Thanks everybody for your input. The shaker cabinets are new -- so that's why I hesitate to paint them. True, the lighting in the kitchen isn't that great -- so perhaps it would be difficult for people to notice the difference. I would love, however, to change the hardware. Currently they are the tubular pulls which seem too contemporary for this pre-war apartment. I know I may have to paint the cabinets depending on the new hardware I select. If I can fill in the holes with wood filler and have it paint so it would be seamless, I'd leave it as it is. But not sure if that will happen. If I end up having to paint the cabinets, I figure might as well paint them the same color as the trim/moldings. Decorators White looks good in all of the rooms (with the exception of the master bedroom where colors are more muted) because the furniture tends to run on the fresh clean side.

Monkey,,,a few suggestions. Only you can decide if your 20 year old knotty pine cabs are worth keeping as is. It's not like they're made from some exotic wood, so do what you like. You have to look at them everyday. while they may look ok in the photos, perhaps you see more wear and damage than we do. The inspo pics above are gorgeous, but those cabs are a nice oak. has a different tone than your knotty pine. try the other small changes first and see how you like it. you could always install a beadboard backsplash, paint it, and see how you like it. For the record, I don't think a white tile will make your kitchen too bright. for the countertops, there are a few DIY options other than painting them that you can try. One is Ardex concrete. it's a skim coat you can do right over whats there. if you google it, many videos and pics will come up on how to do it. It's not that difficult. you can even tint it black so you get a similar dark charcoal looking counter. The other is to remove what you have and make your own wood countertops out of doug fir beams. Also how-to's online. These are just options for you to consider. I'm not saying any one is better than the other. painting the cabs. you don't have that many to do, so it can be done, if you follow the proper prep instructions. I won't get into here, but if you do decide to go that route, let me know as I have one of the best online tutorials I can give you. Again, I'm only offering you options. People come on here and say, 'do this" or 'my god don't paint those',,, It's your home. Do what makes you happy. here are a few knotty pine kitchens, some natural, some painted. with your black countertop, if you don't want to have white tile, do a natural slate in these black/rust colored tones. they'd be a perfect match. Paint the surrounding walls a light cream to keep things from getting too dark. I think black appliances look great w/pine this is a laminate top and a travertine splash. if you do want to paint the cabs, or even the walls, this color would look fine. natural, glass in a few of the uppers, new lighting and granite. the sage green is beautiful w/your floors. You could always do just the lower cabs in this color, or do the entire lot. white splash, walls and butcher block or lighter countertop, you'd have a beautiful kitchen. below, she did a beadboard backsplash w/some open shelving.

thank you so much for your response! The floors are quarter sawn white oak that will be stained a warm med tone walnut color. nothing too dark. I did realize when i posted this that my cabinets will touch the ceiling so I decided to go with the same white throughout most of the house on the ceilings, Decorators White. On the top floor, which is our master bedroom suite I think I'm going to use the Chantilly lace. It's a bit darker up there and I'm trying to make it as bright as possible. Thats the color of our vanity in the masterbath, so I may just do all the trim and ceilings that color. That floor is a clean break from all the other walls and trim, so it won't look like a mistake! Truthfully the place was a mess before renovation (we bought it that way) so I really just want everything clean and white!! I may end up doing what you suggested with the walls...still wishing for white, but don't I can steer away from the Decorators white without making the cabinets look dingy.

@Gaby Buller Take a look at SW 7042 Shoji White, for the walls. You can definately do a beautiful white palette. Since all color has a DNA (Hue family, Value and Chroma), you can be guided by framework to create a palette that is harmonious and pleasing to your eye. When pairing whites, a good principle that works is having at minimum 0.2 difference in Chroma (last number) between your whites. A little spacing on the color wheel also helps. This principle ensures there is enough contrast between your whites so that one will look more neutral than the other, and they don't look dingy or dirty. The other way to add contrast is to change the sheen level. For example, you can play with sheen levels on BM White Dove and use it as the Trim Color, in a higher sheen than the cabinets and use BM White Dove in Matte on the walls. This will also provide the contrast your eye needs without looking dull. Other colors that may fit your vision and work with the above mentioned framework are: SW 7013 Ivory Lace SW 7010 White Duck SW 9586 White Sesame BM OC-13 Soft Chamois