Take it from me, if you can afford new cabinets - do it! A fresh coat of paint or darker stain will definitely help, but you'll probably still be left feeling like your kitchen is somewhat dated. You have a great space to work with! I had the dreaded orange oak cabinets too, so I feel your pain. I couldn't afford new cabinets about 5 years ago so I painted mine. I didn't want dark/stained so I picked a soft gray color. By the time I put in new granite, BS, appliances, ect - well I should have just saved up and bought new cabinets. Oh well, lesson learned... But I DO love my kitchen after all the work. I love it wayyyyy better than my old space so I don't regret the decision to paint, it's just that my kitchen still feels dated so it's only a matter of time until the soffit comes down and I get new uppers... To sum it up, paint or stain will definitely improve the space. But new cabinets will make a bigger impact so if you can afford replacing everything then go for it. If you do paint, use quality paint. It's not cheap. I used BM Advanced paint. I won't use anything else going forward. I have found dried food on my cabinets and picked it off with my fingernail and the paint never chips or comes off. Here are two examples in my home. The first is my kitchen. I painted instead of replacing the cabinets. I love the space but it's not my dream space. before after Now here's my second example. This time we replaced the ugly oak cabinet. See what I mean by new cabinets making a bigger impact?

That is very sweet. (I hope he asked his nan's permission before posting it ... and said "please" and "thank you"!)

Your right it wont take the java gel as well as bare wood. You will need to apply toners to the wood to even out the final color. Best is to try and find a piece of same type of wood to do the repairs with.

Got a dining table from CL with a little water damage (only the top color is damaged), which is perfect otherwise. I am planning to use Java gel stain for this table top to cover up the water damage. Can someone who has experience with the gel stain suggest whether it works or not ie., the stain can hide the damage.