I wish I could help, but I'm not sure what you can do. I would be tempted to paint the cabinets dark. I think that would make the countertop and backsplash pop.

I think those cabs would look fabulous gel-stained to a darker color - like an espresso. I'm partial to gray, black, and white color combos, with maybe pops of red or blue here and there. I'm not the right person to comment on feasibility though.

Check out celticmoon's kitchen - I think you could pull off a similar effect, and hers is stunning IMO.

I think making the cabinets darker would be a great idea. You know, you can do the whole thing yourself, including the fake wood.

I found this place when I had to order replacement doors for the ones that apparently didn't actually exist. They sell everything, but even better, they have great instructions. You can probably find what you need locally.

Good luck

Here is a link that might be useful: Northwoods Doors

I didn't see in your note anything that would indicate what is wrong with the kitchen you have. Kind of hard to fix something when you don't know what's broken.

So you might start with a little self-evaluation. What is it you don't like? Is it functionality or decorative? Right now I'd say you have an excellent chance of ending up with a dark kitchen you don't like.

If the problem is appearance, how about starting by looking through magazines, books newspapers, etc for something you DO like. Until you can figure out what it is you're shooting for you are just wasting time and money.

I agree with rumble. I think you need to get an idea of what you LIKE so you can make changes that will make you happy.
Your kitchen looks nice and looks like it has good space. But you do want to love your kitchen or atleast have an idea of the vision of a lovely kitchen so you can work towards it.

You can go darker or lighter on the cabinets. you can add hardware (Oil rubbed bronze or brushed chrome), you can paint, add window treatment, add pendant lighting...... but you need to know what look you are going for in order to make those decisions.

Looking again at the pictures..... I notice that BOTH the backsplash and the granite have a lot of movement and color variation. Your table/chairs and bar chairs have dark wood. I would go LIGHT on your cabinets. I think you need something to calm the space down and act as a backdrop instead of a focal point.

Hey everyone!
Thanks so much for your input! The only issue I have with my kitchen is cosmetic.
I think a big part of the problem is... I don't KNOW what I want... Which I probably should have thought of before I put in the new granite and the backsplash. (Oops!) I guess I was thinking that since the kitchen was so bland; light floor, light cabinets, light walls; that the interesting looking counter and blacksplash would be the "pop" I was looking for.
I did take a look at Celticmoon's kitchen- gorgeous!- and I also saw a kitchen I really liked on HGTV today.
(see attached)
So maybe I am leaning more towards darker cabinets.
I definitely can't afford to replace the cabinets right now... So maybe I should look into the gel staining.
Has anyone ever had this professionally done? I also saw Celticmoon's DIY instructions, but I don't think I have the nerve to do it myself! Does anyone know about how much it would cost to have it done professionally?
Thanks again! :)

Here is a link that might be useful: kitchen idea?

How much would depend on where you live and what labor goes for there. The sides of your cab are laminate/melamine (I know cause I have the same thing). The doors are probably solid wood. So, you could gel stain the doors, you'd have to cover the sides in wood veneer and then stain it to match. You don't need a "craftsman" to do this... probably an experienced handyman would do.

You have a color clash: greys and whites in the countertops and backsplash, and curtains ... with strongly orangy wood in the cabinets that doesn't blend well with the pale yellow walls.

I would stain or paint them something that goes better with the counters.

I like everything in your kitchen except the backsplash. It seems busy to me too. I love the cabinets and counter tops like they are, but would go with a more serene backsplash. Just my opinion, so please feel free to throw it out with the bathwater. :-)

Oh wow!
Lazygardens- you just enlightened me; thank you!
(Thanks to everyone else who gave their advice too!)
My kitchen DOES clash (I don't know why I didn't realize that on my own...)! So I think I am going to have to bite the bullet and paint my walls :-/
Does anyone have any ideas on a paint color? I was thinking a light, warm gray... And then maybe darker stained cabinets? Or should I go with a taupe / tan color on the walls? Or a grayish- green color? I know it's hard to tell colors over the computer... I'll send another pic of my kitchen, maybe that will help! :) (if you didn't flip through these pics earlier...)
Thanks again!!

Here is a link that might be useful: closer pic of counter

FWIW, I think re-painting the walls would be far less effort than painting/staining the cabinets.

There are limits to restrained good taste. Consider an additional color. I read somewhere that an accent color needs 5 uses in order to be a part of the decor. Choose a color--let's say celery green because it's fashionable right now, but it could be whatever you love. Try running a color band along the valence over the window. Put out a green fruitbowl and a potted plant in green pot. Towels? a piece of art? Choose whatever your heart loves--you will want to be in this space.

My first impression is that it's so neutral, so like forantha I'd add a splash of color. I'd start with the window treatments and look for some great fabric in your favorite color(s). (Or try to find window treatments you love; but I find most off-the-shelf drapes to be painfully dull.)

Whether or not you stain the cabinets (and I do think you could make them harmonize better with your great counters and backsplash) I think more colorful, less "safe" window treatments would brighten up the room.

I'm so glad you're saying you're going to paint the walls. When you said "don't tell me to paint the walls" - I didn't say it. But that is much easier than the cabinets. I think the cabinets are fine and the wall color is throwing everything off.

