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libradesigneye I would like to know more about the colors you have and the styles you like. To do this so you love it, it should extend your homes' existing color story. What are the rooms adjacent? What colors do you have or would you like to have there? Your white appliances seem fairly new, and since you mention budget, I'm not sure you are planning to replace them. If you are, that changes the range of options quite a bit.

If this L is the built in part of the kitchen, can you take photos and post of the other two walls / openings to other areas so we see how it flows? Do you prefer a kitchen table in your space or do I see rightly that you probably have room for a new island/butcher block work suface? What functions do you need more of in your space?

How big an update will you do? I would prioritize in the budget: a new undermount sink, a superduper new kitchen faucet with the sprayer handle that pulls out, undercounter led lighting, backsplash tile, countertops, and possibly new flooring. Have you looked at the range of countertop options vis a vis your budget? Do you have preferences there or will the budget dictate this?

With the cabinet style and the fairly new white appliances, I'm inclined to steer you towards a traditional and cheerful palette, that layers in a fresh green since that is a neutral that can work with almost any color scheme you have started. Green is one color that will shift the whole space, so the honey oak is not the only "warm" tone in the room. What shade of green depends on many things - the white appliances are going to play best with a fresh shade that tends to the citrus but isn't too yellow. http://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/color/find-and-explore-colors/paint-colors-by-family/SW6422-shagreen/ is the best of SW for your space I think. That is just the wall color for your soffits and around the trim at your upper window. Finding the right countertop and backsplash tile depends on answering the questions above.

Your hardware being dark tends to make me feel that dark appliances would serve you better if you were changing them to black. However, changing hardware is less expensive! Shifting these to silver tones would echo the light appliances and be an easy fresh thing that would start to pull these elements closer together.

There are refinishing kits now that help you keep the stained look but adjust the stain if you are tired of the honey oak tones.They do seem to echo the wood floor in the adjacent space and they seem to be warm and of good quality. Check out the rustoleum cabinet transformations website. I've not used them but many have successfully.

Color Zen I am just working on a blog post- ways to modernize honey oak :) So this caught my eye... The best paint trick I've seen, is to paint the walls a charcoal gray. The high contrast really works. Then add white accents, maybe a modernish table. I like your subway tile idea. I would probably lean lightish with the countertops. Maybe something with speckle or marbling. Be careful... it's a little tricky with honey oak. But the good news is the wood is almost cool again. If you're struggling, maybe consult a designer. Good luck!

jan74 Is staining them a possibility?

rebhouse Jan74: staining is out also. Libradesigneye: I will post more pics of the adjoining rooms (dining room& living room) and post them....hopefully this afternoon/evening. You will see that we are fairly minimalist, and like to keep it simple. Having said that, we are browsing console tables to increase functionality of the living room (stuck on that too!) Color Zen, I will definitely follow you and your info on modernizing honey oak!!!

rebhouse ColorZen: I was thinking the same thing with the charcoal colour....I saw a kitchen with the walls painted similarly, and I thought it looked great. It would be very scary to paint so dark though....

Lauren Puschaver I saw your cabinet doors and I think they are the same as mine. I painted my cabinets and it has made a Huge difference. These are before and after. The only thing that has changed is the paint and cabinet hardware.

rebhouse What a difference a little paint has....great job! How tedious was the process of painting your cabinets?

rebhouse Here are the attached rooms, keep in mind the dining chairs are being replaced by something a little more contemporary. The opposite walls of the kitchen are bare, we have a bar table there now, and not sure it will stay there or not. Advice? Originally, we were thinking of blowing the wall out between the kitchen and dining areas and putting a small island between, but if we do that, the new cabinetry will be so different from the current cabinetry. Any ideas on cabinet products that would match ours, and not look soooo out of place?

Rustica Hardware If your interested in a portable butcher block you can find some excellent butcher blocks here: http://chopbloccuttingboards.com/butcher-blocks/

bonmarchechic We have a small u-shape kitchen. The cabinets were just overwhelmingly "OAK"-y ...and we wanted to make a budget friendly change. Started with painting the bottom cabinets. Alot of sanding, then Pratt & Lambert Exterior "Sierra Night" green. Four coats, brushed on, and left to dry completely between each layer. No varnish! It's been 7 months and they are holding up fine. Had all intentions of painting the top cabinets too, but kinda like the mixed look. We have an oak mantel in the adjoining living room, so it flows nicely. I highly recommend painting the cabinets! Also a colorful backsplash helps. Ours is vinyl wallpaper.

