SFGate

decoenthusiaste Check rustoleumtransformations.com for a solution.

debraherbert I think painting the cabinets is a great idea! We just did that..a lot of work but worth it and cheap. In a previous house I painted the brass knobs, handles and hinges with a pewter spray paint. They looked great. Did that 5 years ago and they held up very well.

theonedidi I painted my cupboards one summer.....and it took me allll summer. I agree that it is worth it , but you need to have someplace to do it where you can set the project out to paint , drying periods, sandings between coats. Make sure one side is dried thouroughly before turning them over to paint the other side. Ooops, learned that one the hard way. I also wasn't thinking anything about the inside of the cupboards and drawers...ended up having to paint them too. Not trying to disgourage you at all, just hoping to share some of what I learned from the project. Also, don't forget the hardware. I was able to reuse mine. I did look at new but it was too expensive Hope I Helped. P.S. I would do it again!

cchristie4 I agree with above comments. I have painted two sets of cupboards for friends and they turned out great! One was painted a sage colour and the other I painted a cream colour then put an antiquing gel over it to get the glazed look. The only challenge is preventing them from looking painted, ie brush strokes, as this will cheapen the look. I used large good quality folk art brushes constantly rinsing in water which makes a nice smooth appearance.

bracley3 All above, GREAT tips! My husband and I are in the planning stages (cupboard painting). Best of Luck!

Divine Kitchens & Baths by Barb Painting cabinets is a pain in the "___". You can get great cabinets with wonderful up grades. It looks like you have less than 15" between your counter top and the bottom of your upper cabinets. I highly recommend you price new cabinets. Are you replacing your counter top? I would love to assist you with your kitchen project.

brensters I'm going to paint mine too. I believe the others who say that it is well worth it. You will be so proud of yourself! Love the profile of the doors. A lovely flat panel. Mine are too. As for imperfections ie. distance between counter and uppers etc. I say "so what?". You must be used to them that way now. If you can't afford new ones, then you can't afford new ones (like me). Cream is my favourite colour for cabinets. I've seen a BM Feather Down swatch. Beautiful! I vote for black /oil rubbed bronze hardware, it will tie the black appliances in nicely. My first inspirational kitchen was exactly that in a magazine by Ty Pennington. The kitchen had some glass front uppers.The counter was the same colour as yours only in granite. I would leave your counter just as it is. It's perfect for that colour scheme. The kitchen also had old schoolhouse pendant lights and lots of white pitchers and some white plates on display that had just a dash of green on them as an accent colour. And a white pitcher on the island with greenish-white hydrangeas in it. Just stunning! Hope this helps. Please post photos when your done? Good luck !! :)

Aegean-Designing Whims We just painted our kitchen cabinets, and I love the look. Our home was built in 1937 and I didn't want a new kitchen. I used a gray green for the cabinets, replaced knobs with brushed nickel and painted my walls white. I love the look. I'd get a price to have your cabinets painted versus doing it yourself though. Good painters know how to do the job right, and they make it look easy; but it's a lot of work.
Chrysteen

sjkingston Agree those cabinets will look fabulous painted especially given the great trim molding. The trick will be for the white to work either with your white backsplash or taupe tile, so you might try some small samples before purchasing the paint. I had great luck with Rustoleum Cabinet Transformations on old cabinets but there are lots of great recommendations on quality paints to use (or not use) on the DIY blogger's website out there. Good luck.

yvonnecmartin Before you embark on the work of painting the cabinets I suggest that you buy new cabinet hardware and upgrade the lighting in the room. It looks as if undercabinet lighting would help a lot.

A cheerful Roman shade and paint color for the wall with the clock would also help the room.

When all of these are done, you might feel that your cabinets are fine as they are.

Lioness Interiors check Minwax website they have many new water base and one step products
http://www.minwax.com/wood-products/one-step-stain-and-finishes

