IMO- While I agree with 82mainstreet about painting cabinets white and not expresso, I also believe you won't be happy unless the color combo pleases you. - First, what do you want to accomplish? Are you intending to live in the home for a long time? Or are you painting for resale? - If you are painting for resale, then classic white for your cabinets is your best choice. It has wider appeal. A future owner will find it easier to change the wall color than the cabinets. - If you are planning to stay in the house, you can be more personal in your color choices. - But be wary of fads, especially when painting cabinets. It is much easier to paint walls. From your photo, it looks like your cabinets are nicely finished wood. Personally, I wouldn't change that unless they are damaged. I would just update the wall color, but that is just my opinion. If you do paint the cabinets, don't be swayed by fad colors. I would still recommend white or maybe a pale cream. That way, if you get tired of your color combo in the future, you only have to change the walls to update the room. - Unless you are changing your appliances and flooring, very dark cabinets will probably make your kitchen feel overwhelmingly dark and warm. - Consider your lighting and how you want your kitchen to feel. Does your kitchen feel too warm or too cool when your work in it? - White will give your room a light and airy feel especially if paired with cool blues and greens. If that seems to make the room feel too cold, white or cream can be warmed up with a bright wall color like apricot, lime green or turquoise. Try looking through magazines for color combos you like...or look inside your own closet for colors that make you feel good.

Kitchendetective, that wall by the table is the only full wall. Other than that I have a lot of cutting in above and below windows and doors, plus a small wall about 18" wide next to my oven. I'm afraid it would look too chopped up to have those little bits and pieces one color and the table wall a different color. What do you think? I'm really terrible at visualizing. I want to say thanks to all of you for your specific paint suggestions. I've got them all written down and I'm going tomorrow to my local awesome paint store with my bag of samples and see what I come up with. It helps me so much to have specific paints to look at because there are just too many choices and it overwhelms a girl! tkbalt, your kitchen is so pretty. What a transformation from those white slab doors! I'll be back Monday with narrowed down choices and photos of my favorites painted on the wall with my kitchen samples propped up. OR MAYBE WITH MY REAL CABINETS!!! I just realized, cabs are scheduled to go in tomorrow. WOO HOO!!! Anita

orPaint the trim around the door a nice crisp white (use a semi gloss enamel like BM Advance.) Paint the window and trim in the same white. paint your door black or Iron Ore. remove that valance. Replace the cabinet hardware to a matte black or a brushed nickel. try Pale oak on the walls, and two of these others for the trim/door color or for under the window you could do a built in bench against that wall (see pic,,,ignore the L shape. you would just do the single bench against the wall) and find a rectangle table to push up next to the bench. add two chairs for the other side

Working with the ivory cabinets and black counters, you could look at B.M. Silver Gray. But, it is advice based on not a lot of information from you. For instance, you and I right now loose our daylight around 4:30. The window(s) in the kitchen, from what direction does the light come? You don’t mention the color of the wall color in the other abutting room, and I’d feel better advising you if you could post a photo of the furniture. Otherwise, a safe and very good choice would be to paint the kitchen walls the color of the cabinets in a matte finish and paint the ceiling blue. Brrrrr…it’s cold today.