SFGate

onthefence There is a pale gray painted kitchen somewhere in the photos section. I'll see if I can find it. I can't recall the color of the counters in the pic - but the cabinets have the same door style as yours. It looks great to me.

onthefence Well, I can't seem to find the photo I'm thinking of. I've liked the kitchen below though since the 1st time I saw it.



Another thought would be to do solid black on the lower cabinets, and a white or cream on the uppers. You could do a VERY soft gray on the walls.

Darzy Check out this charocoal gray painted kitchen cabinet color and wall color. These colors would look great in your space. (Or, do the very pale gray wall color as onthefence suggested).

Leanne Lovie It sounds like an off white is going to be the light and bright kitchen you're looking for. I've definitely seen white cabinets with grey granite.

Go grab a bunch of white paint samples and lay them on the granite. Look for the ones that make either the granite or the white look yellow, and don't use those colors. Whatever's left should be a white that will work with your grey.

Leanne Lovie Since you're going to have to take the knobs off when you paint anyways, puddy over the holes and rehang the handles straight, or if you're really feeling like getting fancy replace them with simple black knobs to match the granite. Because the cabinet wood is pretty busy and the granite has a nice strong grain you want to do what you can with the hardware to give as clean of a look as possible.

caromck i think you need to consider what color you want to paint the walls as well as the cabinets. the current wall color isn't doing much for that space, it is kind of blah. I bought a house with off-white countertops (corian, back from when that was super popular) and walls painted the same color as yours. I didn't want to spend the money redoing the kitchen yet, but found that painting the walls a mediterranean blue color and updating the knobs on the cabinets changed the look enough that I didn't have to paint the cabinets (though mine were a lighter wood). In your case, I'd go with a true white color on the cabinets to lighten up the countertops, but and add some color to the walls.

caromck and some recessed lighting under the cabinets if you don't already have it. that really would brighten up the countertops.

The Virtual Designer- Kitchens & Bathrooms Hello- I actually like the door design of these cabinets! But agree, they are going to look even more amazing with a coat of paint. As I can't really see the colours of the stone counters, it's hard to advise however....1).Grab a few colour sample swatches from the paint shop that you think will look okay
2) Place them on the counters and choose a colour that you think co-ordinates with the stone.
3) Buy a sample pot for the color you liked best and ask for a 1/4 strength pot of that same colour. I'd suggest that the 1/4 strength will be good for the cabinet doors and the stronger colour will be fine for the doors.
Just off the top of my head look at Ben. Moore 'Winterwood" 1486 for a start.
Hope this has been helpful. Good luck and post back the before & after shots.

Tracy Taylor What about doing creamy white cabinets and painting the walls either a bright green or a sage color or going out on limb grey cabinets and an orange wall... seafoam green cabinets would be fabulous too~ here are some ideas! Be bold you are only living with it for a year and you already plan on gutting the place so its a year!

preid06 Thanks for the comments everyone! I definitely like the idea of a gray or white cabinet - we are painting the walls from that blah color, just not sure what yet. Since we will have the half-wall, I want to make it fun but still coordinating with the living room. Keep the ideas coming - and I will also post some before and afters once the decision is made.