SFGate

julie77777 I am also trying to decide whether to paint or NOT to paint my cabinets. At least yours don't have the arch at the top (like mine from 1993 do). I prefer stained wood cabinets, though I know that painted cabinets are quite popular. Sanding them down for restaining darker sounds like a TON of work, although I would consider it. Some people are telling me I will regret painting them five years down the road -- but if at least the doors/drawers are done professionally, I think we would be okay. I will watch this to see what the professionals tell you! Good luck with your project!

onthefence Since you have 2 threads going with the same topic, I'll copy my response here as well. I think it's generally viewed best to only create one post - multiples get too many conversations going and it's hard for people to keep track of what has been suggested where.

I think get samples of all your materials and put them in your kitchen. Get a couple pieces of wood (maybe trim of some sort in the same wood as your cabinets) and paint one white and stain the other. Look at the new counter, backsplash and paint against your current cabinets and the alternatives for the cabinets.

I think ideabooks are great for ideas. But for making the final decisions, I prefer to to see the real thing in my room

Dytecture These are 'typical' suburban grade cabinetry, I would give them a fresh coat of white paint.

rinqreation Dark stain, new top, new backsplash, white sink.

doleary2 onthefence - I didn't think that this one actually went through. I tried to delete it due to the side ways picture, but it must not have worked. How do you delete a post?

and ringreation - what software did you use to recreate the kitchen. Would love to try it. Thanks!

yazfletch Have you considered both? I've seen many fabulous kitchens that have two tones either painted, stained or a combination. Just a thought!

I painted my kitchen cabinets...they were 1978 originals and hideous! I went with white and was happy thought it was a lot of work, drying, flipping, etc. Goos luck!

Beverly Anderson Interior Design I would stain the cabinets a dark, rich color. The grain of oak shows through very well with dark stains and it will completely change the look of your kitchen.

yazfletch Can anyone tell me how to post a picture from houzz onto a discussion! I'd like to add a picture to my 2 cents :)
Thanks!

rinqreation yazfletch: copy and paste the link in the browser into the post, or right click in the picture and copy&paste the bottom link.

doleary2: it's Gimp, a free photoshop-a-like.

yazfletch This is what I was trying to describe :)

Richard Rizzo Art and Design I just posted this in a similar discussion on cabinet painting and thought it may be helpful here as well..

Personally I love the look of wood and would normally try talking anyone out of it because of its natural beauty and value but if it's something you are dead set on doing then white or an off white color would be a pleasant look.
Be sure to properly prepare before painting this would include wiping clean and light sanding, a good primer is next and depending on the quality of paint it may take several coats with light sanding between each coat including the prime coat. I would recommend doing both sides of the door which in any case should be removed from the hinges as well as the hinges themselves. The frame should be done the same way, you may also want to consider doing the inside of the cabinets as well.
Another alternative may be pickling or a glaze wash, which may be less labor intensive then painting it.
Plan on a protective coat as a final coat.
For more information visit a local paint center and ask them, some may have brochures on faux finishing techniques which may prove useful if you go the pickling or glaze wash route.

Wishing you the best on your project.

-Richard

J LV I have the exact cabinets, I wanted to go dark with nickel hardware. I bought the Rustoleum Cabinet Transformations for dark cabinets. It looks like stain they came out beautiful. I also replaced the upper cabinets with an unfinished oak cabinet face for glass inserts on line through Raw Doors.com then bought the glass through Bendheimcabinetglass.com. The cabinets are beautiful they look like designer cabinets for a very reasonable price. I would post a photo but I am not done yet this has been at least a month in the making. But I will confess I started the vanity in the master bathroom since it is the same cabinet, I wanted to make sure it looked good first before I did the kitchen. I bought the Rustoleum Cabernet it was too red for me so I asked Lowes to add 4 oz of brown to each container they look like dark cherry. The vanity was so beautiful I decided to do the kitchen and laundry room as they are the same cabinets. We are now going to finish it with granite countertops and a tile back splash.

However, I will advise you that this Cabinet Transformation is a lot of work and very time consuming, but work it. I went on line and read a ridiculous amount of reviews before starting this project. All of the reviews stated exactly the same thing.

Good luck, I plan on posting the photos when it is completed, can't wait!!

doleary2 Thank you! I have started using the Rustoleum. I'm doing a small section at a time. So far I really like it. And yes it is taking a long time because of having to wait for the front and back of the doors. I'm going white with new hardware. I'll post before and after pics when done. Thanks for the suggestions!

Beverly Anderson Interior Design I'm most interested to hear how the Rustoleum works out and to see the finished project.

J LV I an adding a few comments regarding the Rustoleum Cabinet Transformation kit. Rustoleum has a product called Rustoleum Ultimate Polyurethane. If you are attempting to do this kit please save yourself a lot of grief add the 2 tints together in a large paint can that you can purchase from the hardware store so the color matches and also does not gather debris. After several applications the old paint and other debris fall into the paint and you will start to see globs on the cabinet. Also the product I just stated above is much better than the protective coat that comes in the kit. It applies much easier and dries faster. The one in the kit can leave a white pasty film (especially if used on the dark cabinet kit) if it was left unnoticed. You will not be able to get it off without sanding and redoing the cabinet.