Andrea Prasch We painted our oak cabinets a"french white" and replaced the hardware with brushed nickel. I love your idea of putting in subway and I would suggest a black honed granite. I think it looks amazing with subway tile.

wvdustbunny My daughter is a kitchen and bath designer. She can't stand my "ghetto" kitchen, as she calls it. I have darker oak cabinets with more design to them. Finally, I have talked my husband into painting them. I am going with a pale yellow to go along with other rooms. Our cabinets are older but solid wood and would cost thousands to replace in kind. I have black appliances. I need new counter top also. But they may have to wait a bit, due to the fact I have chosen Silestone, white with flecks of gray, black and a few other thrown in. It will last a long time. Subway tile is my choice of backsplace, probably a gray, or mix of gray and white. I am going to use aqua as my accent color, and change out with burgundy when I get bored.

JWinteriors With white appliances, paint the cabinets gray with white countertops and white subway or glass tile as shown. Doors should be lightly sanded, a bonding primer rolled and brushed on. The boxes can be rolled and back brushed with paint, but, I would get someone with a sprayer to spray paint the doors..at least four coats to fill in grain.

Lauren Puschaver Painting the cabinets is tedious. BUT SOOOOOO worth it! Definitely do you research have a plan, all supplies, and 2-3 days free. Make sure you don't rush. Take the doors and hardware off. Lightly sand and prime. Buy a good paint. I used Ben Moore ADVANCE® Waterborne Interior Alkyd Paint and LOVED it! Good luck!

Andrea Prasch I also agree with the others comments If you paint the cabinets prep prime and spray them. We bought a small handheld sprayer that worked like a charm and the finish you get will look custom not diy. We did our kitchen in a weekend.

Madeline @rebhouse. I understand your need or desire for being budget conscious (right now I don't have the proverbial two nickels to rub together) yet you are going to spring for paint, flooring, countertops and backsplash, all of which you wish to be formulated to make the honey oak cabinets look less honey-oakish. You say you would even consider adding cabinets (if you were to remove the wall and add an island) that would "match" your cabinets. I cannot imagine going through the expense or removing a wall and building a new island while keeping cabinets about which you are luke warm at best. A true dark gray as was suggested by itself could be a way to camo the honey-oak cabs but it would wreak havoc with the walls of your adjoining rooms, about which I would like to say that there is minimalist and then there is a total lack of personality. Your rooms need to show off your personality, your specialness. I am glad you are replacing the dining room furniture as this may be the beginning of a wonderful process of self-discovery!
@Andrea Prasch. Your resulting kitchen is certainly an inspiration to anyone now stuck with oak cabinets (c'est moi) but I have to ask whether it was a DIY project or did you have professionals do the painting. @bonnemarchchic. Your green cabinets look fabulous. But I would not stop with the bottoms only. Go ahead and do the tops and have a unified look.@Lauren Puschaver. Your painted cabs and new hardware also look fabulous. When I see updates like this I wonder why people don't also do Euro-style hinges when they have a chance. Is it just a case of a big headache to pull off or do you like the look of the hinges?

Andrea Prasch Thank you Madeline my husband and I did it by ourselves :)

rebhouse Madeline: The upgrades we plan to do in our kitchen are things that need to be done, i.e., the vinyl floor is peeling at the edges, laminate counter is chipped/scratched, and well, a backsplash for good measure. Tearing down a wall doesn't cost anything, when the husband used to work in the trades :) I thought keeping our existing cabinets would keep the entire project cost down.....and I want to like the cabinets, I just don't have the "eye" or creativity to make them look their best with complementing colours and materials.

libradesigneye Wow, I love your art and it gives me inspirational clues about how to find things you will love. I see some spa blues and mossy greens and dark tree wood which are really gorgeous with the wood cabinets you have now. I also get a sense of your layout, and see that one of the challenges in the kitchen is the placement of doorways. I see that you have been very careful and deliberate in your choices. I have some ideas for you to consider.

Unless you want to take all the walls down between all these rooms, widening the space between the kitchen and dining may reduce the functionality of your space instead of adding given the dimensions, That isn't the only consideration - would you personally like the kitchen to be more integrated into the other spaces on a daily basis / when you entertain? If so, we need to direct traffic carefully. It may make sense to shift it to the traffic zone and widen it slightly to 36" - 42" recommended between elements.