Janey Harley Thx so much for all of the suggestions....again...money is tight...have priced new hardware and WOW...sooo expensive..we have a painter who will do the work at a great price...more thinking to do about this project..keep suggestions coming though...thx again to all

angela428 Painting is hard work, you can however, take the doors off, sand them down outside, line them up and spray them. I would suggest you do two colors, maybe you butter cream and chocolate on the lower cabinets. The light colors must always be cleaned.
The second option is to take them to a company that paints cars and let them do one in a beige and see how great the finish is. Or, have someone come in and spray a lacquer which is a wonderful kitchen finish.
Knobs are expensive, but once said They are the diamond on your cabinet. I just finished my kitchen and it is stunning. Love it and the pulls are what make it come together.
Top Knobs has some wonderful pulls. Take a peek.
Kitchen are expensive, but when was the last time? Once you pick your colors,chooses your lighting, it is very dark. Ans, your back splash looks great.
1. Pick all your colors, walls, ceiling - I like to use my wall color or another color in the room and cut it 25% with white.
2. Put a small sample up and live with it for a week, if you want to change now is the time.
Once you have made your decision proceed. It will take time and it is a good time to re-stack the interiors of the cabinets with the new items that simply screw in. We added a pull out on glides garbage can in one cabinet, and a rack to hold the tops of pots, gained 25% more space for 600.00 and no more back aches, roll it out and there it is.
3. Lighting You will need an electrician and he will have to put up your fisrure.
Have fun, add in a bench or a spice rack magnetic paint holds magnetic tins, bring out the once a year dishes and use all the time, celebrate life and health through glorious dinners in your updates kitchen.
Enjoy!
COConsultants
It is hard to tell colors since it is so dark, BUT I like the Butter cream,white tile,white floor and a darker bottom mocha knobs brushed nickel or glass.
Have fun.
PPS Is there a window? If not can you get a skylight in, that would be amazing.
Also, for the first time, I used a Hi Macs Ouartz white Aspen White and built in sink. It was 1/2 the price, but I did a very high end contemporary interior. The top is wonderful, however, your tops look good, and you might find all your colors in there.

kayanee I'm definitely not a decorator and have needed a lot of help on here but I think pewter hardware would look great!!

jensie PAINT THOSE CABINETS! I just spent a week painting my kitchen cabinets (from Golden Oak to Espresso). It was time consuming... as in it sucked a week out of my life... but SO worth it. Drop what you're doing, paint the cabinets, take pictures and repost, then we'll give you more advice on cabinet hardware - but I'm leaning towards pewter. Good luck!

Blue Dolfin Interiors If you could possibly afford it - you could take your doors to a prefinish shop and have them sprayed. Then you would just have to paint the boxes. It would save you gobs of time and eliminate most brush strokes. I think the glaze on top of the paint is a wonderful idea. It hides a multitude of sins, adds texture and interest. Put on fun knobs. Anthropology has a great selection. Barb

Susan Jablon Mosaics Hi Janey!
With BM feather down, I think that black hardware would look really great. It would add contrast to the cabinets, bring in the black from the counters and appliances, and would avoid looking too contemporary. The shape of your cabinets is not exactly a modern style, so why confuse your kitchen with trying to combine the two designs? With the new color cabinets, and the taupe color of the floor tiles, I'm afraid that your current backsplash will look terribly out of place with it being a true white. If you can afford it, now or in the future, I would suggest a new backsplash.

madeliene Go for it!

cvgold I'm new here and am in awe of the conversation. I've been thinking about painting my cabinets, too, but am having a hardtime overcoming childhood programming that "one doesn't paint wood." Yet I always love pictures in magazines where the kitchen has painted cabinets and looks light and friendly. So the enthusiastic stories here of successful paint projects are inspiring. I'll keep following along. Thanks! (and the tips to other design and resource sites are also really, really appreciated.)

taderbug68 I repainted our kitchen cabinets twice, a few years apart. They started out as an almost black varnished finish. I first took all the hardware off, took the doors outside and used a hand sander on them. After priming I used a great shade of white both times (there are many as in any color). First time painting I used the best brush I could buy. Second time I used a sponge roller and liked the result better, but I'm sure renting a paint sprayer would have produced an even better finish. Just doubt it would have matched the finish on the frames of the cabinets. Everyone speaks here of the high price of hardware. We found all new hardware in brushed nickel on Ebay at 1/2 the price of Lowe's. Got new light fixture to match, installed Armstrong cherry laminate flooring, a new black kitchen island, and we feel like we have a brand new high end kitchen!

