside o the cabinet that might work. Or as in the two uprights the hinges could be moved to the other side on the door toward the sink so they both open toward the door. If you don't want to paint, I'd update all of the hardware. If you're leaning towards painting, I agree, it's your kitchen you have to like it. Depending on your budget you could buy new doors and build something with the wood on your present cabinets. The wood lends and rustic, homey, country kitchen vibe to the room. If that is not your style, I'd paint them.

Carolina Photo To Go LLC I agree. If you do not like rusic or country, you need to paint the cabinets or replace. Granite countertops are also a great option and take a kitchen to a whole new level. They change light fixtures looks all the time so for an update a new light fixture is in order. If you have not been to a Lowes or Home Depot lately, they have mini Kitchens set up and many types of counter tops. It is a good place to start. You can make an appointment with a kitchen designer at Lowes - take your dimensions and they can help you with your kitchen and pricing.

If you do not need the valance, just take it down. Try to choose items that are not totally trendy so you won't feel like you have to remodel constantly. Check with a real estate agent; they usually say a kitchen remodel really adds value to the house and saleability if you sell. Watch some of HGTV shows such as Property Brothers - they always remodel the kitchens or Designed to Sell.

onthefence We had very similar doors in our laundry room. The original homeowner had been a woodworker and built out all the cabs and added the copper hardware.

We ended up ordering new paint-grade doors in a shaker style and will be painting them white and attaching with hidden hinges. IMO the current door may not look great painted. A part of the visual interest of the door now is the grain and the trim. If painted, you've got a plain piece of wood with no particular character.

I agree they're pretty cabinets. Ours were pretty too. Just not our style.

onthefence Also, I think if you don't have a specific use for it, I'd get rid of the cabinet over the sink.

MG Mack I think it's tough to pick colors without knowing what you're going for. If you want to keep it rustic you could stay with the wood cabinetry and go with red walls, a black backsplash and black wrought iron accessories. I would change the light as Carolina Photo suggested. That would be an instant update. If you want a more contemporary/modern look it will be a completely different color pallet. The valance is very country...so it's tough to know what style you want. You could put in a small rolling island too.

MG Mack You could stain the wood too...

MG Mack What red and wood look like together...

Shawna Connell Thank you everyone for you advice. I found some ideas but if you have any other ideas please feel free to share the more ideas the better.

extrahorizons We're in the process of repainting a 1930's kitchen, and I can't believe the difference a coat of paint has made. It's like.. WOW. :) I'll post a few in-process pictures for you, since it seems you like the same colors we do. The first picture is "before".

We're on a budget, (it's a college rental house) but we did install DIY cherry butcher block counter tops and they're beautiful. Only 400.00 too, so not a budget breaker.

If you're not in love with the cabinet over the sink, just remove the doors and paint the inside a contrasting color. It will be great for display. We had to modify the cabinet over the stove for the microwave and we're putting beadboard inside of the cabinet and using it for display. We also put beadboard as a backsplash- $20.00 for the panel plus paint costs.

jacalyna Love the blue , love your color scheme. Paint those cabinets. I had this knotty pine tongue and grove paneling in our family room and I said I have had it for 25 years and I am painting it white. Most people said NO but I did and it is so beautiful. Took a couple of colors of white to determine what shade and gloss I wanted. But I love it and so do the nay sayers

Shawna Connell @extrahorizons where did you get the butcher block from? I really love the wood counter top look and if it doesnt cost that much I would love to do that. Thanks again everyone for the input!! :)

NEXS Cabinets Inc. Blum makes a face frame European hinge. I would not recommend putting an expensive counter top on these existing cabinets. It would be counter productive in the long run. I would suggest changing out the doors/fronts etc. These could be paint grade and then the face frames of the cabinets could be painted to match.

Susan Jablon Mosaics Hi Shawna!
I too love the light blue, but Im going to have to agree with whoever told you your cabinets were too pretty to paint. Maple with a beautiful flame is just so special, of course it is your kitchen, not mine :) I would suggest bringing in the blue you love with the wall paint and the backsplash, rather than on the cabinets. Light maple and blue look really great together. The unique style of your cabinets would allow you to do some really fun things with a backsplash, too. The paint color below is Benjamin Moore's Morning Glory, and the tiles are selections from our website that I think would look nice with your kitchen. Good luck!

extrahorizons We bought our Butcher Block at Lumber Liquidators. It was a special order, but only took about a week for it to arrive. The original plan was for Ikea butcher block, but we don't have a store in Indiana. The shipping was outrageous, and I didn't feel like a drive to Chicago or Cincinnati. Ikea would have been about 100.00 cheaper, but they didn't have cherry either.

My brother is pretty amazing and had it installed really quickly- like a few hours for tearing out the old one and cutting/installing the new sink and faucet.

The first picture is right after it was installed with just one coat of oil. The second picture is after 4 or 5 coats of oil- and about a week later.

mpoulsom extrahorizons....i'm glad i got to see some pics of what you ended up going with! It looks fantastic! I remember your post earlier... :)
Shawna, my vote is to paint! We have a late 60's ranch and the cabinets were not for me and couldn't afford to replace. So we painted them, changed the hardware and added hidden hinges.. huge difference.
the first pic is the after.....2nd one is the before.

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John Seiffert One option is to remove doors, drawer fronts and have a cabinetmaker apply a new face frame, doors and drawer fronts on top of existing cabinetry. A new countertop would also be needed. This is a middle of the road approach.

Eleek Inc. We agree with Maureen, keep the wood, refinish it darker and add some beautiful custom hardware. That will transform your space.

Frank Webb's Bath and Lighting Center I don't think anyone has mentioned this yet but the light fixture should definitely be changed out, you probably aren't getting enough light from this style, try a semi flush like this one