How wide is the distance on the common wall with the dining room from the face of the cabinets on the window wall to doorway, and then to the opposite wall? Is the space about 11' wall to wall? They probably centered it on the room, but if you place it next to the cabinet end of the space and open it to 48" then you would have 4' 6" left for a peninsula at the front end of the dining room / current bar table corner. If you take off area to walk around, then you've got only 30' for an island. A peninsula off the clock wall makes more sense, but is harder to make multi functional. It is out of the work triangle, so the area makes more sense for pantry / full height wall cabinets. Which don't provide seating for eating -

More questions arise - If you want to do an island element, do you see it for extra counter surface for cooking prep? For eating bar? both? How do you use the bar table you have now?

What will go back in here well are colored cabinets - mid-tone muted aqua, black, a dark wood, even a classic green - but of these, the green is my last pick since I think that is going to be your best wall color.

Since your guy is capable, you could also repurpose your bar table with a larger round remnant quartz top and some locking casters to be multipurpose. That would work well with or without widening the opening and with the ability to roll to the middle of your space at 36" diameter, could be the perfect compliment to what you have now, especially if we added full height pantry storage in the corner it came from. Knowing the right shape for the top would depend on other elements - an oval might work best - it's just the start of an idea to get the most for your $.

I think your oak is good looking, and given the rest of your home, should keep it and do the other elements to get the best result.

libradesigneye OK - last thoughts. What about a cork floor - I here they are great in kitchens where you stand a lot. A dark laminate countertop in the espresso family. Maybe a punched tin backsplash in a bronze finish - see them at http://www.m-boss.com/tin_ceiling_finishes.aspx they make backsplash tins in lots of different styles - i like 0307-b for its simplicity but you can do some kind of feature behind the stove if you like. Dark counters on your lighter woods, shagreen walls, undercounter lighting, white quartz on your dark bar top, so you can use it for prep too. Art in soft aqua.

Madeline Hi rehouse. Good evening. I understand your situation better now and the fact that you have a very handy DH is indeed a wonderful thing in your situation. Because of his background in the trades as you so well put it, does he come into the decision making process with some design ideas of his own, i.e., does he also want to love the honey oak cabinets but does he want a whole new kitchen too. That desire to desire what you already have is what is holding you back, as I see it. (When I moved into our house I hated the honey oak cabinets. There is more grain showing than yours and I didn't feel that was a good thing. So I painted the kitchen a warm orange, what I call ochre, sort of a Provencal color. With ocean blue laminate countertops (?) what else was I to do! This decision turned out to be better than okay as it de-emphasized the oak cabinets. But my thought process was that it's only paint. It can be repainted.) But I am wondering if loving the oak is really the only thing stopping you. If you take out a wall for an island you can be well on your way to an exciting kitchen renovation and maybe, just maybe, that's what you really want to do.

Linda Commenter, Lauren Puschaver, may I please trouble you to tell me what process and products you used to reform your cabinets? You and I appear to have very similar oak cabinets, and you certainly got the look I am hoping for! How long has it been since you painted the cupboards? Is wear showing at all?
Many thanks!
:) Linda

jesseleedesigns If you don't like the arch on cabinets cover them with either foam board or plexi. You can fabric over foam board and use double stick tape on back since hey are light and can be removed easily down the road. If plexi is used you can have them cut to fit cabinet and screwed directly to front. They come in a variety of colors and would give a modern look (think high gloss ikea ones)

rebhouse Libradesigneye: we have indeed thought of all those scenarios (island/breakfast bar/peninsula) and how they could work in our given space if the wall came down, and we are hesitant because of the room's dimensions. From lower cab fronts the floor area measures ONLY 8x9, the 9 foot length from window wall cabs to doorway out to the hall. So we do wonder about how that would or wouldn't work. We currently use the bar table for the children's breakfast, and my husband and I plunk ourselves there for coffee and checking email/internet stuff. I've concluded we do not have enough space to open things up with an island. Do you think the space would make sense if a peninsula were put in there, with a couple counter stools on the dining room side facing into the kitchen?

We do entertain small groups from time to time, and I find that we begin in the kitchen and want to stay in there, eating and chatting, but are closed off to the dining and living rooms. It feels like we have to end one party, and migrate to the living room to begin another.

I'm going to look into cork flooring, as I haven't considered it until this point.

Colin Mattson Madeline - re: Euro hinges, many builder-grade cabinet doors are not designed with the constraints of the cup in mind. If yours were amenable to modification (or came with Blum hinges in the first place), you had a fantastic bit of luck. Often the edge tooling and stile sizes mean you can't bore a cup hole without blowing through part of the door.

