Casey Martinez I like kitchen # 1 just the way it is. Seems to have a happy vibe. Maybe it just needs a really good lighting design?

simps214 I actually quite like the distressed black cabinets in number 3. Adds a little rustic drama and could work in many designs.

kimsdesigns2 I agree with Casey I think that before anybody goes paint crazy that you might want to do something with the lighting first. I believe that lighting can make a huge difference.

sandhollowcondo Fabulous suggestions!

apple_pie_order Kitchen #1 has top of the line custom walnut cabinets that the homeowner likes. There are lots of cheap wood cabinets with good clear photos in the Discussions; try choosing one of those kitchens for painting recommendations.

ariadne2095 I couldn't agree more about painting the kitchen cabinets!!!!!

We needed to update the family house and sell it after my MIL was moved to assisted living. We were totally unprepared for what lay ahead, to say the least! We could not afford a remodel. period. After much discussion and fierce budget negotiations we agreed upon the following cosmetic upgrades: regrout kitchen counter tops and backsplash; new linoleum floor for kitchen and family room; paint kitchen cabs in and out; refinish HW floor; paint entire house in and out.

Was it worth it? Absolutely!!!! No dark and moody 1970's here. Nothing but bright, clean and welcoming space. The 1950 style remains but the vibe is contemporary. It is a happy place now. And we didn't have to demo a single wall to do it. And the single biggest impact? Yep, those nice white kitchen cabinets!

The best part was that the sale brought us more than expected. In fact, our return on that small amount of work was a little over 400%. It was worth every dime and all the effort.

Jennifer Ott I wouldn't push painting cabinets onto a client who really wanted to keep the wood finish, but all three of these homeowners wanted feedback on colors for re-painting their cabinets. Kitchen #1 has wear on the cabinet fronts around the pulls, and on a side island panel, so they need to either strip and stain/refinish or paint. I think painting is easier to tackle than re-staining.

Also I'd be careful adding lots of new lighting. There's the added expense of hiring design and trade professionals to do the proper layout & installation, the increased energy consumption and related cost, and many municipalities (including the entire state of California) are enacting codes that limit watts per square foot useage in residential new construction and remodels.

Casey Martinez All good points Jennifer. Painting may be the best way to go.

appytrails I have a hard time picturing the changes from a square of color. If it is possible, I'd love, love, love to see a computer "mock up" to show what the suggestions would look like in real life.
We've had these color choice articles before... maybe next time we could actually see the suggestions play out on the screen?????

sacapuntaslapioz Kitchen No. 1: I would go for a white with grey undertones, much lighter than the lightest on the palete. for a countertop I would do iceStone and green glass subway tile for the backsplash. install under counter lights before replacing the counter.
Kitchen No. 2: option B as the red floors would be too much with the green I think. I would replace a few doors with glass or remove the doors altogether.
Kitchen No. 3: I would go with the green cabinets.

catclawrose Another option for the first,(or other kitchen pictures), might be to replace just the cabinet doors, with an updated design. And sanding a lot of the stain out of the cabinets would really do some lightening on the wood. We have a company near us,( I LOVE visiting their "showroom" when I go to pick up huge dump trailers of their discarded sawdust, for my horses' stalls ! They ONLY make doors, not entire cabinets, and the choices are stunning !), Something with some glass inserts, perhaps ? In all of the photos, the countertops look pretty usable, the cabinets just look tired. Hey, I have a thrown-together kitchen, with NO cabinets at all, so ANY cabinets would be a dream for me !!

maeeast What is a "stainless steel laminate countertop", as referenced in Option 2?