Yeah, I think I'm realizing that painting the walls is definitely going to be easier than refinishing all the cabinets... Not saying I won't want to do the cabinets later, but I think I'll start with painting the walls for now!
And I definitely agree with you, florantha & chicagoans, I DO need a little color... I haven't really started accessorizing at all yet!
The color of the walls now is a golden, yellowish color. Which I originally thought would be okay with the delicatus granite, but now I think it looks terrible with it. I didn't really realize how white my granite was until I saw it actually installed in my kitchen.
I've been going through paint samples. I'm not afraid of color, but I want to make sure I find something that blends with the counter, the backsplash (it's kind of a wild backsplash, I know!) and with my family room (the kitchen opens up into the family room; there's only a 1/2 wall that divides the 2 rooms).
So far I've found a creamy, warm, off-white; and a few light beige/gray colors (similar to the medium gray-ish color in the backsplash tiles).
What do you guys think?
Yay!, I'm so excited, I feel like I'm making progress!
attached: here's the kitchen, going into the family room

Here is a link that might be useful: kitchen/fam rm

Oops! I guess this link didn't work on my last post...
Take 2...

Here is a link that might be useful: kitchen/fam rm

I love your Kitchen and Family room. I think painting the walls in the kitchen a deeper color (not in the orangey tone) will make all the difference in the world, but make sure it blends with the adjoining Family Room colors. Over your 1/2 wall, I would add something to give it a square column look, only coming off the wall an inch or so.Do the same on the other wall from floor to ceiling to seperate the rooms. (Be sure not to over power in size.) Paint the columns the color of your trim.
These columns are for painting purposes only, so your not adding a definte seperation, your adding style, yet keeping the open feeling.
Done tastefully, I think it would add a little charm to an already beautiful house.

Thanks claga!
What are you thinking for paint colors for the family room?
Any suggestions? :)
Also, have you come across any pics of the columns? Thanks so much for your help!

melis1251
Am wondering if you have made any progress on the color decisions yet?

I'm dithering myself and would love to see how others are working at it.

hey florantha,
Thanks for asking! After going back and forth between trying to refinish / reface these cabinets or getting entirely NEW cabinets, DH and I decided that we should attempt the refinish ourselves with the General finishes gel stain...
What a disaster!
We bought the stain last weekend; we bought the Java and the Brown Mahogany, not sure of which color would look better. We prepped the cabinet doors and applied our first coat of gel stain Sunday night (to the inside of our island cabinets). We did 1 cabinet door Java and 2 door Brown Mahogany. The cabinets looked okay, but weren't dark enough. So Monday night we applied another coat of gel stain- 1 of brown mahogany, then 2 of java (over 1 door we had done in java the night before, and 1 door we had done in brown mahogany the night before, to see which color combo we liked best, if that makes any sense).
Ugh...
There was absolutely NO difference in color... if anything, I swear, they cabinets looked lighter! And then the stain was kinda getting goopey in the corners of the recessed panels.
I was actually just reviewing all the gel stain info I had gotten off of GW to see where I had gone wrong, but I can't figure it out for the life of me.
So it looks like now we're going to paint! We're thinking creamy white, to match the background of the granite.
Back to square one! :)
I'll keep you posted though :)

Oh, that's too bad about the gel stain. How about creamy white on the perimeter and black on the island? I think that would look great.

Something more to think about...grey instead of white.

Benjamin MooreÂs gray color ideas blog from "The Right Bank" under Âjust when you thought I couldnt have anything more to say about gray paint. http://www.fromtherightbank.com/2010/01/just-when-you-thought-i-couldnt-have-any-more-to-say-about-gray-paint/

A look at Grey kitchenÂs on "The Right Bank" http://www.fromtherightbank.com/2009/12/gray-kitchens/

Positano- Thanks for the sympathy :) I love your creamy white / black idea... I've been looking at some paint colors; I really like white dove and mayonnaise by BM. (Looks like another weekend at the paint store is in my future!) I was thinking either black or dark, dark brown for the island.
OR!
Dark Gray for the island, Jterrilyln?! Hmm... that could be an idea... I'll have to think about that! I always forget that it's okay to paint cabinets a color other than white or black.
I have some serious homework to do!

Hey, I have to admit that as an artist I never really thought about the color grey. To me it was a non-color for people without personality to settle on. Until recently... after seeing some lovely shades of grey in kitchens! It takes a lot of searching but there are some stunning kitchens in everything to soft classic sophistication grey to darker shades and finally, light and mid grey shades (instead of white) to mix with wood cabinetry. After years of poo pooing grey IÂm really digging it now and think that if you have colorful art work or just like bits of color throughout it could be a nice neutral background.

I think cabinets would look good darker to match your furniture. You could get wrapping paper in the color you are thinking about and tape it over your cabinets to get an idea. of what it would look like overall. I like your neutrals though. :-)

Some more sources of colors to look at are the Valspar chips at Lowes. The National Trust for Historic Preservation samples are sprinkled through the choices. And some of those are pretty good. Each sample has a square cut out of it to place over another color in your space. One green tinted khaki is worth checking out. 6008-2A Jekyll Club Cherokee Tan.
Pratt&Lambert also has some unique off whites.

But don't use those paints. Pittsburgh Paints urethane cross linked Manor line is better at sticking because of the urethane. They can exactly match any chip because their tint system has a smaller amount available to calibrate the formula. They also have more base levels. You can take a color that can be mixed in the white base and ask for the formula in base 1. This will take less color but give you a more translucent look in satin. Double it in base 1 for a medium shade for trim.
For brushes the one to look at is the Alpha Wooster in several sizes. Pittsburgh will have it. Here's a link to a review of the brush and a blog with lots of paint info. Read all the things this guy says. He knows painting.

Here is a link that might be useful: Painting tips