Gray Sky Designs Don't be afraid of color if you are looking for something interesting! A client of mine just had me do these cabinets. It was a week of work and 3 coats (of primer/paint/glaze), but well worth it- considering how they came out. Good luck!

rebhouse Madeline: my husband doesn't think we need to do anything in the kitchen, with the exception of replacing the peeling floor! He feels our scratched up counter has plenty of life left in it! However, he does realize that we spend a lot of time in the kitchen, and putting our own touches in there will make it a more inviting/pleasing space. He doesn't have a preference in terms of decorating/designing, he leaves those decisions to me, as long as it makes structural sense of course, when we are talking about ripping walls down :)

If I had $20 000 burning a hole in my pocket, I'd gut the whole kitchen and start over, but we don't, so picking a few important elements in the kitchen to upgrade will go a long way, especially when we sell sometime in the next 5ish years (military family). So presentation for resale is also important to us, and knowing what the masses want to see, like an open concept living space, is important to us.

Village Design Group # 1 If you're keeping the white appliances, I'd white wash the cabinets and decorative ceramic cabinet knobs (look at topknobs.com). I'd go with an undermount sink and a faucet with a pull out sprayer. Change the hood over the stove to stainless steel. A stainless steel dishwasher front.
As far you countertop, Wilsonart makes a color called Antique Topaz (4863K-07) or use granite.

#2) Change all appliances to stainelss steel. Paint cabinets white. Decorative ceramic cabinet pulls. Undermount sink and a faucet w/ a pull-out sprayer. Same countertop choices.

If I can help you any more, feel free to emal me- msherrer@villagedesigngroup.com.

JOHN RICHARDS HOMES We have painted kitchen cabinets and have totally changed the look of the kitchen. Although in my opinion you should choose a color that would be similar to some of the colors on kitchen cabinets that you would see at a Lowes or Home Depot in their Kitchen displays. There are some very attractive Cream, Buttermilk , and Off Whites etc... Then you can also add a glaze rubbed into the crevices and cracks if you like the look. Lowes has many great display samples... If you saw something you liked, just carry the sample over to the paint department and they can shoot a computor camera directly to the sample and custom mix a color to match that sample. Then update the hardware pulls and if at all possible, change out the range hood. Over the range microwaves come with all kinds of features ie: convection, crisping ability etc. Also they keep more counter top space available. this is a fairly economical upgrade and would also provide the charcoal ventilation filter built in over the range. This does not require exterior venting, but if you already have a hole through the wall it may very well line up to the new one, and most all the microwave units can be adapted to either configuration. The amount of overall dollars you have to spend is key to what you can do of course. If you are handy, that also makes a huge difference. One other tip... in my opinion for a proffessional look, dont use semi-gloss paint as your beginning and ending finish thinking that you will get the look. Taking your time and being patient will pay off big time on the final results. Good Luck!

123pugsy Darken up the walls and counter top if you don't want to paint the cabinets. In the attached pics, you can see how the light colored walls allow the cabinets to stick out like a sore thumb. With the reddish brown color, not so much. The dark counter top gives a nice contrast from the cabinets below and "hides" the light colored cabinets. Your eye is brought to the counter top and the paint color and the cabinets are just there looking fine without overpowering the room.

Just my two cents.

Gina Jones I think you would get the biggest bang for your buck by painting your cabinets. Maybe gray and have a coordinating glass tile back splash. OR paint cabinets white & go with a darker gray paint on the walls & darker back splash. Add a bigger piece of crown to the tops of the cabinets and hidden rope lights above for accent lighting (drill hole in cabinet & plug into vent hood outlet) Also, spend $150 bucks for an updated snazzy faucet. Ta Da!

Lynn Edwards I rehabbed a house with this color cabinets. I used a verde butterfly granite (purchased remnants) because it has a bit of a golden holier mixed in. I changed the hardware to oil rubbed bronze. And used sherwin Williams SW 6120 believable buff paint. I used Old English furniture repair on the cabinets to restore their luster. They tend to get ashy with age and this really made all the difference. Good luck with your project!