"Option 2: Splash of turquoise. Another option, one that injects some fun color, is to go with a stainless steel laminate countertop and cabinets in a beautiful midcentury modern turquoise, such as Tranquil Blue 2051-50 from Benjamin Moore"

Laminate can be a great budget-friendly and easy maintenance option. Stainless steel is typically high-end. When I clicked on the link in Option 2, it opened a window about real stainless steel countertops, with no mention of laminate.

lilion Are there any "after" shots? Because a "before" with some paint swatches and no "after" photo is kind of useless as far as I'm concerned. Perhaps I'm just not that imaginative.

alwaysdesigning I think it's hard to go wrong with any change. I think I would mostly keep to neutrals and inject color in artwork or accessories within the spaces.

Lighting, someone mentioned, and I think should also be addressed at the same time. Update and invest in new fixtures, maybe something popular and stylish in vogue now. Lighting can always be changed out as an update feature.

Undercabinet lighting is perfect to do now during remodel. The difference is amazing. Kitchen 3, with glass front shelves, which can be a stenciled pattern or an obscure glass, can benefit from interior cabinet lighting on a decorative featured cabinet also,.

Kitchen Number two in a cottage white would be perfect. I also love the creamy neutrals with glazes that bring out the cabinet details, but be careful that it won't look "dirty".

Kitchen number one would look great with grey and butcher block. A stainless backsplash can bring the two greys together and keep the modern vibe going. Neutral, but still some interest. Stainless and silver furnishing accents will be perfect. Any color can pair with grey and look great.

flyergal I also like Kitchen #!. Maybe some more modern Pulls, and then replace that old Oven. Get rid of those black and white canisters and bring in some bright accessories.

flyergal The problem I see with #2 and 3 kitchen is that the countertops and cabinets clash. Both surfaces are dark. I like the wood. Don't paint it unless in really bad shape, maybe just needs cleaned. put in lighter countertop and backsplash. Brown (beige)and Black are ugly together. If its a vacation home put something fun on the counters like Apple green, that would look good with those Black cabinets.

aliwander What's the point if you're not going to show the "after" kitchen?

psychdoc49 For the first kitchen I would suggest "freshening" up the cabinets rather than painting. I have very similar ones in my 63 ranch and this strategy really worked for me. I used some special cleaners/restorers and gave them a coat of poly. New mid century handles and they should look great! I recently noticed Home Depot offers this service now if you're not up for dyi. Then you can put your $$ in a great countertop and backsplash. I love the idea of a stainless steel laminate counter with a colorful mosaic tile for the backsplash. Add some undercounter lighting and I will look great. I did mine 15 years ago and they looked great for many years :)

dmhouse Stained natural wood cabinents = high end. Painted cabinets = low end. Degrade your cabinets by painting only after all other options for brightening the room have been exhausted. And be aware, as I learned from experience, painted cabinets chip, losing their fresh new appearance in only a few years. The owners may consider their cabinets dated, but they maintained their decent appearance far longer than painted cabinets will.

A. Peltier Interiors This is so perfect, my SIL just bought a home and her kitchen looks identical to the first one. i have passed this article along!

redroses333 I love these ideas by Jennifer, but I am having a hard time visualizing the recommendations, and I suspect many other readers would also like to see how the kitchen looked/would look if these changes were adopted. I saw the "before" photos at the start of the article, and I expected to see "after" photos, but there were none; big disappointment. I agree with aliwander's comments. I think we need to SEE the difference, not just look at colour chips. If the kitchen wasn't really redone as suggested, is there not some software designers use that can provide a computerized photo of how the kitchen WOULD look with these new colours? Like they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. Keep up the writing, Jennifer. I love the topic you tackled; good for you.

Jennifer Ott Thanks, everyone, for the great feedback! I agree it is confusing to have a photo labeled "before" if there is no corresponding "after," I'll pass that along to the editors.