I hope this helps anyone who is using this product. It's a lot of work but worth it in the end. As I stated before i will post photos when it's completed.

julie77777 jlv 1961 - very helpful info! thanks a ton!!

jdogg5 Be careful "painting" oak white. The grain of oak is very coarse. Your finished product will not be as smooth as you may have hoped.

doleary2 Thanks jdogg5, I actually like the oak grain showing through the finished product. I like it because it shows that it is painted real wood, although I know most people would not agree with my preference. :)

J LV Here is the transformation. We haven't replaced the counter tops yet t

J LV here is the new kitchen

J LV here is the other side of the kitchen, Unless you have been following I have been ttransforming this kitchen on my own for over 1.5 months think it turned out great.

doleary2 That looks beautiful!!! jlv_1961

Chris Rauscher What color is that ? I just bought chocolate for my kitchen. This weekend I added a shaker style trim around the doors to add shape. Hoping this updates my 80s kitchen

J LV This is Rustoleum Cabinet Transformations cabarnet with a dark brown tint added so it looks like a really dark cherry.

rnluvs2jetski Looks beautiful! You did a fabulous job!

julie77777 Janet and others who have successfully used Rustoleum Cabinet Transformation: What has to be done with the current stained wood before you can start the Rustoleum products? If you have to completely sand off the old stain, that sounds horrible to me! Please enlighten me with your "real-world" stories of completed projects. Also, is this a "quality", long-term solution? I don't have to have to re-do in 5 years! (Janet, your kitchen looks AMAZING!)

doleary2 So yes, this is a process but you do not have to sand. My cabinets were cleaned very well with "krud kutter". It gets off all of the grease and grime. You do not need to sand at all unless you have old bumps or lumps from old paint or varnish. My cabinets were only varnished once but there were a few drips from that that I had to sand. The doors have to be removed, then it is a three step process. Go onto the Rustoleum website, they have a video on what you do. The key is to have really clean nice cabinets to start. After the application they look great, not like they have a super thick gross coat of paint. That is what I had worried about. I'm still working on the other half of my kitchen, but so far I am really happy with it. I am a do-it-yourself person and I really like the quality of this product. BUT it does take a long time to do. When doing the doors you clean, then degloss, then apply 2 coats of base to one side of the cabinet (waiting 2-3 hours in between coats) then flip the door, apply 2 coats of the base on the other side (waiting again 2-3 house in between coats), while always checking for drips, then applying the top coat/sealer on one side, waiting overnight, then the other side. So you need a lot of time and patience. I can't say how long this will last, but because it seems really "bonded" to the cabinet I think it is a good long term solution. But again I started with really good clean cabinets.

J LV Thank you Julie I appreciate your input. I was worried they are too dark but it is a very bright kitchen hopefully I can find a light enough granite to keep it bright.

To answer your question, the Rustoleum kit includes the deglosser, it works really well but it takes a lot of elbow grease. I also used greased lightning around the stove area and other areas it helps get rid of any heavy residue. The kit also comes with a protective coat I used the entire can so I had to find another product. There is Rustoleum Ultimate polyurethan water based protectant (it has to be water base or it will turn the paint yellow). I found this to be a better product than the one in the kit,it is much more user friendly and I think it protects better. I will say this has to be a labor of love as it is very time consuming. As for how long it will look good and last I have no idea.

Good luck if you embark on journey. It took about $1,200.00 total for the kit, hardware new upper cabinet doors and and the glass of course not counting the labor!!! My significant loves it he has been showing everyone the photos.

Thanks again for your kind words.
Jan

J LV No you don't have to sand just make sure you don't see any gloss before adding the tint.

REDinterior Oak has a very dated and home store look. Stain will still show the cheap oak grain. To improve your look and apparent value, I suggest painting, new counter and new back-splash.

julie77777 Janet and doleary 2 - Thank you both for the excellent information!! I've taken a brief look at the Rustoleum website but need to go back and study it some more. I've been looking at potentially getting new white factory-painted doors (and then painting the rest myself)....but I would prefer to go the stained wood route if I can. (Sort of dark, but not as dark as expresso color; might get new poplar or cherry or maple doors .... but I hear that maple can be very difficult for a novice to stain properly.)

J LV I think in one of my blogs I gave a site name for Rawdoors.com. You can buy them unfinished very inexpensive and wonderful quaility. Therefore you can paint the boxes and then paint the doors add the hardware and your done!!

julie77777 Janet - URL appreciated. I've looked at several sites for purchasing unfinished doors ... hard to know which places are high quality! Thanks a lot for that info.

doleary2 Thanks for all your help Houzz, I posted in before and after :)

Beverly Anderson Interior Design Your kitchen looks wonderful...the dark stain completely updates the look and it is very elegant with the glass doors

J LV Sorry guys, I don't know how come so many photos showed up I didn't download that many!!!!

julie77777 J LV - Did you put in your new countertops yet?? My new cabinet color will be just a bit lighter than yours and am deciding on countertop now. Would love to see what you picked........

J LV Yes and added the backsplash/wall here are the revised photos

J LV Here is a photo of the new counter tops and back splash.
If you like I can send you photos of the master bath vanity that I tried out first with the Rustoleum Cabernet it is much redder (lighter). I added my own tint to the kitchen cabinets to make them darker. Just let me know I will be happy to take photos of the original color.

julie77777 J LV -- Thanks a lot for posting the updated photos with the new countertops and backsplash! Looks great!

Granite Transformations I think you could leave the cabinetry as is, but consider installing new hardware. I think a brushed nickel would be good.

The Bianco Stellar Silestone is gets my vote. If that's the route that you decide to go, you should consider our Liberty tile for the backsplash. With the Bianco Stellar my recommendation would be our grey.

You can see it here- http://www.granitetransformations.com/southjersey/products/mosaic-tiles/colors/liberty/

Hope this helps, good luck!

julie77777 Granite T - Just FYI - the person who posted the original dilemma and photos (doleary2) is done with her remodel and has posted in Before And After. Looks great!