Madeline You've been getting lots of posts about successful re-painting of honey oak cabinets. If you are keeping your white appliances and they are in good working order that's a big savings right there. I have seen somewhere on line and will try to find it again the introduction of 26" square granite tiles and the necessary end piece that are specifically DIY friendly. You have said you will check into cork flooring but cork is expensive or was the last I checked. A good engineered wood floor could look great in your kitchen and would hold up well (product and choice are light years away from just a few years ago especially as far as sturdiness is concerned) and be easier on you than say a porcelain tile floor and your sweet DH who agrees the floor needs to be replaced can do it in a weekend, While you're putting in your new granite tiles you can install an undermount stainless steel sink and a new faucet. You can change out your exhaust fan for a real vent hood or at least a microwave with vent that will give you back some countertop space. I would like to say that if your range is not performing up to sufficient standards it should also be replaced. There are incredible ranges on the market today that won't take your arm and a leg but will give you performance and make you happy every time you use it. I got all of the kitchen appliances for a friend who redid his kitchen two years ago on eBay. They are all still working as they as should. (knock on wood!) My best steal/deal was a GE Cafe stainless steel range for $1099. These often don't come with warranties but the mfr's are prepared for this and will sell a warranty for a reasonable cost.

So you've gotten some wonderful advice on how to update your generic oak cabinets from people who have been there and done it. It seems everyone who posts here hates their oak cabinets (I hate mine but I can't do a thing about it except dream). You are still holding back. Time for thoughtful decision making is good. Paralysis is not. You say you will probably be selling in "five-ish" years or so. I would hate to see you live in a kitchen that makes your time in it practically a drudgery and then five years from NOW spend the money to get the kitchen you could have had and been enjoying just to get it ready for the market and the new owner, who will probably change out everything because he wants to personalize it. If you can why don't you post a floor plan so others can comment on the idea of the wall coming down and the island going in. Good luck to you. madeline

rebhouse Yes, I discovered cork to be very expensive! Yikes! Don't think we will go that route. Also read that it can fade over time.

Painting the cabinets keeps coming up, and we have been so against going down that road. I've been into houses with cabinets painted so poorly, this process just scares me. I'll say it, the jobs I've seen look outright junky, I'd rather stay with the oak cab than have badly painted cabinets. I need to see cabinets painted properly, not just in photos on houzz to be convinced to go down this road. A stop at the paint shop might be in order.

Village Design Group You might even go a woodgrain or cork looking lamimate flooring. Pergo makes laminate flooring as does Imagin and Formica.

libradesigneye Sorry about the cork flooring prices - YoungHouseLove did it in their kitchen and they are very cost concious so I assumed. Here's some for under $3 material per sf.

Yes, a peninsula with the doorway moved over to the face of the cabinets - in front of dishwasher you want to leave 42" and if you have 9' you will want to stop with a 5'6" long peninsula against the kitchen/dining room wall. Use the existing kitchen wall but lower it to sub counter height. If you will possibly be moving in 5, then add value with this and add storage. I'd 12" deep "upper" cabinets to this side of the wall with their own plinth and baseboard to raise them up. You can buy the home depot oak wood standard cabinets with the simplest doors close to yours and paint the outside black / distress the corners and poly the whole thing. Black will make your existing oak seem richer, and is neutral so will work for all buyers. You can take the green paint all the way through your dining room. Consider the butcherblock countertops IKEA sells to use here - they are a great value, and then if you select an espresso formica for your oak it will all work together well.

Put in some corbels, and about 18" overhang will create a big 5' 6" wide peninsula, open you to the dining room and create three barstool places. You could instead build in tall pantry cabinets on the opposite wall in black, and just open the wall to stools on both sides. You would still have 5' on the dining room side and even more storage. Start 1' on the dining room side of the kitchen hall doorway and place two side by side full height pantry cabinets (6' wide) on the wall there in a dark finished wood from the prefab choices. Then, take down the wall to bar height instead of counter height and put the butcherblock from the end of the last cabinet across the pony wall - you'll have seating on both sides, and one dead corner you can put a trash can in under the wood counter.

libradesigneye one more idea - great looking backsplash http://www.m-boss.com/tin_ceiling_finishes.aspx comes in a range of finishes.

rebhouse Okay, talking it over with the hubby, we have officially decided to open the kitchen/dining area up by taking the wall down half way and creating a peninsula coming off our "clock" wall, creating more counter space/storage, additional seating with stools, and an open feel to our space. I know the "devil is in the detail" and we aren't there yet, but this is a great start for us....I feel we have some direction now. We need to decide whether to take the wall down to counter or bar height for the seating...I guess that is preference, right? The tiered counter seems choppy to me. Suggestions? Libradesigneye: I like the idea of additional cabinetry being darker...I will look into the generic stuff from Home Depot. Not sure if I like the tin backsplash though. I was totally thinking some kind of ceramic....

Madeline Congratulations on that decision!

libradesigneye Counter height is probably more usable for kitchen prep and works with standard height cabinets used below. Ceramic tile backsplash would be wonderful.