And while I'm not sure I can swing doing computer renderings, it is very helpful to know what you all find useful vs. not so much.

kathleencarriere Looking to re do kitchen. Would love to see "after"

lctpdc I would love to see some cool new hardware on these cabinets.

dianepettis I absolutely love these ideas. We just moved..love our ,location etc. But the cabinets are white laminate..like you would put in a garage!!!!! Anything we can do to them?? Cant affo
rd new ones yet!! Help!!
Diane
Farmnkids@yahoo.com

gillianne For our late '60s kitchen in a ranch home, we left the dark wood cabinet frames and had the doors stripped and resealed in a much lighter tone. Because we kept the original copper hinges, we replaced the hardware with copper knobs and pulls in a more contemporary style (we also replaced the counters). We like the look but suspect the next owners will lean toward paint or a gut job. Honestly, one of the biggest improvements was removing the gingerbread wooden valance connecting 2 upper cabinets--a favorite element of that era. The curves didn't suit the straightforward look of the house, and that hunk of wood reduced light from a window over the sink. I called it "the eyebrow" and couldn't wait to take it down. Even my guy was surprised what a difference removing that thing made.

1655graff here is what we did. We originally looked at simply painting some cabinets. We ran the numbers and eventually designed and planned a revised kitchen within the existing footprint:
1) keeping some of the original cabinets (ca. 1956) painting them white, but removing several of the wall cabinets
2) opening up the pantry closet (originally laundry room) and turning it into walkin cubby with new cabinets
3) opening up some of the former passtrough slot and adding a bar
4) unifying the flooring between the kitchen and the adjoining small family room
5) unifying the color scheme between these 2 adjoining rooms
6) replacing countertops, sinks and appliances, moving the oven and the refrigerator and adding a backslpash
7) updating the snk layout, the electrical outlets, and the lighting plan

Here are the "Before" pictures. Later I'll post the "After" ones.

francesk Where are the after pictures? I'd really like to see these color combos.

giggles60 No after pics?

kaz2 If anyone has a dark kitchen and you want more light, nobody has suggested a solar tube. Once fitted the light is free and will disperse a lovely even light over the room. Just a thought
Here's a video of a cheap one.... but there are diferent types around.

janabanana The first set of cabinets appear to be high quality. I can't imagine painting ANY color onto them especially the blue color that is suggested. That color would go out of style in a heartbeat.
We can't see the whole kitchen, but the owner could start out by taking down 2 uppers by the oven (since that is all I can see) and putting up a dynamite, bright, very large painting or framed fabric to energize the space. Alternately, where those 2 cabinets were removed, paint that wall a bright color and put up light colored wood shelves. Then move on to the backsplash and counters.
There appears to be light coming from the right. in the picture. Perhaps the cabinet above the microwave could be taken down as well if it is blocking that light.

Marie-Pierre Ayoul Decorative painting If you want to paint the cabinets I'd try paints such as Annie Sloan, Caromal or Cece Caldwell. Haven't tried any yet but they are supposed to go on any furniture, even Kitchen cabinets, without any sanding or priming. Just cleaning beforehand to get rid of any dirt and grease, painting (you can go for a shabby chic look if you like) and sealing with a wax or water based varnish.

moxieinvt Those 'busy' wood grained cabinets are STUNNING. I would NEVER paint those but I would strip them and lighten the wood. The grain is gorgeous.

maeeast To Marie-Pierre Ayoul Decorative painting
Annie Sloan paint IS amazing and would be easy and quite beautiful; however at $35/quart (avg retail price) + the Annie Sloan Soft Wax at $25/16 oz (avg retail & req'd product to finish the project), I didn't consider that option to be an "affordable update" for a kitchen.

But I can certainly recommend it on a smaller project -- it's quick and the results are fabulous.

judithesl Interesting post. How do you decide whether refinishing will work or whether it's time to just put in new cabinets? I have a 1960 house with original wood cabinets, although the doors were replaced more recently with plywood ones. The cabinets look a little beat up and the previous owner lined all the shelves with contact paper that I can't remove, The counter top and the floor both are worn out. My concern is that if I'm replacing those, I should replace the cabinets or the room will look only half done. Any thoughts?