lexie my friend had custom cabinets and the painter used a cream color.they looked so smooth and not one brush stroke.I asked him how he got it so smooth. He said he did three coats, sanding in between and he thined the last coat so it would flow better . they looked like glass. also use good brushes. If you decide to have them painted you could paint the insides yourself and save some money there. Also check the Habitat Restore ,you can find them on the internet,my husband bought new handles for my kitchen and they matched the ones I paid big bucks for. If you change out your light go on the internet or library and get instructions. there are lots of diy books at the library.I bought a book at Lowes on electrical. It was really helpful. We installed pot lights. ceiling lights and outlets.We also insalled flooring in the kitchen. We used a light beach laminate . Do not use the thin one, it is too hard to istall. We did a thicher one with the foam pad attached. It was so easy.If you find hardware that is inexpensive but do not like the finish, painting is definately a good idea. YOU CAN DO IT. You can also get under cabinet lighting at Lowes that is a string of round lights ,flat on the back. Just secure to the bottom of the cabinets and then plug them in. they look like small spot lights, GOOD LUCK

Susan Williams I'm thinking about spending my summer repainting my 1998 oak cabs as well to a cream color to offset the black granite and brighten up my kitchen, but am concerned about the trim around the box. Looks veneerish. How do you paint that? Can you sand it?

Aegean-Designing Whims I meant to send a photo of our updated older kitchen but didn't have a photo handy. We painted our cabinets a gray green, and replaced the counter top and hardware. I did have it professionally painted, but it turned out great!

sealedesign First, try everything to improve the kitchen without painting the cabinets, but if you still must paint them, consider this. It is hard to get a professional look. I try to do things as cheaply as possible but I never want it to look like I cheaped out. If I could, I'd get a car body shop to spray the doors, I'd paint the frames myself and if it looked OK, I'd only paint the outside frames and leave the inside of the cabinets wood so they won't show dirt or wear as much. I'd get new knobs from Ikea, pretty cheap but durable and you have your choice of styles. White painted cabinets will collect finger prints, so knobs that reduce the amount of fingerprints is a great idea.

bygeorgi Don't get scared off by the designer's advice... a painted cabinets budget and new cabinet doors budget are two totally different things. I painted my cabinets over 15 years ago with cheap Glidden white semi-gloss and they are holding up fine.... $30 in paint, one can primer, one paint, and a decent $10 brush did the trick as apposed to running 50 dollars a square foot for new doors, ouch!. For new knobs try Habitat for Humanity Restore. I don't mean to " b_ _ch" but I get tired of designers giving advice that has nothing to do with most folks real world budget. And I think your color choice will look fresh and lovely.

tmoen We flip houses and trust me I've done a lot of painting. Make sure you clean your cabinets well with a TSP and water solution before sanding. Just sanding will press kitchen greases into pores of wood and you will not have a durable finish. Also, I would recommend oil based primer and paint. They take longer to dry but will show less brush marks. Plus they stand the test of time.

taramax Try this website for reasonable hardware: http://jimsdiscountcabinethardware.com/
I had to replace hinges and all, and this made it affordable, even cheaper than some of the EBay vendors!

Marilyn Wilkie Let the man paint the cabinets. Pay him to do it. THEN invest in new hardware. I would also get rid of that gray wall. Not cheery at all. Upper cabinets should be at least 17" above the base cabinets. These do look low. I believe that is a "fake" matching soffit above them? Maybe remove that and have an cleaner and more open look. Add some color!

kimdee24 Don't forget to make sure that the surfaces are properly prepped before painting. You'll want to be sure to wipe everything down thoroughly with TSP and water and make sure there is absolutely no grease or oil left behind.

Janey Harley No fake soffit...all cupboards are real and have things in them...which I de- clutter every 6 mths...Jim's site for hardware is awesome...the prices are great...so new hardware...cream feather down color new pendant style light and window coverings...and some color....is what I am looking to do now....my painter is awesome and very reasonable..keep comments coming

stacy1061 I painted my 90's frosty stained oak cabs SW Navajo White about 4 years ago. I read every bit of advice on the internet first that I could find and took the consistent advice. I practiced first on my laundry room. It turned out great. When it came to my kitchen, I was bit more chicken to tackle that, so I did all the sanding/filling and prep work (the majority of your labor cost) and hired a professional painter to spray them with laquer paint in Navajo White. I saved literally thousands! They look perfect and still do after 4 years. The laquer paint is also much more durable than the non-laquer I used in the laundry room. I don't know about your cabinets, but I am finding the quality of cabinets made today in many cases is far inferior to what was used even 15 years ago. If you have good solid plywood bases, and solid wood doors they are probably made better than what is out there today. I like materials that last! Good luck and don't be afraid.

