Here's a picture to give you an idea. My kitchen does not get a ton of natural light, so brightening is a goal. I'll follow up with a close-up of the granite. Replacing appliances is also in the long-term plan.

Here's the granite close up, although I feel like it looks a lot lighter in this view than it does in general. The other pic I posted is a pretty good representation. Anyone know the name of this granite?

It's a beautiful wood. I don't know anything about granite, it's not really my thing.
I see your front door color. A very light sagey green chalk paint type look would be lovely.

I wonder if you could use the "famed" Citristrip on those, and repoly them only. It'll take away the yellowing of the first finish, and leave that gorgeous wood grain.

A creamy white or light sage green would be pretty with your granite & lighten up your kitchen.

What if you did that finish, and I'm sorry I don't remember what it's called, where you "grey" the oak? The cabinets look in beautiful condition.

[Eclectic Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/eclectic-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2104) by Houston Kitchen & Bath Designers Cabinet Innovations

Teri- how do you think the citristrip would work with veneered, bead board side panels? That's what's on the exposed ends and the back of a peninsula.

Pokeysmom, I've used citristrip on veneer, and it works great. It just loosens the finish so you can strip it off with a putty knife. You do a little sanding to get off anything left behind. But since you're not trying to sand out the layer that's been stained, you don't have to worry about sanding the veneer right off.

CEFreeman is the Queen of the product. She recommends only sanding to smooth a surface not to remove the product and the gunk it's pulled off. She recommends water and a green scrubby. I used water and a blue scrubby (not as scratchy). Worked good.
I have not used it on veneer. My table was my first project. But it was such an easy project, that it has me thinking about just stripping my late 70's cabinets from the layers of paint to see if they are salvageable, or at the least for a while.

Cabinets are so pretty. I say keep them and replace the granite. ;)

What romey said.
Creamy white or sage gren for the cabinets, and new
modern hardware you like.
You will be totally shocked at how light and bright the kitchen looks with a real light colored cabinet.

How about a butter yellow? You know not too yellow just a hint more than cream. Google 2LittleFishies' kitchen on here. She has a beautiful yellow kitchen that always puts a smile on my face when I see it. I think she used soapstone counters but I am not sure.

amberm145, If you're scraping, you've probably not left it on long enough.

Now. in my experience, a wood finish like this presents a different question. What's it sealed with?

I have cherry cabinets with probably the same door I stripped using Citristrip and it was a breeze. Just left the stuff on overnight, pressed down with plastic. Scrubbie wash off. Did 3 of them in place.

However I've done some oak cabinetry where it took 2 applications because it had such a hard, durable factory finish. It wasn't just paint. Those I did have to use an actual scraper on ("the horror!" I thought.) because the very last layer refused to come off. It was soft enough to scrape, but it wasn't going nicely. With these, again a light sanding and a stain and they're beautiful.

Just remember that because Citristrip is wet, leaving it on the wood overnight can soften the wood. Plus, the advised neutralizing with water adds more wetness, of course. Be careful with any scraper you use, so you don't gouge or splinter the wood.

I always turn things on their side and press a scraper (one with rounded edges) along the grain to squeeze out moisture. It impressive how much will come out. Then I absolutely let them dry again overnight at least. Don't sand or scrape while they're even damp. Bad results.

The cabinets in question would cerise well. (I hope I'm spelling that right) Ceruse? It's gray washing. I use Varathane's 'Sun Bleached.' Wipe it off, then a darker stain on it to get the gray/brown old wood look. I'm loving the oak cabinets I've done this on.

So all in all, I have nothing of value to offer about the granite (which is nice) nor the counter (which looks good with the cabinets). But thought I'd chime in on the stripping possibilities you could encounter.

These are some wonderful suggestions! Thank you all! CEFreeman - would you strip the cabinets first then graywash? I assume so. That sounds amazing, just wondering if I could pull it off... I'm a novice refinisher but moderately experienced painter.

For fun I've been playing around with some color combinations with SW color tool. Here's one that I think is complementary, if I were to do something pretty different. Color is Moody blue. My walls are already SW Sedate Gray. I guess that doesn't sound like a happy kitchen :/ (Please overlook the unfilled in spots. Just playing around with the tool.) What do you think? I'm thinking with 20 year old cabinets I can afford to do something a little fun/different.

Loving the graywash idea too, just wondering if it's too tough/time consuming for me... Input appreciated! Thanks all!

Double post.

This post was edited by tinker1121 on Mon, Jul 21, 14 at 15:13

Double post

This post was edited by tinker1121 on Mon, Jul 21, 14 at 15:08

That is a pretty granite. It is similar to the granite that I chose so I am a bit prejudiced! I love the grey-green, dark but not as stark or harsh as a black.

I painted my cabinets with Martha Stewart 'Gull' (not MS paint, just color matched). It's a soft color, not exactly grey, not green, not off-white, but has elements of all those (if that makes any sense?) Depending on the time of day, in this northern exposure, it can look more grey or more green or more cream. You can compare it to the coffeepot in the picture to see that it is really not a white

The walls are a pale sage-blue- green (Valspar Ante Meridian). None of my pictures seem to show the true colors, but this is the best I've managed so far.

{{!gwi}}

Raee - Thanks for posting! Would love to see your cabinets, but can't see the picture. Can you try posting again?

White cabinets with the green looks nice. Depends on the light you have and how you want your space to feel.

A couple of ideas.

[Traditional Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Odessa Kitchen & Bath Designers Custom Designs Cabinetry

or two toned:

[Rustic Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/rustic-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2111) by Edina General Contractors John Kraemer & Sons

or maybe a creamy yellow?

[Traditional Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Long Beach Design-Build Firms Zieba Builders, Inc.

I love pale butter yellow cabinets with dark green or Uba Tuba granite. My neighbor has Ben Moore buttercream custom cabinets with Uba Tuba granite and a soft apple green wall with buttercream raised panel wainscott. It is stunning. I have faux granite with Ben Moore buttercream painted oak cabinets with some glass doors, Italian floor tile in terra cotta colors and pale rust wallpaper with a blackened bronze faucet and hand blown bubble-glass knobs in an olive green color. I stripped my cabinets and had the doors spray painted in an enamel finish but painted the boxes in matching latex paint over Kilz primer. It is such a homey, inviting look and no longer has a dated 1980's look. The cabinets were pretty beat looking after being exposed to five kids and an assortment of pets. I love my new look kitchen, it's so bright and inviting now. We will be adding real granite counter tops soon, Uba Tuba or Verde Butterfly. This will be the icing on the cake!

Faux Uba Tuba "granite" countertop

Enchanted Rose - Lovely! I would love to have mine sprayed. I got a quote for $5k to spray them and that's just not in my budget right now. Yours looks great. Love the buttercream.

AnnaC54 - love how the tile backsplash pulls it all together in that first picture. I think I'd need to add something like that if I did a shade of white - to help reduce the sharp contrast.

Great ideas all! Keep 'em coming (if you feel like it)!

Cabinets are so pretty. I say keep them and replace the granite. ;)

LOVE those kitchens!

I also love the blue color! For me, I'd be a little more gray, but you've got that covered in the wall color..

Yes, you'd need to strip them for the stain to take. I promise, you can do it in place with Citristrip. Ask Teri! It actually becomes pretty fun. It's just amazing, actually. I have a bed on my front porch right now (only because it's big) I'm going to scrub the stain off tomorrow. YEAHHH!

I love that blue.
I also love that beautiful creamy yellow. Boy, if I didn't have some weird tint on my windows that would turn that green, I'd do exactly that.

Trying the pic again!