I don't see why you couldn't change your look. I've seen other DIYers on this forum paint oak cabs with great results. If your kitchen is a seperate room, you won't have to worry about where painted trim and golden oak trim will meet.

FWIW, my 1987 house has medium stained basswood trim and off white painted trim on the same floor.

Don't think any trim will meet up with the golden oak, but there are certainly many places in the kitchen where the oak trim would remain. Most notably, the window above the kitchen sink, smack dab in the middle of a run of cabinets. Plus, trim around pantry door, laundry door, basement door, and sliding glass door. The whole kitchen is open to the family room. hmmm. tough decision

This was my problem too. My KIT is open to the BR and FR and these rooms have stained trim. I really wanted an ivory kitchen, but I compromised. My new cabs have the same stain color as my old ones to tie in with the existing judges paneling. I painted the hutch and island. Could you do a combo of finishes? Can you post pictures? If people could see the KIT, they could give you better suggestions.

On the right, you can see the stained paneling going into BR. The back of the kitchen leads to the DR which has painted trim, so this door has to be two toned to match each room when it is closed. The stained crown at the back of the KIT hasn't been installed yet, but it will be next to the painted crown of the hutch.

{{!gwi}}

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One more thought. What about cream cabs with a glaze? The glaze color could tie in with the existing wood trim.

boysrus2, what a great way to tie it all together and it looks so beautiful. I love your kitchen.

Thanks you pluckymama! I appreciate it.

stretchad, I was just looking at a finished Victorian kitchen on the first page. She did off-white cabs. You have to click on her slide show, but you'll see she's also got stained doors and it looks great.

Here's an image of my kitchen, and as you can see, there's a considerable amount of oak trim; slider to the sunroom, entry to laundry, around pantry. Beyond the fridge to the right is entry to the dining room, and the door on the right, next to the desk is the basement. No trim pieces butt up to cabinetry, but just wonder if a creamy white/glazed kitchen would fit in with this house!:

{{!gwi}}

I was thinking I would glaze the cabinets if I did decide to paint, just to better tie in with the wood in the rest of the house. And FYI, we have replaced the MW, Stove, and refrigerater w/ stainless steel appliances (that's how I've gone this long without changing anything else in the kitchen!)

stretchdad, thanks for posting your pictures. Hopefully now others will provide their opinions too!

I believe you can paint your cabs with great success, glazed or unglazed. The off white cabs and contrast against your beautiful floor will be lovely. And if it was my kitchen, I'd paint the island another color. Then your trim blends in as another element in a mix of colors/finishes.

I would paint the thin spindles of the room divider your cabinet color. Leave the thick ones on the ends and the top piece stained.

Later on when budget permits, you could replace the fluorescent ceiling box.
The bones of your kitchen are very pretty and a change from the golden oak cabs will make a world of difference!

I second boysrus. Painting your oak cabinets will make a great change in your kitchen. I would mix colors/finishes to tie it together, but I think that adding some contrast with painted cabinets will totally transform your space. Right now it's too much of the same with the floors, trim, cabinets. It will pop when you paint the cabinets. I would stick to more creamy offwhites though. Depending on the color you choose you may or may not need a glaze.

I am now going though the same thought process. I have 80"s oak cabinets and oak trim. Would a cream kitchen cabinets look ok with oak trim, or do I have to paint all the trim white.Do you have pics?