Nancy Wishon In order to make a decision between painting them yourself and paying someone, just try a couple of the doors on the inside first. See whether it is a difficult task for yourself. You can use a small amount of sample size paint. It will give you an idea of not only the work involved but also how the finished color will look and whether you like it or not. Then you can hang the doors back up, open & peek at them for a few days to think about it.

John Seiffert Have your painter use oil-based paint. I saw this was mentioned above, but I will stress it again.

Also a good idea to get a quote from professional paint shop to spray. May save you quite a bit of money.

sealedesign People mention spraying but where will someone do this? I could not find anyone. Tried a body shop.

shegot12 I used rustoleumtransformations.com on my cabinets I love my cabinets now.

queenchappell A contractor told me that there is a paint that u can put right over cabinets that absorb the gloss so that u don't have to remove or sand cabinets. Has anyone heard of this and if so what is the name of the paint?

Kelly Wilkins I would paint the bottom cupboards a deep dark grey/soft black colour and paint the uppers a lighter colour. I would then change out the hardware to be large and silver/pewter. Also, paint the walls. Perhaps you can paint that back wall where there is taupe and change it out to a silver blue or the colour of your upper cabinets. good luck with it all. When you paint, hire a company to do it with spraying. The results will look more professional and will last longer.

Marilyn Wilkie Janey, I'm sorry, I didn't see any handles on those top horizontal cabinets and didn't realize they open. I'm glad you are going with a professional. That is a good move.
Jim's Discount hardware prices and selection is great. Here is another fairly reasonable place for online hardware. http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/categories/departments/kitchen/16298/?filter=online

angela428 Stacy, You are 150% correct. The quality of even top manufacturers has definitely changed and one reason is environmentalists and their demands for manufacturers to change factories so much that they closed up and went elsewhere.
Instead we purchase poorly made furniture from other locations, with all the No Now's built in for you to breathe known as off gassing.

And, did you know that all the old furniture people are buying may have been pulled from old buildings with lead paint. And, yet people are making, tables and nightstands, I think it is called shabby chic and there is little Tommy teething on the table at 2 work for anyone here?

In the meantime the paint purchase 4 years or 8 years may not be the same paint we buy now, I do not follow that area as much as my furniture area. We need to be careful and we need to buy from items made here in America. My newest kitchen cabinets are made here and I love this line I am working with. I agree the older ones are better, and someone mentioned painting over the gloss, that is generally a catalyzed finish and it will cause bubbling with the paint. It is better to sand it or even better to strip it.

Please excuse my long answer, I just miss some of our manufacturers, and some of the new rules have definitely changed finish and quality.
if you all skip this I get it.

Knobs for cabinets try Top Knob Google for web site.
COC

Janey Harley Marilyn ...don't he sorry how the heck could you tell from a photo ha those hardware prices are crazy....but the shipping to Canada is twice the cost of items...I am going to habitat tomorrow for a look around...might luck out

houssaon I think the fact that companies want to avoid labor costs is what pushed manufactures out of the USA not environmentalists. If we didn't require health plans, safe working conditions and a decent wage, they'd move back here. Still, there are some companies who manufacture in the US. But some people prefer to order on-line from companies who manufacture copies made in China at half the retail price.

bygeorgi I see some people are advising to use oil based paint, just a warning... oil based paint has a tendency to yellow slightly over time and if you are matching your paint color to some other surface at some point they may not match any longer. This is especially noticeable with white. And if you decide to change colors down the line , its much easier to stay with another oil based paint than to change to a water based , there's so much sanding involved. But for a more professional finish oil is superior.
But.... if you are a serial re-designer like my self , and like to change things up more often stick with water based paint.

nchampagne Janey, another option is a salvage co. When people redesign their homes, cabinets get taken out and resold. I bought solid cherry cabinets 16 of them for $1,200. They were hardly used and they are perfect. I googled salvage and restoration . Take a look at what they have. You might find a nice surprise. Good Luck.

Eleek Inc. Some ideas for your pewter hardware. Good luck!

taderbug68 Some friends had their cabinets professionally painted in a buttercream with oil rubbed bronze hardware. I thought it was beautiful! In my own kitchen I used Valspar kitchen and bath paint. It is extra durable and scrubbable. I like the light colors and used a shade of white. I think it is easy to maintain because dirt & fingerprints can be seen right away and you can simply wipe themn off instead of allowing a sticky build up to form as some do on dark cabinets. Also the wall colors are much easier to change than repainting cabinets and white goes with everything!