Marie-Pierre Ayoul Decorative painting To judithesl:

I agree: if your cabinets are a bit cheap looking right now (especially with that awful contact paper), they will look even worse with new surroundings. Depending on your budget and free time it may be really worth it to take advantage of the situation by completely remodeling your kitchen.
I had a similar situation and did most of the work myself, designed a new kitchen, changed the floor, ripped out the existing cabinets, installed new cabinets from IKEA (everyone seems to love to hate IKEA but I think their kitchens are great), bought counter tops from Home Depot and had them installed, kept my sink, stove and fridge, repainted the walls, and it cost me under 5000$ (not counting the taking down of 2 walls and redirecting the plumbing). But of course, I love doing this kind of stuff :).

I even painstakingly created a mosaic backsplash inspired by Gaudi mosaics with white tiles I hand painted (PEBEO makes ceramic paint for arts and craft), broke and assembled, it really brings art in the kitchen. I just need to top it with a beautiful maple plank to get a finished look. I love it so I'm sharing a picture, just for fun.

1655graff kaz2 => As part of the lighting rework (#7), we added a solar tube at the sink area. The roof and attic (ventilation, HVAC returns, etc.) can be interesting challenges to installing such tubes so we would have liked to have found a USA retailer of solar collection and glass fiber optics setups (see... http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/246/). We ended up buying VELUX with the lighting fixture option so that the tube provides light, day and night.

All => Here is a set of the before and after pictures for our formerly dark kitchen. The first 2 are the entry from the dining room (The 2nd one keeps rotating to one side in the upload. Sorry.). The 3rd is a collage of the other 3 pictures I posted yesterday. I still would like to post pictures of the pantry before and after, but it will take some more time to find the pictures.

ariadne2095 @judithesl - paint or replace?

a professional paint job is cheaper than new cabinets. It's even cheaper if you paint it yourself. If the painting doesn't give enough impact, you will still have fresh, new cabinets that you can live with for a long time until you can afford to replace them!

ariadne2095 There are lots of great ideas here, but remember, the owners did not want to open walls, ceilings, etc. they wanted a refresh, not a remodel. Paint appears to fit the bill rather nicely.

Everyone has such wonderfully unique style and taste.

Remember......If you are planning on selling your house, stick with white, ivory, cream. No strong colors, in fact no color at all. And avoid specialty paints such as chalkboard paint and paint used in distressing applications. Make it bland! Bring color in via art and accessories. Don't create your vision, let the buyer walk in and be able to see *their* vision.

ariadne2095 There are lots of great ideas here, but remember, the owners did not want to open walls, ceilings, etc. they wanted a refresh, not a remodel. Paint appears to fit the bill rather nicely.

ariadne2095 Sorry for the multiple posts. My phone got stuck and kept trying (and trying).

apple_pie_order Judithesl:

Stubborn old Contact paper can sometimes be removed with the aid of a hair dryer blowing very hot air to soften the adhesive. It might be worth a try on a rainy afternoon.

tbhattac Kitchen #1 is mine. I posted the design dilemma a few weeks ago. Our kitchen isn't actually dark at all--we have tons and tons of windows making it extremely light (during the daytime at least.) We actually need window treatments for light control--that's how sunny it gets in our kitchen. Our cabinets are solid wood and we decided not to paint them. We decided to replace our laminate counters thus far with solid surface. I'll post "after" pictures when its done.

katori I agree with dmhouse. I painted my cabinets and is wasn't long before there was chipping & staining. Fortunately it didn't matter much to me since there were cheap cabinets to begin with. A friend of mine had her cabinets professionally painted & her cabinets now look even worse with chipping and staining than mine. I would recommend painting only as a last resort and only on cheap grade cabinets.

janie00marie we will see the "after" picture after they redo the kitchens???? yes???

gemini01 I agree with Casey Martinez and kimdesigns2. Kitchen #1 looks fine. The only things I would might consider changing would be lighting, countertop , and|or the backsplash.