I just painted my bathroom and kitchen cabinets and I'm happy with the results. They were honey oak in terrible shape. In the bathroom I painted an off white color, then glazed them in a greyish/tan color, then covered with polycrilic with Minwax poly in Satin finish. As of right now the kitchen cabs are painted off white though not yet glazed. I don't like how the poly I put on top of the glazing on the bathroom cabs makes the cabinets so shiny so I may not add the glazing in the kitchen. The painted off white in the kitchen looks ok - certainly better than the oak IMO. I wanted to cover a lot of the grain which is my case was raised and in poor condition so I sanded a lot but not down to bare wood. I primed and put on 2 coats of BM White Sand. Then I glazed (that was tough to get right and VERY aggravating) then I applied 2 coats of poly. I have a guide for it and if you email me I'll send it to you electronically. Be warned- the painting takes much longer than anticipated but isn't hard work, just tedious. Good luck! Here is a link that might be useful: Chooch's painted and glazed cabinets

About to embark on cabinet finish selection as yourself, I've read some about PCV (post catalytic conversion colorant varnish) which many fine cabinetry manufacturers are now using, a switch typically from a pre-catalytic (and other technique) lacquered varnish finish (non-conversion coating film). The advantage of PCV is a far more durable, UV inhibiting finish (no yellowing) which withstands household chemical cleanup, is hard to scratch, better resists water stains and buys the owner time on a colorant finish. It's higher in solids so it requires less coats (benefit to manufacturer) and in fact a high build of finish (5mil) will make the finish brittle. Most manufacturers don't go over 3mils. Cure time is immediate giving manufacturers an edge up on turnaround/efficiency. The biggest downside to PCV finish however is it's hard to repair, especially on site. The process of building conversion coating films is an irreversible process (there are various types, 2k, acid catalyzed and oil based). No process, including PCV finish is bullet proof. However, the selection of a MDF door and drawer front with PVC apparently is felt to be a leader in the industry for those choosing paint (actually colorant) based finish which lasts. This finish technique is worth discussing w.r.t. to your desire for a mitered door. The alternative and still widely used manufacturer paint finish, pre-catalyzed lacquered varnish, has the great advantage of being repairable. The chemical process is reversible (forms the film by solvent evaporation alone, for example, as using single component lacquers). The film is not normally damaged when re-dissolved, so standard lacquers are easier to repair (on site too). Builds to 3 mils to 5 mils are tolerable (but lower builds are more common, even as low as 1.5 mil by one cabinet maker I recently reviewed). The con to a lacquered finish is the cure time: it takes 3 to 4 weeks (not the same as the stack time), so it takes longer for an order to be properly finished. These points are taken from my notes, and experts will have more knowledge. When it comes to paint (now often called colorant) finish, it is helpful to know about these two techniques and use them to help pick your cabinet doors/drawers product selection (mdf vs plywood) as well as finish technique for longevity with minimal cracking. There is no perfect finish is always worth remembering. Hope this helps.

determined.....the painting, or should I say painting difficulty, has alread crossed my mind. We're thinking about using the "packets". It's bundles of precut boards that you install using a special baseboard and special chair rail. If we decide to go this way I will paint the individual boards before putting up and then just do touch-up. Thanks for replying.

Looking from that direction, I think using the color of the white cabinets would be best. That would keep your island color as a "focal point" and keep that fireplace wall from becoming a "black hole". But can you take a picture looking the other way too (from the fireplace towards the island)?